This is a new development in a story we reported earlier: Mass Effect petition grows from 52,783 to over 170,000 signatures. Earlier in this story: Mass Effect petition tops 52,783 signatures after BioWare shutdown.
Key facts
- Fans placed a #SaveMassEffect billboard in Times Square on October 26, 2026.
- The cancelled project was Mass Effect: Universe, first announced in 2020 and intended as the fifth game in the series.
- The petition urges EA to commit to continued development of Mass Effect by funding a new game or licensing the intellectual property to another studio.
- The billboard displays the phrase "Keelah Si'yah," which the campaign associates with the Quarian species and their ark.
Mass Effect fans placed a #SaveMassEffect billboard in Times Square on Oct. 26, 2026, escalating the fan campaign that began after EA shut down BioWare on Oct. 21, 2026.
The billboard stands at 1560 Broadway above the Pelé store in Duffy Square and appears for 15 seconds each hour at the :35 mark. It displays “Keelah Si’yah,” a phrase the campaign links to the Quarian species and their ark. Organizer Kala Elizabeth later said the group meant “keelah se’lai” but used the wrong saying. The group’s social media post declared, “WE’RE IN TIMES SQUARE! Together with @kalaelizabeth, we’ve managed to get a #SaveMassEffect billboard up in Times Square, NYC, all day today!”,
The #SaveMassEffect petition had passed 200,000 signatures by Oct. 26, 2026, though sources disagree on the exact total. Eurogamer cited 226,000 signatures and counting, IGN reported 220,000 names after the count gained 50,000 in a few hours, and Nerdist put the figure at over 230,000. Beebom and Polygon reported more than 200,000, with Beebom dating the petition’s start to Oct. 21, 2026. Signers included game developers and Destiny fans, and some called for boycotts of EA-made titles.
The petition urges EA to fund continued development of Mass Effect or license the intellectual property to another studio. Organizer Joe Smith said restoring BioWare is outside the petition’s scope and that any path forward requires EA’s agreement, financing, and a capable team. Smith added that the petition will not present signatures as a guarantee of a new game.
The billboard came from We Are Mass Effect, a group Ariel Peña Aguilar, a 27-year-old in Spain, started in summer 2025 with Mer as second-in-command. The group has emailed EA directly and contacted Canadian politicians, and Aguilar said the push was partly inspired by community organization around the canceled Star Wars project The Hunt for Ben Solo. He framed the campaign as a message of unity about more than video games and expressed concern for developers who lost jobs or may face future layoffs. The group is not directly affiliated with the major petition but fully supports it.
Mer Mora said by email that the group plans an advertising truck near EA’s headquarters in Redwood City and Edmonton, a mobile billboard for N7 Day, and a Los Angeles billboard for The Game Awards. All initiatives will carry #SaveMassEffect messages and be funded by the community through a GoFundMe. Surplus money will go to the Game Workers’ Hardship Fund, which the United Videogame Workers union (UVW-CWA) opened earlier in 2026 for laid-off workers in Canada and the USA.
The Times Square placement cost about $250 for a Monday in October, though copyright issues, not cost, were the main obstacle. Elizabeth said the group initially had someone else create a graphic containing “BioWare” but had to change it at the last minute, then remade it herself.
EA has made no announcement or plans to revive the canceled Mass Effect project or hand the franchise to another developer. The publisher cut 400 people from its workforce the week before Oct. 26, 2026.
BioWare employed roughly 50 people at shutdown. Polygon’s estimate, based on Glassdoor figures and Bloomberg employment numbers, put the average Edmonton developer salary at roughly $70,000 CAD ($49,857 USD) and two more years of development at about $5,000,000. Unconfirmed reports suggested BioWare was targeting a 2028 release for Mass Effect: Universe.
Mass Effect: Universe was first announced in 2020 as the fifth game in the series. Polygon reported the project was set 600 years after the main trilogy with a James Bond meets John Wick direction, while IGN noted early details including Hitman-style freedom and a former developer’s promise of a story that weighed previous player choices. Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier confirmed the leaked trailer was authentic but said it used pre-production assets. The footage included the return of Liara T’Soni and scenes suggesting a cinematic, spy-thriller approach.
Voice actors Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, who voice Commander Shepard, urged players to sign the petition. A Mass Effect television show is still expected to move ahead with Amazon producing it, despite BioWare’s closure.
Polygon compared the campaign to the fan effort for The Expanse, which accrued 138,420 signatures after SyFy canceled the show in 2018 before Amazon revived it. Developer Owlcat Games also urged players to sign the petition, citing The Expanse’s revival.
November 7, 2027 marks 20 years of Mass Effect. Kala Elizabeth said, “Unfortunately, I think we all know that EA probably does not care.” Aguilar called the expectation that EA would change course naïve but vowed to continue anyway.
Beebom tied BioWare’s shutdown to commercial challenges with Anthem and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which fell short of EA’s sales expectations. Kotaku reported that Michael Gamble, who worked on the series since Mass Effect 2, led the Mass Effect: Universe team until its final days, while original creative director Casey Hudson has not been at BioWare since 2020.
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