Key facts
- Electronic Arts shut down BioWare and canceled the next Mass Effect game.
- BioWare operated for more than 30 years before the studio closed.
- Petition signature counts were 43,861 in about nine hours per GameRant on October 23, over 76,500 per IGN that day, and 130,000 within three days per Polygon by October 24.
- Bloomberg reported that EA was laying off roughly 400 employees as it closed BioWare and canceled the next Mass Effect game.
On Oct. 21, 2026, Electronic Arts shut BioWare down and brought an end to the next Mass Effect game. Bloomberg reported that roughly 400 employees lost their jobs as the studio closed. BioWare’s own statement said the studio was closing after more than 30 years and that early work on the next Mass Effect project was stopping.
The project appeared in a teaser at the 2020 Game Awards and had spent nearly six years in development before cancellation. Polygon identified it as Mass Effect 5, also known as Mass Effect Universe. Polygon said fans had been looking forward to the project and were heartbroken that it would not move forward. Fans said the shutdown of BioWare and the end of Mass Effect Universe hit them hard this week.
EA said on Oct. 21 that it planned to close BioWare, describing the studio as a 30-year-old developer of Western RPGs such as Dragon Age, Jade Empire, Baldur’s Gate, and Mass Effect. In a statement, the company confirmed the next Mass Effect project would not move forward. IGN said the announcement came after fans had been waiting for news of the next game.
The #SaveMassEffect petition began on Change.org on Oct. 21, 2026, when Joe Smith created it. GameRant said the petition asks EA to think again about the franchise’s future and preserve Mass Effect in some form beyond the Amazon television series.
According to the petition, EA should either restart Mass Effect development with proper budget, staffing, and time or hand the franchise to another developer. The text says the series is worth continuing no matter what happens to BioWare, pointing to its characters, player choices, and storytelling.
Signatures climbed quickly. GameRant counted 43,861 in about nine hours on Oct. 23, IGN reported more than 76,500 that day, and Polygon put the total at 130,000 within three days by Oct. 24.
The campaign calls on EA to make sure Mass Effect lives on in some form beyond the Amazon television series. Supporters can find the petition on Change.org under the #SaveMassEffect name. Backing for the petition spread on Reddit, where fans talked about ways to get EA to reconsider its decision.
Polygon said Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, the voice actors behind Commander Shepard, backed the fan campaign on Oct. 24. On X, Hale asked fans to help revive Mass Effect using a Kickstarter, investors, and a collective of game companies. “I like to think about a world where the fans come together to create a Kickstarter,” Hale said. Meer shared Hale’s post, encouraged fans to save Mass Effect, and asked them to sign the petition while using a Commander Shepard catchphrase.
Hale’s post pictured fans launching a Kickstarter, investors stepping in, and a game company collective forming for the community and creators. Meer’s reply built on Hale’s idea, used a Commander Shepard catchphrase, and pushed petition support. Polygon called Hale and Meer the original Commander Shepard voice actors and said their backing added more fan support for the franchise.
IGN said fans are calling for a boycott covering every EA product and service. Reddit threads gathered around the hashtag #savemasseffect and called on players to speak up and act. Some fans asked EA to sell BioWare’s intellectual property to other studios instead of letting the assets sit unused.
Before IGN’s Oct. 23, 2026 report, a full-length trailer made from pre-production assets for the canceled Mass Effect game appeared online. IGN said the trailer indicated the game was well into development, while GameRant called it a new circulating trailer created from pre-production assets. The trailer’s arrival stung players who thought the game would deliver everything they had hoped for.
The Canadian government is weighing assistance for BioWare, Polygon reported on Oct. 24, 2026. Fan unease about several franchises grew after reports of an EA buyout involving Saudi Arabia’s PIF and private equity surfaced. Polygon said the buyout anxiety proved justified once BioWare closed and Mass Effect ended just months afterward. Kotaku reported that an EA staff letter mentioned canceling a Sims project called Project Lotus so EA could focus on another project called Evergreen.
The company retains Mass Effect and Dragon Age, with no word on whether another mainline Mass Effect game will enter development. EA has also shown no intention to sell or license Mass Effect, leaving Dragon Age and every other BioWare property in doubt. GameRant said even a petition backed by tens of thousands of signatures cannot promise that a publisher will change course on a major business decision.
The RPG industry faces a major gap after BioWare’s closure, with Mass Effect and Dragon Age still popular but uncertain going forward. Fans had already worried about Dragon Age’s future, and some saw BioWare’s end as the final blow for that series. Industry analysts and former BioWare leaders said EA is unlikely to respond to fan demands. Polygon assessed that a fan petition is unlikely to sway EA despite the backlash over the studio’s closure.
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