Mass Effect Petition Passes 200,000 Signatures as Shepard Actors Back Campaign
Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer back a petition urging EA to fund another game or license the series to another studio.
A Change.org petition urging EA to keep Mass Effect alive has passed 200,000 signatures. The count follows BioWare’s Oct. 21 announcement that it would close and end early development on the next game. The petition does not ask EA to reverse the studio’s closure. Instead, it asks the publisher to commit to continued development with proper funding, adequate staffing, and time, or license the series to another studio if EA will not continue it itself. The petition sets out both options.
Created by Change.org user Joe Smith, the campaign has drawn signers sharing memories of the original trilogy and Mass Effect: Andromeda. The signatures show fan support, but they do not obligate EA to pursue either option.
Jennifer Hale, who voiced female Commander Shepard, backed the campaign and raised the possibility of fans, a studio, and investors working together on a Kickstarter-backed revival.
I like this thought…
❤️💙#MassEffect #Femshep #broshep #N7 pic.twitter.com/wnCS1I1w0u— Jennifer Hale (@jhaletweets) October 24, 2026
Mark Meer, who voiced male Commander Shepard, also supported the petition and urged fans to sign.
I like it too.
Hold the line.#MassEffect #SaveMassEffect #N7 #MassEffectIsAlive #CommanderShepard https://t.co/uQJ4x5mXPS pic.twitter.com/vx22yejYbR
— Mark Meer (@Mark_Meer) October 24, 2026
BioWare had already downsized in 2025. EA tied those cuts to employees who had shipped Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the next Mass Effect‘s director later reassured fans that the game remained in development. BioWare’s Oct. 21 announcement that early development was ending reversed that assurance. The earlier BioWare downsizing and reassurance about the next game provide context for the change.
In a letter to staff, EA said it would continue investing in sports games, Apex Legends, Battlefield, the next Star Wars Jedi game, and Marvel’s Iron Man. Full Circle, the studio behind Skate, has also faced layoffs.
The petition’s licensing option concerns the series’ future, not the canceled Mass Effect Universe project. In his account of that unfinished game’s plans, Dantics described a setting more than 600 years after the Reaper War and a customizable N7 operative, as outlined in his account of the planned design.
A leaked pre-production cinematic for the canceled project surfaced earlier in the week under the title Mass Effect Universe.
Mass Effect: Universe Trailer
byu/Random_Hyabusa_Ninja inmasseffect
What would you most want a future Mass Effect to preserve if EA continues the series or licenses it to another studio? Follow the petition’s progress and the story around BioWare’s closure through X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
