A new petition to save Mass Effect is getting a fair amount of support, while one Canadian official has posed the idea of their government providing financial support to purchase BioWare from EA. It’s been less than a week since news broke that EA laid off roughly 400 employees, including around 50 from BioWare, leading to its closure and the end of development for the latest Mass Effect game, which now, thanks to a leaked trailer, is known as Mass Effect: Universe. Since then, over 200,000 have signed the #SaveMassEffect petition on Change.org. The petition began the same day as BioWare’s closure was announced and is asking EA to keep the project alive or at least explore licensing options so another studio can take up the torch.
“Therefore, we are urgently petitioning EA to take decisive action by committing to the continued development of Mass Effect. This commitment requires proper funding, adequate staffing, and time allocation to maintain and advance the high standards the franchise is known for. Alternatively, EA could consider licensing the Mass Effect intellectual property (IP) to another studio that shares the passion and vision to keep it alive and allow it to flourish anew.”
– Change.org
Meanwhile, Canadian official Avi Lewis posted an idea on social media whereby the government could help BioWare buy itself back from EA. Lewis pointed squarely at how private equity firms such as the one that purchased EA have one goal, and it isn’t the betterment of the companies they absorb, and how their actions can affect far more than just the staff of a game studio: “This is private equity; this is what it does. Buy up businesses, run them into the ground, and rip them apart for short-term profit.”
“They should be given the first opportunity — and the federal support — to buy it and run it themselves. And if we want to avoid the Mass Effect effect in Canada, we should be keeping private equity out, not welcoming it in.”
– Avi Lewis
It’s unlikely Canada, or any other government, is likely to get involved, but the idea is intriguing and also shows how folks are paying attention to the actions of EA and its new owners. Regardless, it’s been reported that EA has around $22 billion in debt to deal with, thanks to its sale, so perhaps there’s a chance that money could sway a decision and bring BioWare back, even if just long enough to get this one last game out.
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