As someone who is grieving the loss of BioWare, the studio that created my favorite games of all time in the Mass Effect trilogy, I want to assume good intentions of those who are also struggling with the news right now. Over 200,000 fans have signed a petition to “Save Mass Effect” after the studio’s closure resulted in the cancellation of Mass Effect: Universe, which would have been the fifth game in the sci-fi RPG series and was first announced in 2020.
On paper, “saving” that game sounds like a cause worth fighting for, but the solution proposed by the organizers of the petition has given some folks, even those who would love to throw their support behind it, pause. The petition’s request of publisher Electronic Arts, which just cut 400 people from its workforce last week, is as follows:
…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.
Both solutions offer a way forward. By ensuring the ongoing expansion and enhancement of the Mass Effect universe, EA would not only preserve a cherished piece of gaming history but also continue to contribute to the cultural and emotional impact it has on gamers worldwide.
Both of these paths probably sound more realistic than the idea of EA reinstating everyone at BioWare so they can continue making the game, and that’s likely why they’re the ones the petition proposes. But as some others are arguing, the idea that Mass Effect: Universe can simply be handed off to someone else makes it sound like the game would have been the result of a recipe anyone could read, replicate, and serve, rather than the work of a specific group of creatives collaborating to build a new adventure in a universe that was beloved by millions of people. If we’re “saving” Mass Effect, is all that actually matters that we get the shiny new toy we were really looking forward to?
And since it’s BioWare we’re talking about, the question becomes even more complicated. This is a studio that had been gutted by its parent company multiple times, and saw some of its most senior creatives head elsewhere. Casey Hudson, the original creative director for the franchise, hasn’t been at BioWare since 2020, and wasn’t around for the development of Mass Effect: Andromeda or what was done of Universe. Does that mean Universe was being made by a bunch of pretenders operating under the BioWare banner? Not at all. Creative leads from across the franchise worked on all these games, and despite the video game industry’s love for the idea of auteurs and small, tight-knit teams, no one person is responsible for Mass Effect being what it is.. These games are made by hundreds of people, each of whom contributes their own piece of the puzzle, and many of those working on Universe had been with BioWare for some time. Even in its final years, BioWare was touting a team made up of several studio veterans. Michael Gamble, who had been working on the series since Mass Effect 2, was leading the Universe team up until its final days, and several people who had worked on the trilogy were there as well.
I spoke to some folks who have rallied under the #SaveMassEffect petition, and they said that while they support the revival of Mass Effect, they don’t support the idea that it can simply be handed off to another studio. I reached out to organizer Joe Smith about this specific criticism, and he responded with the following statement:
This petition asks EA to support a properly resourced future for Mass Effect games or consider qualified external development and licensing proposals.
BioWare’s developers are central to the series’ identity. Their creative contributions deserve recognition, and any future project should take that legacy seriously. We would welcome opportunities for those developers to participate if they choose.
Restoring BioWare as an organization is outside this petition’s scope. Our request keeps alternative development arrangements open without requiring the studio’s restoration as a condition.
Every route would require EA’s agreement, financing, and a capable team. We have no assurance that any proposal will be accepted, and we will not present signatures as a guarantee of a new game.
A revival of Mass Effect: Universe or the series at large through another studio is probably the most likely outcome of any of this, though I think I’d sooner just let it die entirely. EA could have sold BioWare off to a new publisher, but at least some of those who were working at the studio didn’t believe EA would ever sell it, preferring to sit on BioWare’s IP for this very scenario. Could a new studio taking over Mass Effect attract some of the people who once worked at BioWare, luring them with the prospect of getting to finish what they started? Perhaps. But for fuck’s sake, hoping for someone, anyone to come along and finish making your favorite dessert just so you can have it again sure is a bleak actualization of what corporate rats have been hoping for. This is the future vultures like EA’s new private equity owners want: one in which fans advocate for the work itself while ignoring the artists who make it.