N7 Day on November 7 is usually the one date Mass Effect fans can count on. This year there was no studio left to throw the party: EA shut down BioWare, canceled Mass Effect 5 and put the gaming side of the franchise on an indefinite hold only weeks before the anniversary. So the people who actually made the trilogy took the day into their own hands.
Two Minutes, One Message
The unofficial fan group We are Mass Effect gathered most of the original trilogy’s voice cast for a two-minute video. One by one, they call on players to “Save Mass Effect” in the wake of BioWare’s closure. Among those who took part:
- Jennifer Hale (Commander Shepard / FemShep) and Mark Meer (Commander Shepard / MaleShep)
- Brandon Keener (Garrus), Ash Sroka (Tali’Zorah), Kimberly Brooks (Ashley)
- Keythe Farley (Thane), Steve Blum (Urdnot Grunt)
- Composer Sam Hulick and many more
“It started feeling like Shepard recruiting the squad in Mass Effect 2,” said Mer from We are Mass Effect, describing how the video came together. “We were bringing people on board one by one, and Mark was a huge help in making that happen. It almost felt like we were gathering War Assets.” According to Mer, the biggest surprise was that nearly every actor thanked the organizers for putting it together, not the other way around. If you want the wider context of how this N7 Day actually looked, we covered the merch-only celebration separately.
Billboards From Times Square to Edmonton
The video is only the latest move in a campaign that has been building for weeks. We are Mass Effect started with a #SaveMassEffect billboard in Times Square, then drove a mobile billboard around EA’s headquarters in Redwood City, California. On N7 Day itself, more boards went live – including one parked outside BioWare’s former offices in Edmonton, Alberta, with another planned around The Game Awards next month.
Fans have been funding their own boards too. One went up in Cardiff, Wales, and community member AngryBaby put up signs in the Frisco and Dallas areas of North Texas.
Elsewhere the pressure has been less organized but just as loud: some players have called for an EA boycott, and others have taken the message directly to the publisher’s doorstep – including the graffiti at EA’s Madrid office.
Petitions and Politics
After footage and details from the canceled Mass Effect: Universe leaked online just days after EA halted the franchise, a #SaveMassEffect petition launched and has passed 310,000 signatures. A Canadian politician also filed a government petition to save BioWare last week.
“We’re still holding on to that hope and fighting for the future of Mass Effect, BioWare, and the people who have dedicated so much of themselves to bringing this universe to life,” Mer added. “N7 Day is a reminder of what these games mean to all of us, but also of the people behind them.”
Other Studios Chimed In
Owlcat Games, the team working on the Mass Effect-inspired RPG The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, posted its own tribute video. “Everybody in Owlcat dreamt about playing Mass Effect 5,” said studio creative director Alexander Mishulin. “It’s very, very selfish, but we wanted to experience the next chapter in those adventures.” He added that the studio hopes BioWare’s developers find a new home that lets them build more worlds: “It will be not Mass Effect, but it will be something else, and something beautiful.”
Former project director and executive producer Michael Gamble also sent fans a short N7 Day message, signing off with a nod “to all the stories left untold.” BioWare’s final years were captured on camera and are set to appear in an upcoming documentary.
What It Means for You
Practically speaking, nothing has changed inside EA: the franchise is still on hold and Mass Effect 5 is still canceled. What the campaign does is keep the series visible – in Times Square, outside EA’s offices and now in a video featuring the voices players grew up with. Whether that moves the publisher is an open question, but it guarantees the next few months won’t be quiet. We’re tracking every development on our Mass Effect news hub.
FAQ
The unofficial fan group We are Mass Effect organized it. The two-minute clip features most of the original trilogy’s voice cast, including Jennifer Hale, Mark Meer, Brandon Keener, Ash Sroka, Kimberly Brooks, Keythe Farley, Steve Blum and composer Sam Hulick.
Yes. EA canceled Mass Effect 5, shut down BioWare and placed the gaming side of the franchise on an indefinite hold just weeks before N7 Day.
The #SaveMassEffect petition has gathered more than 310,000 signatures. A Canadian politician also launched a separate government petition to save BioWare.
Times Square, a mobile board around EA’s headquarters in Redwood City, outside BioWare’s former Edmonton offices, in Cardiff, Wales, and in the Frisco and Dallas areas of North Texas. Another is planned around The Game Awards next month.
Owlcat Games, the studio behind The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, published a video about what BioWare’s games meant to them, with creative director Alexander Mishulin saying the whole team had dreamed of playing Mass Effect 5.