Published on 2026-10-26
A petition asks EA to give up the Mass Effect and Dragon Age licenses after BioWare's closure
A petition titled "Save Mass Effect and Dragon Age — EA, Let BioWare's Legacy Live On!" went up on Change.org on October 23, 2026, two days after BioWare's closure and the cancellation of the next Mass Effect were announced. At the time of this article's publication, it has just over 1,300 signatures, roughly 400 of which were added on October 26 alone. That's far short of the figures circulating on some social platforms, which have claimed over 200,000 signatures.
What the petition actually asks for
Contrary to a common claim, the text does not offer a choice between "EA funds development" or "EA sells the license." The petition, started by a user identified as "firat kalkan," makes three specific asks of Electronic Arts: explore selling or licensing the Mass Effect and Dragon Age intellectual properties to another studio capable of keeping them alive, give former BioWare developers a chance to work on future projects tied to these franchises, and communicate more clearly about the long-term future of both series. The text explicitly states: "We are not asking Electronic Arts to give away valuable intellectual property for free."
Still a modest petition, but picking up speed
With just over 1,300 signatures four days after launch, this remains a small-scale fan effort. No gaming outlet (IGN, Kotaku, PCGamer, Eurogamer, GamesRadar, VGC, Game Rant) has covered it so far, and neither EA nor BioWare has publicly acknowledged it. The signature pace did pick up noticeably on October 26, however, with roughly 400 new signatures added in a single day.
The context: BioWare's October 21 closure
This petition directly follows the October 21, 2026 announcement that BioWare was closing and the next Mass Effect was canceled, as part of roughly 400 job cuts at EA. That decision itself came two months after EA's acquisition by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's PIF sovereign wealth fund. The future of existing Mass Effect and Dragon Age games remained unaddressed by EA as of that announcement.
Sources
The bottom line
Two days after BioWare's closure was announced, a Change.org petition asks EA to hand off the Mass Effect and Dragon Age licenses to another studio rather than leave them dormant, while also asking for a second chance for the studio's former developers. With just over 1,300 signatures and no press coverage to date, this remains, for now, a modest fan effort, despite a notable acceleration on October 26, rather than the mass movement some inflated figures suggest.
