Mass Effect N7 Day fan campaign to save the franchise, Digi Mart USA News: Without BioWare, N7 Day is quieter this year, but that did not stop the Normandy cast and crew from teaming up for a video message asking fans to help save Mass Effect.
EA shuttered BioWare, canceled Mass Effect 5, and put the gaming side of the franchise on an indefinite hold just weeks before the series’ annual November 7 holiday, leaving players as hurt as they were confused. There are not really any official festivities to enjoy this year, but the developers and actors behind the stories and characters fans love still made sure to get together for a special video message.
Organized by the unofficial group known as We are Mass Effect, the two-minute video features appearances from composer Sam Hulick, Jennifer Hale (Commander Shepard/FemShep), Ash Sroka (Tali’Zorah), Keythe Farley (Thane), Kimberly Brooks (Ashley), Mark Meer (Commander Shepard/MaleShep), Steve Blum (Urdnot Grunt), Brandon Keener (Garrus), and many more. One by one, they each call to “Save Mass Effect” in the wake of BioWare’s closure, marking what is only the latest effort to garner attention and, hopefully, give the franchise a shot in the arm.
A representative of We are Mass Effect told IGN that the process felt like Shepard recruiting the squad in Mass Effect 2. “We were bringing people on board one by one, and Mark was a huge help in making that happen,” the representative said.
“It almost felt like we were gathering War Assets. The most surprising thing is that with every video we received, the actors would thank us.”
The group said it received messages saying, “Thank you for doing this,” or “Thank you for your work.” “We were the ones who felt incredibly grateful to them for taking the time to participate, but they kept turning around and thanking us,” the representative said. “That really touched me.
Everyone involved, from the people who made these games to the people who brought their characters to life, cares deeply about this universe.”
We are Mass Effect and other fans have been busy in recent weeks. After footage and details for the canceled Mass Effect: Universe appeared online just days after EA halted the franchise, a petition gained more than 310,000 signatures.
A Canadian politician also started a government petition to save BioWare last week.
As some have called to boycott EA, others have taken their fight to the publisher’s front door. We are Mass Effect has been a major part of that initiative, with its first notable move being a #SaveMassEffect billboard in Times Square.
Yesterday, the group drove a mobile billboard around EA headquarters in Redwood City, California. More billboards are live today, including one around the former BioWare offices in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with another set to appear around The Game Awards next month.
Former project director and executive producer Michael Gamble also sent a message to fans for N7 Day.
The group also reported that a #SaveMassEffect billboard had appeared in Cardiff, Wales, and that a community member, AngryBaby, had put up billboards in the Frisco and Dallas areas of North Texas. The group said it was encouraging to see fans spreading the movement on their own.
“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.
The impact they’ve had on this community will never be forgotten, and we will continue celebrating it for as long as we can.”
Meanwhile, other developers have also shared their appreciation for the series on its saddest holiday so far. Owlcat Games, the team behind the upcoming Mass Effect-inspired RPG The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, shared a video celebrating what BioWare and its work over the decades meant to them.
“Everybody in Owlcat dreamt about playing Mass Effect 5,” studio creative director Alexander Mishulin said. “It’s very, very selfish, but we wanted to experience the next chapter in those adventures.
Our hearts and minds are with BioWare, and we really hope they find themselves a new home, with studios that will allow them to make even more worlds, even more experiences, more adventures that will be new beacons for new generations of game developers.”
Mishulin added: “It will be not Mass Effect, but it will be something else, and something beautiful.”
BioWare’s final years were captured on video and will soon be shared in a new documentary. IGN has also published an interview with a modder who rebuilt Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer, and an article on how AI is impacting the modding scene.
