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Electronic Arts shut down BioWare on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, and cancelled the studio's in-development Mass Effect game, reportedly titled Mass Effect Universe, prompting widespread industry and fan reaction. A leaked internal trailer for the cancelled game surfaced online, revealing a shift toward espionage and covert-ops gameplay compared with earlier entries, while Battlefield 6 reportedly removed Mass Effect-themed crossover cosmetics from its files in the wake of the closure. Fans launched a Change.org petition demanding EA save the franchise, which surpassed 75,000 signatures according to IGN, while separate reporting cited 50,000 signatures shortly after the closure. Voice actor Jennifer Hale, known for Commander Shepard, said she was "holding hope" the series could survive, and numerous developers credited BioWare with inspiring their careers. Analysts told IGN and GameSpot the closure was commercially predictable given EA's debt load following its $55 billion acquisition, and a Canadian opposition leader, Avi Lewis, called on the government to bail out the studio.