Mass Effect fans have brought their campaign to save the sci-fi RPG series to Times Square, buying a digital billboard slot after EA closed BioWare and canceled the next game. Organizers say the New York ad is only the first step: a successful crowdfunding drive is now supporting additional billboards aimed at EA and the gaming community.
Key takeaways
The campaign combines online advocacy with public advertising, while its organizers say they also want to draw attention to developers affected by industry layoffs.
- The Times Square ad ran for 15 seconds each hour at 1560 Broadway.
- A GoFundMe reached its $5,660 target, with more billboards planned.
- A separate petition calls on EA to continue the series or license it to another studio.
Times Square ad launched the campaign’s next phase
The digital billboard appeared October 26 above the Pelé store in Duffy Square. It displayed the hashtag #SaveMassEffect alongside “Keelah si’yah,” a phrase associated with the Quarians in the games. One organizer later noted that the intended phrase was “keelah se’lai”—a similar expression familiar to fans of the original trilogy.
The slot reportedly cost about $250. The ad was organized by We Are Mass Effect, a fan community founded by Ariel Peña Aguilar, with help from content creator Kala Elizabeth and organizer Mer Mora.
Crowdfunding will pay for more billboards
After the Times Square appearance, the organizers raised enough to meet their $5,660 GoFundMe goal. They plan to use the money for advertising outside EA’s Redwood City headquarters and its Edmonton office, as well as near The Game Awards in Los Angeles in December. The organizers said any funds raised beyond their target are intended for the Game Workers’ Hardship Fund, which supports laid-off game developers.
The campaign’s appeal is separate from a Change.org petition that asks EA to keep developing Mass Effect or license the franchise to another studio. The petition had passed 200,000 signatures in reports published around the billboard launch, though its total continued to change.
Fans seek a future for the series and its developers
The billboard campaign followed EA’s cancellation of the next Mass Effect project and the closure of BioWare, according to reports on the company’s cuts. Organizers have also contacted EA and Canadian politicians, and say their effort is intended to support displaced developers as well as preserve the franchise.
EA had not publicly responded to the campaign in the reports. The ads are a fan-led effort, not an announcement that the game or studio will return; for now, supporters are using petitions, fundraising and public visibility to press their case.
Via We Are Mass Effect on X, GoFundMe, via Kotaku