Electronic Arts recently killed off Mass Effect and closed developer BioWare entirely, but the publisher is still trying to make money from the franchise’s fanbase.
Ahead of the annual Mass Effect holiday of N7 Day on November 7, EA is promoting Mass Effect via posts about what fans can buy on the BioWare Gear Store. A lot of people online are saying this is tone deaf and gross behavior.
The BioWare Gear Store’s social media presence came back to life after a month of darkness today to start hawking Mass Effect merch. The post that kicked things off is the one below, in which fans are invited to “celebrate the legacy” of Mass Effect by giving EA money.
EA followed the post up with eight more, pushing people to visit the BioWare Gear Store to buy things like mugs, tote bags, clothing, and shoes, among other things.
The replies under every one of the posts call out how cold and gross it is to promote the brand so soon after cancelling Mass Effect 5 and closing BioWare.
EA made the drastic changes as part of a big organizational shift and wider pullback that also included layoffs and other game cancellations, like a new The Sims game. These moves came after EA was taken private by an investor consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a deal that included billions of debt.
It subsequently was reported that EA chose to pursue a new Star Wars Battlefront game over funding the next Mass Effect and BioWare’s continued operation.
A Change.org petition to “save Mass Effect” has drawn 300,000+ signatures, and Canadians are rallying their lawmakers to step in and fund the continued future of BioWare.
