Save Mass Effect Petition Lands Times Square Billboard, Crosses 200K Signatures

In less than a week, the Save Mass Effect petition has surpassed 200,000 signatures (224,731 at the time of writing). It now also has a billboard in Times Square, New York City, displaying glowing Quarian words—”Keelah Si’ Yah”—which roughly translates to “by the homeworld I hope to find one day”—followed by #SaveMassEffect.

The multimedia project We Are Mass Effect, alongside prominent gaming content creator Kala Elizabeth, has run this spot for 24 hours, appearing for 15 seconds every hour at :35. Fans can find the Save Mass Effect billboard at 1560 Broadway, above the Pelé store (Duffy Square).

This is the first of (presumably) several Save Mass Effect billboard ads, with Kala revealing that the next one will be much simpler and include a QR code linking to the petition.

Mass Effect fans unite to save BioWare and the future of Mass Effect

Image via BioWare.

Since news of BioWare’s unexpected and untimely demise at the hands of EA spread, Mass Effect fans have been coming together like wildfire, sharing their love for the franchise and their frustration with its publisher for shutting down the studio and the next Mass Effect game.

It began with simple words of anger, sadness, and grief, but quickly turned into a movement to save Mass Effect’s future after an anonymous BioWare employee posted a two-minute-long trailer for Mass Effect Universe.

The trailer, which focuses on an Asian male wearing a sleek N7 coat while talking to a provocative Asari woman, concludes with a first look at an older Liara, one of Mass Effect’s most beloved characters.

Giving fans a glimpse of what could have been only reignited their love for the franchise. Since then, Mass Effect fans and the developers—including both the male and female English voice actors of Commander Shepard—have expressed their desire for a future where Mass Effect lives and thrives.

The first step towards such a future began with the Save the Mass Effect petition by Joe Smith, which had crossed 100,000 signatures in three days.

If this billboard spot is any indication, this is just the beginning of the Save the Mass Effect campaign.

Right now, there’s no telling if any of this will affect BioWare and Mass Effect’s impending future. However, if this year’s Save Destiny petition tells anything, it’s that the stars can align at any time. In Commander Shepard’s words, “The only thing we can do. We fight or we die!”