Shepard Actor Reacts to Leaked Mass Effect Trailer, Is “Holding Hope” the Game Will Live On

Longtime voice actor Jennifer Hale, best known for voicing Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect series, has responded to the closure of BioWare and the cancellation of the franchise’s next installment. Following the release of footage for the new project, Mass Effect Universe, Hale said, “It’s extraordinary.”

“I’m holding hope for magic to happen. This community and you incredible vevs deserve that and more,” she added.

A “Save Mass Effect” Change.org petition launched this week urging EA to “take decisive action by committing to the continued development of Mass Effect.” The petition has gathered more than 65,000 signatures so far.

All of BioWare’s recent releases—Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard—were commercial disappointments. Against that backdrop, closing the studio makes financial sense, but it is a blow to the millions of Mass Effect fans who adore the franchise and want to see it continue.

According to insider reporting, the new Mass Effect game would have combined covert operations with John Wick-inspired action, generating excitement about what could have been.

Composer Bear McCreary, who has worked on the God of War and Call of Duty franchises, also reacted to BioWare’s closure. Asked whether the laid-off BioWare developers could take what they had and complete the project as a “spiritual successor” through crowdfunding, McCreary called it a good idea but likely unrealistic.

“Man, I want to believe. But, I just gotta ask… How many examples are there of this really working in the past? And of those examples, how many were a project as big as Mass Effect?” he said.

Canadian politician Avi Lewis has called on the government to help save BioWare by providing “federal support” to workers so they can buy it back.

“This is private equity, this is what it does,” he said. “Buy up businesses, run them into the ground, and rip them apart for short-term profit. The developers at BioWare know how to run the studio. They know how to make the games we all love. They should be given the first opportunity—and the federal support—to buy it and run it themselves.”

The new Mass Effect game was revealed in 2020. Since then, it remained in “early development” until its cancellation this week.

While the new Mass Effect game is not going ahead, the Mass Effect TV show for Prime Video remains in development.

The closure of BioWare and cancellation of the new Mass Effect game came as part of a wider shakeup at EA following its sale to an investor consortium including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners. EA cut jobs, canceled games, and scaled back in other ways as part of the shakeup, as the publisher faces a huge debt repayment schedule.