Fans have submitted a petition to the Canadian government to save Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare, which was shut down by Electronic Arts, and it already has the required number of signatures.

The petition, numbered e-7898, was initiated by Brendan Routh from Burnaby, British Columbia. The document argues that "BioWare is one of Canada's most important cultural exports" and that its productions "champion the values of inclusivity, tolerance, democracy, justice, and civil rights that are at the centre of Canada's national identity." It calls on the Canadian government to provide BioWare with the capital needed to secure its independence and intellectual property from Electronic Arts, protect Canadian businesses and cultural institutions from being dictated to by American and foreign corporate interests, and champion the aforementioned values by preserving BioWare's invaluable contribution to the global entertainment industry. 

The petition was opened on November 4 and gathered 2,732 signatures. According to the House of Commons Procedure and Practice, an electronic petition that has over 500 valid signatures is presented in the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Canada.

Following the studio's closure, fans also started a Change.org petition called #SaveMassEffect. The petition became immensely popular, gathering 100,000 signatures in the first three days. At the time of writing, the petition has 306,396 signatures. The author, Joe Smith, calls on Electronic Arts to "act decisively by committing to continued development of Mass Effect" or "license or sell the Mass Effect IP to another studio with the passion and vision to carry on its legacy." 

BioWare's story, from its founding in 1995 to its rise to success, will be told in a documentary, written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Akash Sherman and co-produced by Fennessey Films and Score G Productions for Canadian broadcaster Super Channel

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