The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Rallies Behind Mass Effect as Fans Refuse to Give Up

The loss of BioWare earlier this week was devastating, and the leak of Mass Effect 5's trailer made the loss hurt all the more. With BioWare on the outs, the future of the franchise is left in EA's hands, which has caused uneasiness among both players and developers. Despite the ill tidings, fans have made their support of BioWare and the future of Mass Effect known.

In response to a massive petition building up steam, the team behind The Expanse: Osiris Reborn has stepped up to give their support, citing their source material's reliance on public outcry to keep afloat. The announcement was a fantastic show of support between two games that could easily be seen as rivals vying for the same spot, putting aside the competition to help good devs get their second chance.

The Karmic Cycle of The Expanse

The original The Expanse series is a great showcase of how a story like Mass Effect could be portrayed on the small screen, complete with ancient alien technologies and mankind grappling with defending the stars while debating their political future at home. It has a great overlap with Mass Effect's framing and themes, and is more than experienced with the threat of cancellation.

The Expanse was canned by Syfy after its third season, only to be picked up by Amazon after a truly insane fan-run campaign to get the series renewed. Ever since, The Expanse has been a fantastic showcase of just how much the love of fans can do to help keep the lights on for their favorite series, and the team behind the Expanse's upcoming video game, Osiris Reborn, is looking to spread that love.

The announcement was a fantastic show of support between two games that could easily be seen as rivals vying for the same spot, putting aside the competition to help good devs get their second chance.

As the #SaveMassEffect petition reached a truly staggering 175,000 signatures, almost double the number that The Expanse's original revival petition amassed, Osiris Reborn's Twitter came out to throw their full support behind the push. Building up this number of signatures in a little under a week is practically unheard of, and shows that, despite its recent fall from the public eye, BioWare and Mass Effect are both amongst the most beloved teams in the western gaming industry.

It's really hard to overstate just how impossible it was to avoid the hype around Mass Effect when it was actively released, even as someone too young to play the titles as they dropped, like myself. BioWare's expertise at creating believable worlds with genuine characters has given them a home in the hearts of millions of gamers, and they won't just sit idly by.

Power to the Players

With the news cycle so full of layoffs and corporate mismanagement in the gaming industry, it can be all too easy to forget just how much power players, as consumers, have over the companies they buy their games from. Public outcry, boycotts, and petitions sometimes do wonders to show just where the audience's focus really lies. The #SaveMassEffect initiative has some real potential.

Between the public outcry, the leaked ME5 trailer, and the shocking call for support of the Canadian government, EA has to know the firestorm they've unleashed by dropping BioWare, and the team has made it clear they're really willing to dive back into Mass Effect if given the chance.

The rallying cry from the team behind The Expanse: Osiris Reborn feels like a genuine cloud break amidst the doom and gloom of BioWare's closure, making it clear that, while things may not return to how they were, it might just work out.

Fans don't plan on coasting to the finish line, however, and are aiming for a minimum of 200,000 signatures on the original #SaveMassEffect petition. Maybe the old 'ad on a plane' gambit will work a second time in a row.