It Took Mass Effect Fans Less Than 15 Minutes To Crowdfund Billboards Outside EA’s Offices And The Game Awards

As the #SaveMassEffect campaign continues following the closure of BioWare, members of the “We Are Mass Effect” subgroup have started making their voices heard in places beyond the internet. Yesterday, the group paid for a billboard in New York City’s Times Square, but now it’s got its eyes set on things a little closer to home for publisher Electronic Arts: the company’s own offices. BioWare fans Kala Elizabeth, Ariel Aguilar, and Mer set up a GoFundMe campaign for fans to help with the costs of paying for billboards outside of EA’s Redwood City headquarters, the company’s Edmonton office that is being shuttered after the closure of BioWare, and this year’s Game Awards in Los Angeles in December. The GoFundMe reached its $5274 goal in less than 15 minutes. The number comes from estimated costs after the group reached out to companies that allow people to pay for billboard space in the respective areas. “I have no words,” Mer tells Kotaku. “And we’re already brainstorming even more ways to keep this momentum going! More to come.” Mer says that the group will finalize dates for these billboards after figuring out the logistics. The Game Awards is set to take place on December 10, so at least one of these displays has a specific window it’s aiming for. The GoFundMe is no longer collecting donations after reaching its goal, with the group hoping to donate all excess proceeds to the Game Worker Hardship Fund organized by United Videogame Workers-CWA, which supports laid-off game developers. The trio has reached out to the organization as per the instructions on its website and is waiting to see if this is possible. “As of right now, our intention is for any funds raised beyond our goal to be donated to the Game Workers’ Hardship Fund,” Mer tells Kotaku. “We’ve been trying to get in touch with them for days to see if this is an option. Since we haven’t heard back, we closed the petition when we hit our goal, with little overflow. The funds will go to cover the billboards and the GoFundMe fees.” The trouble is, according to UVW-CWA’s official website, there isn’t a current way to donate directly to the fund, but the organization is “looking into options” on how to make this possible in the future. If the excess cash can’t be donated to the Hardship Fund, the group intends to find another way to use the money to help affected developers. “We do not currently have a way to donate directly to the hardship fund,” the website reads. “We are looking into options and will provide an update when we have more information on that. In the future, if direct donations are made available they will be set up through a donation page on Action Network.” All of this follows the launch of a Change petition that has surpassed a quarter of a million signatures urging EA to “save” the Mass Effect series. The petition has generated some conflict among fans, however, as it suggests that the series be handed to a new studio and makes no mention of how the BioWare employees who lost their jobs might be involved, which hasn’t sat well with some members of the community.