The #SaveMassEffect petition on Change.org had 263,547 verified signatures when we read it on 28 October, a week after EA closed BioWare and cancelled the next Mass Effect. Microsoft has given Arkane Lyon an extra month to find a buyer. With GTA 6 22 days out, a rumoured Lucia actress went viral for ignoring GTA comments, and Dead by Daylight pulls Chucky from sale on 24 November.
The Save Mass Effect petition: 263,547 signatures in a week
The petition, started on 21 October and addressed to EA, crossed 200,000 signatures over its first weekend, IGN reported on 26 October, after videos from both Commander Shepard actors, Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, and posts from the Destiny community. IGN had it past 75,000 on 23 October, alongside fans calling for a boycott of EA, and PC Gamer past 180,000 days later. Hale floated the idea of fans, investors and a studio forming a collective to bring Mass Effect back, and Owlcat Games pinned a post asking followers to sign from the account of its upcoming The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. We found no response from EA as of 28 October. Our report on the closure itself: EA closes BioWare and cancels the next Mass Effect.
Mass Effect: Universe, from a technical director on record and a leak IGN says it verified
The cancelled game was working under the title Mass Effect: Universe. Romain Toutain, the franchise technical director, said on a Twitch stream that the choices from the first Mass Effect games were all taken into account, and that “you could plug your saves together to create parallel universes”, PC Gamer reports, with IGN carrying the same stream.
The rest comes from YouTuber Dantics, a member of the Mass Effect Council, a group of community members who gave BioWare feedback during development. He described handcrafted missions with Hitman-style freedom, environment hacking, close-range executions and the return of Liara, and IGN says it verified the details with a development source. On X, Dantics also said the game was set in a “galactic Cold War” and wrapped all three endings into one, PC Gamer reports, and GameSpot ran his comparison to John Wick in space. EA has confirmed none of it.
Arkane Lyon gets an extra month to find a buyer
Le Monde reported that Arkane Lyon, the studio making Marvel’s Blade, had until 13 November to find a buyer under France’s Florange Law, after which Microsoft could close it; 217 people work there. Microsoft has since extended the consultation by a month. “We have extended the consultation period by one additional month as we explore options, including finding a partner to support the studio through the development work still ahead,” a Microsoft representative told PC Gamer, calling it “a defined extension” and saying the documents describing a full closure “do not represent a final decision”. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier said several paths are being explored and that he would be surprised if the studio closed, GameSpot reports.
GTA 6, 22 days out: a rumoured Lucia actress, a softer TV spot and Burger Shot at Skinny Louie
Manni L. Perez, the actress fans have long linked to Lucia, ignored a stream of GTA 6 comments during a 12-minute Instagram livestream, IGN reports. Rockstar has not confirmed her. The only cast member on the record is Stephen Root, by his own account, playing Brian Heder; the rest of what is confirmed is on our GTA VI hub.
A 30-second GTA 6 TV spot cuts the shower scenes from the Launch Trailer, GameSpot reports. Rockstar and the burger chain Skinny Louie have announced a partnership that turns every Skinny Louie in Florida into a Burger Shot from early November to 31 December, serving smash burgers, fries and drinks, alongside the Burger Shot at the Kaseya Center, GameSpot reports. When we reported the Kaseya Center rebrand on 24 October, it rested on fan photos; the partnership puts Rockstar’s name on it.
Dead by Daylight pulls Chucky from sale on 24 November
Behaviour Interactive will remove the Chucky Chapter and its cosmetics from in-game and platform stores on 24 November, IGN reports. Anything bought before then stays usable, and a Last Chance sale takes 50% off Chucky items on all platforms until the removal date. Behaviour has not said why; it removed Pinhead in 2025 and Michael Myers in January.
Phantom Blade Zero gets a 9 from IGN
IGN’s Travis Northup gave Phantom Blade Zero a 9, Amazing, after 50 hours, praising its boss fights and combat and faulting a safe story, invisible barriers and technical hiccups, in his review.
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