Battlefield Studios is reportedly cancelling plans for a Mass Effect collaboration in Battlefield 6 in the wake of EA's decision to close BioWare and cancel the next game in the sci-fi series.
Fans discovered various Mass Effect-themed cosmetics in Battlefield 6's files, with many speculating that they would be released in November, tied to the Mass Effect N7 Day holiday on November 7.
Those cosmetics, which included Mass Effect-themed weapon charms and patches, have seemingly now been removed from Battlefield 6's in-game store prior to their general availability.
If these Mass Effect-themed cosmetics were indeed real, getting yanked only makes sense, considering the blowback EA and Battlefield Studios would have faced for hawking new items based on a franchise that it just killed off.
While this Mass Effect collab might not be going ahead, Battlefield 6 is currently hosting a crossover event with Dead Space.
It might make financial sense to close BioWare and cancel the Mass Effect series, but fans are upset about the 30-year studio that blazed a trail for queer representation in games closing up shop.
The closure of BioWare comes after EA was taken private by an investor consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Due to the structuring of the deal as a leveraged buyout, EA is on the hook for a lot of debt, and there will likely be more layoffs and pain for the people working at EA in the time ahead.