EA hasn't held the title of "the most hated publisher in the industry" for a long time, but a series of moves, including the Saudi acquisition and the shutdown of BioWare, are helping it strive to reclaim that crown. Shutting down this veteran studio, which pioneered several hall-of-fame RPGs, has consequences comparable to shooting Mordin in the back—it's like poking a hornet's nest of core fans. These fans are now rallying behind the #SaveMassEffect call.
The related petition has gathered nearly 300,000 signatures, even inspiring fans of Dragon Age and Anthem to launch their own petitions. However, one individual's actions went too far. Reddit user u/Ok_Link9625 discovered that someone had spray-painted the campaign's slogan on the exterior walls and entrance ground of EA's office building in Madrid.
"I saw this sprayed on the entrance floor and the wall in front of the building when I walked past EA's Madrid office after leaving the cinema," he explained.
Much like the #SaveMassEffect billboard incident in Times Square, the player community is deeply divided on this issue. Some players, such as u/Xan1995, believe: "The person who did this didn't think it through; it only puts us in a more passive position in the public eye." Another commenter bluntly stated: "Vandalizing property is not the right way to express yourself." User u/doctorstrange06 even joked: "Looks like someone chose the Renegade path!"
"Minor vandalism and signing online petitions won't achieve anything," user u/stoopitmonkee stated. "The only thing we can hope for is that they license or sell the IP to another studio. That's it."
"This only makes fans look crazy and outrageous," said user u/Graphica-Danger. "If you really care, follow up on the #SaveMassEffect fundraising campaigns, promote the petition to people around you, or print out flyers with QR codes made by fans. Don't do things like this."
However, some players don't consider this a big deal. For instance, user u/Sir_Bass13 remarked: "Oh my goodness, a multi-billion dollar company has to spend a few hundred dollars to repaint a wall."
"It's just writing on the sidewalk; a hose will wash it away. You're acting like someone committed arson," said user u/Just_Strawberry_505.
"What else could they do, cancel Mass Effect again?" user u/AyFuego joked. "Passersby would just see it as random graffiti, not some sharp political statement."
There is also an obvious suspicion regarding this post. Coming out of a movie and stumbling upon fresh graffiti in front of EA's office seems too coincidental, leading many to suspect the poster was the one who spray-painted the slogans. Although there is indeed a cinema across the street, making it plausible that he was just passing by, not everyone is convinced. "Yeah, yeah, you just happened to pass by. It definitely wasn't you spraying it to gain attention," user u/NamiRocket retorted.
"Bro, including this one, I've only posted twice on Reddit," u/Ok_Link9625 replied. "I don't care about these meaningless internet points at all."