Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for the Mass Effect franchise and the opening of Mass Effect 2 in particular.
BioWare’s merchandise division has wreaked havoc once again after the release of an incredibly bizarre Mass Effect 2 statue that, spoilers, depicts Shepard floating dead in space.
As I mentioned Kotaku’s Mass Effect Shepard death statue was revealed by BioWare and taken down almost immediately due to fan backlash.
The sculpture was erected as a ‘conversation starter’ depicting ‘Chief Shepard expelled from ruined Normandy as he hurtles through space to his untimely demise’.
The statue infuriated fans, or at least mob confusion, leading BioWare to announce it was suspending sales of the statue until it could “share the most important plan.”
“Earlier today, we announced the sale of the final Mass Effect Shepard statue,” BioWare said. This statue was intended to be part of a series commemorating some of the series’ key and most moving moments.
“The way we announced it didn’t convey that properly, and it doesn’t give the timing of the series the credit it deserves. »
This isn’t the first time the BioWare Gear Store has looked grim as last year it released a Mass Effect 5 poster promising Shepard would return. This was quickly removed, with BioWare project manager Michael Gamble claiming the merchandise department simply made a mistake, but fans remained skeptical.
BioWare said next to nothing else about the new Mass Effect game after it was revealed in December 2020, although we do know that several members of the team behind the original trilogy are working on the remake.
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance writer for IGN. He’ll be talking about The Witcher all day.
