Electronic Arts and its stable of studios are no strangers to crossovers, especially ones that see its own properties making the leap to other EA games. Apex Legends has Plants vs. Zombies cosmetics, Dragon Age has a set of Dead Space armor, and The Sims got more crossovers than I can rattle off in a sentence of reasonable length. Today, Battlefield 2042 is releasing a new set of cosmetics based on BioWare’s Mass Effect series, and while under normal circumstances I wouldn’t bat an eye at this cross-promotion, given that EA just gutted the RPG developer with a massive restructuring, I find it gross to see the company trying to profit on people’s love of the sci-fi franchise before the dust has even settled.
From June 17 to July 1, Battlefield 2042 is offering Mass Effect-themed bundles that include armor and weapon sets based on the iconic N7 armor from the sci-fi RPGs. Here’s the rundown from the patch notes:
- Galactic Bundle – 1750 BFC: Centuries from now and in the farthest reaches of space, a good soldier still makes all the difference. Take command and carve your legacy into the stars.
- Scoped & Dropped Bundle – 2000 BFC: Whether you’re tearing across the battlefield or shooting bottles with an old friend, you need the best gear in the galaxy to do the job right.
- Citadel Bundle – 3000 BFC: For those who take the fight to the farthest reaches of space, a special package containing all cosmetics for the Mass Effect crossover event.
It’s entirely possible this crossover was in the works long before January, when EA laid off a ton of the foundational talent at BioWare in an effort to be more “agile” and “focused.” It’s also very likely these Mass Effect cosmetics were in the pipeline long before Bloomberg posted its recent story on the development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which outlined the ways EA jerked the studio around for a decade until the game finally launched in 2024. But my god, the optics of profiting off the iconography of a beloved series of a studio you just eviscerated are pretty terrible. What could have been a pretty innocent crossover now looks like a cynical cash grab, dangling the remains of a studio you’ve spent years stripping for parts in front of players.
Those who are still at BioWare are working on a fifth Mass Effect. As for Dragon Age, at the very least The Veilguard exists as the studio’s “final word” on its fantasy world before it was hit by layoffs earlier this year.