The campaign to save BioWare has reached Canada's government. A Canadian politician has launched an official government petition calling for federal support to help the Mass Effect studio buy its way out from under Electronic Arts, IGN reported Thursday.

The politician didn't mince words about the publisher. "These publishers buy developers, run them into the ground and rip them apart for profit," the official said, per GamesRadar+, throwing public weight behind the #SaveMassEffect movement that has been building among fans.

It's an unusual escalation: grassroots campaigns to protect beloved studios are common, but an elected official formally petitioning a federal government to help a developer escape its corporate parent is not. BioWare, based in Edmonton, is one of Canada's most storied studios, with Mass Effect and Dragon Age among its credits — which gives the appeal a domestic-industry angle beyond fan sentiment.

Whether the petition leads anywhere concrete is another matter. But the fact that BioWare's situation under EA is now being debated in political terms shows how far concern for the studio's future has spread beyond gaming circles.