Following outcry, BioWare pulls Mass Effect statue celebrating that time Shepard died in the cold hard vacuum of space

BioWare gear store image of a 6 inch Mass Effect Commander Shepherd statue dead — (Image credit: BioWare Gear)

Update: After agitating fans with a statue depicting the demise of Mass Effect Trilogy protagonist Shepard, BioWare has "paused" sales of the item. All pre-orders will be cancelled and refunded too.

"Earlier today, we announced the sale of our latest Mass Effect Shepard statue," the BioWare Gear Store announced in a tweet. "This statue was intended to be part of a series, commemorating some of the key and most emotional moments in the series. The way we announced it did not convey that properly, nor does it give the moment in the series the credit it deserves. As a result, we'll be pausing sales on the statue until we can share the larger plan with you."

It's a sad day for appreciators of death statues, but as the statement above implies, it may very well see a return with some more, erm, persuasive context.

BioWare's merch team seems to love doing statues. The Dragon Age side of the BioWare Gear store is always getting pricey new resin figures, from that snazzy Iron Bull statue last year to the new Inquisition tarot card ones I've had my eye on. Apparently the Mass Effect brand goes hard into the polyresin game too, now with its latest iconic chara—sorry, a $135 statue of a dead Commander Shepherd?

"The Mass Effect Shepard’s Death Statue depicts Mass Effect 2's dramatic opening scene: Commander Shepard expelled from a crumbling Normandy and hurtling through space to her untimely demise," the store page says. Not a moment I'd have personally pitched to commemorate as a collectible item but what the hell do I know?

I'm not judging you, Mass Effect fans, I promise. It's just that we've got these really dramatic statue poses for Inquisition characters on our side and you've got, uh, Kaidan lounging in a chair with a beer, Tali lounging in a chair (sans beer), an Avenger gun replica, and a Mako statue. I'm just judgment adjacent right now, aiming quizzical glances your way—or in the direction of whoever at BioWare is in charge of Mass Effect's merchandising.

Anyway, there's a Dead Shepard statue on the BioWare store right now if you're into that kind of thing. Approximately half a foot cubed. It's being produced in a run of 2,000 numbered pieces. If you're going to have friends over to gawk at your DeadShep, make sure to appropriately set the mood.

At time of publishing the store link for the dead shep statue is returning a 404 error but I promise it wasn't a fever dream and assume it'll be back soon.

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She joined the PCG staff in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.