(Bloomberg) — Electronic Arts Inc. released a critically acclaimed remake last year that seemed to breathe new life into the troubled video game series. was frozen for the second time.
News that the sci-fi horror series was being shelved broke this week, but EA had already made the decision last spring, according to people familiar with the project. Hopes for EA’s new Dead Space game were dashed after sales of the remake fell short of the company’s expectations, said the people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
After completing the Dead Space remake, which was released in January 2023, a small team at Electronic Arts subsidiary Motive spent several months developing ideas for the new series, sources said. However, those plans were not given the green light and were scrapped before they could make much progress. Since last summer, most of the developers working on Dead Space have moved on to other projects, while the team has instead been exploring other ideas.
Giant Bomb’s YouTube channel hinted on Wednesday that Motive was developing a remake of Dead Space 2, but it has been shelved. Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, California, denied the report on the game, telling game site IGN, “We do not normally comment on rumors, but this story has no validity.” An EA spokesperson declined further comment to Bloomberg.
The series, which debuted in 2008, was well-received by fans, but it didn’t become the blockbuster hit executives had envisioned. After the disappointing release of Dead Space 3 in 2013, the company shelved the series for a decade and revived it last year with a high-end remake of the first film that received top review scores.
Motiv announced this week that it is working on two games: the previously announced Iron Man project and the new Battlefield, which leaves the fate of the sci-fi horror franchise in doubt.
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