EA apparently has no plans to bring back Dead Space, after the remake was a flop, but there is hope it could find a home elsewhere.
Dead Space might be a cult favourite amongst survival horror fans but, after the 2023 remake failed to meet sales expectations, the future of the series has long been in question.
An insider last year claimed EA had decided to ‘shelve’ the entire franchise, with plans for a Dead Space 2 remake allegedly abandoned.
A new report has now reiterated EA’s stance on the IP’s future, albeit with some hope the series could blossom elsewhere.
According to Insider Gaming, EA has put the Dead Space franchise ‘on ice’, based on internal messaging within the company. This means there’s no plans for any sequels, remakes, or reboots in the foreseeable future.
However, apparently current employees at the company, cited by the outlet, are hoping that when EA comes under new ownership next year, it might sell the IP to recoup the costs of the acquisition.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is set to own the majority of EA once the deal goes through, is apparently running low on cash for new investments, after ploughing money into several projects in ‘financial distress’, according to The New York Times.
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The assumption is the Public Investment Fund might look to sell off parts of EA’s business to recoup some cash, although it’s unclear how much the Dead Space IP is exactly worth at this point, especially when it’s clearly not been a financial hit for EA.
It might be wishful thinking, but it’s certainly not out of the realms of possibility. In fact, while they’re at it, maybe EA can sell off Burnout, Mirror’s Edge, and SSX as well.
Selling off IP, from one publisher to another, is relatively rare in the games industry and usually only happens at the same time as the developer that created it is bought out. There are exceptions though, perhaps most famously when Microsoft bought the Gears Of War franchise from Epic Games.
Dead Space originally launched in 2008 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and became known for its limb severing mechanic. It received two mainline sequels and several spin-offs, including a rail shooter, Dead Space: Extraction, which was developed for the Wii.
EA announced in September it had been acquired by a consortium of private investors, made of up of the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, for $55 billion (£40.9 billion). The deal is expected to close between April and June next year.
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