An executive of Electronic Arts Japan has criticised the Japanese video game ratings board for allowing upcoming action game Stellar Blade to be released uncensored while EA's own Dead Space was banned in the country.
11.04.2024 - 22:29 / thesixthaxis.com / Jason Schreier / Space
Following rumours that EA had cancelled a Dead Space 2 Remake project at EA Motive, the publisher has taken the unusual step of shooting down the story with a public statement. Dead Space 2 remake wasn’t cancelled… because it never existed.
Following the critical success of the Dead Space remake last year, series fans had hoped and expected that Motive would roll straight into remaking Dead Space 2. The rumours this week suggested that a Dead Space 2 remake was being cancelled after EA decided that the first remake hadn’t sold well enough – to be fair, a January release is tricky to navigate, especially if there’s another horror game remake just around the corner!
Per Jason Schreier, an EA spokesperson flatly denied that the project had been shelved, stating the there is “no validity to this story.” Further sources for Bloomberg confirmed that Motive has been working on other projects for nearly a year, including Iron Man, and has recently started working on the Battlefield franchise.
Schreier’s further reporting in a full article on Bloomberg goes further than this, explaining that EA Motive did spend a few months “conceiving ideas for a new entry in the series,” but that this conceptual stage didn’t get very far (admittedly in part because the remake missed internal targets), and that the main effort was really to create a new game in the series, as opposed to another remake.
So yes, there was some bandying about of another Dead Space game, but it didn’t get far enough to be greenlit by EA’s higher ups, and the team from the remake moved on to other projects anyway.
Either way, it’s sad news for fans of the series, especially because Dead Space was a sublime remake that modernised a horror game classic in some tasteful ways. “EA Motive have done incredible work with the Dead Space remake to bring a horror classic up to date,” Nick wrote in our review, “injecting true horror back into the genre alongside considered changes and expansions to the original story. It’s hands down one of the best remakes ever made, and it’s like playing Dead Space for the first time all over again. Welcome back, Isaac.”
Goodbye again, Isaac.
Maybe we’ll see you at the cinema?
Source: Bloomberg via IGN
An executive of Electronic Arts Japan has criticised the Japanese video game ratings board for allowing upcoming action game Stellar Blade to be released uncensored while EA's own Dead Space was banned in the country.
The general manager of EA Japan has criticised the Japanese ratings board for what he believes are discrepancies in the way Dead Space and Stellar Blade have been rated.
The fate of a potential remake may be in doubt as its team has moved on to a new project. 2023's remake was well-received upon its release for being extremely faithful to the original and served as a great new starting point for newcomers while offering some new surprises for fans of the 2008 original.
Motive Studios’ Dead Space remake has caused a stir recently after Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb reported that a remake for the second game was shelved. Though only in the pre-production phase, Grubb noted that a Dead Space 2 remake wasn’t happening due to lackluster sales of the first game. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has since weighed in, noting in a new report that the series is on ice again.
After Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb reported that a Dead Space 2 remake was in the works, albeit in the pre-production phase, publisher Electronic Arts has spoken against the same. A spokesperson told IGN, “We don’t normally comment on rumors, but there is no validity to this story.”
Following the news that EA Motive's team responsible for last year's Dead Space remake would work on the Battlefield franchise going forward (alongside the previously announced Iron Man game), fans of the horror franchise were left wondering whether a Dead Space 2 remake would still happen.
Developers at Dead Space remake creators EA Motive were pushing to make a "new entry" in the sci-fi horror series before EA shelved it last year, according to the latest in a recent outbreak of Dead Spacey rumours and revelations that have spread through the bulkheads of the internet, coating everybody's devices with necrotic slime.
A second report has claimed that the Dead Space franchise is on hold after sales of the most recent game failed to meet EA’s expectations.
Last night, a report claimed a Dead Space 2 remake had been in the works at EA. However, a subsequent report — which itself follows on from EA denying any such remake was in the pipeline — has poured more cold water on these initial claims. In fact, the whole series is reportedly «on ice».
Earlier today, it was claimed that a remake of Dead Space 2 was in development at publisher Electronic Arts, but had been shelved indefinitely due to the original game's poor sales. Reputable industry insider Jeff Grubb claimed that the title was in the "concept" phase, before EA Motive were taken off the project to work on a new Battlefield and Iron Man title.
It's never fun when you have to report on a game that almost certainly isn't happening, especially when it has as much potential as a Dead Space 2 remake, but indeed, it sounds like a sequel to the brilliant 2023 Dead Space remake isn't coming anytime soon.
Plans for a Dead Space 2 remake have reportedly been shelved after the first game failed to deliver commercially.