The future of Dead Space might be looking grim, according to an EA developer who formerly worked on the franchise, who is now saying that the sales to justify a sequel just aren’t there. Dead Space has been widely celebrated by fans as a survival horror classic that, unfortunately, remained dormant for a decade before an excellent remake stoked interest in the series again, only to be met with silence afterward.
EA’s original Dead Space was released in 2008, taking inspiration from contemporaries like Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill to create what EA Redwood game director Glen Schofield envisioned as the scariest game possible. Schofield’s vision proved fruitful: Dead Space was an immediate critical hit, even spawning two sequels and appearing on a variety of top horror game lists before the franchise went dormant in 2013 following the lukewarm response to Dead Space 3. Flash forward ten years to 2023, and the franchise returned with a faithful reimagining of 2008’s Dead Space, now developed by EA Motive and releasing to critical fanfare and multiple award nominations. Since 2023, the franchise’s future has been in question as fans have continued to plead for a new game or a remake in the series, while EA has remained publicly silent about anything to do with Dead Space.
5 Reasons Why There Might Never Be Another Dead Space Game
EA might reverse course at any moment, but for the time being, it seems like the Dead Space franchise is, well, dead.
Dead Space Developer Says a Sequel Is Not Likely to Happen
Unfortunately, it seems there is some bad news for Dead Space fans, as former EA Redwood developer Chuck Beaver has stated that a Dead Space 4 is unlikely to happen because the franchise simply doesn’t sell well enough to make it worthwhile. In an interview with FRVR, the former developer claims that the production cost of a massive game bearing the weight of a Dead Space sequel would have to sell somewhere around 7 million units to be a justified release for the publisher, and as many as 15 million units just to keep the franchise going. Additionally, Beaver, somewhat dejectedly, states that everyone who previously worked on Dead Space wants to keep working on it, but understands why the franchise went silent after Dead Space 3 and why Motive hasn’t gotten the green light on another project after doing the 2023 remake. While horror gaming is doing better than ever, the financials for a big-budget single-player title from EA simply aren’t there when the industry continues to chase live-service white whales.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
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Beaver’s claims might sound a bit depressing to anyone looking forward to a Dead Space sequel; however, they hold up when examined against the financial data. Resident Evil, the current sales juggernaut in the horror gaming space, has sold over 160 million units in its lifetime according to Statista, with the highly successful Resident Evil 2 Remake selling roughly 16 million units alone. Meanwhile, Konami reports that the Silent Hill franchise has sold 17 million copies worldwide, while some estimates put EA’s Dead Space sales at a few million units per release. The Dead Space fan base is certainly a dedicated bunch, but the sales figures show that the numbers aren’t quite there, especially compared to the next two big horror franchises.
In even grimmer recent news for the future of the franchise, the original director of Dead Space has also expressed interest in returning to EA and giving the horror franchise another go with Dead Space 4, only to be met with poor results. Unfortunately, EA gave Glen Schofield a firm “no,” stating that they were not interested despite Schofield saying he could rally the original team together and save the publisher millions of dollars on the production. For many fans, Dead Space may now seem dead in the horror space, but there could be hope for the franchise after all, especially if Schofield has anything to say about it.
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With the recent sale of EA to the PIF and various investors, EA could find itself selling a number of its older franchises to recoup losses from the sale, as Glen Schofield noted. Perhaps Dead Space could be an IP sold off and given to a studio that will continue the franchise with reboots or even a full sequel. It’s also worth noting that it isn’t uncommon for game franchises to find new life as hit movies or TV shows as the industry continues to expand into non-game media, even if the games themselves aren’t reaching Fortnite-level sales. Times may be tough for Dead Space fans, but there are plenty of opportunities for Isaac Clarke to come back once again in the future in some form or another.
- Released
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January 27, 2023
- ESRB
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Rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Strong Language, and Intense Violence.
- Publisher(s)
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Electronic Arts
