Highlights
- The Dead Space series debuted strongly but took a turn with Dead Space 3, and without more games fans were disappointed.
- Dead Space Remake was praised for innovation and quality, but recent reports hint at trouble.
- EA Motive may focus on Iron Man game after Dead Space 2 remake cancelation rumors.
Debuting back in 2008, the Dead Space series hasn’t had the best luck. Drawing heavy inspiration from Resident Evil 4, the very first Dead Space game earned critical acclaim across the board, managing to push the survival horror genre in bold new directions, for a brand new era of gaming. Just a few years later, Dead Space 2 would receive another incredibly warm reception from both fans and critics alike, but that’s when the series took a turn for the worse.
In 2013, Dead Space 3 hit store shelves, disappointing just about everyone who laid hands on it. A co-op action-horror game, Dead Space 3 placed its ambitions in all the wrong places, and the franchise suffered for it. After a decade-long hibernation, the Dead Space franchise returned stronger than ever with last year’s Dead Space Remake, and naturally, many fans expected this to just be the start of an EA Motive-led Dead Space resurgence. But according to recent reports, Dead Space might be doomed once more, though a different franchise could end up benefiting from its misfortune.
How The Original Dead Space Hid Its Biggest Twist in Plain Sight
The end of Dead Space was a jaw-dropping moment when the game first launched, but a major hint was cleverly hidden in plain sight.
Dead Space 2’s Reported Cancelation Could Be a Net Positive for Iron Man
Dead Space 2 Remake’s Cancelation Rumors Explained
Currently sitting at an impressive 89 on Metacritic for its PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, the Dead Space Remake was widely considered to be a critical success upon its launch at the start of last year. With innovative new systems that really ramped up the game’s intense horror atmosphere, some reworked story elements, modernized gameplay features, and no shortage of quality-of-life improvements, the Dead Space Remake offered everything that fans could want and more, but according to some recent reports, it didn’t quite give everything that EA wanted from it.
About a week ago, renowned industry insider Jeff Grubb took to his podcast Game Mess Mornings to briefly discuss a Dead Space 2 remake that was apparently canceled during its concept phase due to the lower sales of the first Dead Space remake. This report started circulating around the usual outlets, so much so that EA eventually released a statement simply saying that Grubb’s report had “no validity.”
Grubb then shot back at this, and several other well-known industry voices came out of the woodwork to comment on the exchange, such as Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. Schreier stated that his own sources mentioned that a new Dead Space entry was in the concept phase at EA Motive after the first remake’s release, but these concepts apparently never made it too far. Regardless of the true specifics of the event, it seems as though the Dead Space franchise is on ice once again, and though this is upsetting for many fans, the news might have a silver lining.
EA Motive Can Now Focus Its Efforts on Iron Man
With another Dead Space apparently no longer on the cards, EA Motive can now shift all of its focus over to the upcoming Iron Man game. Announced back in September 2022, EA Motive’s Iron Man game has a lot of pressure on its shoulders, especially coming after the release of the acclaimed Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Motive is going to need all hands on deck to really knock Iron Man out of the park, and with Dead Space gone, that opportunity is now there.
But there’s one thing that’s still stopping EA Motive from focusing solely on Iron Man. It’s recently been announced that EA Motive is working on the next Battlefield game, alongside the other slew of EA studios working on the juggernaut project. Thankfully, Motive’s general manager, Patrick Klaus, has been very upfront about the team’s goals, publicly stating that “The team made excellent progress this year, hitting a major internal milestone and laying a robust foundation for the journey ahead. Iron Man is an important priority for Motive, and I’m very proud of the work we’ve accomplished so far.” So while Iron Man might not be Motive’s only focus, it sounds like it’s still the studio’s main priority.
Dead Space (2023)
$45 $49 Save $4
Dead Space (2023) is a new-age remake of the iconic 2008 survival horror masterpiece. The title is seeing revamped graphics, tuned gameplay elements, and more courtesy of EA Motive. Players will once again step into the shoes of engineer Isaac Clarke as he battles against terrifying enemies.
- Released
- January 27, 2023
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- ESRB
- Rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Strong Language, and Intense Violence.
- How Long To Beat
- 12 Hours
- X|S Enhanced
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 31 GB (November 2023)
- Metascore
- 89
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
