The Dead Space franchise has reportedly been put “on ice” by EA, and company employees are hopeful the company will sell the IP.
During the recent episode of the Insider Gaming Weekly Podcast, co-host Mike Shaw shared that, based on what his sources told him, internal messaging at EA indicates the Dead Space IP is currently “on ice”, with no active plans to revive the series. “What I’ve been told is [that] Dead Space…all the internal messaging points to the IP being ‘on ice’ and that with the way current leadership [is heading], they don’t expect it to be picked up whatsoever,” he said.
While this does not constitute an official confirmation from EA, the information aligns with the company’s decision to have the Dead Space remake project leads and others at Motive Studio join the teams at Criterion, DICE and Ripple Effect to work on Battlefield 6.
Shaw also noted that some within EA who previously worked on the Dead Space series are privately hoping that the new ownership may consider selling the franchise altogether. He stressed that this sentiment comes from employees, not from EA leadership itself. These staff members believe that if the company’s public investment fund deal goes through, the new ownership, may seek to quickly cut costs and recoup funds. “[The new ownership is] reportedly struggling on the money side now because of this deal…they’re going to look to cut cost and recoup pretty quickly,” Shaw said.
Podcast co-host Tom Henderson reminded that even franchise co-creator Glen Schofield once attempted to pitch Dead Space 4 without success. EA’s priorities have shifted heavily toward large-scale live-service titles and blockbuster action games, while other projects, including some from Respawn and even a Black Panther title, were reportedly canceled in an effort to streamline the company and make it an appropriate target for an acquisition.
Henderson questioned the likelihood of an IP sale, noting that such deals are rare and financially complex. According to him, even if Dead Space could attract a buyer, producing a new entry would require significant investment on top of the acquisition cost. “Is a Dead Space game going to do 12 to 15 million copies?” he remarked.
