Before DS meant Death Stranding, that acronym was reserved for the hit horror franchise Dead Space, which came out during the PS3/360 era of consoles. The franchise made a comeback with the remake's release last year, and while some are expecting a Dead Space 2, there was almost a Dead Space 4.
As it turns out, there have been talks about developing a fourth Dead Space game in the series, but EA Games wasn’t interested in the pitch.
Dead Space 4 isn’t Happening?
In a recent interview with Dan Allen Gaming (via Resetera), original Dead Space developers Glen Schofield, Bret Robbins, and Christopher Stone revealed that they had developed a concept for Dead Space 4 and even pitched it to EA as late as this year.
Schofield, who directed the original 2008 game, said, “We tried, actually, you know, the three of us, yeah, we tried Dead Space 4. " Stone, Dead Space’s animation director, responded, “All three of us sat there and wanted to do it.”
They didn’t go into the specifics as to why EA rejected their pitch, but it probably did have something to do with the numbers and how popular Dead Space is even after the remake. Schofield continues:
“Well we didn’t go too deep, they just said no, we’re not interested right now, we appreciate it, blah blah blah, and you know, we know who to talk to, so we didn’t go take it any further, and we respected their opinion you know, they know their numbers and what they have to ship and all that.”
The Industry is in a Weird Place Right Now
It’s been no mystery that the games industry has been in a sort of decline, what with the news of studios doing massive layoffs and the closure of AAA studios—like Concord developers Firewalk Studios.
Some specialists blame the failure of these high-budget games. There has also been a decline in online multiplayer and live service trends. Besides Concord, WB Games was said to have lost a lot of money from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It’s probably too early to see if Marvel Rivals managed to break the mold regarding the state of multiplayer shooters released today.
If anything, they didn’t close the book entirely on a new Dead Space game, and they chalked it up to the industry just being ‘in a weird place right now.’ “People are really hesitant to take chances on things, so you’ve got to you know, take it with a grain of salt,” said Stone, “Who knows, maybe one day, I think we’d all love to do it.”
As for Dead Space…
The Dead Space remake was met with great reviews, but it’s curious why EA didn’t jump on the chance for a sequel. Maybe the game didn’t sell too well with the general gaming demographic. Maybe the lukewarm reception of The Callisto Protocol was a factor?
For now, sci-fi horror fans will just have to wait and see. Maybe all the hype from Alien: Romulus could plant seeds for a new Dead Space?
The Dead Space remake is now available for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5.