Dead Space 4 Proposal Turned Down By EA, According to Glen Schofield

Dead Space saw a triumphant return with last year’s Dead Space remake, leading to renewed interest in the series. With fans wondering what the future holds for the survival horror game, series creator Glen Schofield apparently pitched Dead Space 4 to publisher EA earlier this year.

In an interview with Dan Allen Gaming, Schofield was joined by Bret Robbins and Christopher Stone, who said the trio tried to pitch a new game in the Dead Space franchise this year. It didn’t go too well, though, as Schofield explains.

We tried, actually, the three of us
Dead Space 4
. We’re talking this year. Well, we didn’t go to deep. They just said we’re not interested right now, we know who to talk to. We didn’t talk it any further, and we respect their opinion. They know their numbers and what they have to ship.

Stone added some commentary, saying that the industry is in a “weird place” currently, and people are hesitant to take a chance.

Is The Gaming Industry In A Good Place For More Dead Space?

On the one hand, there’s truth in that. Publishers have recently had insane expectations for game sales. Plans for a Dead Space 2 remake were scrapped earlier this year. While there are conflicting reports as to why, ultimately, as Schofield mentions, it comes down to 2023’s Dead Space not meeting internal sales targets.

Whether these targets are realistic remains to be seen. Square Enix said earlier this year that it was disappointed with sales of Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. Yet, considering that both games were exclusive to the PS5 for 12 months, they did pretty well.

Conversely, another EA single-player franchise, Star Wars Jedi, has been a critical and commercial success. In 2019, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Ordersurpassed sales expectations, and its sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, outpaced it by 30%. Some may argue that Star Wars is doing the heavy lifting here, but consider that Star Wars Outlaws has failed to meet sales expectations.

Perhaps the real reason for EA’s hesitation to work with Schofield and company is their recent projects. Schofield’s Callisto Protocol was a dud outpaced by the Dead Space remake, and Brett Robbin’s Ascendant Studios laid off half their staff over the failure of 2023’s Immortals of Aveum.

EA Motive, who worked on the Dead Space remake, is currently involved in two projects: an untitled Battlefield game and an Iron Man title in collaboration with Marvel Games.