Following the closure of Visceral Games by Electronic Arts with its untitled Star Wars project shifting to EA Vancouver, new details have emerged about the studio’s trials. Former level designer Zach Wilson, who now works at Bethesda, spoke out about Dead Space 2 and how its budget hit $60 million. However, the game itself would only sell 4 million copies.
Wilson said that EA wanted an even higher budget and a large amount of marketing, cuts given to Microsoft and Sony, and so on resulted in the $60 million cost. Along with Wilson, former game director Scott Warner also spoke out and noted that while Visceral was meant to do well, it was ultimately “defeated by forces beyond our control”. Warner, who now works as a design lead at Oclus VR, said that it was “way more complicated” than just blaming Electronic Arts.
Though the Star Wars title, codenamed Ragtag, hasn’t been cancelled, it’s undergoing significant changes. Originally helmed by former Uncharted director Amy Hennig, the publisher confirmed that it was in discussion with her to decide her “next move”.