Gothic horror action-adventure reimaginings of Alice in Wonderland might not seem like a good idea, but as those who’ve played American McGee’s Alice and its sequel Alice: Madness Returns will tell you, there’s plenty to love about that premise. If, however, you’re a fan of those two games and have been hoping for a third instalment- well, don’t hold your breath.
Designer and director American McGee has been trying to get a third game, Alice: Asylum, greenlit by EA for a while now, but it seems like it’s not going to happen after all. In a recently published Patreon post, McGee confirmed that EA is unwilling to approve funding for a third Alice game. Meanwhile, the company is also not willing to license out or sell the IP.
“On the question of funding, they have ultimately decided to pass on the project based on an internal analysis of the IP, market conditions, and details of the production proposal,” McGee wrote. “On the question of licensing, they replied that Alice is an important part of EA’s overall game catalog, and selling or licensing it isn’t something they’re prepared to do right now.”
That, unfortunately, means McGee sees no path forward to get a third Alice game made.
“At this point, we have exhausted every option for getting a new Alice game made,” he wrote. “With those answers from EA, there is no other way forward with the project. As such, we will be hibernating this Patreon page and related pre-production activities. The content will remain in place but we’ll no longer present options for funding Alice: Asylum efforts via this (or any other) platform.
“Alice: Asylum is at an end.”
Whether or not this is something that EA will change its mind on at some point in the near or distant future remains to be seen, but for now, the future is looking pretty bleak for the Alice games.