The survival horror genre is thriving right now, but that hasn’t applied to all of the genre’s outings in recent years. 2023’s Dead Space remake was a stellar game in its own right, but with reports have claimed that poor sales led to EA shelving future plans for the franchise once again, it looks like we may once again have to go a long stretch with Dead Space on the ice.
In fact, even series creator Glen Schofield was seemingly unable to convince EA to keep investing in the sci-fi horror series. Schofield – who left Striking Distance Studios last year in the aftermath of the critical and commercial failure of the developer’s debut title, The Callisto Protocol – revealed in an interview with YouTuber Dan Allen Gaming that he and fellow Dead Space veterans Bret Robbins and Christopher Stone pitched a Dead Space 4 to EA earlier this year, only for the company to pass on the idea.
“We tried, actually, you know, the three of us,” Schofield said. “Dead Space 4. We tried. They said no. I mean, we’re talking this year.”
“We didn’t go too deep,” he added. “They said, ‘we’re not interested right now, we appreciate it, blah blah blah’. We knew who to talk to, so we didn’t take it any further. We respected their opinion. They know their numbers and what they have to ship.”
Stone added, “Yeah, the industry’s in a weird place right now. People are really hesitant to take chances on things, so you know, take it with a grain of salt. Who knows, maybe one day. I think we’d all love to do it.”
“Yeah. We’ve got some ideas,” Schofield added.
When asked to reiterate if they’d wish to return for a hypothetical Dead Space 4 at some point, Schofield and Stone both confirmed they would. “I’d make a Dead Space 4,” Stone said.
“Yes,” Schofield agreed.
If or when we’ll see a new Dead Space game at some point in the future is anyone’s guess, but the demand for the sci-fi horror series has certainly not died down, even if EA was evidently dissatisfied with the way the 2023 remake sold. What that means for the franchise’s future remains to be seen, but for now, it’s safe to say we won’t be getting anything related to Dead Space anytime soon.
