EA has ceased development on Dead Space 4 and effectively axed the series following lower than anticipated sales of Dead Space 3, VideoGamer.com has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source familiar with the unannounced project told VideoGamer.com that Dead Space 4 had been in pre-production at Visceral Games, with a small team at Visceral Montreal allegedly tasked with developing prototypes and mock-ups for the title, and collaborating on ideas for the game's narrative.
However, the project was cancelled after Dead Space 3 failed to meet its sales targets, our source claims, telling us that EA executives visited Visceral Montreal last month to inform staff that the project had been terminated and announce details of the company's restructuring.
Visceral Montreal is rumoured to have closed following the restructuring.
Though EA had yet to announce Dead Space 4, Dead Space 3's cliffhanger ending suggested that a fourth game had been planned by the publisher.
As well as discussing Dead Space 4's alleged cancellation, our source also gave us further insight into Dead Space 3's development, telling us that the game was almost cancelled partway through its development, and saw continuous cuts made to its budget throughout production.
Weapon-specific ammo was allegedly switched for generic ammo late in development, too, as a method for shoehorning in the game's controversial micro-transactions.
EA also advised Visceral that Dead Space 3 needed to appeal to a wider audience than the series' previous two titles, our source added, and the studio was reportedly told to focus on action over horror in an effort to make the game feel more like BioWare's Mass Effect.
Our source's comments tally with those made previously by EA.
