Why There Might Never Be Another Dead Space Game
Since 1996, Resident Evil has been the dominant horror franchise in gaming, with Silent Hill trailing close behind. In the mid- to late-2000s, more horror games started to crop up to try and take the crown, and in 2008, Dead Space was the one that broke through the mold.
Fans were treated to three mainline games, an animated movie, comics, and a light gun spinoff, all in the span of just a handful of years. Then EA put Dead Space on the shelf for a decade, only for it to return, to great reviews, with a remake. Unfortunately, things still look grim for the series. What went wrong with the remake, and does this mean the Dead Space series is done forever?
Visceral Games Is No More
The OG Developers Have Moved On
The first Dead Space was developed by EA Redwood Shores, which was then rebranded into the cooler-sounding Visceral Games. They handled the second and third mainline games along with other related media, so they were basically the developer steering the Dead Space ship, fueled by EA’s coal. Visceral Games also developed other high-profile EA games like Dante’s Inferno, Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel, and Battlefield Hardline.
The studio had several projects in the pipeline following Battlefield Hardline, like a sequel to Dante’s Inferno and a Star Wars project called “Project Ragtag.” Unfortunately, all of their projects were canceled, with “Project Ragtag” moving to EA Vancouver. This was also when EA shut down Visceral Games in 2017, which many think was because EA had lost interest in single-player games. This was the end of Dead Space’s first saga. Unfortunately for everyone, not even EA Vancouver’s version of “Project Ragtag” was finished.
Glen Schofield Is Also Gone
The Creator Of The Series
Visceral Games was the primary Dead Space developer, but the person who created the idea in the first place was Glen Schofield. Dead Space was his baby, but that being said, he actually left EA a year after the first game’s release and The Godfather 2’s launch in 2009. Schofield set up a new studio backed by Activision called Sledgehammer Games, which was made to pump out Call of Duty games.
After the release of Call of Duty: World War 2 in 2017, Schofield left Sledgehammer to found yet another new company, Striking Distance Studios. His sole intent was to make a new Dead Space game in spirit with The Callisto Protocol, which unfortunately did not review or sell all that well. Even the ideaman behind Dead Space couldn’t get a related project off the ground as a spiritual successor. Between Visceral Games’ closure and Schofield moving on, there aren’t many at EA going to bat for Dead Space, except for one entity.
The 2023 Remake's Sequel
What Happened To It?
EA’s Motive took over development of the Dead Space franchise when they began working on the remake, which was eventually released in 2023. It received aggregate scores of 89 on Metacritic and OpenCritic, which is an astounding achievement for any game, horror or otherwise. It may have played things a bit too safe, even with the inclusion of a fully-voiced Isaac Clarke, but that didn’t diminish the enjoyment for fans. Apparently, EA Motive was going to make another Dead Space game, with rumors pointing to it being either a sequel to the remake or a direct remake of Dead Space 2.
That may sound confusing, but it does make sense, and there would be a difference. However, EA shot those rumors down, even though there are still those who believe them to be true. Despite Schofield being gone and Visceral Games shutting down, it seemed like Motive was ready to carry the torch. Unfortunately, they may not be able to since they have to follow the whims of their parent company, EA, and are instead working on a triple-A Iron Man game.
Space Isn’t As Grounded, Literally
More Players Can Relate To Earthly Problems
This may be speculation, but not every horror fan is into science fiction or space. The reason why a majority of horror movies and games are be set on Earth and star ordinary people going through incredible crises is to help viewers/players relate to the hero’s given situation. No one is going to deal with a killer alien clown like in It, or a demonic presence like in The Conjuring films, but the creators can at least create a suspension of disbelief for these scenarios.
That’s harder to do in a spacefaring epic like Dead Space. Also, the Necromorphs, as cool as they are, are not built into the horror lexicon like zombies or even generic demons are. Perhaps that’s why Dead Space never climbed as high as the Resident Evil or Silent Hill games, which then led to poorer sales and a lack of faith within EA. Review scores are not everything; a bad game can sell extremely well, while a good game can flounder and die upon hitting store shelves.
The Rising Cost Of Games
Another Dead Space Is Risky
Right now, Motive Studio is working on an Iron Man game and helping put the finishing touches on Battlefield 6. EA is seemingly betting the whole house on Battlefield 6 selling like gangbusters. If it doesn’t, then they may be asking, “What can sell better?” An Iron Man game now does not seem like a solid bet, as there hasn’t been an Iron Man movie or even an appearance in the MCU in over 6 years.
The rising cost of game development is making publishers nervous, including EA. Games get canceled all the time if things aren’t going perfectly. For example, Microsoft canceled a lot of games in 2025 that fans were looking forward to, like Perfect Dark. Why then would EA risk millions to try one more shot at Dead Space just to appease fans, when they could be making surefire bets with bigger franchises like Battlefield to appease their investors? For Dead Space, it’s probably all a money game, which is why it is unlikely to return.
