EA Motive was reportedly hoping to make a brand new Dead Space game

A second report has claimed that the Dead Space franchise is on hold after sales of the most recent game failed to meet EA’s expectations.

After its Dead Space remake released last January to critical acclaim, EA studio Motive spent a few months exploring ideas for a new series entry, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

It’s claimed the studio was particularly keen to make a brand new game, rather than a remake of Dead Space 2, although both ideas had been on the table.

However, the project was never given the greenlight and was reportedly shelved as early as last spring, following disappointing sales of the remake.

This corroborates claims made earlier this week by Giant Bomb, which said plans for a Dead Space 2 remake were put on ice after the first game failed to deliver commercially.

EA responded to the publication’s report with a denial. “We don’t normally comment on rumors but there is no validity to this story,” a spokesperson told IGN.

The publisher announced this week that Motive is joining the company’s wider Battlefield development team.

We will continue to operate as a two-project team, and we're focused on the development of Iron Man and collaborating on the future of Battlefield.

— Motive (@MotiveStudio) April 9, 2024

It will work alongside fellow EA studios DICE, Criterion, and Ripple Effect in “building a Battlefield universe across connected multiplayer experiences and single-player”, the publisher said.

Motive, which is also currently developing an Iron Man game, previously made Star Wars: Squadrons.