Dead Space creator Glen Schofield pitched Dead Space 4 to EA earlier this year, but the publisher rejected the idea.
The original creator of Dead Space pitched Dead Space 4 earlier this year, but it was tragically rejected by EA. Dead Space is a seminal gaming horror franchise, but it is one that has struggled to find its place in the industry for a while now. The original Dead Space came out in 2008, just a few years after Capcom made an all-time horror classic with Resident Evil 4. Dead Space took a lot of inspirations from games like Resident Evil and launched it all into the vast vacuum of outer space. It was terrifying, gory, and incredibly compelling. Creator Glen Schofield ultimately left Visceral Games to go found Slegehammer Games and make Call of Duty games, but Dead Space got two more games.
Dead Space 2 was incredibly well received and Dead Space 3 was received decently too, but it had development issues and didn't perform super well commercially despite a co-op campaign. EA would go on to put the horror series on ice before reviving it with a critically acclaimed remake of Dead Space in 2023. However, it seems like the Dead Space remake didn't meet EA's commercial expectations as rumors indicated that any plans to keep the franchise going whether it be through another remake or a fourth Dead Space game were once again shelved. This disappointed fans a great deal since the remake was so good, but EA doesn't see the value in it right now.
Sadly, the bad news doesn't stop there. When speaking to DanAllenGaming, Dead Space creator Glen Schofield noted that he and some of the creative team behind the original game pitched Dead Space 4 to EA earlier this year. Schofield didn't go into much detail about what his idea for Dead Space 4 looks like, but he did say that EA wasn't interested in the game. Schofield noted that EA has its own expectations for games right now and what it needs to ship in order to make money and that the industry is in a strange place with getting new games made. However, he and his team are very interested in making Dead Space 4 if EA were to call them.
Dead Space 3 and its DLC leave Isaac Clarke in an interesting place. The character is seemingly dead, though it's largely up in the air. There's always a way to bring characters back if the demand is there, but it's possible Dead Space 4 could've focused on a new protagonist. Clarke went on to be in two games that Schofield had little to no involvement in, so it's possible he isn't as attached to the character as others.
After leaving Sledgehammer Games following Call of Duty: WWII, Glen Schofield founded Striking Distance Studio which made The Callisto Protocol. The horror game was sort of a spiritual successor to Dead Space, but didn't receive the same acclaim as the EA-published franchise. The gameplay was a bit clunky, the story wasn't quite there, but it was something that had promise. Schofield left Striking Distance a while back despite wanting to make a sequel to The Callisto Protocol. A second game could get made without him, just like Dead Space 2, but it's unclear if there's really any demand for such a thing.
Regardless, this Dead Space 4 news will likely continue to irritate fans. It's possible with enough rallying from fans, a new game could get made. It took years to happen, but Skate 3 fans were able to essentially bully EA into making Skate 4. Fans flooded the comment sections of EA's social media pages demanding a new game in the skateboarding franchise. Once EA made the call to greenlight the game, they wasted no time announcing it. Skate 4 was announced before development had really even begun as EA was eager to let fans know it was coming.
Whether Dead Space 4 will see the light of day remains to be seen. Games like Silent Hill 2 and the Resident Evil remakes/sequels continue to do well, so maybe EA just needs to balance budgets better or manage its own expectations. Outside of Schofield, the team behind Dead Space remake are interested in doing more Dead Space as well. It seems like there are a lot of people eager to make it all happen, but it's likely it'll be a long time before it comes to fruition, if it ever does.