After rumors that EA would be reviving one of its older IPs and revealing it at the EA Play Live event on July 22, Gematsu has reported that the mystery franchise would be Dead Space. According to Gematsu, the game will be developed by Motive Studio, which has exclusively developed Star Wars games in the past, including Star Wars Battlefront 2 and Star Wars: Squadrons.
The rumor originally began after journalist Jeff Grubb first made the claim in the most recent GamesBeat Decides podcast, with the story then being picked up by VGC.
Dead Space has turned into a cult horror classic since its last entry, Dead Space 3, released in 2013. The franchise’s first two entries focused on a dark, horrifying atmosphere with heaps of body horror for good measure. The third, however, is classically seen as a black sheep by fans for its inclusion of co-op, which many chalked up to EA’s involvement at the time. Dead Space’s original developer, Visceral Games, shut down in 2017.
Lordy I hope there's a new Dead Space coming out.
LOVED that franchise.
— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) June 20, 2021
In all, it’s not too surprising for EA to bring back Dead Space, considering that the company has been reviving old franchises with success. Star Wars Battlefront‘s return in 2015 saw a renewed interest in Star Wars titles, and BioWare’s recent remaster of the first three Mass Effect games with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition has been universally welcomed by fans.
Online, fans have been growing excited over the possibility of Dead Space making a return, although with a hint of caution. Mat Piscatella, an executive director at the NPD Group, wrote, “I’m sick of my emotions being treated as though they are simple playthings” in response to the report. Similarly, Gears of War developer Cliff Bleszinski expressed his excitement on Twitter, saying, “Lordy I hope there’s a new Dead Space coming out. Loved that franchise.”