EA plans Dead Space FPS, Uncharted-style games - report

By Tom Phillips Published 30 November, 2011

Dead Space 3 "nearly" cancelled.

EA has plans to uproot its survival horror series Dead Space after next instalment Dead Space 3, a new report suggests.

A Dead Space first-person shooter, a flight-based spin-off, and an "Uncharted-like game" are all being planned, according to Kotaku.

New management at EA apparently told the Dead Space team it needed to consider new ways of expanding the series, and "nearly killed off" the series' planned threequel Dead Space 3.

This year's Dead Space 2 sold more than two million copies, faring better than Dead Space 1, but EA has said series sales can still improve.

"I think it will probably take Dead Space 3 before we get into that five million unit cadence versus say three, four," EA boss John Riccitello remarked in February.

Dead Space 3 remains in production, however. As previouslyrumoured, the game will be set on an icy planet where dark corners will be replaced by blinding white snow.

Dead Space 3 will apparently complete the story of central protagonist Isaac Clarke, rounding off the original series as a trilogy and allowing EA to expand Dead Space into further genres.

The new report is not surprising - EA has a history of pushing Dead Space beyond the core console instalments, albeit with mixed results. On-rails 8/10 Wii shooter Dead Space: Extraction was developed as a prequel to the original Dead Space game, while awful 3/10 downloadable puzzler Dead Space Ignition was released to accompany Dead Space 2.

There have also been comic books, novels and animated film tie-ins produced.

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About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (51) Latest comment 3 months ago

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  • lord_jamie #1 3 months ago

    Whoever invented the word threequel needs to be shot. It is still a sequel to the second games in the series.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/11 @ 10:57

  • yoomazir #2 3 months ago

    Thanks EA, can't wait for a Mass Effect fps...

  • bad09 #3 3 months ago

    I didn't like the more action focused sequel but doing a 2nd playthrough at the moment (testing out my new PC and forced myself to throw on 2 instead of playing 1 for the 6th or 7th time) and it's not that a bad a game after the you get over the disappointment of an inferior sequel so I'm actually up for more DS again.....but FPS? Flight game? Some kind of UC clone? Really EA?
    Edited by 2 at 30/11/11 @ 10:49

  • Ror1984 #4 3 months ago

    Dead Space 2 is so far my personal GOTY. Please don't fuck up the series EA. Oh, and while I'm here, Dead Space: Martyr wasn't great.

  • RedSparrows #5 3 months ago

    Hurrah, make Dead Space even more boring!

  • Sausagechaos #6 3 months ago

    It does help that it's one of Jon Rickytickytellyhoo's favourite games though

  • arcam #7 3 months ago

    So imaginative, I love EA.

  • TheN7Spectre #8 3 months ago

    Gotta love the modern gaming franchise: start out with a "trilogy", supplement with a spin-off/side story, expand the lore with additional media like novels or comic books, experiment with different genres in later titles before eventually considering a reboot...

    Just my own twisted view on things.

  • chris_ace #9 3 months ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • marmaduke #10 3 months ago

    Nice to know EA are going to run another franchise into the ground by producing game after game after game after game. I liked both the Dead Space games, but I'd rather see something new.

  • Subdominator #11 3 months ago

    I call BS on the DS3 rumour. Sequel more than doubles sales of the first game, which only made the 1 million mark due to extreme price cuts two weeks after release. The only thing they manage to accomplish if they abandon 3rd person for 1st person is that they lose at least half their customers. And will struggle to find new ones because for the FPS crowd DS is an IP that is not FPS. However ... I think it's possible that they turn it into a hybrid. Think Skyrim. If you want to you will be able to play DS3 just like the first two games but you will also be able to switch to 1st person. The gameplay is already that of a shooter, so it won't be too difficult to add a new view option to the game.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/11 @ 11:01

  • Phantom_Dynamite #12 3 months ago

    Jesus Christ I crave the days of decent survival horrors, just keep Dead Space how it is.

  • mcreddie #13 3 months ago

    My advice? No more interactive/on rails cinematics, no pointless multiplayer, larger single player, more effective scares. Oh and some slightly better sound design along the lines of Bioshock or FEAR 1. In fact just make it more like project zero, whereby you need to go into first person to shoot - guaranteed scares then.

  • billy-beauts #14 3 months ago

    "Unchartered-like game" is that because the term "adventure game" has to be point and click? That's pretty gay.

  • menage #15 3 months ago

    DS1 was awesome, DS2 dropped the ball in the end. I'm worried this is going the way of Red Faction Armageddon to be honest.

  • des #16 3 months ago

    ...

    EA=garbage

  • MatMan562 #17 3 months ago

    I really love the Dead Space franchise so I like this idea, I just hope they keep making survival horror games on top of the others.

    Whilst i'm not too sure about an FPS (though I guess it'd be Extraction but with movement controls?), I really like the idea of an Uncharted-esque game. The end of Chapter 2 (the bit in the train) in Dead Space 2 in particular really made me think of the Uncharted series so I can see how that could work.

  • coomber #18 3 months ago

    @Ror1984 Probably my GOTY of the year too, even though I preferred the first. I will be gutted if they throw this franchise away.

  • StooMonster #19 3 months ago

    Replace loved but not 'blockbuster' game with FPS plus add multi-player?

    We've heard this before, which franchise next?

  • Hindle #20 3 months ago

    They should take influence from Eternal Darkness, and rely less on closet moments for the scares.

  • UkHardcore23 #21 3 months ago

    Dead Space 2 deserved far more sales than 2 million!

    Why are people not buying it in their droves?

  • d00dl #22 3 months ago

    Its only a matter of time until the inevitable releases of:

    Dead Space Karts - Wii U
    Dead Space Heroes - PS3 Move
    Dead Space Central (with multi-limb/appendage support) - Kinect
    Dead SpaceLand Adventures - Kinect
    Dead Space Anniversary Edition - Xbox 360
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/11 @ 11:46

  • jack24 #23 3 months ago

    @mrcreddie

    You want better sound design? Did you not listen to the other games?

  • Ferral #24 3 months ago

    You know, if you think about it.

    A Dead Space FPS could actually work if it is done right, I do play FPS games occasionally but most the stuff I play is 3rd person before anyone takes that comment as another CoD / Battlefield lover (Add generic yearly churned out FPS to the list at will)

    If they get it completely right we could be looking at a modern take on one of PC gamings greatest games ever : System Shock 2. Everything on that game is just right, still awesome by todays standards with atmosphere, sound, location. Its just the graphics that need the overhaul.

    Cant wait for Dead Space 3, I do like the series, its going from strength to strength. Bought Dead Space 2 on PC the other day from Origin replacing my PS3 copy, need to do the same with the first game at somepoint.

  • -cerberus- #25 3 months ago

    I'm not the least bit surprised that they'd eventually switch to a first-person perspective. The Dead Space games are nothing but a bunch of shooters anyways.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/11 @ 12:09

  • Seoh #26 3 months ago

    NOOOOOO! don't change dead space, its the last true survival horror game we have! I can understand incorporating uncharted style set pieces but DS2 had some great moments already.

  • Crossifixxo #27 3 months ago

    Why does it have to be an FPS? Why not more in the lines of something you can switch the camera about both in the third person and first person perspective ( sort of like Skyrim), as long as they don't ruin it, the fans of old and new will like it.

  • robbiejc85 #28 3 months ago

    Well that's not entirely unexpected - apart from the obvious genre differences, I actually found that Dead Space 2 reminded me of Uncharted in terms of pacing and narrative - especially and the switch between gameplay, non-playable cut scenes and QTE events. Overall I thought DS2 was a cracking game that, while it lost the 'newness' of the original, it upped the action and story without sacrificing the scares.

    I can't see why an FPS wouldn't work, so long as they didn't throw out the core hook with Dead Space - the dismemberment. Combat in DS:Extraction, for example, worked an absolute treat, despite rails.

    Of course they could just be making a Death-Match wannabe :(

  • Raziel #29 3 months ago

    "This year's Dead Space 2 sold more than two million copies, faring better than Dead Space 1, but EA has said series sales can still improve. "

    Whats wrong with a nice and obviously profitable series? Why can't they be happy with that? I'm certainly happy with it...

  • 32768Colours #30 3 months ago

    Its a little selfish of me to say this, but I often hope games only do moderately well these days, for the simple fact that out and out commercial failures get buried and developers get dropped, but on the other hand success stories get dragged out into infinity as increasingly dull franchises.

    Perhaps if the bubble bursts the indsutry folk who currently view games as "property" can bugger off to "monetise" some other venture.

    So all hail the ever-dwindling middle ground: those rare gems that stand alone, never to be repeated, untouched by meddling executives and money men.

  • Skooch #31 3 months ago

    DS1 was a survival horror, DS2 was an action horror, if they make DS3 a shooter horror then to me that would be disappointing. The great thing about DS1 was there was hardly ever enough ammo, the tools you had didn't always match to what you needed and you kind of just had to survive and tough it out. DS2 became much more weapon based, loads more monsters and much more about the action. I enjoyed it but didn't love it like I did DS1. I fear this franchise is not going the way I want it to... :(

  • riz23 #32 3 months ago

    "Five Million unit cadence". That's some pure exec speak right there. I feel sick.

  • King_Edward #33 3 months ago

    Dead Space was never a survival horror anyway.

  • ToAks #34 3 months ago

    for people claiming that Dead Space is the last good survival game, i suggest you go to one of the best scares i've ever had .. the SIREN series , the PS3 one (Siren Blood Curse) and the second one (forbidden Siren)on PS2 might have been the best so far.

    I loved Dead Space 1, but, dead space extraction and DS2 was a bit too much shoot and too little puzzles and scares,but yes i did enjoy them enough to rate DS2 atleast a 4 out of 5.

    i will get DS3 no matter how it ends up (shooter,puzzler or survival) but i'd like it go more in the way of Dead Space 1.

  • -cerberus- #35 3 months ago

    @ToAks: The last good survival horror game this gen had to be imported and played on a Wii using a fan-made patch. I am talking, of course, about Project Zero IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.

  • ToAks #36 3 months ago

    @-cerberus-
    so that means you haven't tried Siren then ? :)
    but yes youre correct, Project Zero/fatal frame series is also exellent survial games.

    sadly the Fatal frame/Project Zero series dropped the ball when they decided not to publish in europe.

    its always hard to discuss taste and opinions but i like both series although my fav is Siren.

  • v.profane #37 3 months ago

    @Raziel Corporate capitalism demands perpetual growth, which is moronic of course.

  • edhe #38 3 months ago

    The whole point of dead space's UI was to remove FPS hud conventions..

  • haderach512 #39 3 months ago

    EA, you really have a way of boring me. Really, Blizz is looking up to match you when it comes to boring it's customers to death, Ubi is far, far ahead, but oh boy, I know you're struggling hard to catch em.

    Dead Space 1 was a really good game, a surprise for me. Bought it and played it. DS2 seems like an improved version, will buy it, will play it. If DS3 builds upon the strenghts of DS2 and DS1 I'll buy it too. If you decide to make a run o' the mill shooter afterwards, I will not buy it. Simple as that.

  • -cerberus- #40 3 months ago

    @ToAks: Yes, I have. All of them, in fact ;) I wasn't discussing taste, I like all true survival horror games. But, technically, Blood Curse is a remake (sadly a slightly Americanized one). Whereas MotLE is a continuation of the Project Zero series with a completely different story.
    However, I agree, the ball has been dropped when it comes to publishing. An undeniable fact is that both series have somewhat remained true to their roots.

    If there is one thing we can look forward to this gen in terms of survival horror, it's AMY for both xbla & psn.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/11 @ 14:41

  • Hell_Toupee #41 3 months ago

    Dead Space could work quite well in First Person perspective if - if - it followed the template of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I imagine a Dead Space in which you had no weapons and had to actually fight for your survival against necromorphs by running away a lot and hiding could be quite pant shitting.

    But this is EA we're talking about isn't it, so a generic, gritty FPS is what we'll likely get, all shreds of horror finally snuffed out by the utter blandness of more tedious corridor based shooting.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/11 @ 14:51

  • Collymilad #42 3 months ago

    Fuck sake, get this idiotic "new management" out ASAP please.

    Sick to death of this bullshit. You can't all be CoD ffs, you'll just ruin and dilute yet another good series.

    I'm liking this thing where disillusioned devs from larger companies break off and form smaller indie type ones. Hopefully this will continue and we'll have fewer arseholes in suits deciding what gets made/what doesn't.
    Edited by 1 at 30/11/11 @ 15:08

  • myms1ps3 #43 3 months ago

    Ugh. . .i loved that series but it looks like Dead Space bites the dust. Somebody should tell EA we have enough shooters to last a lifetime too.

    EA and activision are truly a cancer to the games industry.

    They heartlessly eat away at everything and anything imaginative or creative to squeeze the last penny/cent out, until they're left with a big steaming pile of shite.

    Mother. Fuckers.

  • rockavitch #44 3 months ago

    @lord_jamie My reasons for wanting the creator of the word "threequel" punished are quite simple:

    1. "Threequel" is made up of the words "three" and "sequel" implying that it's the 3rd sequel, in other words part 2, 3 and 4 of a series.
    2. We don't need the word as we all ready have a word, it's "Trilogy".

    Moan over, so back to bed.

  • sugarbaron #45 3 months ago

    Dead Space was fantastic but they have taken it down the wrong direction already with the sequel; wtf thought multiplayer was a good idea in a survival horror?. I just hope they ditch all that shit for the 3rd game but my guess is they will go even more action orientated to make it just another Gears of War clone.

  • ToAks #46 3 months ago

    @Cerberus

    Ah yes i had actually forgot about it comming this year, AMY does look like it could be a really good title and the devs are really cool too :-), will be a instabuy for me for sure.

  • -cerberus- #47 3 months ago

    @ToAks: Instabuy as well here. I need something that doesn't feature monster closets, countless cheap jump scares and heavy weaponry.
    Edited by 3 at 30/11/11 @ 16:30

  • magnolia_fan Verified "Somewhat-Creative Director", Domaginarium #48 3 months ago

    An adventure game would defeat the purpose of Dead Space as a horror shooter

  • Darth_Flibble #49 3 months ago

    The thing is you know it won't be a true sequel FPS, it will be run of mill, designed by committee like the medal of honour reboot (a generic and not as good as call of duty single player experience) It will be another "Me too" game

  • styles_dg #50 3 months ago

    Because we always need more first person shooters....

  • stryker1121 #51 3 months ago

    So the third game of a very enjoyable action-horror series almost got ditched for, a) another FPS in a teeming sea of same, b) some 'flight' game (what?) or c)a set-piece heavy cinematic actioner likely as frightening as a bottle of milk (which to be fair does well to describe DS2 to some degree)?

    It's a sad day for the industry when a "cadence" of 2M units sold is not enough to make stockholders happy.