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Electronic Arts has pledged its commitment to the Dead Space franchise despite fears that the publisher will turn away from original IP as it makes desperate moves to save money.
The company recently announced it would need to cut some 1500 jobs – 900 of which are developer-related – in order to save $100 million annually. One possible victim of the widespread layoffs could have been Visceral Games, the EA-owned development studio which has already delivered two Dead Space titles and is thought to be working on its third.
Now the signs for Visceral are positive. EA has just posted a new job vacancy on the professional networking site LinkedIn, where the publisher claimed it was “100 per cent committed” to the Dead Space IP.
EA also confirmed that the Dead Space 2 project is nearing full production, with the job vacancy itself – seeking an “online level designer”, no less – indicating EA’s commitment to Dead Space.
“The game is in the later stages of pre-production, ready for production in the next few months,” said the vacancy post, which was brought to light by news site Joystiq.
“Many of the navigational and combat mechanics are in place,” the company said.
There is yet to be official confirmation that Visceral Games is the studio behind Dead Space 2, nor has EA technically made a formal announcement of the game.
“We have complete autonomy and creative control over our own decisions,” read the vacancy post. “The Games Label at EA is 100 per cent committed to this IP, and has already worked on IP extensions such as comic, animated features, and action figures.”
EA said it was “looking for a few more talented individuals” to join the Dead Space team, despite cutting staff elsewhere.
