Dead Space 2 remake canceled, EA denies it ever existed

An anticipated remake of Dead Space 2 has reportedly been canceled.

In a recent conversation between Jeff Grubb and Lex Luddy, it was revealed that EA Motive has seemingly shelved the Dead Space 2 remake due to the underperformance of the first remake. Instead, EA is pivoting their resources to an Iron Man game and Battlefield.

[Game Mess Mornings]

According to @JeffGrubb, EA Motive was working on a ‘Dead Space 2’ Remake which was in concept phase but got cancelled/shelved because of the lackluster sales of the first Remake.

They are now working on Iron Man and Battlefield.https://t.co/iqv0EGNXJX pic.twitter.com/LziW0qx72X

— Knoebel (@Knoebelbroet) April 10, 2024

The remake released to mixed opinions, due in part to changes from the original 2008 version of the game, as well as entirely optional content warnings.

Being “shelved” could mean EA Motive could return to the project later, but it seems unlikely since the decision was made for economic reasons.

However, an EA spokesperson reportedly reached out to IGN and denied that a Dead Space 2 remake was ever in the works.

EA denies rumor that a Dead Space 2 remake was in development before being cancelled:

“We don’t normally comment on rumors but there is no validity to this story.”https://t.co/Q1unx9Ibrv pic.twitter.com/en0bDIocJ9

— Wario64 (@Wario64) April 10, 2024

EA coming out to make a statement directly contradicting Grubb is certainly unusual, and conflicts with the fact that last year they ran a survey that at least indicated a Dead Space 2 remake was being considered.

The recent remake which released last year is already available now on Xbox Game Pass. Meanwhile the game is available on Steam but at its full $59.99 price with multiple layers of DRM including Denuvo.

As for Dead Space (2023) performing poorly, according to Steam Charts the game around launch had over 28,000 active players. It’s not a perfect metric, but it’s a far cry less than even some indie single-player games.