Visceral "working on something very exciting," Dead Space franchise "isn't cancelled"

EA games label EVP Patrick Söderlund has said the Dead Space franchise hasn't be cancelled, as a March report stated, but then again Visceral Games isn't working on Dead Space 4 at the moment either.

Speaking with Eurogamer at E3, Söderlund said the brand "is close to Electronic Arts' heart," and a great brand at that.

"I wouldn't say it's [Dead Space franchise] cancelled at all," Söderlund said. "Is that team working on a Dead Space game today? No they're not. They're working on something else very exciting. You have to think of it from that perspective. Is it better to put them on the fourth version of a game they've done three previous versions of before? Or is it better to put them on something new that they want to build, that they have passion for?

"I am of the utmost opinion that we have to put the best possible games in the hands of our fans. How you get to a great game, the first thing you need is a great development team that have a passion for building what they're building. That's a simple parameter. Everything else follows. Money, time, everything else follows. It's less relevant. That's ultimately how you get success.

"It's as simple as that. Will there be another Dead Space game? Who knows? Have we killed it? No, of course not. But right now that dev team is focused on something else that you and other gamers will be very happy with."

EA stated in its Q4 and fiscal year 2013 financials back in May, that Dead Space 3 came in below expectations.