An anonymous report surfaced on March 5 claiming that “Dead Space 4” has already been canceled by EA. “Dead Space 3” was only released a month ago, and has received mostly positive reviews. The source claims the cancellation is due to poor sales, although the numbers have not be released. The studio that was said to be working on the title, Visceral, is also rumored to be shutting down. Whether the rumor about “Dead Space 4” is true or not, it does touch upon two issues in the gaming community.
Survival horror isn’t very scary anymore
While the first “Dead Space” was hailed as an amazing survival horror title, “Dead Space 3” has more action elements mixed in. This isn’t the first time a series with strong horror roots tried to blend action into their games. “Resident Evil” has been doing this with mixed results since the fourth installment. However, “RE4” was seen as one of the best games of its time. The sixth title left many feeling like the survival horror was sacrificed for action driven sequences. It received mixed reviews.
The microtransaction controversy
“Dead Space 3” is the first game in the series to feature microtransactions. EA later announced that all of their upcoming titles will also have microtransactions so players can buy a new weapon or character with real money. This announcement outraged some gamers, and the debate about microtransactions has been going strong since the end of February. Whether or not you agree with this business model, it looks like it’s here to stay in one fashion or another.
The rumors surrounding “Dead Space 4”, a game that isn’t even officially announced yet, might turn out to be completely untrue. However, with the recent outcry regarding EA’s microtransaction decision, it will be interesting to see what happens to the game’s future.
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