Dead Cells 2 Isn't Happening Yet: Studio Chooses Vision Over Fan Demands

Dead Cells is the game that blew the doors open for Motion Twin. Now the studio has stopped updating it and is chasing a new co-op roguelite called Windblown instead. That choice has fans split, and the backstory is messier than a simple sequel-or-not debate.

Why Motion Twin says it walked away

Creative director Yannick Berthier told PCGamesN the studio is following its own instincts, not a spreadsheet. He framed Motion Twin as a group of creatives who make what they want to make, even if that means not doing the obvious thing. He also admitted the team sees the sequel pressure every time they post anything: cue the comments asking, 'OK, cool, when Dead Cells 2?'

'We are driven by what we want to make... If we were a business, we would be talking about Dead Cells 2 right now.'

Instead, the team says it went with its heart and moved on.

Fans are not mad about no sequel; they are mad about the exit

Over on the Dead Cells subreddit, the top response to the interview cuts right to it: 'No one asked for Dead Cells 2. We just did not want Dead Cells to be unceremoniously discontinued.' That vibe runs through the thread. It is less 'give us a sequel' and more 'why end support like this?'

The awkward part: who planned what, and when

• Dead Cells was Motion Twin's first real step beyond browser and mobile releases, and it became a phenomenon, selling 10 million copies by 2023. Many folks would call it one of the best roguelikes ever.
• After launch, most of the ongoing content was handled by co-developer Evil Empire.
• In 2024, Motion Twin and Evil Empire announced development on Dead Cells was ending. Motion Twin shifted to its new co-op roguelite Windblown, while Evil Empire moved to The Rogue Prince of Persia.
• Here is the rub: Evil Empire reportedly had Dead Cells content mapped into 2025. A former longtime Motion Twin staffer blasted the shutdown as 'the worst imaginable asshole move.'
• Motion Twin artist Gwen Masse offered the studio's counterpoint to PCGamesN: they felt it was the end of an era, and that it was the right moment to stop updates.

'We felt that it was a good thing to stop updates for the game because we felt that we were at the end of an era.'

Where that leaves everyone

Motion Twin is all-in on Windblown, a co-op roguelite. Evil Empire is building The Rogue Prince of Persia. Dead Cells is done getting updates, even though plans existed to keep them going longer. That disconnect is the sore spot: the devs say it is about creative direction; parts of the community (and at least one ex-staffer) see a beloved game getting parked early.

One more genre nugget

If you like odd creative detours, this fits a pattern. Edmund McMillen, the creator of The Binding of Isaac, recently said he only made that game to test a 'basic roguelike' and 'get my feet in the water' before tackling what he considered his real magnum opus. Even the genre-shapers sometimes treat their classics like warm-ups.