EA Is Exploring a Sale of Dead Space, the Horror Franchise That Made Dismemberment Cool

So, bad news if you were hoping to go back to the USG Ishimura anytime soon. A new report says EA has quietly cooled off on Dead Space, and the reasons are very much about where the company wants to put its time and money right now.

"Dead Space is on ice."

What the new report actually says

Journalist Mike Straw (Insider Gaming) says multiple people inside EA describe Dead Space as effectively shelved while leadership doubles down on games that either never stop monetizing or swing big as tentpole single-player releases. According to Straw, there is growing frustration internally, with some devs even wishing EA would sell the IP if the company is not going to use it. None of this is official, but here is the snapshot the report paints:

• EA leadership has lost interest in continuing Dead Space right now, prioritizing live-service earners like Apex Legends and sports titles with Ultimate Team, plus a few very large single-player bets.
• Dead Space 2023 reviewed well and did fine financially by most measures, but the returns reportedly did not hit the scale EA now expects from its major releases.
• Internally, some employees are said to be in favor of selling the Dead Space IP rather than letting it sit. Leadership, per the report, has not committed to any path forward.
• Resources have been redirected to franchises with ongoing revenue potential. That includes moving developers who previously worked on Dead Space to help on EA’s Battlefield push across DICE, Criterion, and Ripple Effect.
• The Battlefield focus came at a cost: other projects — Dead Space among them — were deprioritized or scrapped as EA went harder after live-service heavy hitters.

The Battlefield shuffle, in plain English

The report claims that ahead of the most recent big Battlefield cycle, EA pulled talent from studios that handled Dead Space to bolster the shooter’s teams. If you have been watching EA for the past few years, this fits the pattern: consolidate bodies behind franchises that can run for a decade and keep printing revenue. Whether you call it Battlefield 6 or just the modern Battlefield era, the point is the same — the shooter got the love, Dead Space did not.

A couple of important caveats

First, EA has not announced a Dead Space sequel, and it has not commented on this new report. So treat all of this as what it is: sourced reporting, not an official statement.

Second, one claim floating around with this story is that EA was recently taken private in a $55 billion deal led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. That has not happened. EA remains a publicly traded company. The broader point the report makes — that EA is chasing recurring revenue and massive-scale hits — still tracks with the company’s strategy, but there was no buyout.

Where this leaves Dead Space

Right now, in limbo. The 2023 remake gave the series a clean runway if EA wanted a sequel or a Dead Space 2 remake, but the current corporate mood seems to be: if it is not a forever-game or a guaranteed blockbuster, it is a tough sell. That does not mean Dead Space is gone forever. It just means nobody inside EA is pushing it up the priority list at the moment.

Personally? The remake earned more than a timeout. But if EA is chasing only the biggest possible outcomes, a mid-eight-figure horror game might not clear the bar. I hope I am wrong.