Electronic Arts seems determined to stop producing new opus for the licenses Project CARS etc DIRT. That is gaming industry who have received an internal email exchange confirming this.
The publisher wants to end “development and investment” in the franchise. Slightly Mad Studios was acquired by Codemaster in 2019 and had 150 employees at the time. As early as last August, the first two episodes of the franchise had been withdrawn from sale in dematerialized stores. A decision that resulted from an underestimation of the franchise potential compared to the Electronic Arts catalogue.
Today we announced an update to our racing portfolio internally. After evaluating the upcoming Project CARS title and its longer-term growth potential, we have made the decision to discontinue further development and investment for this franchise.
EA representative
Indeed, the third work had received an extremely mixed reception when it was released in September 2020. The studio’s founder and ex-CEO Ian Bell also sharply criticized the news. After leaving in early October, he had a long bad relationship with Electronic Arts.
The decision also affects the series DIRT after he had his last work in the same year. Codemasters and its studios will now focus on that F1 2022 etc NETWORK.