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No more Project Cars games, says EAStaff will move to other projects where possible
Staff will move to other projects where possible
The Project Cars games were gorgeous, detail-obsessed, and at first partly crowd-sourced. Then in 2019Codemasters bought developers Slightly Mad Studiosand in 2021Electronic Arts bought Codemasters. Now EA have announced internally that they won’t be making any more Project Cars games, and that they will move staff working on the series into “suitable” roles “wherever [they] can.”
“Today we announced internally an update to our racing portfolio. Following an evaluation of the nextProject CARStitle and its longer-term growth potential, we have made the decision to stop further development and investment for the franchise,” EA said in astatement given to GamesIndustry.biz today.
Project CARS - E3 TrailerWatch on YouTube
Project CARS - E3 Trailer
“Decisions like these are very hard, but allow us to prioritise our focus in areas where we believe we have the strongest opportunity to create experiences that fans will love. We are focusing on our strengths in our racing portfolio, particularly licensed IP and open-world experiences, and expanding our franchises to be more socially-led with long-term live services that will engage global communities. Games are at the heart of sports and racing entertainment, and with shifting fan expectations, we recognise the need to evolve our games beyond pure play, providing experiences for fans to also watch, create and connect with their friends.
This is, of course, what happens as a result of games industry consolidation. Studios that may have been successful in their own right - successful enough to acquire! - are deemed surplus to requirements when part of a larger organisation with an already heavy load of racing games. That means less competition in the field and less choice for players.
Earlier this year, Project Cars 1 and 2were delisted from Steamdue to expiring track and car licenses. All that remains of Slightly Mad’s work is the poorly received Project Cars 3on Steamand a dim memory ofthat time they announced they were making their own console called the “Mad Box”.
