Sources revealed that an important internal statement was sent out to Electronic Arts employees on Tuesday. The statement confirmed that the American publisher has stopped the development of Slightly Mad Studios Project CARS series. You can find the full statement below.
EA Cancels Project CARS
“Today we announced internally an update to our racing portfolio. Following an evaluation of the next Project CARS title and its longer-term growth potential, we have decided to stop further development and investment in the franchise.
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 recognize the need to evolve our games beyond pure play, providing experiences for fans to also watch, create and connect with their friends.
We are working with everyone impacted by this decision to place them into suitable roles across our EA Sports and racing portfolio, as well as other parts of EA, wherever we can. Our priority is to provide as much support as possible to our people through this transition.”
The Slow Decline
Project CARS was released in 2015 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Unlike other racing games at that time, Project CARS was not an open-world game and focused on traditional track racing. Project CARS 1 & 2 were well received and sold reasonably well for publisher Bandai Namco.
The third game didn’t go down well with reviewers, and shortly after, Slightly Mad Studios was bought by Codemasters. With EA acquiring Codemasters, there was a slight chance the American publisher could revive the series. Unfortunately, this news will end Project CARS’ short run in the gaming industry.
EA seems set on making its popular racing series, Need for Speed, its primary focus in the racing space. The upcoming installment, Need for Speed Unbound, will be out on December 2.
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