Earlier this week it was revealed that EA had cancelled the in-development Black Panther game and shutdown its developer Cliffhanger Studios. Thanks to a new report from Jason Schreier, there is some more information regarding why the game was cancelled.
Per Schreier, the cancellation was viewed as a “shock” to employees of the studio. Cliffhanger reportedly had been actively hiring new employees with the Black Panther game recently hitting a new internal milestone. However, despite hitting the milestone there was frustration within EA.
According to Schreier’s sources close to the game’s development, EA executives “were frustrated that the game had not yet left the pre-production phase after nearly four years in development.”
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As far as why it was taking so long for the game’s development, which began in 2021 but was announced in 2023, the studio had just started to increase its staff count. The report says that a “many of the workers” at Cliffhanger had been hired within the last year. Some, Schreier says, were only with the developer for as little as months and weeks.
Insider Gaming has made multiple attempts to reach the studio for comment on how many employees were being moved to other studios and the exact number being let go. As of publishing, no response has been received.
Despite Black Panther being cancelled, EA has gone on the record to say that there will still be three Marvel games released, including Motive’s Iron Man.
“Our partnership with Marvel remains strong and our multi-title, long-term collaboration continues,” EA’s statement on the matter read.
What do you make of the reasoning behind Black Panther’s cancellation at EA? Let us know down below, and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming forums.
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Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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