First reported by GI.biz and corroborated by Insider Gaming sources, it’s been revealed that EA will be dropping the Project CARS franchise.
EA has said in an internal email that all employees working on Project CARS will be moved into “suitable roles” where ever they can.
The Project CARS franchise was acquired by Codemasters in 2019, of which Slightly Mad Studios employed around 150 staff.
Project CARS 3, released in 2020 sold 86% less than Project CARS 2 according to its UK sales.
Insider Gaming understands that there are currently several racing games in development at Codemasters, including the annual F1 titles, GRID, and WRC 23. It’s understood that the DiRT series has also been internally canceled.
In a statement to GI.biz, an EA Spokesperson said “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 made the decision to stop further development and investment for 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 recognise the need to evolve our games beyond pure play, providing experiences for fans to also watch, create and connect with their friends.”, it continued.
For more from Insider Gaming, check out yesterday’s news that suggests we’ll be getting a premium Call of Duty title in 2023, but is heavily rumored to be Modern Warfare 2 remastered maps and campaign DLC for $70.
