Especially after the incredibly solid 2023 remake of the first game, the idea of Dead Space 4 is more tantalizing than ever. The horror shooter feels like a kind of nexus for the whole genre, influenced by Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill, and then, in turn, becoming one of the inspirations for the likes of Alien Isolation and the often underrated The Callisto Protocol. We’d all like to see another turn from Isaac Clarke, and the original creators have apparently pitched a new Dead Space game. However, they say that the would-be Dead Space 4 has been turned down by the series’ owner, EA.
Dead Space 2 remains the high point, but the original horror game from 2008 is the one that started it all, and was lovingly rebuilt by Motive Studios last year. After the critical success of Dead Space Remake and the advent of The Callisto Protocol, directed by Dead Space’s creator Glen Schofield, Dead Space 4 feels like a logical next step. But based on comments from Schofield and two of Dead Space’s other senior developers, it’s not happening – despite their best intentions.
“We tried actually, the three of us,” Schofield says, during an interview on the Dan Allen Gaming Podcast alongside Dead Space animation director Christopher Stone and the game’s creative director Bret Robbins. “Dead Space 4. They said no. We’re talking this year. We didn’t go too deep. They just said ‘We’re not interested right now, we appreciate it, blah blah blah.’ And we know who to talk to, so we didn’t take it any further, and they know their numbers and what they have to ship.”
Schofield says that the trio “have some ideas” for the fourth game. Stone also comments, explaining that while they are busy working on the multiplayer shooter Ready Or Not, and happy with their current role, hypothetically at least, Dead Space 4 is a project in which they might be interested.
“It’s a weird time in the industry right now,” Stone says. “People are really hesitant to take chances on things. So, take it with a grain of salt. We know it’s maybe one day [sic]. We know we’d all love to do it. I’d make a Dead Space 4. I’m not saying anything about my current gig. I’m just saying I would make a Dead Space 4.”
Bret Robbins is now working alongside Grand Theft Auto co-creator and former Rockstar boss Dan Houser, who recently founded a new studio called Absurd Ventures. Schofield, who departed Striking Distance after the release of The Callisto Protocol, has a “smaller” project in mind for which he is currently seeking funding. “If you hear what it’s about, if we get the funding, you’ll understand,” Schofield says. “It’s pretty special to me.”
Dead Space 4 might happen in the future. Or it might not. We’ll just have to wait and see. But given the recent resurgence of a few erstwhile horror series, like Silent Hill and now Capcom’s Onimusha, perhaps there is a possibility.
In the meantime, check out some of the best space games, or maybe the best survival games ever made.
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