The Project Cars series seemed to be one of Codemasters’ most promising gaming franchises, and it was expected that trend would carry over under the EA brand. But according to a recent source, the publisher appears to have canceled Project Cars 4 and is attempting to shift the team to other racing projects.
GamesIndustry.biz reported that Project Cars, a racing simulation series by Slightly Mad Studios, is being discontinued by Electronic Arts. Although Project Cars 4 appeared to be in the works, the publisher said it is discontinuing all future work on and funding for the series.
Reasons behind the cancellation of the Project Cars series and Project Cars 4
EA made the statement internally after recently analyzing the upcoming Project Cars game’s potential for long-term growth. The Project Cars video games are essentially unprofitable in the long run, according to Electronic Arts.
In response to the discontinuation of Project Cars, an EA representative remarked, “Decisions like these are incredibly difficult, but allow us to prioritize our efforts in areas where we feel we have the highest possibility to build experiences that fans will adore.”
They continued by outlining their future goals: “We are focusing on our racing portfolio’s strengths, notably licensed IP and open-world experiences, while also developing our brands to be more socially led with long-term live services that will engage global communities.”
Since 2015, Slightly Mad Studios has developed three mainstream installments of the Project Cars series. The series was first developed as an independent project.
Prior to the release of Project Cars 3, the studio was a division of Codemasters. EA then acquired Codemasters, and hence the Project Cars series. However, Project Cars 3 turned out to be a flop; thus, carrying on with the series would be pointless.
Fans of car racing games may still anticipate a new release from EA, and it will undoubtedly take some time as no information regarding the game development has been made public.
