When a Redditor created a thread (via Geek Culture Podcast) to share a fantastic piece of Dead Space artwork that their co-worker had created, the series’ former art director, Ian Milham, made an unexpected appearance to appreciate the work. Understandably, the conversation switched to Electronic Arts and its ownership of the franchise, which hasn’t seen a new release since 2013.
When one user suggested that Dead Space developers should attempt to buy the IP from EA, Milham confirmed what you’ve probably already guessed: the company isn’t going to let it go easily.
“IP is where all the money is, and EA spent hundreds of millions on Dead Space over the years, so no, they wouldn’t let it go for cheap,” he said. When another user asked if EA would consider striking a deal with another developer to create a new Dead Space game, and take a percentage of the sales, Milham said that it was an interesting proposition but he didn’t seem hopeful about such an arrangement.
That’s actually an interesting “what if”. I’ve never heard of a publisher licensing IP as, say a book or movie IP owner does. The thing is, it would have to be another publisher that does the licensing, otherwise it would be a standard dev deal.
EA shut down Dead Space developer, Visceral Games, last October.
[Source: Reddit]
