The Project CARS series first sprang to life in 2015. Slightly Mad Studios developed the series, but now it seems its time has come. Various reports state that EA has dropped the Project CARS franchise and will move the developing staff to other EA-led racing games where possible.
EA is Dropping Project CARS
Games Industry.biz dropped the news earlier today which was further corroborated by Insider Gaming. This move was kind of expected as the franchise hadn’t been doing that good. The latest entry Project CARS 3 released in 2020 and didn’t even sell nearly as half as the previous games. Moreover, it was announced that Project CARS and Project CARS 2 will soon be delisted as they don’t have map licenses anymore. So, the cancellation of the series was incoming.
Talking to Gaming Industry.biz, an EA representative stated:
‘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.’
‘We are working with everyone impacted by this decision to place them into suitable roles across our EA Sports and racing portfolio, as well as other parts of EA, wherever we can. Our priority now is on providing as much support as possible to our people through this transition.’
Game Industry Biz
The Development Team will be Shifted to Other Departments
According to Insider Gaming, Slightly Mad Studios, was home to around 150 employees. EA internally sent emails to the employees stating that the series has been canceled and that they would be shifted to other suitable roles. This generally means that the future of the employees is currently unclear.
The project CARS franchise was amazing when it first came out. Introducing so many maps and cars in a single game wasn’t something everyone was doing. However, from there, the franchise only went downhill where it seemed more like an arcade-style game than a racing simulator.
What are your thoughts on EA dropping the Project CARS franchise? Let us know in the comments down below.
