EA have halted production of the new Command & Conquer and closed Victory Studios, the development house created specifically to build the new game.
In the post announcing the end of the game’s development, Victory Studios say “Your feedback from the alpha trial is clear: We are not making the game you want to play.”
“Part of being in a creative team is the understanding that not all of your choices are going to work out,” write the team. “In this case, we shifted the game away from campaign mode and built an economy-based, multiplayer experience. Your feedback from the alpha trial is clear: We are not making the game you want to play. That is why, after much difficult deliberation, we have decided to cease production of this version of the game. Although we deeply respect the great work done by our talented team, ultimately it’s about getting you the game you expect and deserve.
“We believe that Command & Conquer is a powerful franchise with huge potential and a great history, and we are determined to get the best game made as soon as possible. To that end, we have already begun looking at a number of alternatives to get the game back on track. We look forward to sharing more news about the franchise as it develops. Thank you again for your participation and support.”
However, the suggestion from the post is that Victory Studios would be the ones looking for ways to redevelop Command & Conquer. A tweet from someone claiming to be the studio’s marketing manager suggest otherwise:
Well that was fun. Victory Games is closed. LFW.
— b00sterAu (@karih84) October 29, 2013
They also claim that Victory Studios didn’t ok the blog post quoted above:
@MaximusPaynicus @cydereal blog post that was not ok’d by the team: http://t.co/UuHfuuJsYu
— b00sterAu (@karih84) October 29, 2013
EA told Polygon that “The team at Victory Games will be disbanded. Wherever possible, we are working to help these talented people find other opportunities within EA.”
I played Command & Conquer at Gamescom this year and, while it was recognisably Command & Conquer, it didn’t leave me excited like a new game in the Generals universe should have.
Hopefully EA will be able to find work for the team elsewhere.