Earlier this week, EA did the factor they oh so steadily likes to do, which is making a nasty choice. This time, it was cancelling Marvel’s Black Panther, alongside shutting down the two year old studio that was making it, Cliffhanger Games. As each single announcement like this over the previous few years has been, it was an extremely irritating one that may’t be justified. Now, a brand new report from Bloomberg has shed a bit of sunshine on why it was cancelled, in addition to what the sport may need been like.
For starters, in response to the report, the announcement got here as a shock to Cliffhanger employees. This was partially as a result of the studio was actively hiring, and Black Panther had handed a “gate”, a time period EA use for when executives have a look at how a recreation is doing and determine whether or not manufacturing ought to proceed.
Some sources did additionally say that EA executives had been nonetheless pissed off it hadn’t left pre-production regardless of being within the works for 4 years. That slowness was apparently resulting from the truth that a variety of now laid off employees had been employed throughout the final 12 months, even simply the previous couple of weeks and months.
The sport itself sounded fascinating too. Cliffhanger had been being led by former Monolith head Kevin Stephens, the identical studio behind the Center-earth: Shadow collection of video games. Monolith’s beloved (and patented) Nemesis System was apparently going to be the premise of a brand new system in Black Panther increasing on these concepts. This included issues like having the ability to play as T’Challa, Killmonger and Shuri, all of which might be competing for the Black Panther position.
You’d have the ability to play as one among them, with the opposite two turning into rivals that you could possibly type relationships with. There could be Skrulls, shapeshifting aliens, that will have been attempting to overhaul Wakanda, a few of which could faux to be allies, others appearing based mostly on earlier stuff you because the participant may need finished. You may see the similarities to the Nemesis System.
Nonetheless, displaying off this function to executives was apparently tough; constructing a recreation and a studio facet by facet was a part of the battle right here, reportedly. On high of that, Cliffhanger had been based mostly in Kirkland, Washington, an costly metropolis that meant employees would wish acceptable (and deserved) wages. EA also recently put in a return to office mandate, so all of it appears so as to add as much as the sport not being far sufficient together with a studio that prices an excessive amount of to run, of their eyes. Most likely value a reminder that EA CEO Andrew Wilson and EA Leisure president Laura Miele took about $40 million home last year.
The entire thing is simply tremendously unfair, and an enormous disgrace. I might have beloved to have seen a studio construct upon the Nemesis System, simply one of the crucial fascinating gameplay methods previously decade locked behind one thing as stifling as a patent. As at all times, massive solidarity to these affected by the layoffs.
