The racing game series Project Cars, originally started with the help of a crowdfunding campaign, will not be continued. EA, as the new owner of the brand, stops not only the development of a sequel, but also all investments. The publisher sees too little financial potential.
Slightly Mad Studios originally filled a void, as evidenced by the crowdfunding method used to revitalize numerous almost-forgotten genres just over a decade ago. In the studio's case, these were racing games with a realistic flavor that went beyond simple arcade full-on speed racers. That had enough success with the release of the first game in 2015 to warrant a vastly improved sequel. Project Cars 3 (test) changed the approach, however, the title diluted the original idea and thus the appeal of the series with a much stronger arcade impact, which was apparently intended to increase the target group, but could not really inspire anyone in the finished game.
The resulting search for meaning by the developers could not lead to success for EA either. The publisher owns the brand and is the biggest player in the racing game genre after acquiring Codemasters last year, which in turn acquired Slightly Mad Studios in 2019. However, there is no longer any room for Project Cars in the growing portfolio.
Live service remains the future
After “evaluating the next Project Cars title and its long-term growth potential,” the company made the decision to stop working on it and further investing in the brand, it said in a statement to Games Industry. Above all, the reference to growth potential is important: Project Cars recently no longer had a clear target group or, in its sim orientation, a very limited one, and so far only no room for additional purchases that went beyond the genre-typical route and vehicle DLCs. This is different with other games: EA's newly acquired F1 series, for example, also appeals to fans of the TV show and comes up with more starting points for purchase offers every year.
In the future, EA wants to focus on those areas where there is the greatest opportunity to “create experiences that fans love”. The group sees this in particular in “licensed brands and open-world experiences”, and also in the expansion of well-known series in the direction of social networking with “long-term live services” that bind a community. With this, EA underlines once again how this (financial) growth is to be achieved conceptually: Just like in other genres and with other publishers. Developers affected by the decision should be transferred to other positions if possible. The fact that Project Cars 1 and 2 are no longer available is primarily due to other reasons: Expiring licenses for tracks and vehicles are responsible.