Earthblade, the highly anticipated game from the creators of the indie sensation Celeste, has been officially cancelled due to internal conflicts within the development team. Dive deeper to understand the full story behind this unfortunate decision.
Earthblade Is Officially Cancelled
Developers Cite Internal "Fracture"
The much-anticipated Earthblade, developed by the studio behind the beloved indie game Celeste, has been officially cancelled due to internal disagreements among team members. Extremely OK Games (EXOK), the developer, announced this sad news on their official website in a post titled "Final Earthblade Update." EXOK Director Maddy Thorson provided a detailed explanation of the cancellation and outlined the studio's future plans.
In the announcement, Thorson shared, "Late last month, Noel and I made the difficult decision to cancel Earthblade. Yes, we are opening the year with a huge, heartbreaking, and yet relieving failure." She expressed her apologies to the fans who had been eagerly awaiting the game's release and mentioned that the team was still processing and grieving the outcome.
Thorson elaborated that the cancellation stemmed from a "fracture [that] began forming in the team," particularly between herself, EXOK Computer Programmer Noel Berry, and former Art Director Pedro Medeiros. The core of the conflict revolved around a "disagreement about the IP rights of Celeste," though Thorson did not delve deeper into the specifics, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
The trio eventually resolved their differences, but this led to Medeiros parting ways with EXOK to work on his new game, Neverway, under a different studio. Despite the split, Thorson emphasized that "Pedro and the Neverway team aren't the enemy and anyone who treats them as such isn't welcome in any EXOK community."
Thorson further explained that Medeiros' departure was not the sole reason for cancelling Earthblade, but it prompted a critical reassessment of the project's viability. "The project had a lot going for it but, frustratingly, it was also not as far along as one would expect after such a protracted development process," she noted. The immense success of Celeste had placed significant pressure on the team to surpass their previous achievements, which contributed to the exhaustion and loss of direction. Thorson concluded that it was time to admit defeat and move on.
EXOK’s Future Plans
With a significant portion of their team having moved on, Thorson and Berry are now focusing on learning from this experience and starting anew with smaller-scale projects. They are currently in the prototyping and experimentation phase, aiming to "rediscover game development in a manner closer to how we approached it at Celeste's or TowerFall's inception." Thorson expressed hope for future collaborations with former team members and ended on an optimistic note: "We gave it all we've got, and life goes on. We are happy to return to our roots and reclaim some joy in our creative process, and see where that takes us."
Earthblade was envisioned as an "explor-action platformer" that would follow the journey of Névoa, the enigmatic child of Fate, as they attempt to restore a ruined Earth.
