Earthblade Canceled Amid Developer Divide

Earthblade, the highly anticipated sequel from the Celeste developers, has been cancelled due to internal team conflicts. This article details the circumstances surrounding the cancellation.

Internal Discord Leads to Cancellation

Extremely OK Games (EXOK), the studio behind the critically acclaimed Celeste, announced the cancellation of Earthblade on their website. In a statement, Director Maddy Thorson explained that a significant internal rift, involving herself, programmer Noel Berry, and former art director Pedro Medeiros, ultimately led to the decision. The core issue stemmed from a disagreement over the intellectual property rights of Celeste, a conflict that, while resolved, resulted in Medeiros' departure to pursue his own project, Neverway. Thorson stressed that there are no hard feelings and that EXOK welcomes continued collaboration with Medeiros in the future.

The loss of Medeiros wasn't the sole reason for cancellation, but it highlighted underlying problems. Thorson acknowledged that the game's progress was slower than anticipated, and the pressure to surpass Celeste's success contributed to burnout within the team. The decision to cancel, while difficult, was seen as necessary to allow the team to recover and refocus.

EXOK's Future

With a smaller team, EXOK plans to shift towards smaller-scale projects, aiming to recapture the creative energy of their earlier work on Celeste and TowerFall. They intend to experiment and prototype at a more sustainable pace. The studio expressed a desire to collaborate with former team members in future endeavors.

Earthblade was envisioned as an explor-action platformer featuring Névoa, a child of Fate, exploring a ruined Earth. While the game's cancellation is disappointing, EXOK's focus on rebuilding and rediscovering their creative passion offers a glimmer of hope for future projects.