14 DAY TRIAL // EA Redwood Shores isn't a very catchy name, to say the least, and the abbreviation, EARS, is even worse. That is why its parent company, Electronic Arts, has just announced that the studio behind the very successful Dead Space horror, survival shooter has been renamed Visceral Games.
The name change was needed in order to “ better reflect the studio’s culture, identity and focus on creating intense action-oriented intellectual properties.” The rebranded entity currently has Dead Space: Extraction in development, the prequel to the original Dead Space, which is scheduled to appear on the Nintendo Wii in the following months, and Dante's Inferno, which is scheduled to be released on all of the big platforms, including the PSP, in order to offer a video game take on Dante Alighieri's epic poem, The Divine Comedy. But besides these announced titles, two more projects are also underway.
“Action, intensity, excellence. It isn’t just in our DNA, it’s in our blood,” Glen Schofield, VP and GM of Visceral Games, said. “For the past two years, we have adopted a new culture that prizes excellence above all else. Primal action is the beating heart of the studio and now our new name reflects that.”
In addition to this name change, the company has also revealed that Dead Space, despite being a new property launched in the middle of the holiday boom of sequels, a mistake admitted by EA, has sold over 1.4 million units worldwide. “I'm happy with that, based on the economy,” Schofield added. “Last year could've been one of the greatest launch years in the history of video games around October time, but it was a year where people bought less games than they normally would.”
All in all, it's quite nice to see that the studio has received its own identity, more accustomed to the nature of the projects that are made there. Looking forward to hearing new statements about the studio soon.