Electronic Arts’  Project Cars has made its final journey. In a press release offered to GamesIndustry, the writer introduced that it had chosen to “cease additional growth and funding” within the racing franchise. 

The finish of Project Cars comes following an replace to EA’s total “racing portfolio,” and the willpower that one other entry within the collection lacks long-term progress potential. Slightly Mad Studios’ franchise initially discovered success in a market that was dominated by racing recreation veterans reminiscent of Playground Games (Forza) and EA (Need for Speed, Burnout).

“Decisions like these are very arduous, however enable us to prioritize our focus in areas the place we consider now we have the strongest alternative to create experiences that followers will love,” continued EA. “With shifting fan expectations, we acknowledge the necessity to evolve our video games past pure play, offering experiences for followers to additionally watch, create and join with their buddies.”

While recreation franchises will usually finish, it isn’t day-after-day {that a} franchise will probably be definitively ended by its writer. Typically, publishers will play coy and quietly put a franchise on ice for various years. 

But EA’s extra definitive right here, and outright states that the franchise’s existence did not match with its total targets. The cancellation, it continued, was introduced on by a need to “concentrate on our strengths in our racing portfolio…and increasing our franchises to be extra socially-led with long-term reside companies that can have interaction international communities.”

Project Cars franchise started in 2015, spawning a cellular spinoff and two sequels that launched in 2017 and 2020. All three entries had been printed by Bandai Namco, shortly earlier than Slightly Mad was acquired by Codemasters in 2019, which itself was acquired by EA in 2021.