Alice: Madness Returns creator American McGee has "reached an endpoint with Alice and with game production in general" after he revealed Electronic Arts won't sanction a new Alice game, nor license the IP to enable him to take the game to another publisher.
In a lengthy post shared on American McGee's Patreon page, McGee explained that after years of preparation alongside "a team of artists, writers, designers, modelers, and producers" and, of course, collaboration with his "Insane Children" Patreon community, EA – which owns the rights to the Alice franchise – "ultimately decided to pass on the project".
"On the question of funding, [EA] has ultimately decided to pass on the project based on an internal analysis of the IP, market conditions, and details of the production proposal," McGee explained. "On the question of licensing, they replied that Alice is an important part of EA’s overall game catalog, and selling or licensing it isn’t something they’re prepared to do right now.
Alice: Asylum has reached The EndAfter several weeks of review, EA has come back with a response regarding funding and/or licensing for "Alice: Asylum" - Alice had a good run but the dream is over. https://t.co/hyprIq9MpE#gamedev #aliceasylum pic.twitter.com/sIE3bKbaVYApril 7, 2023
"At this point, we have exhausted every option for getting a new Alice game made. With those answers from EA, there is no other way forward with the project. As such, we will be hibernating this Patreon page and related pre-production activities. The content will remain in place but we'll no longer present options for funding "Alice: Asylum" efforts via this (or any other) platform."
"Alice: Asylum is at an end."
McGee ends the post saying he has "reached an endpoint" with the Alice franchise and game development more generally, going so far as to say that even if someone "does manage to convince EA to make Asylum [...] he has] no desire to be involved with that or any other Alice-related development".
"Lastly, I want to extend a bittersweet thank you to our Patreon supporters," he concludes. "I know this is not the outcome we hoped for. And I feel a mix of emotions that leaves me sick at the idea of all the money, hope, ideas, and love you've poured into this effort over the years.
"We knew going into this adventure that failure was a possibility. But we wanted to believe impossible things - and we had fun doing that up to the moment when reality forced itself into our Wonderland."
The full story outline to a follow-up American McGee Alice game had already been revealed online after McGee partnered with the Alice fandom to create a third Alice adventure. McGee shared the story as part of his efforts to "crowd design" the highly-anticipated third installment of his fan-favorite horror series with the 3,000+ fans who support his Patreon.
Alice: Madness Returns is the sequel to American McGee's Alice, a dark and twisted take on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Though lauded for its stunning visuals, Madness Returns didn't sell enough to compel EA into making a third installment, which means it's a full decade later and we still can't play part three yet, even though we reckon Madness Returns is one of the most overlooked games of the PS3 / Xbox 360 generation.
Did you know that the cult classic horror game Alice is getting an unexpected TV adaptation? In a statement, X-Men writer - and English voice actor for Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, of course - David Hayter said: "I am beyond excited to bring this world of madness and wonder to a global audience".
Keep up to date with all the best games set to launch later this year with our guide to new games 2023.
