Independently built by Slightly Mad Studios using crowdfunding, Project CARS will obviously not go beyond the 3rd episode released in August 2020. Electronic Arts has confirmed to the Games Industry site that no more investment will be injected into the development of the brand, which had found its publisher in Bandai Namco before the acquisition of Electronic Arts. This ax falls shortly after the announcement of the expiry of the licenses used in Project CARS and Project CARS 2, implying the withdrawal of these titles from online stores.
It is unknown at this time how the future of Slightly Mad Studios will be affected by this announcement or even if the team will simply be disbanded, but the publisher has reportedly pledged to find new positions for members of the equipped with Project CARS as far as possible. Electronic Arts, which is already juggling the Need for Speed, F1, GRID, DiRT franchises and soon the WRC license, estimated that it had little chance of finding success with the Project CARS franchise within its catalog. The publisher says it wants to focus on licensed racing games (F1, WRC) and open-world racing games (Need for Speed).
“Today we internally announced an update to our racing game portfolio. Following an evaluation of the upcoming Project CARS title and its longer-term growth potential, we have made the decision to halt further development and investment for this franchise. Decisions like these are very difficult to make, but they allow us to prioritize where we think we have the best chance of creating experiences that fans will love. We are working with everyone affected by this decision to place them in appropriate positions within our EA Sports portfolio, as well as other parts of EA, where possible. Our priority now is to provide as much support as possible to our employees during this transition.“, comments Electronic Arts.