EA pulls the plug on Project Cars and possibly on Slightly Mad Studios as its founder takes a dig at EA again
Slightly Mad Studios founder and former CEO Ian Bell spoke out against EA in 2017 when he said, 'Those guys are a***holes. I’ll never do a deal with them again, no respect for them, they’re horrible human beings, they’re corporate monsters.'
EA has officially ended the Project CARS franchise. The gaming giant said that the decision to “stop further development and investment for the franchise” was made after “an evaluation of the next Project CARS title and its longer-term growth potential”. Slightly Mad Studios has around 150 people who were working on the next Project Cars title. Slightly Mad Studios founder and former CEO Ian Bell tweeted out his feelings about EA’s decision where he questioned the decision from EA.
EA ends the Project Cars franchise
The EA spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz, “Decisions like these are very hard, but allow us to prioritise our focus in areas where we believe we have the strongest opportunity to create experiences that fans will love.”
They added, "We are working with everyone impacted by this decision to place them into suitable roles across our EA Sports and racing portfolio, as well as other parts of EA, wherever we can. Our priority now is on providing as much support as possible to our people through this transition."
EA, keeping on being awesome... I said my bit and I stand by every word as they continue to prove them.
— Ian Bell - Something Unique and massive coming. (@bell_sms) November 8, 2022
How are those numbers (sorry I mean people, with hopes, dreams and families) looking, at the bottom of those the spreadsheets?
Slightly Mad Studios' history with EA
EA has had a troubled past when it comes to this particular studio. Ian Bell spoke out against EA in 2017 in an interview with the YouTube channel SpotTheOzzie (via VGC).
He said, “We had made a game called Need for Speed: Shift, we had made a game called Shift 2, and EA came to me and said, two months into Shift 2, can we give you 1.5 million if you agree not to talk to any other publishers, to agree any other games, or work on any other arrangement with any other publisher, and we’ll give you 1.5 million and we’ll sign Shift 3?”
He added, “So, I said OK, that sounds like a good deal. I took the 1.5 million, I paid the guys loads of bonuses, and two weeks before we were due to start Shift 3 they cancelled it with no warning. They said ‘we are not doing that anymore’.”
Bell said that the abrupt decision by EA left his studio in a financial disaster. “They sent emails to three, four, five of our key people. And two of which actually left, because we were in trouble. We had nothing left. We were done. They literally destroyed our company, they tried to kill us, they tried to steal our technology as well,” claimed Bell.
Ian Bell even went on to label EA’s former head Patrick Söderlund as “the worst corporate monster”. Bell also claimed that EA also desperately tried to buy out Slightly Mad.
“They tried to f*ck us over, there’s no other way to put it. That’s what they tried to do. They tried to destroy us, and we have no love for EA in this company. So yes, I remortgaged my home, I put the cash on the line, I put it into the company, I paid the staff for three more months, we made some games and we scraped by.”
“Those guys are a***holes. We have no respect for EA. I’ll never do a deal with them again, no respect for them, they’re horrible human beings, they’re corporate monsters,” concluded Bell.
Slightly Mad Studios did not sign up for a deal with EA. Instead, they were acquired by Codemasters back in 2019. Unfortunately for Slightly Mad Studios, EA acquired Codemasters in 2021 and hence, Slightly Mad Studios. Ian Bell eventually departed Slightly Mad Studios last year in October.
The End for Slightly Mad Studios?
It’s a sad end for the Project Cars franchise. From EA’s statement, it also seems like an end to Slightly Mad Studios, at least when it comes to creating their own original games. They’re likely to turn into a support studio to cater to EA’s wide portfolio of racing games which includes the likes of F1, Need for Speed, Grid Legends, and Dirt franchise. Worst case scenario, the studio could be dissolved entirely since the statement mentions how the company is looking to find room for those working at Slightly Mad Studios, in different projects and studios within EA.
