Fans grieve as EA pulls the plug on Alice: Asylum

American McGee has announced EA’s decision to have Alice: Asylum canceled, disappointing fans following a decade-long wait for a Madness Returns sequel.

It has been over a decade since the release of American McGee’s second Alice game, Madness Returns. Since then, players have been waiting to see its sequel come to fruition. McGee and his team have been working on Alice: Asylum, the proposed sequel, since then with the help of fans’ funding and his personal shop.

On April 7, he announced EA had decided to halt the production of Alice: Asylum after weeks of internal review. Unfortunately, EA confirmed that they were not interested in publishing a sequel to Madness Returns.

Fans have reasonably been taking to social media to express their frustration with how EA has handled the situation. In particular, fans have complained about their lack of transparency and choice to hold the game’s IP hostage despite their unwillingness to publish Asylum themselves.

Why was Alice: Asylum canceled by EA?

According to McGee’s post, EA has decided to cancel Alice: Asylum citing the current market as their reason. McGee says that EA implied that the title just wouldn’t fit well with current releases despite the large fanbase Madness Returns inspired.

After spending over a decade working on raising funds for the project and sharing each piece of the proposed gameplay with fans, it comes as no surprise that McGee is also no longer interested in pursuing Alice: Asylum’s production.

He has decided to step away from the project entirely, regardless of any future changes with EA or other publishers willing to take over. McGee will instead shift his focus to his online shop.

Fans have been responding on Twitter, with well-known personalities speaking up in disappointment at EA’s choice. VTuber Kurumi has stated her own heartreak at the publisher’s rash decision, thanking McGee for all of the work his team put into the series over the years.

Most other reactions have been similar, with fans angry that EA is apparently not willing to at least sell McGee the game’s IP.

Takanashi Kiara, another VTuber, put all fans’ feelings about Alice: Asylum being canceled into one simple word: “Oof.”

Unfortunately, it seems safe to say that Alice: Asylum will remain in pre-production forever unless EA decides to sell the IP to another publisher.