It’s been well over a decade since we got a new Alice game and looks like we may never get it as the original creative director, American McGee of the first game has revealed on his Patreon that the rights holder to the IP, Electronic Arts (EA) have rejected his pitch for a threequel. The decision according to McGee was “based on an internal analysis of the IP, market conditions, and details of the production proposal”.
Over the years, Mcgee has been pitching another game so talks to make a follow-up began again after the developer completed the Design Bible of the game known as “Alice: Asylum” on his Patreon back in mid-February. The pitch of the game was based on the original idea he produced for the game’s Design Bible alongside a “Production Plan (produced in collaboration with Virtuos Games) outlining the schedule, budget, team, and design for the new game’s production.
“After several weeks of review, EA has come back with a response regarding funding and/or licensing for Alice: Asylum. On the question of funding, they have ultimately decided to pass on the project based on an internal analysis of the IP, market conditions, and details of the production proposal,” McGee said in a public Patreon post.
When it comes to licensing or selling the Alice IP that was seemingly not an option either as McGee adds that “Alice is an important part of EA’s overall game catalogue” so selling or licensing the IP isn’t an option for the project either.” With the publisher in control of not just the IP but its future output and not McGee, well the developer is unable to do anything at this point if EA can’t give him the thumbs up to get the project to the next level. In the year 2023, McGee says he has “exhausted every option for getting a new Alice game made” so for now this is the end of the adventure for a third Alice game… even before it even started.
Alice: Asylum has reached The End
After 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/sIE3bKbaVY
— ⚓ American McGee 🏴☠️ (@americanmcgee) April 7, 2023
“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. It’s often said that when one door closes, another opens. Trite but true. And I hope that for all of you, this closure will bring life to other adventures and dreams,” McGee said in a final Patreon message to his patrons.
