Earthbladethe new game from the creators ofCelestehas been canceled after several years in development. EXOK Games has shared the reasons behind the decision and everything that transpired.
Earthblade’s Cancellation
Following the success ofCeleste,many wondered how the renowned indie studio was faring. The game, centered around the mountain and protagonist Madeline, was a hit, which madeEarthbladewell-received when it was announced.
Like Silksong, this Metroidvania had been silent for some time, leading to speculation about its fate. Unfortunately, those fears were confirmed as Extremely OK Games decided to cancel the project.
In a statement, the studio provided their final update on Earthblade, revealing they made the decision in December but waited until now to share it publicly.
Apparently, internal conflicts played a significant role. The team faced divisions involving “us (Noel and myself) and Pedro, a founding member of EXOK, a longtime friend, collaborator, and the art director of Earthblade as well as the pixel/UI artist for Celeste and Towerfall.”
The conflict centered around disputes over the IP rights for Celeste, which the studio has chosen not to disclose publicly. “This was, obviously, a very complicated and heartbreaking process,” they stated.
Ultimately, the situation ended in the worst way possible, as they agreed that separating was the best course of action. “Pedro is now working on his game, Neverway… we’ve played it, and it’s very promising,” they shared.
After Pedro’s departure, the team realized that Earthblade wasn’t as far along in development as they had hoped, despite the project being in the works since 2021.
“We thought, ‘If we keep pushing forward, Earthblade could still be a great game.’ But there was an even bigger issue: a mountain of pressure,” they admitted.
“The success of Celeste added immense pressure to make something bigger and better with Earthblade, and that pressure was a major part of why working on it became so exhausting,” they explained.
The Story Behind the Cancellation
Pedro’s departure wasn’t the sole reason for the cancellation. The team emphasized that the decision was mutual and took full responsibility for it.
“Noel and I want to take all the (many!) lessons learned from Earthblade, wipe the slate clean, and focus on smaller-scale projects.
We’re back to prototyping and exploring at our own pace, trying to rediscover game development in a way more akin to how we approached Celeste and Towerfall.”
It’s a shame, asEarthbladewas planned for PC and potentially Steam Deck, PS4, PS5, Xbox, and Switch. However, it seems that canceling Earthblade was the right choice in the face of the pressure following Celeste’s success, according to the team.
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