‘Project CARS’: EA stops ‘further development and investment’ into the racing franchise

EA will end the development of “Project CARS” titles and has decided to no longer invest in the franchise, the company confirmed on Tuesday. The publisher said it is working on moving employees of developer Slightly Mad Studios to other teams within EA.

GamesIndustry.biz reported that the decision to shut down the racing game franchise was internally announced, which has since been confirmed by the publisher. Following EA’s evaluation of the franchise, EA reportedly decided to end “further development and investment” as it does not see the IP gaining major success in the future. The publisher is also said to have concluded that “Project CARS” does not fit into its roster of racing games.

“We are focusing on our strengths in our racing portfolio, particularly licensed IP and open-world experiences, and expanding our franchises to be more socially-led with long-term live services that will engage global communities,” an EA spokesperson said.

The first “Project CARS” was a crowd-funded game released in May 2015, which received favorable reviews from critics. Its early success was further solidified after it sold 1 million copies just a month after its launch.

Its second mainline series installment was released two years later but did not see a similar commercial success as the first “Project CARS.” Slightly Mad Studios launched the third game in 2020, but it reportedly performed 86% less than its predecessor in the UK charts in its opening week.

Slightly Mad Studios also delivered a mobile spin-off game titled “Project CARS GO” last year. But the first and second “Project CARS” games were recently delisted because some of their car and track licenses had expired. But all their game features, including multiplayer, remain available. EA did not mention if this week’s announcement will change the availability of any “Project CARS” titles.

“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,” the publisher added. Slightly Mad Studios’ website indicates it has more than 175 employees.