Almost two weeks ago, American McGee announced that Electronic Arts had decided to pass on a third installment of his action-adventure video game series Alice under the working title of Alice: Asylum. Clearly a sore spot for any creative, the designer isn’t looking to answer questions about the project.
According to the designer, EA made the decision after it conducted “an internal analysis of the IP, market conditions, and details of the production proposal.” Even worse, EA was unwilling to part with the IP either through a sale or licensing, thereby effectively ending any hope of any sequel. McGee released the game’s design bible in February with a request that EA assents to the project.
Now, in a new Q&A update posted to his Patreon page, McGee has requested that fans of the series stop asking him questions about the planned third installment. The Q&A addressed fans’ questions on how to approach the franchise going forward and whether fan-based creations, like a book, are allowed.
McGee wrote, “I’d really love it if people could stop asking me questions about “Alice” in general. The rights are very simple – EA owns Alice and they control it. If you want to do something with the IP, you are free to do that – just like you are with all other IPs – but you get into trouble when you start trying to sell the stuff you create. Additional questions on this stuff should be directed at EA. I really want some space from “Alice” and questions related to it.”
He expressed his pain and anger at EA’s decision and empathized with fans’ feelings. Nevertheless, he encouraged fans to accept EA’s decision, even though it is a tough one. He further requested that fans make the equally tough decision to move on and, for those who can’t, respect his decision to do so.
The first installment of Alice, titled American McGee’s Alice, was published in 2000 for the Windows and Mac OS platforms with a digital version later arriving for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The title received numerous positive reviews and sold over 1.5 million copies as of 2017.
EA greenlit a second installment of the game titled Alice: Madness Returns which was published in 2011. Like its predecessor, Alice: Madness Returns also received generally positive reviews. However, it received a wider initial release on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
The reimagined video game series is inspired by the classic children’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It follows a character named Alice Liddell who is severely traumatized after losing her family to a house fire.
In the game, a catatonic Alice mentally retreats to a despondent Wonderland where she has several adventures. By the end of Alice’s adventures, Wonderland is restored and so is her mind. McGee originally announced his plan for the third installment tentatively titled Alice: Asylum in 2017.
The second game, Madness Returns, received a follow up in the face of two animated shorts and some artwork bundled together as Alice: Otherlands in order to tie up the story. Hopefully alleviates some of the disappointment caused by Asylum’s cancellation.
Following EA’s decision not to proceed with the project, he announced his retirement from game development. He also renounced any interest in the franchise, even if EA reconsiders its stance and decides to develop the title in the future.
