Command & Conquer's Cancellation - The Real Story

[Sonic 292]

As we suspected earlier today, we felt there was more to the cancellation of Command & Conquer and the closure of Victory Games. I was in two minds to post this, thinking we may get in trouble, but we are a news source here at CNCNZ.com and Command & Conquer fans deserve to know the truth. We should not be fed corporate lies when it comes to our favourite franchise. So, long story short, the original blog post on the Official C&C Site is nothing but a fabricated public relations move to smooth things over. None of the alpha feedback was the cause of the cancellation. Once again, "corporate politics and shenanigans" behind closed doors at EA have killed off Command & Conquer and Victory Games. I will share with you the post made on the Official Forums, but names have been removed.

 

 

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say that it has been a pleasure working on this game and I hope you all have enjoyed the closed alpha!

 

This isn't official or anything, but you probably saw that our whole team got the ax. I hope you understand that we at VG all were dedicated to making a game for all of you to play, and that the press release line was total b.s. It was NOT any feedback from the alpha that shut this project down but just petty corporate politics and shenanigans.

 

We were all shocked and confused to find out that our studio is closed (and that we are all out of jobs!), but I am happy to see that the game is still up and running RIGHT NOW and that a lot of people are still having fun with it. Please enjoy the live game until they figure out how to turn off the servers (it might be a while)!

 

Cheers

 

I won't be sharing the link to this post, but you can find it on the Official C&C Forums if you have access to the Closed Alpha forum. I expect there will more fallout and boil-over in the coming days, it's almost unfolding the way Tiberium was cancelled back in 2009. Once again, we can clearly lay blame on the corporate bigwigs. Please don't blame the Victory Games development team, these guys were working really hard to bring the fans a new and true Command & Conquer and set the franchise up for the future, all they needed and wanted was time to develop, but apparently that's not what corporate EA wants.

[Autobahn27 1]

Seriously EA....never tired Killing off C&C Franchise eh.......

[neogrant 4]

What a shocker. I feel sorry for the development team and everyone genuinely involved with it.

[Eternity6 0]

RAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

never have I felt such rage

will post this everwhere!!!!!

[General Kane Nash 0]

Look at the new EA CEO and his cronies:

 

http://www.ea.com/executives

 

I suspect from now on, everything EA does will be sports, mobile and sims.

[PurpleGaga27 37]

Look at the new EA CEO and his cronies:

 

http://www.ea.com/executives

 

I suspect from now on, everything EA does will be sports, mobile and sims.

 

....and the BattleField series.

 

The EA sports games are failing and so are the sims and mobile. I believe the future for EA is still going to be pretty grim.

Edited October 30, 2013 by zocom7

[[NE]Fobby[GEN] 10]

Unfortunately I'm really not surprised. When they announced Generals 2 I thought they were going in a great direction - Bioware title (even if it's just the label, there are/were certain standards attached to it), triple A singleplayer and multiplayer game, and a long development time. This was after C&C4 failed and SC2 clearly succeeded. It looked like it was starting to become clear to EA that you can't pump out games every 2 years and expect good products and lots of sales. So they started a clean slate by revisiting the Generals universe (so story-geeks like me can't complain about plot holes), which was a great move. They moved to Frostbite, and they planned a longer development time. It was almost too good to be true. What makes SC2 a good game is that Blizzard took its sweet time, revived and revamped the classic RTS formula, focused on balance and competitive gameplay, and put a lot of attention on singleplayer.

 

Then all of a sudden, all of what I liked about Generals 2 was scrapped. When they switched to the F2P model, it seemed like they had no concept for the game. No one knew where it was really heading. They said no singleplayer, then people raged, then they said "ok, fine, singleplayer!" but didn't clarify if it would be part of 1.0 or a paid add-on. No one knew when it was going to be out, nor did we know how much of "Generals" would remain in it, or how much would be scaled back. Victory was refreshingly open with feedback, and CIRE was cool all the way through, but this is exactly what happened with Tiberium and with C&C4. Corporate forced something on the developer and the developer sank.

 

I hope this is not the end of official C&C games. At the very least, it could be a few years before we see another C&C game. There was a 4 year gap between Generals and C&C3, and I think we're entering a similar phase now. The difference is, people were playing C&C games between 2003 and 2007. Renegade had a huge playerbase, and people were still playing Generals, RA2, and TS. Right now, C&C games are barely alive and very few people are playing. Most C&C sites have shut down or have stopped updating. Entire communities and clans have disappeared, and a dozens of mods and indie games have died out.

Edited October 30, 2013 by [NE]Fobby[GEN]

[Plok 316]

Right now, C&C games are barely alive and very few people are playing.

Not quite. RA1 is still very much alive thanks to CnCNet and I see incredible amounts of players in the official RA3 lobby, for instance. Then we've got Gameranger, Tunngle and Hamachi, which are still quite popular among C&C players, though I couldn't surely say their certain number, but it sure as hell isn't negligible.

[Dostayer 0]

By the looks of it I might say that the series is only waiting for its coup de grâce, some might say it was.

The only salvation for this Franchise might be the transfer to another company like Wargaming.net-Gas Powered Games, Paradox, 2K games-Firaxis.

At least I know that the last 2 won't blow it up...

Edited October 30, 2013 by Dostayer

[Plok 316]

But Firaxis is a TBS studio

[TheBlackOut 6]

It's starting to sink in that not only is the game scrapped, but jobs were lost and that the holidays are not too far off. That's gotta be really rough and I hope the workers find work at a company that treats their employees better.

I hope this is not the end of official C&C games.

Under EA, I hope it is. They've proven they're incomponent.

[neojames82 6]

But Firaxis is a TBS studio

You know....I actually wouldn't mind a TBS set in the C&C universe, especially if it was done by Firaxis. Hell it would be something new and fresh, right?

[Sonic 292]

Keep dreaming guys. C&C belongs to EA and that's where it will stay. Do you honestly think they would it sell it to another publisher only to see that company profit so much from it. If there is profit to be made from a future C&C game it will be EA's money.

[Nmenth 288]

What is the less realistic dream, that EA sells Command & Conquer, or that they actually make one right?

[neojames82 6]

Keep dreaming guys. C&C belongs to EA and that's where it will stay. Do you honestly think they would it sell it to another publisher only to see that company profit so much from it. If there is profit to be made from a future C&C game it will be EA's money.

Sadly, you are right...though EA hasn't been making a lot of profit lately so there is a slight chance they could sell it. I think the current crop of EA brass probably don't see much money in RTS games.

 

What is the less realistic dream, that EA sells Command & Conquer, or that they actually make one right?

*whew* That is a profound question, Nmenth....almost zen-like really. I think some old monks on a high mountain top are pondering this very question right now.

[General Kane Nash 0]

Bring Riccitiello back, remove the current directory and you will see EA back on track:

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-07-31-ex-ea-ceo-john-riccitiello-is-skeptical-of-free-to-play

 

What is scaring me is to consider who is actually in control of EA as he is actually critizising most of the company current policies, policie that were implemented during his reign.

[Guest Stevie_K]

What is the less realistic dream, that EA sells Command & Conquer, or that they actually make one right?

 

None of these are even the slightest bit realistic at this point. As I see it, this shutdown could mean that the C&C franchise is thrown into the basement until someone from the top of EA dares to haul it up again and take the risk of getting their image damaged. Because that's what this seems all about right? Pulling the plugs on the projects that seem to struggle and get reputation for being the realistic businessman.

[Plok 316]

You know....I actually wouldn't mind a TBS set in the C&C universe, especially if it was done by Firaxis. Hell it would be something new and fresh, right?

Actually, you're right, that would be awesome. I kinda got an urge to mod a TBS to make a C&C-based game...

 

What is the less realistic dream, that EA sells Command & Conquer, or that they actually make one right?

Sentence of the century.

[keithktam 2]

EA won't sell it even they can't make money from it, is just the same old problem from the corruted core of EA coporate, they rather the franchise die than giving other company the oppotunity to make a profit from it, what can I say, coporate greed... or they can sell it to a small company and see how that go, and if its good then they would buy it back, cunning move isn't it?? but deeper thinking, no, I don't think they would.

Edited October 31, 2013 by keithktam

[Inferno 22]

Why does this **** not surprise me... Bunch of ****ing amateurs.

[CNC_Tethis 0]

Since when has EA ever sold an IP that they've shelved? I don't recall any. I remember in the late 90's when EA shelved Wing Commander IP and people wanted them to sell it but they didn't. Look how long it took System Shock 2 to get on GOG and Steam after being tweaked to run on newer systems? It took a while for good reason due to rights complications and EA no longer has that IP anymore.

 

Keep dreaming cause I see EA sitting on C&C much like they do on other IP's:

 

Crusader Series (Crusader No Remorse, No Regret)

Wing Commander

Ultima

Theme series (Theme Hospital etc)

Dungeon Keeper

Medal of Honor

Dead Space (Nobody knows it's future)

Mercenaries (attempted F2P reboot got cancelled early last year)

The Saboteur

 

The list goes on.

[keithktam 2]

Since when has EA ever sold an IP that they've shelved? I don't recall any. I remember in the late 90's when EA shelved Wing Commander IP and people wanted them to sell it but they didn't. Look how long it took System Shock 2 to get on GOG and Steam after being tweaked to run on newer systems? It took a while for good reason due to rights complications and EA no longer has that IP anymore.

 

Keep dreaming cause I see EA sitting on C&C much like they do on other IP's:

 

Crusader Series (Crusader No Remorse, No Regret)

Wing Commander

Ultima

Theme series (Theme Hospital etc)

Dungeon Keeper

Medal of Honor

Dead Space (Nobody knows it's future)

Mercenaries (attempted F2P reboot got cancelled early last year)

The Saboteur

 

The list goes on.

it pains me deeply!! I was and still am a big bullfrog fan!! man, things like syndicate, dungeon keeper, theme hospital...

[ren9999 0]

doesnt suprise me. at least EA aint likely to get its hands on renegade X, or APB, or Reborn

Edited November 3, 2013 by ren9999

[Nmenth 288]

They could send cease and desist orders, don't tempt the fates.

[Guest Rabbit]

I'm glad EA (so far) has been real good about the modding community. I feel like they'd only get upset if someone figured out how to mod frostbite.