Battlefield 2 Developer Cancels Upcoming PS2 & Xbox Titles
Posted on February 5th, 2006 by Frank Cifaldi 
According to a recent press release, Swedish developer Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (DICE) and majority stockholder Electronic Arts have cancelled outsourced development for both the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions of their upcoming console game, which has yet to be officially titled or announced.
DICE CEO Patrick Soderlund blames poor holiday performance of both PlayStation 2 and Xbox software, particularly DICE’s own Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, which sold approximately one million copies last year. One million may seem like a lot, but as Soderlund explains, it’s not enough to pay the bills:
“Battlefield 2 Modern Combat has to sell-in in more than 4 million copies to retailers before Digital Illusions gets any royalty,” said Soderlund. “The high royalty barrier is due to the big development budget and the shared development between the Company and EA.”
“Because of the high royalty barrier we haven’t calculated with any considerable revenues from Battlefield 2 Modern Combat, besides what we already received for the actual development. This means the financial variables for the Company is not affected to any major extent.”
In other words, PS2 and Xbox games ain’t sellin’, and according to analysts, they ain’t gonna, so DICE is pulling out while they have a chance. The PSP port, however, is going according to schedule.
So, to sum it up: the guys who made Battlefield 2 are making a new game for EA, the title and genre of which are unknown. The game was planned for the PS2, Xbox, PSP, Xbox 360, and PS3. Now, the PS2 and Xbox versions are cancelled. Got it? Good. As you were, then.
