"It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved." But as a big fan of "Dead Space," these words have so far been of little consolation.

After a decade of dormancy, the sci-fi horror series made a triumphant return last year with the flawless "Dead Space Remake." However, publisher EA has reportedly decided to put the series back into cryo-sleep, so rather than signify a fresh start for the franchise, it's more of a "this is it." And I am totally devastated. [Industry insider Jeff Grubb claimed that EA Motive, which brought us "Dead Space Remake," was working on a remake of "Dead Space 2," but that the team was "no longer working on [the Dead Space 2 Remake]." The unfavorable news first surfaced.

Grubb cited "poor sales" of the Dead Space remake as the reason the project was shelved, and instead Mortive focused on the previously announced Iron Man game and a new team working on the Battlefield franchise.

However, the plot thickened when IGN received a comment from EA that the story had no credibility. This denial gave "Dead Space" fans (myself included) a faint glimmer of hope, but shortly thereafter, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier appeared like a mutated necromorph popping out of a dark vent, and no "Dead Space" fan wanted to hear He delivered the news.

Schryer corroborated the legitimacy of EA's statement, but noted that Motive had spent time envisioning a new installment in the series and was even considering a remake of "Dead Space 2," but those plans "fizzled before they got too far away." He also claimed that Dead Space Remake fell short of internal sales targets, which was part of the reason EA ultimately did not allow a follow-up game set in this science fiction world. In conclusion, Schreier stated that "Dead Space is on ice again."

In my review of Dead Space Remake, I described the game as "a brilliant reimagining of a classic masterpiece. I sincerely hoped that this remake would usher in a new golden age for the series. [because it's especially disheartening to hear that the reason there's no "Dead Space 2 Remake" or a new "Dead Space" game (at least for now) is because of the low sales of such a great remake. Shame on anyone who didn't buy the game last year!

The low sales may be related to the Resident Evil 4 remake, which was released in March 2023, just a few months after Dead Space and sucked a lot of oxygen out of the room. Earlier this year, "Resident Evil 4 Remake" reportedly sold more than 6.5 million copies in less than 12 months, and it seems clear that survival horror fans have chosen Leon S. Kennedy over Isaac Clarke.

At the very least, I'm grateful for a great remake like the first "Dead Space" film. But after a decade of waiting for one of my favorite franchises to be resurrected, it's hard to swallow the idea of laying down for another drought, a drought that may well last forever. It's a waste in this cruel world.