Dead Space 4 is a dream fans of the sci-fi horror series refuse to let go, but following creator Glen Schofield’s hopeful comments about a new game last year, another Dead Space veteran has stepped in to explain why a fourth instalment probably won’t get made.

Speaking during a yet-to-be-aired episode of the FRVR podcast, Dead Space producer and writer Chuck Beaver revealed it’s very unlikely a new entry will happen, as the “numbers just aren’t there”. 2023’s Dead Space remake – developed by Motive – reportedly sold a little over 2m copies. But even so, a report surfaced in 2024 claiming a Dead Space 2 remake had also been in the works but was cancelled due to the first game’s “lacklustre sales” – although EA later insisted there was “no validity” to that report.

“It’s disappointing that we can’t make a beloved franchise to its logical end,” Beaver added, “but I guess I’m too much of a producer, [I’ve] been producing for too long. I understand the numbers, and I understand what’s happening, and why even Motive wasn’t really greenlit for anything after the remake.”

Beaver also argued “horror games have a bit of a ceiling”, saying the sales needed to keep the series alive after Dead Space 3 would have been around 5m at the time. “The number is like 15m units now,” he estimated, “given the cost of things”. For reference, Resident Evil Requiem – a massive hit by all accounts – has recently crossed 7m units sold.

Beaver has been quite vocal in the past about his dissatisfaction with how Dead Space 3 turned out, claiming the team wasn’t “allowed to make a horror game from the beginning”. Back in 2018, we also learned about the scrapped original vision for Dead Space 4, which would’ve explored “the origin of the Necromorphs and what purpose humans held in this dark universe”.