Celeste Devs' Earthblade Canceled Amidst Discord

The highly anticipated Earthblade, from the creators of the acclaimed Celeste, has been cancelled due to internal team conflicts. This article details the circumstances surrounding the game's cancellation.

Internal Discord Leads to Earthblade's Cancellation

Extremely OK Games (EXOK), the studio behind Celeste, announced the cancellation of Earthblade on their official website. In a statement, Director Maddy Thorson explained that a significant internal rift, involving herself, programmer Noel Berry, and former art director Pedro Medeiros, contributed to the decision. The core issue stemmed from a disagreement regarding the intellectual property rights of Celeste, a conflict that ultimately led to Medeiros' departure to pursue his own project, Neverway.

Thorson emphasized that despite the disagreements, there are no hard feelings towards Medeiros and his new team. However, the loss of Medeiros, coupled with the game's less-than-anticipated progress after a lengthy development period, prompted the cancellation. The immense success of Celeste also placed significant pressure on the team, contributing to burnout and ultimately leading to the decision to halt development.

EXOK's Future Focus

Moving forward, Thorson and Berry intend to focus on smaller-scale projects, aiming to recapture the creative energy and collaborative spirit that defined their work on Celeste and TowerFall. They expressed hope for future collaborations with former team members. The statement concluded on a positive note, emphasizing a return to their roots and a renewed focus on enjoying the creative process.

Earthblade was envisioned as an explor-action platformer, centered around Névoa, a child of Fate, returning to a ravaged Earth.