Red alert: EA cancels Command & Conquer, Victory Studios shut down

This gentleman is not pleased.

It’s a sad and sudden end to the latest in the increasingly troubled Command & Conquer series, as the developer Victory Studios today confirms that production on the game has ceased. The problems run further still, as publishers EA have confirmed to Polygon that the team will be disbanded and the studio shut down.

That studio closure runs contrary to the blog post announcing the end of production on the game, which states “To that end, we have already begun looking at a number of alternatives to get the game back on track. We look forward to sharing more news about the franchise as it develops.” Obviously that may still be happening, but with a different developer in charge.

Earlier in the same blog post, Victory Studios explains the reason for the cancellation: “We shifted the game away from campaign mode and built an economy-based, multiplayer experience. Your feedback from the alpha trial is clear: We are not making the game you want to play. That is why, after much difficult deliberation, we have decided to cease production of this version of the game.” A little petulant, perhaps, but you can understand their frustration if this was written with the knowledge that EA was closing their doors.

But what of any money you may have spent on the alpha version of Command & Conquer? The post states that “Over the next 10 days we will be refunding any and all money spent in the alpha.” Hopefully that’s on the alpha as well as in the alpha, or some people will be quite upset. Those with questions about refunds are directed towards help.ea.com.

Command & Conquer was a free-to-play reinvention of the classic RTS series, planned for release in 2014. Bizarrely enough, Paul confirms that the current alpha client is still actually working. Enjoy it while it lasts.