Black Panther Game Cancelation Reportedly Shocked EA Staff for 2 Reasons

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Summary

  • EA’s decision to cancel Cliffhanger’s Black Panther game and close the studio reportedly came as a “shock” to some of the developer’s employees.
  • Cliffhanger was hiring for the project until the very last moment, and EA had just recently approved its production to continue, insiders claim.
  • Separately, some EA executives were reportedly frustrated the Black Panther game hadn’t left pre-production after 4 years.

Reports suggest that the team at Cliffhanger Games were taken aback by Electronic Arts’ decision to scrap their highly anticipated ‘Black Panther’ game, as they had been confident about its progress right up until the cancellation. This is based on a recent report detailing various factors that led Cliffhanger employees to believe their ‘Black Panther’ project was secure and moving forward smoothly until the very end.

In July 2023, it was officially revealed that Cliffhanger, based in Seattle, had been founded. Their debut project was confirmed to be the “Black Panther” video game. However, just two years later, Electronic Arts (EA) disclosed they were shutting down their subsidiary and abandoning their one and only title. An internal email from EA Entertainment president Laura Miele revealed that the move aimed to redirect the company’s energies towards “promising avenues for expansion.

It appears that several staff members at Cliffhanger Studios were equally taken aback by this recent turn of events, as reported by Jason Schreier from Bloomberg, based on information from sources close to the situation. The reason for their surprise is multifaceted. For one thing, Cliffhanger was actively recruiting for various positions until they found out that their Black Panther game had been cancelled and its future decided. Furthermore, executives at EA had recently assessed the project’s progress and given it the green light to proceed; those in the know described this assessment as a significant milestone, or “gate”, in every EA development process.

Cliffhanger Staffers Believed Black Panther Game Was Coming Together Well

According to EA’s seal of approval and as reported by Schreier’s sources, the project appeared to be progressing smoothly. However, other anonymous sources in the exposé mentioned that some EA executives were growing impatient because the game was still stuck in pre-production after four years of development, which had started two years before its public announcement in July 2023 and eventual cancellation.

It seems that the disparity in views between EA management and Cliffhanger Studios may have led to the premature release of concept art for a potential Black Panther game, shortly following the announcement of their studio closure. Even though EA has expressed intentions to redistribute the staff before resorting to layoffs, there’s still a chance that more project materials could be leaked by dissatisfied employees.

As an ardent fan, I’m thrilled to share that despite Black Panther not gracing the cover of Cliffhanger’s title, this iconic Marvel character is poised to make a comeback in a forthcoming video game. The intriguing news about Skydance New Media’s Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra has been confirmed with a recent status update. Publisher Plaion announced that it’s targeting an early 2026 release. This thrilling action-adventure, powered by Unreal Engine 5, was initially planned for a holiday 2025 launch, but has since been pushed to the following year, based on the 2010 limited comic series Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers.

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2025-05-31 01:05