American McGee is putting the pain and frustration of EA rejecting his latest Alice game behind him, and he's asking that fans of the series do the same.
Earlier this month was not a good time for fans of McGee's gloomy take on Lewis Carroll's novels. He revealed on his Patreon that EA had turned down his pitch for Alice: Asylum—a project put together by McGee with the help of crowdfunding with the intention of creating a detailed pitch document to try and get EA to fund a sequel. Despite the publisher saying Alice was an "important part of EA's overall game catalog," it expressed no desire to resurrect it and spin a third game out of it.
Alice: Asylum has reached The EndAfter several weeks of review, EA has come back with a response regarding funding and/or licensing for "Alice: Asylum" - Alice had a good run but the dream is over. https://t.co/hyprIq9MpE#gamedev #aliceasylum pic.twitter.com/sIE3bKbaVYApril 7, 2023
Understandably, the news hit McGee and his fans pretty hard. At the time, he said he was done "with game production in general," adding "I have no other ideas or energy left to apply toward getting a new Alice game made. Nor do I have any interest in pursuing new game ideas within the context of the current environment for game development." That still appears to be true, with McGee saying he's doing his best to move on from the series and wants everyone else to move on too.
"I understand how difficult this is for many of you," he wrote in a Patreon post. "I am feeling the same pain and anger as many of you." But he went on to add: "It's tough to admit right now but ultimately, we're going to need to accept that this decision and the situation, in general, is out of our control."
He continued that it was not his choice to give up, writing: "EA decided to kill the project and the possibility of any future for Alice. That decision is on then. But we can make a decision of our own—and it's a strong decision to make—to move on. That is what we do have in our power. And it's often one of the most difficult decisions to be made in situations like this. But it's what we must do. So, I would ask that you join me in moving on. If you decide to stay back and continue fighting… that's fine. That is your decision to make. I respect that. And I ask that you also respect my decision to move on. Thank you."
For now, it seems McGee is setting sail around Australia with some friends. In a small FAQ, he mentioned that he may eventually come back to do a podcast or stream on Twitch. "It's too early for me to decide on something like this," he wrote. "There are parts of me that really just want distance from the online world in general. But let's wait and see how things look once I return to land."
