Dead Cells publisher Motion Twin just announced that there will not be any future updates to the game. Sebastien Benard — Dead Cells’ designer and co-founder of Motion Twin — isn’t happy with this decision. Read on to learn about his take on the matter.
Motion Twin Announces End of Future Updates for Dead Cells
Evil Empire Set to Work on "New Adventures"
The content train had to end somewhere. Dead Cells publisher Motion Twin just announced on the game’s official Steam page that Update 35 — the aptly named "The End is Near" update — will be the game’s final content update. This announcement was also posted on Twitter(X), garnering attention from fans and former members of Dead Cells’ development team alike — more on that later.
"Update 35 for Dead Cells marks the end of our creative journey on the game," wrote Motion Twin. "After an incredible 5-year collaboration in bringing additional content to Dead Cells' live-ops, Evil Empire will be pursuing new adventures and we can't wait to see what they come up next."
"This comes after much reflection, especially following the awesome success of the ‘Return to Castlevania’ DLC last year," they continued. "Our commitment to avoiding the more of the same
trap and keeping Dead Cells fresh and original has led us to this point; as we've seen with other long-running series, it's crucial not to overextend and risk diminishing the unique charm that makes Dead Cells special to us all."
The announcement went on to tease future updates and content for the Dead Cells Animated Series, the Dead Cells Board Game, and yet another upcoming collab. Motion Twin ended the announcement by wishing Evil Empire — a legally separate game development company that broke off from Motion Twin in 2019 — the best for its upcoming projects.
Former Dead Cells Designer Slams Motion Twin
Although it’s easy to assume that Motion Twin’s decision to cease future updates for Dead Cells was a joint agreement between both parties, Sébastien Benard — Dead Cells’ designer and co-founder of Motion Twin — would beg to differ.
As spotted by PCGamesN on Reddit, a Discord user asked Benard about his take on his former publisher’s recent announcement. Benard had the following to say: "Since you’re asking me, I’d just say [Motion Twin] did the worst imaginable a**hole move against Dead Cells and [Evil Empire]."
"Having seen first hand the actual situation behind the scene, I can honestly say I’m glad to not be part of this anymore. The official statement is total marketing bullshit, the way this situation happened is on a whole different level."
"I never imagined my former co-op studio would turn out to be such greedy people," he continued. "I wish the absolute best to [Evil Empire] for their next things, and hope people working there will survive this sudden economic cut."
Sebastien Benard Follows-up Statement on His Blog
Benard posted a follow-up statement on his official website the day after, hoping to clarify his statement and apologize for the bluntness of his words. "It was late, my words were definitely a bit impulsive, and I truly apologize for the blunt words," he said.
He went on to elaborate on his previous statement, going in-depth on the history of Motion Twin, its games before Dead Cells, and how it treated its oldest fans when it decided to go full-throttle with the Metroidvania-roguelike we’ve come to love.
"Obviously, when Dead Cells became the success we all know, MT decided to instantly ignore all of its past web-era player base," he wrote. "Seeing a similar abrupt termination decision from MT about Dead Cells, I can all but extrapolate on what happened behind the scenes. To be honest, the only true Dead Cells team is now basically Evil Empire that managed to carry the flame for so long, with a true love for the franchise."
The latter part of the blog covered Benard’s suspicions on why Motion Twin decided to cease updates on Dead Cells so abruptly, pointing to the publisher’s newest goldenboy, Windblown.
"As the press slowly started to realize that the Dead Cells true architects were now EE, I can easily see how the panic happened at MT," he wrote. "If you check the recent articles about Dead Cells, EE was mentioned more and more as the actual authors, which was honestly quite fair, given their supportive pedigree. But I can imagine MT didn’t like the fact that people started to realize that."
"I kind of understand the MT strategy: it’s a rather logical marketing stunt. Get rid of Dead Cells to leave room for Windblown. But as Motion Twin always did, it’s a one-way strategy that leaves people behind: both loyal players and employees at EE. Nothing really new, unfortunately."
It's hard to verify the veracity of Benard’s guess about Motion Twin’s sudden decision, though his prior experience with the publisher gives credence to his opinion. For the time being, Dead Cells fans will have to get with the company’s "out with the old, in with the new" attitude until Windblown is released.
Sources:
Dead Cells designer says decision to stop updates is ‘asshole move’ by former studio
Benard's Blog Post on his Official Website
Motion Twin's Official Announcement on Steam
