The Dead Space team at Visceral Games isn't working on the Dead Space franchise anymore, EA Games boss Patrick Soderlund confirmed. This follows rumors that an upcoming Dead Space 4 had been canceled by the publisher.

"Is that team working on a Dead Space game today? No they're not," Soderlund said. "They're working on something else very exciting."

According to the rumor, Dead Space 3's lackluster sales had EA table the franchise. However, Soderlund insisted that the franchise is still important to the company. "I wouldn't say it's [Dead Space franchise] cancelled at all," Soderlund told Eurogamer. "Dead Space remains a brand that is close to Electronic Arts' heart. It's been a great brand for us done by a very passionate team."

Soderlund argues that it would benefit gamers for the developer to work on something new, instead of working on a franchise that they've been tied to for an entire console generation. "You have to think of it from that perspective. Is it better to put them on the fourth version of a game they've done three previous versions of before? Or is it better to put them on something new that they want to build, that they have passion for?"

"Will there be another Dead Space game? Who knows? Have we killed it? No, of course not. But right now that dev team is focused on something else that you and other gamers will be very happy with," he added.

It's likely that Dead Space 4 will happen one day. Hey, this is the company that announced a new Mirror's Edge five years after the original release--and didn't light up the sales charts.