{"id":1103488,"date":"2026-01-27T17:12:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T17:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=512505"},"modified":"2026-01-27T17:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T17:12:32","slug":"celeste-follow-up-canceled-as-devs-refocus-to-smaller-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/celeste-follow-up-canceled-as-devs-refocus-to-smaller-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Celeste follow-up canceled as devs \u2018refocus\u2019 to smaller projects"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Earthblade<\/em>, the follow-up to 2018 2D platformer Celeste<\/em>, has been canceled, developer Extremely OK Games announced in a blog post<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made this decision in December and felt it best to wait until now to announce it,\u201d the developer wrote. \u201cFor us on the inside we\u2019ve had some time to process, grieve, and work toward accepting this, although that process is nonlinear and still ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post details a \u201cdisagreement about the IP rights of Celeste<\/em>\u201d last year between former art director Pedro Medeiros and current Extremely OK Games members Maddy Thorson and Noel Berry. The three of them \u201ceventually reached a resolution, but both parties also agreed in the end that we should go our separate ways.\u201d Medeiros left the team<\/a> in November and is currently working on their own game, Neverway<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Extremely OK Games says the disagreement wasn\u2019t the sole reason for the game\u2019s cancellation, but that it prompted the company to \u201ctake a serious look at whether fighting through to finish Earthblade<\/em> was the right path forward.\u201d Even though it was announced in 2019, the team said it was \u201cnot as far along as one would expect after such a protracted development process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earthblade<\/em> was meant to be another 2D platformer in the style of Celeste<\/em>, borrowing its pastel pixel art style and Metroidvania exploration elements. The game would\u2019ve followed main character N\u00e9voa as they explored a ruined Earth with a soundtrack composed by Lena Raine, who previously did the music for Celeste<\/em><\/a>. The first footage of the game was shown at the 2024 Game Awards<\/a> and showcased its intricate 2D levels and gloomy tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cCeleste’s<\/em> success applied pressure on us to deliver something bigger and better with Earthblade<\/em>, and that pressure is a large part of why working on it has become so exhausting,\u201d it wrote. \u201cPedro isn’t to blame for this \u2014 in fact the split with him has given us the clarity to see that we have lost our way, and the opportunity to admit defeat. I feel many ways about it, but one big feeling is undoubtedly relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other members of the team decided to leave last year as well, leaving Thorson and Berry as the remaining employees of Extremely OK Games. The developer said it wants to \u201cwipe the slate clean\u201d and refocus on \u201csmaller-scale projects.\u201d \u201cWe’re prototyping again and exploring at our own pace, and trying to rediscover game development in a manner closer to how we approached it at Celeste’s<\/em> or TowerFall’s<\/em> inception.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earthblade, the follow-up to 2018 2D platformer Celeste, has been canceled, developer Extremely OK Games announced in a blog post on Wednesday. \u201cWe made this decision in December and felt it best to wait until now to announce it,\u201d the developer wrote. \u201cFor us on the inside we\u2019ve had some time to process, grieve, and work toward accepting this, although that process is nonlinear and still ongoing.\u201d The post details a \u201cdisagreement about the IP rights of Celeste\u201d last year between former art director Pedro Medeiros and current Extremely OK Games members Maddy Thorson and Noel Berry. The three of them \u201ceventually reached a resolution, but both parties also agreed in the end that we should go our separate ways.\u201d Medeiros left the team in…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1103489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1103488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nCeleste follow-up canceled as devs \u2018refocus\u2019 to smaller projects | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Earthblade, the follow-up to 2018 2D platformer Celeste, has been canceled, developer Extremely OK Games announced in a blog post on Wednesday. \u201cWe made\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/celeste-follow-up-canceled-as-devs-refocus-to-smaller-projects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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