- Nexon has axed the development of an open-world title described as a GTA-style fantasy game.
- Codenamed Project EL, the title was in the works for over 2 years at the company.
- New chairman Patrick Soderlund, who is also the boss of Arc Raiders, cancelled the title in a bid to revitalise the development pipeline of Nexon.
Following the massive success of Crimson Desert, open-world titles are all the hype in the gaming industry right now. Players have lost themselves in the title, putting in 22 hours on average every week. With GTA 6 also around the corner, there is no scarcity of well-made sandboxes for players.
But, what if a video game were the mixture of Crimson Desert’s massive scale and the narrative of GTA’s exciting open-world? Well, the South Korean company Nexon had a title like this in development, which has now been cancelled.
Why it matters: Crimson Desert’s success has showcased that taking a chance on ambitious ideas does pay off if enough time and care are invested, but it seems like Nexon has other plans.
According to the Korean site MTN, Nexon has cancelled Project EL, a GTA-style fantasy title with a massive open-world. The game had been in the works for two years at the company, beginning full-scale development in 2024 under AXE director Shim Ki-hoon.
However, the project has now been axed following the reassessment of all titles under construction at Nexon by new chairman Patrick Soderlund. The Arc Raiders boss, who is pushing for AI to redesign development at the Korean company, is building his own game pipeline for the studio.
Hence, all existing productions at Nexon are under review as Soderlund restructures the development landscape based on the principles of Embark Studios. Project EL is the first and most notable casualty so far, as the title had gained attention for its promise of building a fantasy world in the vein of GTA.
As per the report, all developers working on the fantasy title are waiting to be reassigned, and a massive project review will be held to assess what went wrong.
Do you think Nexon should have cancelled a title that seems like a combination of Crimson Desert and GTA? Tell us in the comments below or head to the Tech4Gamers forum for discussion.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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