A sequel to Visceral Games' original horror game Dead Space is entering production in the coming months, according to a job listing noticed by superannuation.

"The game is in the later stages of pre-production, ready for production in the next few months, with many of the navigational and combat mechanics in place," reads the listing.

Though Dead Space's initial retail performance didn't overjoy EA, the game eventually passed the one million sales mark. EA CEO John Riccitiello referred to the franchise as a "long-term big winner for us" in December 2008.

The job listing notes that the team working on Dead Space 2 has "complete autonomy and creative control" over its decisions, and that the "Games Label at EA is 100% committed to this IP, and has already worked on IP extensions such as comic, animated features, and action figures."

Visceral Games' shooter Dead Space is to bring its scares to the silver screen in a movie adaptation by Eagle Eye director D.J. Caruso, Variety reports.

Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey will produce, whose previous work includes Alien vs. Predator, Twilight and I, Robot--and are both producing the Gears of War movie.

Once a screenwriter is found and EA signs off on the creative direction, the property will be auctioned to studios, which Variety says is likely to happen in early September.

Caruso also directed Disturbia--a remake of Hitchcock's thriller Rear Window--and is attached to a movie adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan's comic book Y: The Last Man.

Already a comic itself, the Dead Space franchise spreads to Wii on September 29 in the on-rails shooter prequel Dead Space Extraction, while Dead Space 2 is also underway.

Publisher Activision has hired Dead Space veterans Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey away from EA, with the duo set to lead a new studio in the San Francisco Bay Area that's been tasked with a creating a new game based in an existing Activision franchise.

Schofield had served as executive producer on Dead Space at Visceral Games, formerly known as EA Redwood Shores, and was acting as vice president and general manager of the studio. Condrey, meanwhile, was the studio's COO. The developer's work on Dead Space Extraction and Dante's Inferno is said to be unaffected by the staff changes.

Word of the departures first emerged via GameSpot, with EA and Activision later confirming the news to various sites, including VG247 and IndustryGamers.

Electronic Arts today announced that it has changed the name of development studio EA Redwood Shores to Visceral Games.

Redwood Shores is responsible for the recent horror title Dead Space, as well as the upcoming literary, tit-filled action title Dante's Inferno.

"Action, intensity, excellence. It isn't just in our DNA, it's in our blood," said Visceral Games VP Glen Schofield, who elaborated on his company's dedication to viscera in a press release dripping with carnage.

"For the past two years, we have adopted a new culture that prizes excellence above all else," he added, brutally. "Primal action is the beating heart of the studio and now our new name reflects that."

One can only point out the definitions of visceral, as copied from Webster's: "felt in or as if in the viscera; not intellectual; dealing with crude or elemental emotions." Yes, EA has perhaps found the perfect name for a videogame studio.

During a conference call today, EA CFO Eric Brown noted that both EA Redwood Shores' Dead Space and DICE's Mirror's Edge sold over one million copies each in 2008.

The figure includes all versions of the games that were released in 2008. The action-horror shooter Dead Space was available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, while the first-person parkour game Mirror's Edge hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2008.

As the PC version of Mirror's Edge followed the console editions in mid-January of 2009, its sales numbers were not reflected in the total 2008 sales.

Brown did not touch on known planned sequels for either game, though EA CEO John Riccitiello noted that "games with a 2 on them sell better" and have lower R&D costs.

EA Redwood's spooky shooter Dead Space has gone live on Valve's Steam distribution platform.

The game sells for $49.99. Though no PC demo exists, a console demo can be found on the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live Marketplace.

The first edition of the official Dead Space comic is available to freely peruse online at Newsrama.

The comic was drawn by Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night), and written by Antony Johnston (Wasteland).

Dead Space: The Comic serves as a prequel to the EA game, which Johnston also scripted. The full series can be found as a hardcover collection.

While lowered expectations have caused Electronic Arts to consider axing some games, the company has suggested that the planned sequels for EA Redwood Shores' Dead Space and DICE's Mirror's Edge will not be affected by the upcoming cuts.

"Dead Space looks like a long-term big winner for us," EA CEO John Riccitiello stated during a conference call today. "Mirror's Edge is one that was very strongly reviewed. That one's gonna go forward--we'll be looking at some issues around the design to make sure strong IP is married with strong business."

Riccitiello added: "Many times, what happens with new IP is the first edition doesn't generate the units that subsequent editions could generate."

The CEO also touched on the recent release of Mythic's Warhammer Online, stating his belief that the PC MMO "will continue to perform very very well."

A free downloadable demo of EA Redwood Shores' Dead Space will tomorrow hit the PlayStation 3's online PlayStation Store and the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace, publisher Electronic Arts has announced.

"Before you carve your turkey this Thanksgiving practice on some Necromorphs with the Dead Space Dismemberment Demo," noted EA. The creepy-crawly sci-fi action game was released on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in mid-October.

Alongside its November 25 launch in North America, the demo will hit the European Xbox Live Maketplace on the same day, followed by a European PlayStation Store release on Thursday, November 27.

A demo of the PC version was not mentioned in today's announcement.

Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the horror action game Dead Space will receive "premium upgrade packs", publisher Electronic Arts announced today.

Available November 13 on the Xbox Live Marketplace and November 20 in the PlayStation Store, the packs will offer a variety of player suits, weapons and weapons skins. In addition to the ten packs available for both platforms, there will be two platform-exclusive downloads too.

A complete list follows

• Astronaut Pack: Download the Astronaut Suit and Weapon Skin Pack, featuring an amazing Astronaut Suit and new skins for the Plasma Cutter, Pulse Rifle, and Ripper! - $3.00 / 240 MS points
• Big Gun Pack: Download the Steam Punk Force Gun, the ultimate in Necromorph-killing destruction. - $1.00 / 80 MS points
• Heavy Damage Pack: Download the Heavy Damage Weapon pack featuring a cool new look and massive firepower for the Plasma Cutter, Contact Beam, Pulse Rifle, and Ripper.... Read more

As the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Dead Space ship out to stores today, with the PC version following next week, publisher EA has issued the 14th (and presumably final) trailer for EA Redwood Shores' scary as hell sci-fi thriller.

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A new developer diary from EA Redwood Shores' Dead Space has arrived, discussing the game's influences on its art and censor-worthy gore.

The sci-fi survival horror title, which scared the hell out of Faylor, arrives tomorrow for PS3 and 360 with a PC release next week.

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I'll admit it. I got scared by a baby. While I was playing in broad daylight, no less.

But this wasn't just any regular old baby. Oh sure, it looks like a perfectly normal human infant, right up until the point that it sprouts three tentacles and shoots off lethal spikes in a disconcerting attempt to release your innards from their fleshy trappings.

Hey, that corridor was totally clear a second ago. You can't blame me for jumping a little bit when the wee lad popped out from behind the corner. I hadn't seen any enemies in a while. I thought I was safe.

That's part of the magic of Dead Space. EA Redwood Shores' survival horror effort, due out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next week with a PC release on October 20, isn't all scary all the time. Like any good horror movie, there are lulls in the action.

The thing is, you don't know when those scary moments are coming... Read more

EA Redwood Shores' creepy-crawly sci-fi action game Dead Space has gone gold--meaning the title is complete and has entered the manufacturing process--publisher and studio owner Electronic Arts has announced.

As previously announced and reconfirmed today, the North American release of Dead Space will hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 14, with the PC edition following on October 20. A $150 Ultra Limited Edition of the Xbox 360 version, limited to 1,000 copies, is also available for pre-order from the online EA Store.

Electronic Arts today brings us a new Dead Space video development diary, presenting a look at the game's animation systems as explained by the people that created them.

If animation systems don't sound exciting to you, there are also a lot of gruesome death scenes a la Resident Evil 4.

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Dead Space is set for an October 14 launch on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a PC release coming nearly a week later on October 20.

Continuing the recent trend of ultra-expensive premium collector's editions--see Fallout 3's $120 Survival Edition, the $140 Gears of War 2 Lancer bundle, and Halo 3's $130 Spartan Helmet-- publisher EA has begun offering pricey limited editions of Dead Space and Mirror's Edge in its online store.

The $150 Ultra Limited Edition of EA Redwood Shore's sci-fi horror title Dead Space is only available for the Xbox 360 version, and is limited to 1,000 copies. The game arrives on PS3 and Xbox 360 October 14, with the PC version set for October 20.

Meanwhile, the $130 Runner's Bag Bundle for EA DICE's first person parkour title Mirror's Edge is available in PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 form--both arriving November 11--but is not listed for the PC version that hits later this winter.

Read on for the contents of each special edition... Read more

The latest development diary video from Dead Space (PC, PS3, X360) is now available, offering extensive gameplay footage with more zero-gravity action.

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The sci-fi survival horror game from EA Redwood Shores ships next month.

Glen Schofield, executive producer of EA Redwood Shores' sci-fi survival horror game Dead Space, added to the speculation circling around the game's possible ban in three countries.

In an interview with IGN Australia, he confirmed that the extra-gory title has been banned in Japan, but for now it's of no concern. "No cuts. We're not softening it for anybody. I think a part of it was, he's not a killer. He's killing aliens and that's why we thought for a while we'd get it through in Germany. And they were like, 'Well, the fact that he can get dismembered pretty grotesquely is bad, so...'"

Schofield also had a lot to say about Electronic Arts, the game's publisher: "At one point, one of EA's marketing guys said, 'Hey - let's get a big ... Read more

EA has released a new development diary video for the sci-fi horror survival game Dead Space showing off the game's zero-gravity scenarios and its implications on gameplay.

The EA Redwood Shores developed title made news last week by getting pushed up instead of delayed and then again by possibly being banned in several countries. It now releases on October 14 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and October 20 for PC.

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Update: Dead Space is not yet banned in Germany, as the game is still under review at ratings board USK, according to Eurogamer.de. (Link is in German.)

Original Story: EA Redwood Shores' sci-fi survival horror title Dead Space, which was recently pushed up twice for finishing early, has hit a snag: the game has been outright banned from sale in Japan, Germany, and China, reports Destructoid relaying the Dead Space site.

According to the report, publisher EA has not yet announced whether or not it will re-work the game for release in those countries. On our shores, the game is still set for its new early launch date of October 14 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A PC version will arrive on October 20.

Germany is no stranger to video game censorship, as the country often receives versions of games with violent content toned down. China is also moving in a similar direction, but Japan--a country that produces violent games like Capcom's Resident Evil and Dead Rising--may come as a surprise to industry watchers.