‘A huge, heartbreaking, but liberating failure’: Celeste creators’ ambitious Earthblade game canceled

Announced several years ago, the fantasy action platformer Earthblade from the independent Canadian studio Extremely OK Games (Celeste, Towerfall) was not released in 2024 and will not see the light of day at all – the game was cancelled.

Image source: Extremely OK Games

According to Extremely OK Games head Maddy Thorson, the decision to cancel Earthblade was made together with programmer Noel Berry at the end of December, but they decided to make an announcement in 2025.

It all started with the departure of art director Pedro Medeiros due to an internal conflict over the rights to Celeste. The parties managed to reach an agreement, but the artist went his own way (see his new game Neverway).

Earthblade concept art

At the time of Medeiros’ departure, Earthblade’s development had not progressed as far as might have been expected. Thorson and Berry decided it wasn’t worth it: “Yeah, we’re starting the year with a huge, heartbreaking, but liberating failure.”

The success of Celeste put pressure on developers to make a bigger and better game, which made Earthblade’s production grueling, and its cancellation left Thorson with a variety of feelings, including “definite relief.”

Thorson and Berry urge Medeiros not to be blamed for Earthblade cancellation

Earthblade users, as the mysterious child of Fate who has finally returned to Earth, had to travel through a destroyed world, piece together its history and fight enemies. The game was created for PC (Steam) and consoles.

Thorson believes that if not for the cancellation, the team could have had a “great game.” After the failure of Earthblade, the developers are determined to rediscover the joy in their creative process and see where it takes them.