'Dead Space 3' needs an audience "of about five million" for continued series investment

EA's Frank Gibeau expresses the need for a broader audience to continue the Dead Space IP.

Dead Space 3 is focusing on its action elements in order to make the series more "broadly appealing," EA president Frank Gibeau told CVG.

Gibeau says that features such as new environments and the added co-op mode will make the third installment to the series "our biggest Dead Space." While the game will highlight the action aspects, it has not strayed completely from its horror roots. " We definitely do not want to piss off our fans by taking it too far from horror," Gibreau said.

With its work on Dead Space 3, EA hopes to make the franchise accessible to a broader audience. "We tried to open up the accessibility of the IP a little bit by adding a little bit more action, but not undermining the horror," he said. "We can't not be a horror game because that's what Dead Space is.

"Ultimately you need to get to audience sizes of around five million to really continue to invest in an IP like Dead Space," Gibreau added, noting that the company has been "very paranoid" in terms of preserving its already loyal fanbase.

"We're very self aware of that — we listen to the fans and we hear them. We're going to be releasing more assets over the coming months that show you how deep the horror is. It's definitely not getting away from gore or horror, but at the same time it's opening up to a larger audience by adding some elements," he added.

Dead Space 3 is set to release in February 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.