[UPDATE] An unnamed source says development on the Dead Space series has been shut down; EA says the original report is "patently false."

Update: EA has told GameSpot the VideoGamer report is "patently false." "While we have not released sales data for Dead Space 3, we are proud of the game and it continues to be an important IP to EA," added the publisher.

Original Story: EA has axed the Dead Space series, a new report suggests.

Lower-than-expected sales of Dead Space 3 caused the publisher to put the series to rest, a source told VideoGamer.com.

Dead Space 4 was allegedly in preproduction at Visceral Games and Visceral Montreal, with the latter studio now shut completely in a restructuring move.

The studio's troubled development of Dead Space 3 was also mentioned, suggesting that the game was subjected to multiple budget cuts throughout its production and was almost cancelled outright at one point.

A switch from weapon-specific ammo to generic ammo was also done to facilitate the game's contentious addition of microtransactions, the source says. Visceral was also allegedly told to rein in the horror aspects and follow an action-focused approach similar to Mass Effect.

EA Games Label president Frank Gibeau has previously said its AAA games need to sell upwards of 5 million copies if they want to survive. Dead Space 3 managed to top the UK charts at its launch, although was outsold by its predecessor which launched in a similar period.

Earlier this year EA put Medal of Honor to rest after poor sales.

Dead Space 3 will get a slice of single-player downloadable content, Awakening, in March.

EA said to GameSpot that it does not comment on rumour or speculation.

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