The Dead Space series could return, but only if Electronic Arts is able to come up with an idea that retains the core spirit of the franchise and the development team is enthusiastic about it. That's according to EA Studios executive vice president Patrick Söderlund, who spoke to Polygon about the (potential) future of the Dead Space series.

"Do I think that we will create a Dead Space game again? Yes, I think so" -- Söderlund

"To the largest extent we can, we want to get the game teams to work on the things they want to work on themselves," Söderlund, pointing out that Dead Space creator Visceral Games has an "incredible amount of enthusiasm" for its current projects: Battlefield Hardline and an unannounced Star Wars game.

"Do I think that we will create a Dead Space game again? Yes, I think so. But when we do so, we have to think about what made the previous ones successful and how we go about envisioning Dead Space for a new generation," he added.

The most recent Dead Space game was 2013's Dead Space 3, which failed to meet commercial expectations for EA. It was later reported that the Dead Space series was canceled outright, though EA swiftly refuted this claim, going on to say that the franchise is a "great brand."

EA is not currently working on a new Dead Space game, but Söderlund said he's optimistic about returning to the franchise sometime in the future.

"Now, I'm not announcing a Dead Space game. We're not building one just to be very clear, but I'm saying is there an opportunity or possibility to do one in the future? Absolutely," he said.