Alice: Asylum May Forever Be in Purgatory

It’s never pleasant news to hear about the downfall of a game franchise, especially one as unique as American McGee’s Alice in Wonderland. Tim Burton’s Alice had nothing on this version, where Alice herself was committed to a mental hospital for sharing her depictions of Wonderland. Living in an orphanage after a terrible housefire took her family from her, believing she was the cause, this game holds no punches with its story content covering as much as drug abuse, an adult’s manipulation, and even darker themes.

Creators Behind Alice: Asylum Are Unable to Deliver on the Game

With a heavy heart, American McGee notified fans and Paetrons about the recent turnabout with the third chapter of Alice’s Journey, originally meant to be dubbed Alice: Asylum. It would no longer be pursued by the team in any venture. McGee, himself, stated that even if there were hope to bring a flame back to the project, he would no longer be a part of it. Instead, wanting to dedicate himself to his family and merchandise store.

The main reason behind Alice: Asylum falling through was in part due to the negotiations with EA as stated by McGee with there being a concern over the legal IP of “Alice,” having studied the license with EA stating that they will pass on the project. The next part is that they are not interested in funding the game after receiving the budget through the game devs’ team Production Plan and Design Bible which contains the schedule, team, and design for the game leading through its production.

The main reason behind Alice: Asylum falling through is EA’s ultimate decision that they are passing on giving the funding to the team to produce the game. After considering licensing “Alice,” the publisher decided that they will not be selling or advancing the IP. With this, the developers and production team behind Alice: Asylum will be unable to support their project even with the help of many devoted fans, without the company to back up the schedule, budget, team, and design for the overall project, they will be unable to work on it.

Fear not though, loyal fans, since the third chapter is in theory crafted completely. Although we may not be seeing a rise to a game in the foreseeable future, McGee and his team did put together what is called the Design Bible of Alice: Asylum. This details many aspects of the game that the production team wanted to see to fruition as well as behind-the-scenes notes that would normally cost you extra when purchasing a game. This lovingly-crafted Design Bible is actually a free PDF that you can download to keep what would have been a fantastic game in your hearts.

McGee wanted to thank his team and thus, we do the same to honor what they have done to see this project into what it is today. Although we may not see the game in its entirety, it was a wonderful journey all the same.