Game designer American McGee, the director of American McGee’s Alice and its sequel Alice: Madness Returns is trying to build up hype for a potential third game in the series, though the process isn’t going as fast as he would like. McGee posted to Twitter lamenting the lack of sign-ups for the Alice 3 mailing list, a number he says would help prove there was demand for another game.
Crazy thing about making a new Alice game: Millions of people played the games. But mailing list sign-ups to show support for a new game [sad trombone]💩
Just hit 50k sign-ups. That took 3 years!
We’re doing something wrong or people can’t be bothered?https://t.co/7jZcuGd4u2 pic.twitter.com/HT7pbHHz90
— ⚓ American McGee 🏴☠️ (@americanmcgee) August 9, 2021
The screenshot shows just over 50,000 people have signed up for the mailing list, which McGee says is the result of about three years of effort. He first started talking about a third Alice game back in 2014, and gave it the tentative title of Alice: Asylum in 2017.
Electronic Arts currently owns the rights to the Alice series, meaning McGee can’t produce a third game through alternative routes like crowdfunding unless he can obtain the rights. The developer’s current plan seems to be to use the mailing list to show there is interest in a third game, to convince EA it’s worth greenlighting a sequel. While replies to McGee’s tweet pointed out that mailing lists are a bit dated in 2021, when fans can easily find information about the game on social media, the developer has said signing up is still the best way to show support for Alice: Asylum.
It’s more about saying to EA or investors, “Look, a million people signed up for the mailing list.” It moves the needle, as they say. No biggy… interesting to see all this feedback.
— ⚓ American McGee 🏴☠️ (@americanmcgee) August 9, 2021
McGee sees the recent resurrection of the Dead Space franchise as a hopeful sign for his own series, though in the past has criticised how EA handled the marketing of previous game Alice: Madness Returns.
