Last week, Electronic Arts confirmed the cancellation of its Black Panther game and the closure of developer Cliffhanger Games. Now, thanks to new reporting from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, we finally know why the project was scrapped—and it wasn’t a creative dispute or a Marvel license issue.
According to sources close to the matter, the studio simply couldn’t get the Black Panther game out of pre-production after nearly four years of internal development.
EA Lost Patience After Years of Delay
Cliffhanger Games was established in 2021 with former Shadow of Mordor producer Kevin Stephens at the helm and a clear directive: build a AAA, single-player Black Panther title under EA’s Originals label. But despite being announced in 2023 and hitting a new internal milestone recently, the game still hadn’t left pre-production—a phase that usually lasts 12 to 18 months at most in AAA development.
Marvel’s Black Panther logo – Cliffhanger Games
“EA executives were frustrated that the game had not yet left the pre-production phase after nearly four years in development,” Schreier wrote, citing people familiar with the decision.
Many of the developers at Cliffhanger had reportedly been hired in just the past year, and some had been with the studio only a matter of weeks when the cancellation hit. The abrupt nature of the shutdown took employees by surprise, despite signs that EA had grown increasingly concerned with the project’s pace.
EA Says Marvel Deal Is Still Strong
In a statement to Insider Gaming, EA clarified that its larger collaboration with Marvel is still ongoing.
“Our partnership with Marvel remains strong and our multi-title, long-term collaboration continues,” they said.
Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther in Black Panther – Disney+
That deal includes other in-development projects, such as EA Motive’s Iron Man game. But with Cliffhanger Games now shut down, Black Panther won’t be part of that roadmap.
Public Scrutiny Around Narrative Team
While EA has made no suggestion that internal controversies influenced its decision, the studio faced growing public scrutiny in recent months related to the social media history and hiring practices of some Cliffhanger developers.
In 2023, Cliffhanger hired Dani Lalonders, an associate narrative designer and former contributor to Sweet Baby Inc. In a resurfaced 2021 panel from the Game Devs of Color Expo, Lalonders actually touted the fact that she had no White People on the development team for her indie game ValiDate.
Dani Lalonders via Game Devs of Color Expo YouTube
“ValiDate has a team of all people of color,” she said. “We have no white people on our team. I did that because I wanted to create a safe environment.”
Lalonders further explained that her decision was based on avoiding “microaggressions” and potential workplace conflict. Critics flagged the comments as discriminatory, especially after an archived post on X showed her responding to a critic, where she admitted to being prejudiced.
“So what now?” she asked the critic.
Dani Lalonders on X
Though she later claimed the comment was taken out of context and clarified she had no hiring authority at Cliffhanger, the statements brought unwanted attention to the studio.
Around the same time, Senior Writer Alexa Ray Corriea drew criticism for publicly endorsing a viral post by former Kotaku editor Alyssa Mercante that read “I don’t support all gamers. Most of you are bigots.”
Corriea reposted the remark, saying, “Need this on a shirt.”
Mozerlam on X
While Corriea eventually deleted the post and did not further comment, the exchange was widely circulated and reinforced concerns that parts of Cliffhanger’s narrative team held openly dismissive views toward the broader gaming community.
To be clear: EA’s decision to cancel Black Panther was reportedly driven by development delays, not public backlash. However, the attention surrounding these incidents contributed to a mounting perception problem for the project.
Final Thoughts
In an industry where AAA budgets are growing and patience is shrinking, even Marvel’s Black Panther couldn’t survive a pre-production stall of nearly four years. EA appears to have made a purely strategic call—cutting ties with a studio that, despite recent hiring efforts, had failed to move forward fast enough.
The controversy surrounding Cliffhanger’s staff may not have been the cause of the cancellation, but it certainly didn’t help the studio’s public image during a time of increased scrutiny.
A scene from Marvel Studios‘ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
As EA turns its focus to other Marvel projects, the story of Black Panther serves as a cautionary tale about timelines, expectations—and the optics that can form around a team long before a single trailer is ever released.
Are you surprised that the Black Panther game was in pre-production for four years? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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