After a bit of suspense over just how well development of the sequel to DICE's 2008 surprise first-person platformer was going, it seems that EA has set the record straight. The publisher has decided to put a hold on the development of Mirror's Edge 2 while development of DICE's other major project Battlefield 3 commences.

The decision was made after DICE brought a prototype of the game to EA, and for whatever reason, the publisher judged that work on the project would need to be stopped altogether in favor of other properties.

The first Mirror's Edge, as many may remember, did not fare as well as many had hoped in either reviews or in sales figures. The game sold over 2 million copies and achieved a Metacritic rank of 79-81, but even those numbers failed to reach the lofty heights expected by EA. While many in the gaming industry had hoped that a second iteration of the game would solve some of the smaller issues, the wait may turn out to be longer than expected.

EA's Patrick Soderlund had previously voiced his support of the original game and its possible sequels, but ultimately even his hopes had to be put aside in favor of a smart business decision. Eurogamer's translation of the uncovered report doesn't paint too pretty a picture:

"Patrick acknowledges that Mirror's Edge didn't match up to their expectations regarding sales, and that has stopped the sequel that has been in development... EA was shown a prototype, but declined with askance. The project has been stopped - involved parties at DICE are working on something else now. Patrick himself seems to have Mirror's Edge near his heart, but they are not in the business of charity."

For those who don't know, 'askance' is defined as "an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval," so things clearly aren't ideal. It looks like the immediate future will include little to no talk of Mirror's Edge, but fans can take some comfort in the fact that there are still some at EA who are passionate about the game.

In all honest, if one of the game's most outspoken supporters decided that DICE's prototype wasn't up to standard, then perhaps it's best to focus on other projects at the moment.

Mirror's Edge had its problems (combat), but it was an original IP with no real precedent, a whole lot going for it, and a potentially incredible future. Maybe with a little more development time and learning from the mistakes of the first game (combat), DICE can give us a worthy sequel within the next few years.

Are you sad to hear that development of Mirror's Edge 2 has ceased for now, or would you rather have Battlefield 3 sooner anyway?

Mirror's Edge is currently available for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, iPhone and iPad.

Source: Eurogamer