Summary
- Extremely Ok Games has made the decision to cancel Earthblade, caused primarily by disagreements over Celeste IP rights.
- Earthblade art director and EXOK co-founder Pedro Medeiros’ departure from the studio over the disagreement apparently gave EXOK the “clarity to see that we have lost our way”.
- Pressure on Earthblade after the success of Celeste made development exhausting, and the team has now wiped the slate clean and is working on smaller projects.
Celeste developer Extremely Ok Games (EXOK) has made the decision to cancel its upcoming title, Earthblade, midway through development. EXOK made the announcement in a blog post on the studio’s official website, which details exactly why the decision has been made to cancel the game entirely, rather than delay it, and what it means for the future of the developer.
In the update, it’s explained that the reason for the cancelation is primarily down to disagreements between developers over the IP rights of the studio’s previous game, Celeste, which caused what EXOK calls “a fracture” within the studio. While these disagreements are understandably being kept private, they apparently led to former Earthblade art director and EXOK co-founder Pedro Medeiros leaving the studio, which he announced back in November last year.
EXOK Says Earthblade Development Was “Exhausting”
Decisions Were Made About “The Right Path Forward”
EXOK explains that the decision to cancel Earthblade was made shortly after Medeiros decided to leave the studio, as they claim his departure gave them “the clarity to see that we have lost our way”. They began to reflect on whether seeing Earthblade through to the end was worth the pain, but that development had eventually become too “exhausting” due to the pressure that was mounting on the title.
As for what’s next, EXOK explains that it’s going to take lessons from its time working on Earthblade and apply them to “smaller-scale projects”. It’s currently prototyping certain projects in an attempt to wipe the slate clean, approaching development similar to how it did with previous titles Celeste and Towerfall, and wants to try and “return to our roots and reclaim some joy in our creative process”.
While this is undoubtedly disappointing to hear, especially since Earthblade looked like it had so much promise, I think i can speak for most when I say that no game is really worth the wellbeing of its developers. Hopefully, those at EXOK can bounce back and rediscover their joy of game development with smaller projects.

You are Névoa, an enigmatic child of Fate returning at long last to Earth, in this explor-action platformer from the creators of Celeste. Earthblade’s lush pixel art world offers seamless exploration, challenging combat, and countless mysteries to pick apart. Travel the remnants of a ruined world, encounter denizens both friend and foe, and piece together the Earth’s fractured history.