This original shooter in Command & Conquer universe has been annihilated by EA. Tiberium could have messed up the FPS market

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Back in February 2002, I had a special fondness for Command & Conquer: Renegade. I first heard of this game from an article in a specific magazine, but the review wasn’t very positive. Yet, at that time, I didn’t possess my own computer for educational purposes, so all the games I read about seemed like extraordinary discoveries to me.

A wave of nostalgia washed over me when I learned that EA had given the green light to a new game set in the Command & Conquer universe titled Tiberium. Without hesitation, it went straight onto my wishlist. Regrettably, the publisher didn’t seem to share my excitement… but we’ll deal with that later on.

Command & Conquer without C&C in the title

To begin with, it’s worth noting that despite Tiberium’s intended action taking place in the Command & Conquer universe, Electronic Arts chose to conceal this association. The reason behind this decision is not entirely clear, but it could be speculated that EA believed the C&C franchise was too weak at the time and its connection might negatively impact the entire project.

It’s also worth noting that with this development, Electronic Arts Los Angeles could potentially operate independently, perhaps even managing a brand-new, flourishing series all by itself. This scenario would please fans of the C&C franchise, as they’d receive another strong game within their beloved universe, and non-fans because they wouldn’t need to be well-versed in the comprehensive history of Command & Conquer to enjoy Tiberium.

The future in dark colors

From a modern viewpoint, it’s accurate to note that Tiberium wasn’t visually striking when compared to other shooters from its era. In media announcements, it was frequently compared to Resistance: Fall of Man or Gears of War. The developers crafted another game with a dark and gloomy atmosphere, painting the future in somber tones.

The primary protagonist in Tiberium was initially conceived as Ricardo Vega, a man who found himself smack in the middle of Italy’s Red Zone, one of the world’s most toxic regions, rendering it nearly uninhabitable. This region served as the battleground for two powerful forces: GDI, a future military-political group dedicated to combating global perils, and the Scrin, an advanced extraterrestrial race.

As we progress through these missions, we’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the main character as well as a variety of other characters such as Tera Gallagher and Maja from the novel “Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars”. Initially, in the game, it won’t be the group led by the enigmatic Kane who will primarily act as our adversary. (Nod is a fanatical paramilitary organization with the goal of overthrowing GDI.)

FPS with a strategic edge

Initially, Tiberium wasn’t only meant to be a shooter game. While you might have played it with a first-person perspective and pulling the trigger as the primary action, the developers had plans to incorporate several aspects of strategy games into their creation.

This project empowers us to direct entire platoons of soldiers, not just a few individuals. We’ll command these larger groups using a mix of contextual instructions and the traditional, bird’s-eye tactical approach.

In their project, the developers purposefully prioritized the combat element, ensuring that the main character’s arsenal included the versatile GD-10 weapon, which could morph into different firearms for battling both infantry and mechanical or vehicular adversaries. Additionally, a key feature would be the option to call in orbital strikes, causing chaos among enemy forces.

Red light

Tiberium was unveiled in December 2007, and over the subsequent months, it appeared that all was progressing smoothly for its release on our computers and gaming consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) as part of Electronic Arts Los Angeles’ project. However, contrary to initial expectations, things took an unexpected turn just a few months later – nothing could have been further from the truth.

Towards the close of September, Electronic Arts made an announcement that the development of Tiberium had been terminated, effective immediately. This information was shared in a memo to staff, released publicly on Kotaku, penned by Mike Verdu, who holds the position of creative director at EA LA.

With a sense of sadness, I’m compelled to share some unfortunate news: The development of our game, Tiberium, has come to an abrupt halt, effective immediately. After discussions with Nick Earl and Frank Gibeau at the EA Games Label, it’s been decided that due to the time and resources left, we won’t be able to produce this game up to the desired level of quality. The truth is, the game faced significant design hurdles from its inception. We put forth our best efforts to resolve these issues, but ultimately fell short; the game doesn’t seem to be coalescing as we had hoped, failing to meet both our internal and consumer quality expectations.

At the given moment, Mariam Sughayer, serving as EA’s representative, also expressed her thoughts on the issue, saying straightforwardly that:

At that point in time, Mariam Sughayer, acting as EA’s spokesperson, also provided her perspective on the matter, stating directly that:

Or simply:

Mariam Sughayer, representing EA then, also shared her opinion on the issue, speaking directly about it that:

As a dedicated gamer, I couldn’t help but notice that our game wasn’t quite hitting the top-notch standards we aimed for, nor those set by the esteemed EA Games Label. Releasing a subpar game wouldn’t serve the best interests of our valued players and wouldn’t thrive in this competitive marketplace.

It appears that the universe of Tiberium, characterized by its familiarity and popularity, carries a dark aesthetic, yet even innovative approaches might not ensure its success. To date, Tiberium has been the final effort to design a first-person shooter within the Command & Conquer universe. The publisher attempted to navigate with the C&C franchise itself, pondering over creating a strategy game under the name Command & Conquer. However, in time, it encountered a similar destiny. Only time will reveal if we’ll witness another game set in this world again.

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2025-07-13 21:32