EA Motive brings back community feedback group for Iron Man project

Motive's upcoming Iron Man project will take some cues from its recent Dead Space game—namely, the use of a community council. 

In a new blog, general manager Patrick Klaus revealed the studio would create a group made up of fans for the Marvel Comics character specifically, and Marvel overall. That team will give feedback on the project's development, from its design to story and gameplay. 

The Montreal developer previously used the feedback group to aid in development of 2020's Star Wars Squadrons and the aforementioned Dead Space remake. Notably, it appears to be a Motive staple: other Star Wars and Marvel developers such as Respawn or Insomniac Games haven't brought up creating a group for their specific brand projects.

It's unknown if such a group will be employed for Cliffhanger Games' Black Panther project or the third, unannounced Marvel game in the works at EA. 

Iron Man in the works

Iron Man is still in early pre-production, said Klaus, as staff "takes our time to make sure we set the best possible foundation for development." The project will use Unreal Engine 5—Motive's last two games used EA's proprietary Frostbite engine, which has previously been difficult for some EA developers (like BioWare) to work with.

Klaus further revealed that Motive has employed a hybrid work structure, wherein staff can either return to the office (as some staff have started doing) or continue working remotely. Some studios have continued to encourage remote work, while others are gradually pulling away from it and having staff come back to the office.

For those interested in applying to Motive, it should be noted that studio members are required to be in the office one or two days a week.

Earlier this year, Respawn's then-game director Stig Asmussen praised the studio for quickly adapting to working remotely. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor from this past April, and Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man 2 have been used as examples for how remote work ultimately doesn't change how well a game is regarded in the public eye.

"This is part of our vision for Motive," explained Klaus, "to give our teams the flexibility that remote work provides while also believing that collaboration and creativity can be more powerful and meaningful in person. I believe the right balance, and the renewed purpose it brings, will help us make our games even better."

Update: This story has been changed to clarify that Motive staff are required to be in the office at least two days of the week.