The lost Mirror's Edge sequel
Former DICE team members talk about their plans for a Mirror's Edge sequel following the game's release in 2008 -- and why those plans didn't pan out.
In 2016, DICE released Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, an open-world sequel to its innovative 2008 first-person action game. Faith returned as the protagonist; the magnificent glass city framed by cerulean blue skies returned as the parkour playground. But while the game was developed by the same studio, it was primarily made by different people.
As it turns out, the core group behind the original attempted to get a direct sequel off the ground years earlier. Those attempts took different forms, with plans for a nighttime setting, a heavier emphasis on combat, and even an episodic structure. The team wasn't able to get a project approved by the executive group at Electronic Arts at the time, and eventually moved on to other things, with many going back to work on Battlefield.
These sorts of pitches aren't unusual in game development, and these may not have been the only Mirror's Edge sequel pitches presented over the years. But when talking with Design Room for our Mirror's Edge oral history, four of the original team members opened up about their plans for a follow-up.
Lewis Gordon