CI Games and Epic Games have ended the publishing deal covering Lords of the Fallen 2, according to a report carried by Military.com. The cancellation removes the retailer-turned-publisher that had been attached to the sequel and puts the project's route to market back in question.

The original title in the series, Lords of the Fallen, shipped in 2014 through publisher Bandai Namco, and CI Games has spent the years since trying to get a follow-up into production across several internal reshuffles and developer changes. Epic's involvement had represented the most concrete publishing commitment the sequel had secured.

What does the end of the deal change?

For CI Games, the immediate operational consequence is commercial rather than technical: the studio must now find a new publishing partner or self-publish the title, and any marketing, platform and funding arrangements tied to the Epic agreement fall away.

For the wider mid-sized studio sector, the split is a reminder that platform-holder publishing arms — Epic Games Publishing included — curate their slates actively and will exit arrangements that no longer fit, regardless of a franchise's track record.

Epic Games Publishing launched with a headline deal structure: 50/50 profit sharing and full ownership of IP retained by developers, applied to titles from Remedy, Playdead and Genasi. Whether Lords of the Fallen 2 was signed on comparable terms has not been disclosed.

What happens next?

No replacement publisher, revised release window or updated development milestone has been announced for Lords of the Fallen 2. Watch CI Games' next investor update for word on whether the sequel seeks a new publishing partner or moves to self-publishing.

Note: This report is based on limited public information; the parties have not disclosed the reasons for the deal's termination.