My Open Letter to EA: Don’t Lock the Doors to Wonderland. This Is Why Alice: Asylum Still Matters and How we can Save the Game.

How can we save her mind, if you won't let her exist? 

You know what really hurts? When the thing that gave you hope in the middle of your mental health mess—the dark, dreamy mirror you held up to your soul—gets shelved. Abandoned. Not because it wasn’t good. But because some corporate algorithm said, “Meh.”

That’s what happened in April 2023 when EA officially said “no thanks” to Alice: Asylum—the third chapter in American McGee’s twisted, gorgeous retelling of Alice in Wonderland. McGee had poured his entire heart (and the hearts of 10,000+ fans on Patreon) into creating a Design Bible, full production plan, and pitch-perfect proposal. EA still said no. Not just “we won’t make it,” but also “you can’t either.” They declined to license the IP to him or anyone else. So basically, they locked the door to Wonderland and swallowed the key.

American McGee was crushed. He said he was “emotionally quite destroyed,” and then—he retired. Just like that. The Mad Hatter packed up and left the tea party. And he told fans to move on too.

Why it Hurts So Deeply

This wasn’t just another game. For many of us, myself included, the Alice franchise wasn’t just entertainment. It's a lifeline. Living with anxiety, ADHD, and a family history of depression, I saw parts of myself in Alice’s spiraling and her strength. The game obvious doens't take the place of therapy, and it never could, but let’s be honest: your therapist isn’t available at 2 a.m. when your thoughts won’t shut off. Alice could be.

Through its world, its symbolism, its raw honesty, Alice gave me a place to process things I didn’t even know how to say out loud. It was storytelling as survival. It reminded me that madness doesn’t mean broken—it can mean brave. And now, with my brother in a mental hospital, Alice: Asylum felt like it could’ve been the next needed chapter. A new mirror and an amazing community of players who understand what the darkness can feel like, fighting and climbing out together. 

So yeah. We’re grieving. Not just the game, but what it represented.

Amazing Fan Art Like this Shows How Much this IP Means to Us

The Fanbase That Never Left

Despite being told to move on, fans haven’t. The subreddit is thriving with over 15,000 members. The old game still has 22,000+ positive Steam reviews and sees players online every day. People still draw the fanart. Still write the fanfics. Still post their stories of how this game kept them alive.

It’s not about nostalgia. It’s about identity. It’s about being seen.

One fan wrote:

“This game helped me through my mental health struggles. It reminded me I wasn’t alone. That maybe I wasn’t broken—just misunderstood. That you could conquer your demons, even the ones in your own mind.”

That’s why this loss feels personal. Because it is.

If You Still Believe in Alice, Here’s What You Can Do

• Email EA – Let them know this isn’t just a “missed business opportunity.” It’s a missed chance to change lives.

• Write a real letter – Because in a world of digital noise, paper still gets attention.

• Tell your story – On Reddit, Twitter, TikTok—wherever you speak, speak. Use the hashtag #SaveAliceAsylum.

• Sign the petition – There’s a powerful one going around called “Don’t Give Up on Alice: Asylum.” Every name counts. https://www.change.org/p/don-t-give-up-on-alice-asylum
  *4,969 Fans (including me) at the time of this writing have signed

My Letter to EA

I wrote my own letter to EA’s board. Not just as a gamer and Twitch Streamer, but as someone who’s struggled with anxiety and depression. Someone who found healing in the jagged beauty of McGee’s Wonderland. I'll share a template below.

Why Your Voice Still Matters

Big companies ignore niche passions all the time. But here’s the secret: niche is powerful. Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans” theory says you don’t need a million people to succeed—just enough people who care. Really care.

We cared. We still do. And Alice? She wasn’t just a cool character in a dark dress. She was us. Our rage. Our hope. Our artistry. Our survival.

Let EA know:

This isn’t just about a game.
It’s about the kind of world we want to live in.
One where imagination matters more than market trends.
Where stories that save lives are worth telling.
And where Wonderland never gets locked away again.

How to Reach out to EA (Who and Why)

If you want your voice heard, here are the three key contacts at Electronic Arts you should reach out to:

1. ɑwilѕοn [ɑt] еɑ [dοt] cοm

Who: Andrew Wilson – Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Why: As the top decision-maker at EA, Wilson oversees the entire company’s direction and strategy. Sharing your story with him directly helps highlight how much this decision has impacted real fans—and why Alice: Asylum deserves a second look.

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2. ѕтοckhοldеrСοmmunicɑтiοnѕ [ɑt] еɑ [dοt] cοm

Who: EA Board of Directors – Official stockholder communication channel
Why: This is the official line for addressing EA’s board, including corporate governance, creative oversight, and long-term planning. Emails here are taken seriously and reviewed by leadership. You can direct your message to specific leaders, like Laura Miele (President of EA Entertainment), by mentioning her name in your message.

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3. iг [ɑt] еɑ [dοt] cοm

Who: EA Investor Relations – Financial and brand value team
Why: This team cares about EA’s public image, brand loyalty, and long-term shareholder value. Demonstrating the business potential behind Alice: Asylum—and the goodwill it could restore—can help make a strategic case beyond just emotional appeal.

You can also snail mail them at : 

To:

Εⅼеct𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗂𝗰 Α𝗋𝖙𝗌 𝗜𝗇𝗰  

𝟐𝟢𝟫 𝗥𝘦𝖉𝗐𝗈𝗈𝘥 𝗦𝗁𝗈𝗋𝗲𝗌 𝗣𝗄𝗐𝗒  

𝗥𝗲𝖉𝗐𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗖𝗂𝗍𝗒, 𝗖𝗔 𝟫𝟦𝟢𝟨𝟧  

𝗔𝗍𝗍𝗇: 𝗕𝗈𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝖣𝗂𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗌 / 𝗜𝗇𝗏𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋 𝗥𝖾𝗅𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌


LETTER TEMPLATE:

Dear EA Team,

I’m writing as a longtime fan of the Alice series to respectfully ask you to reconsider your decision not to fund or license Alice: Asylum.

This game matters to me because:
➡️ [Write one or two sentences about how Alice impacted your life—emotionally, creatively, mentally, or personally.]
Example: It helped me process my own mental health struggles in a way no other game has. Seeing Alice fight through madness made me feel less alone in mine.

I believe Alice: Asylum is still worth pursuing, and here’s why:

• The last installment, Alice: Madness Returns, has over 22,000 positive reviews on Steam and a 90% rating, more than a decade after release.

• The Alice subreddit has over 15,000 active fans, with fan art, cosplay, and discussion still thriving.

• 10,000+ people supported Asylum’s creation through Patreon—without a game even in production.

• A growing petition titled “Don’t Give Up on Alice: Asylum” has over [insert number] signatures:
  https://www.change.org/p/don-t-give-up-on-alice-asylum

If you cannot fund the game internally, I respectfully ask that you license the IP to another developer or team who shares the vision.

This isn’t just about nostalgia. It’s about storytelling that speaks to survivors, dreamers, and people who feel broken. Alice gave us a place to feel seen. Please don’t let that place disappear.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
A fan since [year]
Optional: [Location or social handle]

My Letter: 

(For posterity, here is the letter I wrote them, you can use it as an example, but don't copy this one or it won't come across as genuine. We want to convince them, not just spam their inbox.)

I write not only as a long-time fan but as someone whose life was profoundly shaped by the Alice games. On October 6, 2000, American McGee’s Alice was released. I was just eleven years old,so young that my mother would not let me play it. But she allowed my older brother to play, and I remember peeking over his shoulder in awe, longing for the day I could step into that dark, twisted Wonderland myself.

That day finally came with Alice: Madness Returns in 2011. Now old enough to experience it for myself, I was enthralled by the emotional depth, stunning visuals, and powerful storytelling. It was one of the first games I ever played that didn’t just entertain—it spoke to the parts of me that struggled, that felt lost, that wanted to fight my way through something dark toward healing. I went off to college and stopped gaming for a while, but years later, as a Twitch streamer, I returned to Alice. Though the mechanics are dated and the game can be glitchy on modern PCs, I pushed through because it was worth it. Alice is more than a game, it is a story of transformation, trauma, survival, and empowerment. In a world where mental health challenges are rising, its message remains timeless and important.

Evidence of the Alice fandom’s enduring power is clear: nearly 10,000 contributors supported Alice: Asylum on Patreon, funding its design bible and artwork (McGee, 2023). The r/AliceMadnessReturns subreddit exceeds 15,000 active users (Reddit, 2025). Alice: Madness Returns still holds over 22,000 positive Steam reviews, enjoys a 90% favorable rating, and draws hundreds of concurrent players daily (Wikipedia, 2025; SteamDB, 2025). These fans are vocal, persistent, and loyal, each with their own unique story of what Alice means to them. It is not just a game, it has become a tight-knit community of people united by a story and its message.

One standout example comes from a user on r/patientgamers, who shared:

“This game is something that is really important to me. I have dealt with mental health issues for most of my life. Both this and the first game really helped me feeling less alone. And gave me hope that you can in fact conquer your demons” (u/Avventuriero, 2022).

This testimony echoes what so many of us feel; Alice helped us feel seen, gave us strength, and reminded us that we are not alone.

The strength of communities like this is not to be underestimated. Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans” theory explains how creators and companies can thrive by nurturing small, loyal audiences (Kelly, 2008). According to Axios (2024), 88 percent of Americans engage in niche communities, and 45 percent feel more connected to them than mainstream culture. These communities do not just buy products—they advocate, share, and remain loyal for years.

There is historical precedent for companies thriving when they cater to niche fanbases. Wendy’s rebuilt brand relevance by embracing its online fan community. Southwest Airlines earned a cult following through its customer-first culture (Scott, 2019). Glossier co-creates products with its community, resulting in not just sales, but brand devotion (FasterCapital, 2025). When companies show up for their people, those people show up tenfold in return.

By contrast, major studios like EA, Bethesda, and Microsoft are often perceived as distant and profit-first. Declining to support Alice: Asylum only reinforces this perception. But this decision could be your opportunity to prove that EA stands for more than revenue, that it still values creative risks, artistic legacy, and the fans who never stopped believing.

Therefore, I respectfully ask EA to reconsider:

Reevaluate licensing or co-developing Alice: Asylum with American McGee or a trusted development partner.

Explore crowdfunding, collector’s editions, or early-access campaigns to gauge support and reduce financial risk.

Consider a modern re-release or remaster of American McGee’s Alice and Alice: Madness Returns for current platforms.

This is not just a missed business opportunity—it is a missed human one. A game like Alice: Asylum would not only sell, it would heal, inspire, and create meaning for thousands of people. And for those of us who have waited since childhood for a resolution to Alice’s story, it would be a long-awaited act of hope.

Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration.

Sincerely,

Korenski23
(Twitch Streamer, Tiktoker, Long-time Fan of American McGees Alice Games )

References

Axios. (2024). Niche communities’ rise in American culture. https://www.axios.com
FasterCapital. (2025). Successful examples of brands putting fans first. https://www.fastercapital.com
Kelly, K. (2008). 1,000 true fans. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com
McGee, A. (2023, February 14). Alice: Asylum Design Bible v1.0 [Patreon post]. https://www.patreon.com/posts/alice-asylum-v1-78703655
Reddit. (2025). r/AliceMadnessReturns community stats. https://www.reddit.com/r/AliceMadnessReturns
Scott, D. M. (2019). 5 businesses crushing fandom right now.
SteamDB. (2025). Alice: Madness Returns review and engagement data. https://steamdb.info/app/19680
u/Avventuriero. (2022, November 16). Alice Madness Returns still holds up [Reddit post]. https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/comments/yokxk8/alice_madness_returns_still_holds_up
VGChartz. (2025). Alice: Madness Returns global sales. https://www.vgchartz.com/game/33815/alice-madness-returns
Wikipedia. (2025). Alice: Madness Returns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice:_Madness_Returns

Click Alice or Go to https://chng.it/4YCv5xnSs9 to sign the petition!