Bragr
Banned
Some franchises lay dormant for too long. These are the games that seemingly have nothing in the works, no plans, no hope. But some franchises are too good to lay rotting under the sun and deserve another chance, and these are the ones I hope to see in the coming generation.
Franchises that are confirmed to have games in development but are not yet officially announced (that's why they aren't on the list)
- Bioshock
- Brothers in Arms
- Knights of the Old Republic
- Mass Effect
- Ninja Gaiden (not yet announced, but too many solid rumors for too long to not be in development)
- Pikmin
- Silent Hill (not yet announced, but too many solid rumors for too long to not be in development)
- Splinter Cell
- TimeSplitters
Honorable Mentions
- 1080 Snowboarding
- ActRaiser
- Advance Wars
- Burnout
- Demon Crest/ Gargoyle's Crest
- Fight Night
- Goemon Mystical Ninja
- Golden Sun
- Gradius
- Jak and Dexter
- Legacy of Kain
- Mother
- Motorstorm
- Ogre Tactics
- Okami
- Perfect Dark
- Populous
- Resistance
- The Godfather
- Thief
- Turok
- Turrican
- Unreal Tournament
- Viewtiful Joe
- Virtua Fighter
- Viva Pinata
20. Prototype - Last seen in 2012.
The evil twin to the Infamous franchise, and the spiritual successor to the excellent Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Prototype 2 sold so bad that the developer was scaled down and the whole franchise apparently put on ice. With the current superhero craze, it might be time to reawaken this franchise.
19. Soldier of Fortune - Last seen in 2008.
A brutal shooter that got a lot of buzz with its first game, but eventually, the third game destroyed the franchise, and an utter disaster of a Korean MMO-ish spin-off buried it. A modern version feels like it got a lot of potentials.
18. Wave Race - Last seen in 2001.
Featuring the best water effects of its generation and being one of the most unique racers in gaming, the N64 version left an impression on many and was widely loved. The Gamecube follow up was alright. Then we never heard so much as a whisper from Wave Race. Likely, it's deemed too much of a niche game to invest in.
17. Prince of Persia - Last seen in 2010.
There was a mobile game in 2018. But that doesn't count. After the excellent trilogy ended in 2005, Ubisoft tried a few different approaches, the more open-ended cartoon looking approach of the 2008 game "Prince of Persia", and The Forgotten Sands in 2010. Both lagged a bit in sales and Assassin Creed seems to have taken priority from thereon.
16. Rise of Nations - Last seen in 2006.
Considered by many to be the greatest Age of Empires style game around (better than age of empires itself), Rise of Nations left a mark on any RTS fan during the early 2000s. After completing the spin-off Rise of Legends the developers went under after their new massive project "Kingdoms of Amalur" failed. However, recently the studio has been brought back to life, and whispers of a potential new Rise of Nations are starting to be mentioned in the dark corners of the internet once again. Even though they seem to be focused on their new game Arcane Showdown.
15. F-Zero - Last seen in 2004.
The recent tweet and rumors turned out to be fake, there is apparently no new F-Zero coming. One of the best racing franchises around doesn't seem to sell enough for Nintendo to warrant a new game. To the anger and frustration of fans everywhere.
14. Twisted Metal - Last seen in 2012.
While the 2012 entry was fine, it was really the Twisted Metals on the original Playstation and Playstation 2 that made a dent. It seems to be a hard game to nail, and the latest iteration didn't hit the sweet spot it needed to get the critical and commercial success it had to to keep the series alive.
13. Castlevania - Last seen in 2014.
I won't even mention the iOS game. Konami has struggled to know what to do with Castlevania in recent years. They made the Lords of Shadow games, but they never reached the sales needed to justify the budget. The 2D Castlevanias also deserves so much better considering how popular 2D action-adventure games are these days. There are some rumors that a new Castlevania reboot that is inspired by Bloodborne is under development, but this is not confirmed yet.
12. Conker - Last seen in 2001.
Bad Fur Day, likely the funniest game ever made gained critical acclaim but failed performance-wise as it came out when the Nintendo 64's life was over, and the GBA game never took off. No one seemed to know how to make another Conker game, and the classic Rare team was taken apart once Microsoft bought them, leaving Conker as a franchise that vanished before it got off the ground.
11. SSX - Last seen in 2012.
While there are some rumors of an SSX: Tricky remaster, the crime of SSX is how they abandoned SSX 3's open-world structure. SSX 3 was perhaps too ambitious of its time, for the next 2 entries went back to a more classic formula, and for some reason, they never went back to this franchise after 2012's SSX. I assume the time of snowboarding and skater games was deemed over by most companies.
10. Final Fantasy Tactics - Last seen in 2007.
I'll look away from the mobile efforts. Tactics was always a fan favorite strategy gem but dwarfed by it's bigger RPG brother, still, it's a bit puzzling that we haven't seen another tactics game considering they sold okay and was very well received.
9. F.E.A.R. - Last seen in 2011.
While F.E.A.R. 1 is considered innovative and the sequel a great continuation, the third installment lagged behind both commercially and critically and has put the whole franchise on hold. But any who played the first 2 knows the massive potential lurking in the F.E.A.R. franchise.
8. Dino Crisis - Last seen in 2003.
Unfortunately, Dino Crisis 4 was canceled a few years ago. Still, it's hard to ignore what a new Dino Crisis could be. With awesome looking dinosaurs and better modern controls, it could be something great. Dino Crisis 3 crashed and burned the entire franchise and it still hasn't recovered.
7. No One Lives Forever (nolf) - Last seen in 2002.
One of the coolest and most interesting shooters out there, the James Bond-like spy shooter was highly praised but has been dragged into a hellhole of legal issues, to the point where no one seems to know who owns what. With it's awesome 1960's premise and light-hearted nature, it feels like a game that should have been a long-lasting popular series.
6. Dead Space - Last seen in 2013.
Dead Space feels like it would only need small adjustments to function as a current-gen game, as the gameplay is not very dated. Dead Space came out in 2008 and Dead Space 2 followed pace 3 years later until Dead Space 3 apparently killed the entire franchise in 2013 and the developers, Visceral Games, were closed shortly after. Dead Space 1 wasn't a massive seller, and even though Dead Space 2 sold over 4 million copies, EA deemed it a sales disappointment. Dead Space 3 however, sold so bad that EA banished the entire series into the nether, and for a whole generation we have seen nothing of the once great horror shooter.
5. Chrono Trigger/Cross - Last seen in 1999.
Developed by the "dream team", many consider Chrono Trigger to be the premier RPG in existence, but ultimately it's a series that didn't sell enough compared to Final Fantasy and was left behind. Chrono Break (the third game) was halted and it seems this series will never again see the light of day.
4. Dungeon Keeper - Last seen in 2000.
It's been 23 years since the original Dungeon Keeper. Bullfrogs masterpiece is not that often brought up these days, but anyone who was into strategy games in the late 90s will remember the creative Dungeon Keeper. Dungeon Keeper 3 was one of the most disappointing game cancelations in history, and while some games like "Dungeons" and "War for the Overworld" have tried to copy the game, it's not even close to what once was.
3. WarCraft RTS - Last seen in 2002.
Blizzard around the 2000s was the most impressive PC developer in history, in 5 years, they released WarCraft 2, Diablo, StarCraft, Diablo 2 and WarCraft 3. Two years after that they released World of WarCraft. WarCraft defined them, but World of WarCraft and Diablo III sold so well that WarCraft 4 was pushed back further and further, and now, with Diablo 4 on the horizon, it seems it's been pushed back even further. WarCraft 3 came out 18 years ago, it's a crime against humanity than the fourth is not out yet.
2. Banjo-Kazooie - Last seen in 2008.
The only 3D platformer that can stand up to Mario, has for some ridicules reason only seen a spin-off where you design vehicles and 2 GBA games. How Banjo-Kazooie 3 is still not developed is hard to fathom..
1. Black & White - Last seen in 2005.
Lionhead's excellent god game is unique, creative, funny, and feels like it's bursting with potential. There have been several kickstarters trying to make a third game out of sheer desperation (all of them looking bad to be generous). You can't simply put a random developer on it either, it's a difficult game to make. Like Perfect Dark suited Rare's unique skills in the late 90s, Black & White suited Lionhead's unique qualities. It seems that it's a series that's gone forever, as no publisher will believe Black & White 3 could sell enough to warrant a significant budget.
Franchises that are confirmed to have games in development but are not yet officially announced (that's why they aren't on the list)
- Bioshock
- Brothers in Arms
- Knights of the Old Republic
- Mass Effect
- Ninja Gaiden (not yet announced, but too many solid rumors for too long to not be in development)
- Pikmin
- Silent Hill (not yet announced, but too many solid rumors for too long to not be in development)
- Splinter Cell
- TimeSplitters
Honorable Mentions
- 1080 Snowboarding
- ActRaiser
- Advance Wars
- Burnout
- Demon Crest/ Gargoyle's Crest
- Fight Night
- Goemon Mystical Ninja
- Golden Sun
- Gradius
- Jak and Dexter
- Legacy of Kain
- Mother
- Motorstorm
- Ogre Tactics
- Okami
- Perfect Dark
- Populous
- Resistance
- The Godfather
- Thief
- Turok
- Turrican
- Unreal Tournament
- Viewtiful Joe
- Virtua Fighter
- Viva Pinata
20. Prototype - Last seen in 2012.
The evil twin to the Infamous franchise, and the spiritual successor to the excellent Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Prototype 2 sold so bad that the developer was scaled down and the whole franchise apparently put on ice. With the current superhero craze, it might be time to reawaken this franchise.
19. Soldier of Fortune - Last seen in 2008.
A brutal shooter that got a lot of buzz with its first game, but eventually, the third game destroyed the franchise, and an utter disaster of a Korean MMO-ish spin-off buried it. A modern version feels like it got a lot of potentials.
18. Wave Race - Last seen in 2001.
Featuring the best water effects of its generation and being one of the most unique racers in gaming, the N64 version left an impression on many and was widely loved. The Gamecube follow up was alright. Then we never heard so much as a whisper from Wave Race. Likely, it's deemed too much of a niche game to invest in.
17. Prince of Persia - Last seen in 2010.
There was a mobile game in 2018. But that doesn't count. After the excellent trilogy ended in 2005, Ubisoft tried a few different approaches, the more open-ended cartoon looking approach of the 2008 game "Prince of Persia", and The Forgotten Sands in 2010. Both lagged a bit in sales and Assassin Creed seems to have taken priority from thereon.
16. Rise of Nations - Last seen in 2006.
Considered by many to be the greatest Age of Empires style game around (better than age of empires itself), Rise of Nations left a mark on any RTS fan during the early 2000s. After completing the spin-off Rise of Legends the developers went under after their new massive project "Kingdoms of Amalur" failed. However, recently the studio has been brought back to life, and whispers of a potential new Rise of Nations are starting to be mentioned in the dark corners of the internet once again. Even though they seem to be focused on their new game Arcane Showdown.
15. F-Zero - Last seen in 2004.
The recent tweet and rumors turned out to be fake, there is apparently no new F-Zero coming. One of the best racing franchises around doesn't seem to sell enough for Nintendo to warrant a new game. To the anger and frustration of fans everywhere.
14. Twisted Metal - Last seen in 2012.
While the 2012 entry was fine, it was really the Twisted Metals on the original Playstation and Playstation 2 that made a dent. It seems to be a hard game to nail, and the latest iteration didn't hit the sweet spot it needed to get the critical and commercial success it had to to keep the series alive.
13. Castlevania - Last seen in 2014.
I won't even mention the iOS game. Konami has struggled to know what to do with Castlevania in recent years. They made the Lords of Shadow games, but they never reached the sales needed to justify the budget. The 2D Castlevanias also deserves so much better considering how popular 2D action-adventure games are these days. There are some rumors that a new Castlevania reboot that is inspired by Bloodborne is under development, but this is not confirmed yet.
12. Conker - Last seen in 2001.
Bad Fur Day, likely the funniest game ever made gained critical acclaim but failed performance-wise as it came out when the Nintendo 64's life was over, and the GBA game never took off. No one seemed to know how to make another Conker game, and the classic Rare team was taken apart once Microsoft bought them, leaving Conker as a franchise that vanished before it got off the ground.
11. SSX - Last seen in 2012.
While there are some rumors of an SSX: Tricky remaster, the crime of SSX is how they abandoned SSX 3's open-world structure. SSX 3 was perhaps too ambitious of its time, for the next 2 entries went back to a more classic formula, and for some reason, they never went back to this franchise after 2012's SSX. I assume the time of snowboarding and skater games was deemed over by most companies.
10. Final Fantasy Tactics - Last seen in 2007.
I'll look away from the mobile efforts. Tactics was always a fan favorite strategy gem but dwarfed by it's bigger RPG brother, still, it's a bit puzzling that we haven't seen another tactics game considering they sold okay and was very well received.
9. F.E.A.R. - Last seen in 2011.
While F.E.A.R. 1 is considered innovative and the sequel a great continuation, the third installment lagged behind both commercially and critically and has put the whole franchise on hold. But any who played the first 2 knows the massive potential lurking in the F.E.A.R. franchise.
8. Dino Crisis - Last seen in 2003.
Unfortunately, Dino Crisis 4 was canceled a few years ago. Still, it's hard to ignore what a new Dino Crisis could be. With awesome looking dinosaurs and better modern controls, it could be something great. Dino Crisis 3 crashed and burned the entire franchise and it still hasn't recovered.
7. No One Lives Forever (nolf) - Last seen in 2002.
One of the coolest and most interesting shooters out there, the James Bond-like spy shooter was highly praised but has been dragged into a hellhole of legal issues, to the point where no one seems to know who owns what. With it's awesome 1960's premise and light-hearted nature, it feels like a game that should have been a long-lasting popular series.
6. Dead Space - Last seen in 2013.
Dead Space feels like it would only need small adjustments to function as a current-gen game, as the gameplay is not very dated. Dead Space came out in 2008 and Dead Space 2 followed pace 3 years later until Dead Space 3 apparently killed the entire franchise in 2013 and the developers, Visceral Games, were closed shortly after. Dead Space 1 wasn't a massive seller, and even though Dead Space 2 sold over 4 million copies, EA deemed it a sales disappointment. Dead Space 3 however, sold so bad that EA banished the entire series into the nether, and for a whole generation we have seen nothing of the once great horror shooter.
5. Chrono Trigger/Cross - Last seen in 1999.
Developed by the "dream team", many consider Chrono Trigger to be the premier RPG in existence, but ultimately it's a series that didn't sell enough compared to Final Fantasy and was left behind. Chrono Break (the third game) was halted and it seems this series will never again see the light of day.
4. Dungeon Keeper - Last seen in 2000.
It's been 23 years since the original Dungeon Keeper. Bullfrogs masterpiece is not that often brought up these days, but anyone who was into strategy games in the late 90s will remember the creative Dungeon Keeper. Dungeon Keeper 3 was one of the most disappointing game cancelations in history, and while some games like "Dungeons" and "War for the Overworld" have tried to copy the game, it's not even close to what once was.
3. WarCraft RTS - Last seen in 2002.
Blizzard around the 2000s was the most impressive PC developer in history, in 5 years, they released WarCraft 2, Diablo, StarCraft, Diablo 2 and WarCraft 3. Two years after that they released World of WarCraft. WarCraft defined them, but World of WarCraft and Diablo III sold so well that WarCraft 4 was pushed back further and further, and now, with Diablo 4 on the horizon, it seems it's been pushed back even further. WarCraft 3 came out 18 years ago, it's a crime against humanity than the fourth is not out yet.
2. Banjo-Kazooie - Last seen in 2008.
The only 3D platformer that can stand up to Mario, has for some ridicules reason only seen a spin-off where you design vehicles and 2 GBA games. How Banjo-Kazooie 3 is still not developed is hard to fathom..
1. Black & White - Last seen in 2005.
Lionhead's excellent god game is unique, creative, funny, and feels like it's bursting with potential. There have been several kickstarters trying to make a third game out of sheer desperation (all of them looking bad to be generous). You can't simply put a random developer on it either, it's a difficult game to make. Like Perfect Dark suited Rare's unique skills in the late 90s, Black & White suited Lionhead's unique qualities. It seems that it's a series that's gone forever, as no publisher will believe Black & White 3 could sell enough to warrant a significant budget.
