Dead Franchises That Are Begging For A Revival

We live in an obvious age of new games, new IPs, remakes, and remasters pertaining to the gaming industry, but on many occasions, it seems some of the most golden-grade video game franchises we have at our disposal have stopped receiving their due love from respective game developers, and that’s just pure tragedy.

Over the course of the past decades or so, we have numerous examples at hand in the name of Jak and Daxter, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, and others that despite popular fan demand, have failed to receive a revival. I decided to put together this piece to commemorate these game series and shed on the “what-could-have-been” prospect, so, perhaps, one day, we could live to see one of these making it out of their grave. 

These IPs Deserve Better Treatment Even To This Day

Make sure to comment down below and share your thoughts as to what other video game series needs to be on the list. These are all I could gather through personal playthroughs, so the listicle is intended to come across as subjective. 

1. Half-Life 

Valve has buried the Half-Life series in the depths of PC gaming’s hall of fame, and I honestly don’t think it’s ever pulling it out. Belonging to an era when Valve rigorously focused on making games, which was from the late 1990s up until the early 2010s, Half-Life is cemented in history as one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, offering sheer perfection in storytelling, combat, and puzzle gameplay. 

Anyway, the last Half-Life game, called Half-Life: Alyx, that was released was in 2020. Now you might be wondering if this means the franchise isn’t as dead as you thought, but trust me, that’s not the Half-Life title fans and followers of the series have been longing for.

First, Alyx is a VR-exclusive that not only omitted the involvement of Gordon Freeman — the legend — as the protagonist but only strayed further away from what made the original Half-Life games great, which is understandable for a VR title, of course. In that sense, the last real Half-Life game to come out was in 2004. Yeah, it’s been that long. 

2. Burnout 

Another long-forgotten series that has yet to return to its former glory is Burnout by Criterion Games, which also happens to be the famed developer behind some of the latest Need for Speed titles as well. The franchise peaked with the onset of Burnout 3, in my opinion, because you couldn’t really understand why this game was so much fun back in the day.

Criterion, in collaboration with Stellar Entertainment, did release a remastered version of Burnout Paradise, but it hardly holds up to the grace and standard of the original Burnout racing titles, forcing players to get the dedicated EA launcher running in order to play it. That’s a big no-no from the side of PC players, so you’d understand how the series is longing for a modern-day resurgence.

3. TimeSplitters 

TimeSplitters has seen its fair share of glory back when it came out in 2000, with Free Radical Design acting as the developing head. Featuring amazing, cutthroat first-person shooting action with great voicework, an intriguing storyline, and enjoyable gameplay mechanics, this is one franchise that should not have been let go of.

The franchise spawned three games in its lifetime, namely TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, with the broad consensus pointing to the second mainline iteration being the best in the series. 

4. Titanfall 

Titanfall 2, the latest game in the fantastic Titanfall franchise by Respawn Entertainment, was launched in 2016, and ever since then, the developer has been all but kept active in any way, shape, or form, despite already having the perfect formula for success in today’s day and age.

Let me tell you this: There’s not a day that goes by when I’m not appreciative of Titanfall 2’s campaign standard whenever I sit down to replay it. Come on, Respawn. Make it happen, please.

5. Command & Conquer 

The Real-Time Strategy (RTS) genre in the video gaming sphere has dwindled hard since its initial inception, with the concept now only being a thing of the past, at least as far as the quality is concerned for that matter. Because one of the most solid proponents of RTS — Command & Conquer — suffered a poor fate at the hands of EA. 

Up until the point Westwood Studios was in charge, the franchise ushered in a new age of RTS games, but when the developer got shut down in 2003, that spelled doom for Command & Conquer’s future as well. As far as I recall it, there hasn’t been a praiseworthy C&C title after Generals, with Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Wars as a godawful entry in what is otherwise an iconic franchise. 

6. Bully 

Rockstar pretty much put out a masterpiece with this one and forgot about it afterward, much to the disappointment of fans. Bully was released more than two decades ago, leaving its mark on the world forever, while the likes of us beg Rockstar month in and month out for a new iteration in the franchise. Everything from the atmosphere and the gameplay to the story and the world design is flat-out sensational in Bully.