Why do some games never get sequels? 💔 Find out.
Key Points
- Financial viability can affect the possibility of sequels to highly anticipated games, especially if the original wasn't a huge sales success. 💸
- Intellectual property disputes and legal hurdles can prevent sequels from being made and increase the financial burden.
- The closure of studies, team changes, evolving video game trends and development challenges can lead to long delays or cancellations.
Have you ever fallen in love with a game, only to have its sequel never see the light of day? Whether it's a diamond in the rough or one of the most popular video game franchises of all time, the wait is endless. So what's stopping these beloved games from becoming a reality? 🤔
Financial Viability and Profitability
Let's face it: the main reason why develop and publish Most games are about money. 🎮 For developers, gaming is their livelihood. Triple-A games take years to develop and cost tens (or hundreds) of millions of dollars, so if the game isn't a smash hit, the studio is likely to lose money, making a sequel unlikely. That's why the announcement of Beyond Good & Evil 2 It was a real surprise, since the original game performed rather poorly.
A more positive example is the original Alan Wake. Although the original game sold well, around 1.5 million units in 2011, it does not compare with the 4.5 million of units it sold later in 2015, likely facilitating a sequel in 2023. Remedy Entertainment (the developers behind Alan Wake) shifted their focus to more interesting projects and returned to the franchise once it made financial sense to make a sequel.
Publishers need to be pretty sure that the game they're funding will be a huge success and make a profit. A big part of the game development process is decision making It involves following industry trends that have proven to be "safe." 👀
Intellectual Property Stagnant
Licensing intellectual property (IPs) to develop a game can become in a legal mess when developers don't own the IP. 🏷️ The IP holder has the final say on how their property is used, so developers have to go back and forth with the holders every time they create a new game, which is very time-consuming and expensive.
This is in addition to what the IP holder is charging for use of the property, which can sometimes be as noticeable as the license fee. $1 billion from FIFA for only four years, which is why EA decided to create EA Sports FC instead.
Other times, the IP holder simply doesn't want to make any more games for a certain period. This usually occurs when a publisher owns the rights to the IP and doesn't want to continue releasing new ones. games under that brand. System Shock was caught between multiple parts, which explains why it took over 20 years for new games of that name to be released. 🔄
The Evolution of the Video Game Industry
Video games have always followed and built upon trends. In just the last few years, we've seen the rise (and fall) of games as a service, battle royale games, mobile games, indie games, and an emphasis on vast open worlds. 🌎 These trends are popular with shareholders, as they're proven to work and often promise significant financial returns thanks to high sales.
If developers decide to make a sequel to a beloved but outdated game, they have two options: transform the game into something completely different that barely pays homage to the original, which could upset fans, or stick to the original script and risk creating a game that doesn't sell outside of the pre-existing fanbase.
A good example of the former is the 2013 game DMC: Devil May Cry. While it was a solid title that many enjoyed, fans of DmC weren't very happy with all the changes to the story and gameplay. For the second, Shenmue III It stayed true to its roots, but almost exclusively appealed to old fans of the series, struggling to attract new players who had never played any of the games originals on Dreamcast.
Studio Closures and Team Reorganization
At the end of the day, it's not the IP, the concepts, or the mechanics that make a game; it's the people behind it. 👥 When large parts of the development team leave, or a studio dissolves and only the IP remains, it becomes difficult to capture the magic of the original game.
For example, Mass Effect: Andromeda was technically developed by BioWare, the same studio that created all the other games of Mass Effect. However, all the key developers had left the studio, so what we ended up with was a game that many felt lacked the "special sauce" that made the previous games unique. 😕
IP owners can always try to take the project to a new studio, but there's no guarantee they'll do the franchise justice. Generally speaking, it's more cost-effective to leave the franchise behind and focus on something new, fresh, and exciting. 🎉
That's what happened when Blizzard saw success with World of Warcraft, which led to the development of StarCraft: Ghost, often called "vaporwave", will remain in a indefinite hiatus before its official cancellation in 2014. 🚫
Development Hell and Long Delays
When developers face numerous obstacles during development, it's often referred to as "development hell." 😩 This can be due to financial issues, but it can also happen when the scope is too large or there are creative differences within the team.
The boomer shooter Duke Nukem Forever is a clear example. The sequel to Duke Nukem 3D was stuck in development hell for over a decade. 3D Realms had no financial support from Take-Two and eventually the studio had to close. Gearbox Software took the control and finally managed to complete the game, but it was poorly received because the final product was quite poor. 😤
Niche Markets
The gaming world is full of hidden gems from lesser-known developers, especially in the "double-A" segment. 💎 These types of games have more funding than an indie game but significantly less than a true triple-A title. When you come across a game like this, you can tell the quality is there, but it's not a particularly popular or well-known title.
For example, I'm a big fan of the franchise Burnout from Criterion Games (owned by EA), but those games never came close to the scope and popularity of EA's other racing franchise, Need for Speed. Burnout Paradise Remastered In 2020, only around 1,000 were sold. 250,000 copies, which is nothing compared to the 3 to 4 million Need for Speed Heat.
As a result, EA has had Criterion Games develop games that do sell, such as the new games from Need for Speed and other popular EA titles like Battlefield and Star Wars Battlefront. 🚀
Sometimes Yes
The good news is that some great games eventually get sequels, even if they take a decade. Rockstar Games used to release games of Grand Theft Auto every two years, but the pace slowed significantly after GTA IV. ⏳
The time and resources required to develop these games have grown exponentially, so it's better to wait a little longer and get a worthy sequel. We can always play other open-world games while we wait. GTA VI, so it's not a big deal. 🕹️
Even sequels that seem stuck in development hell sometimes emerge as hits. Dead Island 2 It was first announced in 2014, but changed hands multiple times during its development. However, it received mostly positive reviews when it was finally released in 2023.
Other examples of sequels that took up precious time include Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, the restart of DOOM, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, and Kingdom Hearts IIIWe hope that the next game of Elder Scrolls also be at least as good as Skyrim. 🙏
