5 Video Game Franchises That Died This Decade (& 5 That Came Back To Life)

Video games go through the same processes as their popularity grows and wanes. Unlike people, however, they also have a chance for revival. As an acknowledgment of all the franchises that either came or went this decade, the following list will detail five franchises that left the industry and five that came back in full force. The latter entries’ revivals give hope to the former series that they too can one day come back from the d

Silent Hill 2 from 2001 stands as one of the greatest horror games ever made and pushed the medium forward with its nuanced story about guilt, trauma, and lust. The next entry was a worthy successor, though the series never again reached the second game’s artistic heights. Things looked up in 2014 when Silent Hills was announced through the enigmatic demo P.T. The title, a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, was tragically canceled by Konami due to their drastic business restructuring. It doesn’t look like a proper Silent Hill follow up will come anytime soon. At least Kojima moved on to release Death Stranding , one of the year’s most unique AAA tit

An Xbox 360 launch title, Kameo: Elements of Power was essentially Rare’s take on The Legend of Zelda franchise. The game was popular enough for its time, but like many Rare IP, has since been abandoned. A Kameo sequel could expand on what Rare established with the original game, while also addressing its faults and delivering a generally higher-quality adventure. Microsoft doesn’t really have a Legend of Zelda -equivalent exclusive for Xbox, but it could very well use the Kameo franchise to fill that v

Rumors have been swirling for quite some time that Microsoft has a brand new Perfect Dark game in development. According to the rumors, the new Perfect Dark will be third-person , and will be at least partially developed by Gears of War studio The Coalition. Whether or not there’s any truth to these claims remains to be seen, but it would make sense for Microsoft to take advantage of Perfect Dark ‘s popularity and leg

Microsoft’s premiere RPG franchise is Fable , with the first three Fable games all launching to various degrees of success. But despite their popularity, Microsoft has squandered the IP in recent years, releasing misguided spin-offs instead of proper sequels. However, rumors indicate that the Fable franchise will soon be coming back in a big way on Xbox Series X. According to various reports, Fable 2025 4 is in active development at Playground Games , with the game set to be a major return to form for the series. There’s a chance that Fable 4 could even be revealed as early as next month’s Xbox 20/20 July presentation, so fans of the franchise should be sure to tune in just in c

The city the player runs through is mostly white, matching with the dizzying heights the player runs through. Red ramps and pipes guide the player on what is interactive. The actual fighting in this game is rather dull, but it is so infrequent it never harms the experience of running through skyscrapers like a pro. Its sequel, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst didn’t improve in the areas the original struggled with, resulting in mixed critical reviews.

Reboots have become more common recently, bringing older titles to modern audiences with some tweaks and innovations to hold its own. This is usually done for more big-budget titles like Call of Duty , but underrated franchises that never got a large following would benefit greatly from this. Ranging from cult classics to more modern titles, here are 10 underrated franchises that need a reboot.

It remains to be seen exactly which games Microsoft will be showcasing at the July Xbox 20/20 event. However, there are plenty of great, dormant franchises that Microsoft could revive to generate some extra excitement for the Xbox Series X, with these 10 arguably having the most potent

Some companies hosting press conferences, like Electronic Arts, haven’t had much in the way of leaks leading up to the show. EA will be showcasing the likes of Anthem and Battlefield V at E3, but just because there haven’t been many rumors about other EA titles at the show, that doesn’t mean fans aren’t still in for some surpri

Playable on: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC

The Mafia trilogy is easily one of the best story-driven, open-world trilogies of all time. While opinions may be mixed on Mafia 3 , most people absolutely adore Mafia 1 and 2 for good rea

It’s no secret that Microsoft has struggled to make the Xbox brand catch on in Japan, but that’s not due to a lack of trying. With the Xbox 360, Microsoft commissioned Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and his Mistwalker Studio to create JRPG exclusive games for the platform. This included Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey , with the latter being particularly well-received by fans of the genre. With reports of Phil Spencer visiting Japan studios about Xbox Series X games , it seems like a Lost Odyssey sequel could be a great way for the Xbox brand to once again try getting a foothold in the Japanese game mar