While former design director on the original Saints Row, Chris Stockman, had given fans of the franchise some hope when he had revealed back in November that he was working on a pitch for a reboot of the series, it looks like those plans ultimately won’t be going anywhere. As caught by social media user papaRPG, Stockman took to Discord to reveal that there was a lack of interest in his proposal from Embracer. This, in turn, has led him to believe that the franchise might be, for all intents and purposes, dead.
“Honestly, I think the franchise is dead, unfortunately,” wrote Stockman on Discord. “I get the sense that Embracer has zero ability to do anything with it. I wish things were different. I tried my best to offer a path forward but they’ve ghosted me.”
Saints Row—the original one—was released all the way back in 2006 as an Xbox 360 exclusive. While still considered a niche entry in the burgeoning open-world urban action game at the time, it grew enough of a fan following to warrant sequels that would go on to become much more popular. Sales of the first Saints Row had also likely benefited from Rockstar Games not having released Grand Theft Auto 4 yet.
The follow-up, simply titled Saints Row 2, would see a much wider multiplatform release, and introduced the series’ penchant for goofy comedy and character customization. It would release in the same year as GTA 4, and while Rockstar’s game would see plenty of critical acclaim thanks to its more serious tone and strong writing and characters, Saints Row 2 would become a haven for fans of the kind of action and tone that was last seen in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Saints Row: The Third—released in 2011—would further up the ante when it comes to comedy, introducing an entirely new city and a story revolving around the Third Street Saints’ rise to power in Steelport. In 2013, Saints Row 4 would essentially become a superhero game, while still maintaining much of the gameplay and tone of its predecessor.
2022 would see an attempted reboot of the Saints Row franchise that, unfortunately, was widely criticized for its repetitive side activities, bad enemy AI, and poor writing. Since then, the series has remained largely quiet.
A report from back in September has indicated that the Saints Row reboot was originally planned to be a full-fledged sequel, picking things up where Saints Row: The Third left off and entirely ignoring the events of Saints Row 4. The game was set to feature many returning characters, including protagonist The Boss, and side characters like Shaundi, Pierce and Johnny Gat, with the primary setting for its open world being Santo Ileso.
Back in November, Stockman had expressed his belief that Grand Theft Auto 6 is going to be “the biggest game, probably of all time.” He went on to note that the only way Rockstar Games could see any real competition for its title is if the studio has a huge misstep.
“If it comes out and it’s terrible, God forbid the industry, oh my gosh, right? It’s E.T. all over again, but worse because of the budgets,” he said. “It’s going to be a complete disaster. I don’t expect that to happen, but, if it is, oh my.”
