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The world of gaming can be cruel to even some of the games we love best.
Not every story has a happy ending and the following list sheds some light on some of our favourite franchises that are no longer with us. Yes, these are the best gaming franchises that no longer release AAA titles. I do want to add, this will exclude titles that don’t have a significant number of games – sorry L4D fans, at least you have GTFO now.
10. Virtua Fighter
Although we are spoiled for choice with regards to quality FGC titles these days, it’s sad to see that a game such as Virtua Fighter has not graced us with a new outing since 2012. Although there is a running theme of the titles on this list receiving Mobile only games and there is in fact a more recent Virtua Fighter for Mobile (2014), it isn’t the same as seeing your favourite character rendered again in next gen tech.
9. Tony Hawk
The last Tony Hawk title was a rushed mess, the franchise has received significant criticism and the unnecessary and pointless rush to appease publishers may have truly buried this franchise forever. I wouldn’t go so far as to say there will never be another good Tony Hawk title, but it’s been so long since we have had the opportunity to enjoy a great one.
8. Dino Crisis
Perhaps Dino Criss has always played second fiddle to the more acclaimed cousins of Resident Evil and friends in the survival horror genre, but that shouldn’t detract from how great this series was. Dino Criss was a fun experience and gave us a different kind of creature to run from. It would be great to see it resurrect sooner or later. I have hope for this one too.
7. Time Splitters
Best described as a standard but enjoyable shooter, Time Splitters is still a fan favourite for many players out there. In fact – Time Splitters is such a fan favourite that it received a 75 000 strong signed petition supporting a fan made follow up to the series called Time Splitters Rewind. So, in a way, the franchise does still have a heartbeat.
6. Red Faction
Truly a sad tale, the first Red Faction received so much acclaim. It’s destructible environments where revolutionary at its time and the game shone amongst its peers. Unfortunately, the developer suffered financial concerns and decided to go with a new route to try appeal to a larger audience to keep their doors open. Not only did their attempts fail, but the game was poorly received as well.
5. Duke Nukem
We all knew it would be here, Duke Nukem 3D was a phenomenal title in it’s day and still has die hard fans. The sad history of this title and social inadequacy of its main hero leave this franchise truly stranded. It’s a pity that a game series that wasn’t willing to release a game that wasn’t incredible ended up with Duke Nukem Forever as, possibly, its last ever instalment. I for one do hope that Duke returns with a better sense of humour or maybe as the brunt of the joke but returns all the same. Hail to the king, baby.
4. Prince of Persia
Assassins Creed could just have easily been the title on this list, as it would be so easy to imagine that the titles situations where literally reversed. The fact is that Assassins Creed can provide all the same elements that Prince of Persia can with fewer limitations due to the name of the franchises. The title now does have a life on Mobile, but man I’d personally love to revisit a AAA title from a game that has a legacy dating back to DOS gaming.
3. Medal of Honor
The term WOW Killer was a buzz word for the longest time in gaming, but the most successful killer was that of Medal of Honor. Call of Duty was literally code named: MoH Killer and was so effective that few probably realise that the same people behind Medal of Honor developed the first COD. I guess this is the perfect example of the student surpassing the master. There is a sting in the tale as a VR Game is set for release this year – who knows, maybe the developers behind Medal of Honor have codename COD Killer in the world of VR.
2. Fable
Perhaps Fable would have escaped this list entirely should they had been capable of living up to their promises or just been less ambitious. It’s always sad to see a great series decline in quality and this is a poster child for a slow death. Fable is still a beautiful, creative and immortal franchise and unlike many others who’s publishing rights were sold off to a company that will never use it, Fable is now owned by Flaming Fowl Studios, an indie developer made up of the original Lionhead studios staff. Now wouldn’t that would be a fitting end for the aptly named Fable – the rise, fall and rise of Fable?
1. Silent Hill
If the first thing that came to mind when you read this wasn’t P.T or Norman Reedus, we have some catching up to do. Hideo Kojima and Konami had a messy divorce and the abandoned child appears to be Silent Hill. What makes this infamous and the worst item on this list – is that we got to experience what it may have been like had this series not died… And this series, it looked great.
And that concludes our list, I hope that one day we get to look back at this article and see our fallen friends all reimagined and demanding that we fixate on their latest offerings, but for now they at least live on as unforgettable stories in the history of gaming.
