Reviving the Saints Row Franchise: A Glorious Comeback is Brewing
Despite the closure of Volition, there's a ray of hope for devoted Saints Row fans as the beloved franchise boldly moves forward, ensuring its continuation and bringing excitement to its dedicated community
Following the closure of development studio Volition, the beloved Saints Row franchise will continue its journey. However, the 2022 reboot of Saints Row received poor reviews due to its buggy launch, lackluster writing, and unengaging open world inspired by Las Vegas. Despite efforts to improve the game with expansions and new districts, sentiment towards the reboot remained largely unchanged even a year later.
As part of a restructuring plan, Embracer Group, the parent company, has made the decision to dissolve Volition, the developer responsible for Saints Row. Volition, recognized for their work on the Red Faction franchise in the early 2000s, initially created the Saints Row series in 2006 as a direct competition to the highly successful and groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto games developed by Rockstar. However, the direction of the franchise shifted towards a more comedic and fantastical tone with the introduction of aliens and superpowers in Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row 4, which alienated fans who preferred the series' original grounded approach. The 2022 reboot of Saints Row was Volition's attempt to recapture the hearts of these fans by presenting a story that was less outlandish and a near-future setting that was slightly more realistic.
On the day of Volition's heartbreaking closure announcement, publisher Deep Silver took to Twitter to solemnly thank the developers at Volition who unfortunately lost their jobs. Deep Silver mentioned the team's significant contributions to the popular Red Faction and Saints Row franchises and assured fans that these franchises will continue under the parent company, Plaion.
It is natural for the intellectual properties of a closed studio to remain with the parent company. However, the question arises as to which studio within Plaion is best suited to take on the role of leading developer for Saints Row. Flying Wild Hog stands out as a potential candidate, having recently released four games in the busy year of 2022, including Shadow Warrior 3, Evil West, Trek to Yomi, and Space Punks. While their expertise lies primarily in first-person games like the Shadow Warrior series, their work on Evil West demonstrates proficiency in third-person shooter gameplay, which is essential for Saints Row. Dambuster Studios, under the umbrella of Deep Silver, could also be considered, given their successful release of the highly anticipated Dead Island 2 earlier this year. Another possibility is Fishlabs, which has previously collaborated on Saints Row titles and does not have its own highly demanded franchise to prioritize.
Embracer Group's ongoing restructuring and Plaion's dissolution of Deep Silver may lead to further studio closures. While there is hope that Red Faction and Saints Row will continue, the fate of these franchises remains uncertain. If a new installment of Saints Row is released, it will be intriguing to see if it follows the 2022 reboot or brings back beloved character Johnny Gat and his team. Regardless of the outcome, it will take some time before any solid information is confirmed.
