The death of a beloved franchise is always tough to take. This is particularly the case for gamers, as, unlike most other forms of media, older video games can be difficult to access, with some classic games being borderline impossible to play today.
Big FPS Game Franchises That Are Officially Done
There was a time when the FPS reigned supreme and these franchises were at the top of the world, but today, they're all but dead and buried.
Even in this era of remakes and remasters bringing countless iconic IPs back to life, there are some big names that, despite still having dedicated fanbases, are unlikely to ever have a new entry or re-release. The franchises on this list would all make headlines if they made a comeback, but reports suggest that they're done for good.
SSX
The Legendary Snowboarding Franchise Shows No Signs of Returning
The SSX franchise started life under the EA Sports BIG brand, which was known for its "street" variations of sports with series like FIFA Street, NBA Street, and NFL Street. Along with SSX, the "street" franchises all share one rather unfortunate thing in common, which is that none of them has had a new release in well over a decade.
This is particularly disappointing in the case of SSX, as, still to this day, many gamers share vivid memories of how much fun they had racing and performing tricks in games like SSX 3 and SSX Tricky. A spiritual successor of the SSX franchise was in the works, but it has reportedly been cancelled.
Dead Space
The 2023 Remake Is Reportedly the End of the Franchise
Dead Space was one of the biggest names of the seventh generation of home consoles, though it ended on a bit of a sour note with the lacklustre Dead Space 3. Many people thought that Dead Space 3 would be the end of the franchise, although the IP made a comeback in 2023 with a remake of the original Dead Space. Fans were hopeful that the remake would kickstart a rebirth of the franchise, though EA reportedly cancelled plans for a Dead Space 2 remake and Dead Space 4, suggesting that the remake wasn't successful in breathing life back into the series.
Every Mario Game On The GameCube, Ranked
Being a Nintendo console, of course, the GameCube featured a bevy of Mario games, and here are all of them ranked.
It will be a shame if the series never returns, as, along with the series' unique limb dismemberment mechanic that was superbly executed, the games also stood out for their art design and for how immersive they were and still are today.
Banjo-Kazooie
Every Mascot Platformer Seems to Be Returning... Except This One
Banjo-Kazooie is yet to make a comeback, despite a plethora of mascot platformers making a comeback in the 2010s and 2020s, such as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Croc, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, and even Kao the Kangaroo. 2008's Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts remains the franchise's most recent entry - a divisive game for shifting to a vehicle construction experience and even mocking the collectathon gameplay of old near the start of the game.
There still seems to be interest amongst gamers for a remake or new entry to the series, but that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon, and many fans have lost faith in a comeback ever materializing.
Burnout
It's easy to forget just how popular street racing games were in the 2000s. Burnout was one of several street racing franchises boasting impressive commercial and critical success throughout the decade, with Midnight Club being another major name that seems to be dormant. The Burnout franchise wowed gamers with its sense of speed, impressive graphics for the time, and crash mechanics that were unlike anything else available.
Best Games Like Resident Evil
Capcom's Resident Evil is the most well-known horror franchise, and fans are likely to enjoy these games.
The last major entry in the Burnout franchise was Burnout Paradise in 2008, with the bird's-eye-view Burnout Crash! In 2011 and Burnout Paradise Remastered in 2018 being the only releases since. Criterion Games confirmed in late 2022 that there were no plans to bring the franchise back, and nothing seems to have changed since.
Sly Cooper
Sucker Punch Productions' Sly Cooper franchise began with Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, which was released exclusively on the PlayStation 2. With mascot platformers struggling on the PlayStation 2, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus looked to bridge the gap between '90s platforming and 2000s action by combining the stealth and platforming genres. The game was well-received, and the sequels leaned further into the stealth side of the game while also adding more playable characters.
Following the success of the PlayStation 2 trilogy, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was released on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in 2013, along with the mini game compilation Bentley's Hackpack. Sadly, there have not been any new games in the Sly Cooper franchise since the 2013 games were released, and Sucker Punch Productions, who are currently finding great success with their Ghost of series, reportedly have no interest in bringing the series back as things stand.
Upcoming 2025 Games With The Most Hype
The following highly anticipated video games are set to make a big splash when they release in the coming weeks and months.