10 Video Game Franchises That Are BEYOND Saving

10 Video Game Franchises That Are Beyond Saving

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 video game franchises where…guys, we just gotta throw in the towel. There’s no hope for them anymore.

“Battlefield” series (2002-)

We can acknowledge some of the great times “Battlefield” has brought us since its inception in 2002. “Battlefield 3” was a blast to play even though the launch could have been better. Way better. “Battlefield 1” finally explored another era of history through its military shooter mechanics. And “Battlefield: Hardline”, while not everyone’s favorite, was fun with its focus on cops and criminals. However, “Battlefield V” didn’t hit as hard as its World War One predecessor. And “Battlefield 2042”, while still making improvements since, was an utter embarrassment for DICE and EA. Surprisingly, “2042” still sees between twenty- to thirty-thousand players per month. Impressive, but who’s to say the stain from the initial launch won’t carry over and plague the next “Battlefield”?

“Star Fox” series (1993-2017)

“Star Fox” went on a steady decline ever since the massive success of “Star Fox 64”. “Adventures” divided fans in how Nintendo had Rare change their original “Dinosaur Planet” pitch into an action-adventure spin-off for their on-rails shooter series. “Assault” was a more welcoming change with its blend of third-person shooting and space-faring dogfights. But with “Star Fox Zero”, fans were underwhelmed and a tad frustrated with Nintendo. How could you ship out a game that felt so uninspired and implemented such awkward controls? “Star Fox 2’s” long-awaited official release in 2017 showed fans why it had been canceled in the first place with its lack of innovation and fresh ideas. We haven’t had a new “Star Fox” game since then, and frankly, maybe it's time to hang up our hats? Nintendo has long followed a mantra of “we’ll make a game if there’s a new idea worth following”, and they’ve lived by that even through games that may not have been mildly solid. Who knows - maybe the new generation of Nintendo developers will have something in the pipeline soon.

“Beyond Good & Evil” (2005)

It’s a bit odd seeing so many folks state how much they love “Beyond Good & Evil” when its sales history has failed to impress Ubisoft even after so many re-releases. It is a great game, but it does call into question the hyper (or lack thereof) surrounding “Beyond Good & Evil 2”. Though it made an official reveal at E3 2017, the project has seemingly had no meaningful updates over the last several years. To make matters worse, the original game’s creator came under allegations for inappropriate behavior in 2020, thus prompting him to leave Ubisoft. As for BGE2’s creative director, Emile Morel, he sadly passed away in 2023. Honestly, it’s tough to say if BGE should even continue or if it's even a financially viable project for Ubisoft to pursue.

“Dead Or Alive” series (1996-2019)

With the release of “Dead Or Alive 6”, the franchise seemed to have a promising future with its new visuals and mechanics. Unfortunately, much of the community soon discovered a game with an awful monetization model and a heavy emphasis on overpriced costumes. And the few DLC fighters were already characters that were available in “Last Round”. Sure enough, Koei Tecmo ceased updates for DOA 6, and its failure has left everyone questioning if a DOA 7 is even on the table. With no word on who would even helm the series moving forward, “Dead Or Alive” might actually be dead now.

“Twisted Metal” series (1995-2012)

Ever since we entered the era of the PlayStation 5, Sony has had several opportunities to possibly revive “Twisted Metal”. First, there was the fact that “Destruction All-Stars” swallowed up the attention around “Twisted Metal’s” twenty-fifth anniversary and the months that followed. Then, we got the TV show, which was a shocking success for both Sony and NBC Universal. We even got PS4 and PS5 ports of the first two games, both of which made it into the best-selling new releases for PlayStation Network in July 2023. But then, Firesprite’s “Twisted Metal” project had its plug pulled following CEO Jim Ryan’s departure from Sony. While the show is putting together its second season, surely, “Twisted Metal” won’t continue as just a TV show, right? Well…it sure is looking like that.

“Killzone” series (2005-13)

While Sony tried to complain to the FTC about not being able to compete with “Call of Duty” during Activision’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, so many of us were yelling out, “You have a potential franchise to compete with!! It’s called ‘Killzone’!” However, we really should face the facts. Even though “Killzone 2” and “Killzone 3” were exceptional titles, the sales they brought in were not as big as we pretend they were. They are certainly nowhere close to the numbers Sony looks for from their products today. The last game in the franchise, “Killzone: Shadow Fall”, did sell a couple million copies, but with the rising costs of game development and the hundred-million-dollar budgets being spent on the games Sony wants to make today, those aren’t the numbers they’re looking for. Maybe there’s some hope for a “Killzone Collection”. Unfortunately, as far as new games go, we really shouldn’t hold our breath.

“F-Zero” series (1990-) As we mentioned earlier, Nintendo has often worked under the mentality of “we’ll make a new game if there is a new idea worth following”. This was explicitly mentioned in response to growing demand from fans for a new “F-Zero” game in 2021. Former “F-Zero” character designer Taka Imamura stated in an IGN interview that if Nintendo were to return to the racing franchise, it would need something innovative to justify it. In Imamura’s words, “Of course, I’ve thought about many times, but without a grand new idea, it’s hard to bring it back.” Yes, we did get a new game in the form of “F-Zero 99” in 2023, but that wasn’t exactly what fans had in mind. Perhaps there really isn’t a good concept for a new installment? Once again, here’s hoping the new generation of Nintendo staff prove us wrong.

“Chibi-Robo” (2005)

Unlike Captain Falcon, Nintendo has tried a handful of different concepts to keep Chibi-Robo in the limelight. They gave him a game about gardening with “Park Patrol”, a photography game for the 3DS with “Photo Finder”, and an action-platformer in “Zip Lash”. There’s just one problem: none of those kinds of games are what made Chibi-Robo what he is. What most fans are wanting is a new game that is much like the GameCube original. We want to tidy up a house, take care of a family, and meet strange creatures and toys at night. There was mystery and weirdness in the first “Chibi-Robo” game that none of the follow-ups have managed to reach. And now, the original team behind the first “Chibi-Robo” are working on a spiritual successor. That said, this might be the only shot we’re going to get for a new Chibi-Robo game that we’ve been wanting, and its new name is “KoROBO”.

Everything Under Konami

“Silent Hill”, “Castlevania”, and “Metal Gear”. All under the Konami banner, all having met dismal fates. Despite the kickoff of its revival in 2022, “Silent Hill” has been on a downward spiral quicker than James Sunderland’s mental stability. “Ascension” was an underwhelming and poorly contrived spin-off while “The Short Message” was a free-to-play game that didn’t fully understand the tribulations of mental illness like anxiety and depression outside of them being awful things to live with in general. So, Konami is 0-2 on “Silent Hill”, and the remake for “Silent Hill 2” is looking questionable at best. As for “Castlevania”, we can’t seem to get a brand new game outside of the endless ocean of DLC crossovers with titles like “Dead Cells” and “Dead by Daylight”. Then, we have “Metal Gear”, the franchise that generated a ton of dough for Konami before they cracked the whip too hard on Hideo Kojima and terminated his contract. Now, they want him back. Granted, Konami is run by a totally different group of people than the ones who fired Kojima. However, the odds of Kojima ever working with Konami again are very, very slim, therefore, Konami may never touch “Metal Gear” again outside of re-releases and remakes unless they want another “Survive” on their hands.

“Borderlands” series (2009-)

Gearbox Software, what have you done? Though we cannot blame the studio entirely for the travesty of the “Borderlands” movie, it is absolutely worth questioning the studio’s handling of the “Borderlands” games over the last several years. Not only has the humor gone from dark and witty to juvenile and immature in the most obnoxious ways, but none of the newest entries have had one shred of innovative ideas that the first few “Borderlands” games had. “Borderlands 3” had a super streamlined and vanilla selection of character classes with some truly awful writing. “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands” was slightly better in both areas, but still didn’t do much to differentiate itself from “Borderlands” nor did it take advantage of its own “Dungeons & Dragons” inspiration for new mechanics. As for “New Tales From the Borderlands”...who thought that anything for that game was a good idea from the start with its horrendous dialogue, lazy humor, and downright mundane characters? We do have a “Borderlands 4” and a “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2” on the way. We should be excited for both, but with Gearbox’s output in recent years…we do not have high hopes for either. Unless some drastic changes are made in certain departments, “Borderlands” may become the poster child for Video Games That Are Beyond Saving.

What are some video games you think will turn out great? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!