If there’s one open-world franchise that desperately needs to make a comeback, it’s Volition’s Saints Row. While we were big fans of the third game in the series, its sequel often felt like a bit of a retread and didn’t capture our imagination as successfully. The same can be said for 2015’s Gat out of Hell, which often felt like a mishmash of unused ideas and concepts thrown together into one incohesive standalone expansion.
Thankfully, it looks like our prayers have been answered. As reported by Game Rant, a recent earnings call from THQ Nordic shed some light on the future of the series and it seems Volition is “deep” into the development of a brand new Saints Row game.
As you might expect, that’s all we know so far – THQ Nordic didn’t shed any light on when this new title would release, or on what platforms. Considering Sony and Microsoft are set to debut new consoles in 2020 though, there’s always the chance that Volition could be targeting next-gen hardware.
Personally, we’d love to see another Saints Row game on the market, though we have to admit, we’re a little worried the franchise might be stuck in the past. It’s hard to deny that games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and 2018’s God of War have raised the bar for what we expect from open-world titles. We’re confident Volition can release a quality product, but you have to wonder if another static open-world rounded out by checklists of objectives and dozens of beacons on mini-maps is going to resonate with modern audiences.
Still, we’re hopeful that this new project will deliver on all fronts. Seeing as how a Saints Row movie is also in development, it looks like the franchise is set to come back in a big way.