Top 5 video game franchises that haven't received a new entry in a while

Many gaming studios have given birth to popular video game franchises that boast millions of fans. Plenty of video game franchises have come and gone throughout the years, but only a few have made a significant impact in the gaming community.

Most narrative-heavy games usually get a follow-up sequel, which generally leads to increased popularity of the series. These series acquire dedicated fan bases that demand more sequels from gaming studios of their favorite series.

There are occasions when things don’t work out well for video game franchises and gaming studios losing their mojo to bring up another sequel to keep the storyline going.

Top 5 video game franchises that whose future projects fans are on the lookout for

5) Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

Ubisoft’s flagship stealth action-adventure series, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell is one of their most successful franchises. It all started in 2002 when Ubisoft tied up with the popular American novelist Thomas Leo Clancy Jr., also known as Tom Clancy, to release a game based on his military-science storylines.

Ubisoft released Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell in 2002, which became an instant hit and received a lot of positive reviews from fans and critics. Players take on the role of a highly trained agent known as Sam Fisher who has to complete his missions single-handedly.

Players will be able to use unique and high-tech gadgets to properly strategize and eliminate enemies. After the immense success of Splinter Cell, Ubisoft released another six installments under the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell franchise. This includes Pandora Tomorrow (2004), Chaos Theory (2005), Double Agent (2006), Conviction (2010) and Blacklist (2013).

Ubisoft also released another Splinter Cell title known as the Essentials in 2006 dedicated to PSP consoles. Splinter Cell fans would surely love to see another installment of their favorite franchise.

4) Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia is one of the most popular action-adventure series that players still love to play. Prince of Persia was first released in 1989 as a fantasy cinematic platformer by Broderbund games.

In 1993, Broderbund games released the second installment of the series known as Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, which failed to gain much traction. The popularity of Prince of Persia started growing when Ubisoft took over the series and released Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in 2003.

The title featured an excellent narrative storyline and stunning combat gameplay. Prince's agility and combat skills is what made the series so appealing. Sands of Time was quickly followed by one of the best games in the Prince of Persia series known as Warrior Within (2004).

The Prince of Persia franchise received two more installments in the main storyline that includes Two Thrones (2005) and The Forgotten Sands (2010). Ubisoft is yet to release any other Prince of Persia title after The Forgotten Sands, however many consider Assassin’s Creed to be the spiritual successor to the series.

3) Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto, also known as GTA, is undoubtedly one of the biggest video game franchises in the world. Rockstar North, formerly known as DMA Design, first released Grand Theft Auto in 1997 as a 2D title based on a criminal who climbs the status in the underworld across three real-life inspired cities.

In 1999, DMA Design released Grand Theft Auto 2 as a sequel to the first installment. The popularity of the series drastically increased from GTA III, which featured a 3D open world title where players were freely able to roam around and complete different missions.

Following the huge success, Rockstar North released another four installments of the GTA series, which includes GTA: Vice City (2002), GTA San Andreas (2004), GTA IV (2008) and GTA V (2013). Despite GTA V being released back in 2013, it was still the most streamed title on Twitch last year.

This showcases the franchise’s immense popularity and success. Fans are eagerly waiting for the upcoming installment of the series known as GTA 6, but according to recent reports, there is still plenty of time before players will be able to play the upcoming GTA game.

2) Mass Effect

Mass Effect is Bioware and EA’s flagship military science fiction adventure franchise that appeals to many games due to its exceptional visuals and storyline. The series is based on the distant future, which depicts the colonization of the Milky Way galaxy by humans and other alien civilizations.

EA released Mass Effect in 2007 as a third-person shooter where players take on the role of a Commander Shepard and attempt to save the galaxy from alien machines. EA continued the storyline with the release of Mass Effect 2 in 2010 and Mass Effect 3 in 2012.

This marked the end of the Mass Effect Trilogy. A fourth installment was released in 2017 known as Mass Effect Andromeda, which featured a completely new set of characters and storylines.

The series has been well appreciated by critics and fans due to its characters, narrative and a unique way to put emphasis on player’s choices. Players would surely love to see the fifth installment of the Mass Effect franchise.

1) Fallout

The Fallout series was first created by Interplay Entertainment as a post-apocalyptic role-playing title which depicts a futuristic world set in the 21st, 22nd and 23rd centuries. In 1997, Interplay released Fallout, which eventually proved to be a great success.

Fallout was quickly followed by Fallout 2 which showcased similar gameplay and combat attributes. In 2004, Bethesda Softworks took over Fallout and turned it into an action-role playing series that appealed to the masses.

The Fallout franchise received another two installments in the main storyline that includes Fallout 3 (2008) and Fallout 4 (2015). Bethesda has also released two spin-off games known as Fallout Shelter (2015) and Fallout 76 (2018).

Fallout 76 became the first Fallout title to feature an online multiplayer mode and was well appreciated by the gaming community.