10 Beloved Game Franchises That Were Abandoned Too Soon

The 2000s in the gaming industry were a lot like the Wild West. Unlike today, where a handful of big-name series dominate the sales charts, back then, there were dozens of series vying for supremacy. Not all of them survived the experience. From big names that we simply haven’t seen in a while to series that might be nearly forgotten, there are a lot of abandoned franchises out there.

Unfortunately, not all of those franchises deserved it. These next series were excellent in their day, and have all the elements to be successful in the modern gaming space as well, but for a variety of reasons (some known, others not so much), we haven’t heard from any of them in years. These franchises have been abandoned as well, but they are too good to stay dead. They were all dropped too soon, and there’s a good chance that gamers would be overjoyed to see them make a comeback.

Resistance

Sony’s “Halo Killer” Was Great On Its Own Terms

• Games in the Series: Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, Resistance: Retribution, Resistance 3, Resistance: Burning Skies

With the launch of the PS3, Sony knew they had an uphill battle when competing with Microsoft’s breakout hit, the Xbox 360. One part of that battle was developing a response to the Halo series, and Sony’s solution was Resistance. This series of alternate history FPS games wears its Halo influence on its sleeve, with weird weapons, alien enemies, and epic firefights against a seemingly insurmountable enemy.

Did Resistance topple Halo‘s reign? No, and that should come as no surprise. That said, while the online component wasn’t much to boast about, all three mainline Resistance games are excellent single-player experiences with tight shooting, epic set pieces, and stories and characters that are severely underrated. The portable releases are more of a mixed bag (Retribution is pretty good, though), but it’s hard to believe a modern console release wouldn’t get a lot of attention. Sadly, with Insomniac currently focused on their Marvel projects, it’s hard to see a new Resistance ​​​​​​game happening any time soon.

InFAMOUS

Excellent Open-World Superhero Games With No Marvel Or DC Connections

• Games in the Series: InFAMOUS, InFAMOUS 2, InFAMOUS: Second Son

In 2009, back before the MCU (or at the beginning of the MCU, really), there was a showdown between two superhero games: Prototype and InFAMOUS. The former was a game built around a power fantasy and causing chaos, while the latter was a more narrative-focused experience with RPG mechanics like a morality system and associated skill trees.

This was followed by InFAMOUS 2, which was an improvement in almost every way, and InFAMOUS: Second Son, which was a technical improvement but a bit uninspired in the narrative and gameplay department. Apparently, that’s all it took. There hasn’t been an InFAMOUS game since Second Son, and Sucker Punch has since moved on to their Ghost of… series. The first game is just ripe for a remake, and maybe that would generate some momentum for a modern sequel, because nothing in the gaming world has really replaced this series.

Sly Cooper

Stealth-Action Noir Games Starring A Slick Raccoon

• Games in the Series: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Speaking of Sucker Punch, before the studio created the InFAMOUS series, the devs made their name with the Sly Cooper series. They developed a trilogy of stealth-action games starring an anthropomorphic raccoon antihero named Sly who, along with his companions (Bentley the turtle and Murray the hippo), performs a series of heists around the world.

The first three games in this series are beloved by those who played them. They’re purely stealth-focused, and while there is combat, Sly prefers to work in the shadows, and the games are designed with that playstyle in mind. The fourth game, Thieves in Time, was handed off to Sanzaru Games, as Sucker Punch was focused on InFAMOUS at that point. Thieves in Time wasn’t received well, but maybe a remake of Thievius Raccoonus would capture more players. This series is just too good to fade into history.

Thief

All-Time Great Medieval Immersive Sims

• Games in the Series: Thief: The Dark Project, Thief 2: The Metal Age, Thief: Deadly Shadows, Thief (2014), Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow

Talking about stealth games, there really has never been another series like the Thief games. These medieval immersive sims are similarly stealth-focused and built around performing heists, but where Sly Cooper was lighthearted and accessible, Thief is a legit stealth game that isn’t afraid to challenge you. Success requires snuffing out candles and lanterns to create more darkness, sneaking around enemies (or taking them out from the shadows), and finding alternate routes to avoid more mystical threats.

While the second game, The Metal Age, isn’t as beloved as The Dark Project and Deadly Shadows, these are all still impressively deep games for the era. The 2014 remake, simply called Thief, misses the point entirely, removing much of the creative freedom found in choosing your own approach and making levels linear and uninspired. With the last entry being a flop, that may spell the end for this series, which is a shame, because if a new entry could capture what made those older games so special, it would almost certainly be a hit.

SOCOM

Where Did All The Third-Person Tactical Shooters Go?

• Games in the Series: SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs, SOCOM 2 U.S. Navy SEALs, SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Combined Assault, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 2, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Tactical Strike, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Confrontation, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 3, SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs

By far the most expansive series on this list, the SOCOM games were a series of tactical military third-person shooters centered specifically on the Navy Seals. Rather than taking the cinematic approach of Call of Duty or the more grounded approach of Battlefield, SOCOM was all about squad tactics, rewarding planning and execution over playing like a one-person killing machine.

The most recent game in this series was released in 2011, and it hasn’t been seen since. It would be nice to have it make a return, both to diversify the military shooter space and to provide some more tactical shooters to balance the cinematic FPS games that currently dominate. Plus, the SOCOM games were great. They were challenging, which made them a bit unapproachable for some, but the result was a series that felt incredibly rewarding to learn. A modern SOCOM with stronger hardware to support more complex tactics and environments would be really engaging.

Splinter Cell

The Gaping Hole In Ubisoft’s Modern Catalog

• Games in the Series: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Essentials, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Ubisoft has pretty consistently maintained its most iconic series over the years, even after a lackluster release or two. Far Cry is still going strong, Ghost Recon went through a relatively successful reinvention (and a new entry is rumored for 2026), Rainbow Six is now a live-service mainstay, Assassin’s Creed is the studio’s flagship, and Splinter Cell… wait, where is Splinter Cell? This series’ absence is one of the most baffling trends in the gaming industry, and it continues today, although the Splinter Cell remake is supposedly still in development even after Ubisoft’s massive cuts earlier this year.

This iconic stealth series marked some of the best games released in the 2000s. The original was a watershed moment for stealth games, a stunning blend of spy thrillers and pure stealth infiltration, with a state-of-the-art lighting system and gameplay that took full advantage of it. Pandora Tomorrow expanded on these ideas, and Chaos Theory perfected them. Things took a downturn from there, but not to any disastrous extent. Replacing Michael Ironside’s gravelly voice was a bad call, but even Conviction and Blacklist, despite their more action-oriented design, are still good games. Why this fantastic series hasn’t seen a new entry in 13 years is a mystery, and we can only hope that it changes soon.

Deux Ex

A Perpetually Underrated Sci-Fi Immersive Sim Series

• Games in the Series: Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Deus Ex has never really been a popular franchise in the mainstream, despite often being cited as one of the best games of its era. The original game was a cult classic, beloved by those who played it but overlooked by too many others. That first game was recently remastered, which is the only life this series has seen in years. Its 2003 sequel, Invisible War, though flawed, had the same gameplay diversity and some excellent voice acting for the time. Then the series went dormant for nearly a decade.

Deus Ex returned with a vengeance in 2011 with Human Revolution, a complete reinvention of the gameplay while maintaining the series’ trademark immersive sim elements, allowing you to build a character for stealth or heavy combat using an arsenal of weird and awesome sci-fi gadgets. It was a massive success, both financially and critically. Its sequel, Mankind Divided, is really just more of the same great gameplay, but it didn’t see the same sales. It wasn’t a flop, and Square Enix even turned a profit on it, but for some reason, the publisher decided that Deus Ex wasn’t reliable. That was 10 years ago, and we’ve seen nothing Deux Ex-related since. Much like Splinter Cell, it really doesn’t make sense that we aren’t getting more of these games, but that’s where it stands right now.

Jak And Daxter

The 3D Platformer Series That Helped Define The PS2 Era

• Games in the Series: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak 2, Jak 3, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier

When 3D platformers were all the rage, Nintendo reigned supreme. There was nothing that could compete with Mario, but plenty of games tried. We had Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Banjo-Kazooie, and at the tail end of the trend, Jak and Daxter. The first game in this series was released in 2001, and the last entry arrived in 2009. In a way, this series may have missed the boat a little bit as a platformer, which may be why it leaned more heavily into its third-person shooter elements in later installments, and was better for it.

The thing is, Jak and Daxter is one of the best series of the 2000s, frequently going head-to-head with Ratchet & Clank and holding its own more often than not. Unlike that series, though, Jak and Daxter hasn’t had the same longevity. It deserves it, though. In the same way that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart took full advantage of modern hardware to make one of the most technically impressive and visually stunning games of the modern generation, so too could Jak and Daxter if given the opportunity. Even a modern remake could do wonders. Would Naughty Dog ever go back to this old series? That might be the biggest roadblock.

If It Can Be A Successful TV Series, Surely It Can Be A Successful Game

• Games in the Series: Twisted Metal, Twisted Metal 2, Twisted Metal 3, Twisted Metal 4, Twisted Metal: Black, Twisted Metal: Small Brawl, Twisted Metal: Black Online, Twisted Metal: Head-On,

The lack of a more active demolition derby genre is baffling. Sure, we have Wreckfest, but where are the weird characters, the unhinged car designs, and the wild abilities? That’s what Twisted Metal had going for it. It never sought to come across as realistic or grounded. It’s insane in the best way, a game that revels in its own insanity and encourages you to create some of your own. There’s nothing like this series today, and it would be a great addition to the current-gen library.

The weirdest part about the continued absence of Twisted Metal games is that there is a shockingly good live-action adaptation on Peacock. Normally, an adaptation of this quality would be accompanied by a video-game equivalent. Yet the series has inexplicably remained dormant in the gaming sphere, even though there’s a niche for it, ready and waiting. A brand new vehicular combat game with ridiculous characters like Mr. Grimm or Sweet Tooth would be more than welcome in the current slate of releases.

Dino Crisis

How Could Anyone Think That A Horror Game With Dinosaurs Is A Bad Idea?

• Games in the Series: Dino Crisis, Dino Crisis 2, Dino Stalker, Dino Crisis 3

With the current trend of classic horror game remakes, it seems like a massive oversight that we haven’t seen anything from Dino Crisis since 2003. Sure, this is more of a cult classic compared to something like Resident Evil, but it had a big following and did things that made it stand out in its own right, like faster-paced combat and smarter enemies, which suggests that it could stand out in the current space, too.

There’s already a distinct lack of triple-A games with dinosaurs in them, but a horror game with dinosaurs? Come on. There’s going to get some attention. Dino Crisis is just one of those series that had a good thing going, but as is common on this list, one lackluster release seems to have sunk it for good. Thankfully, word of mouth has never faded for this series in the same way as Parasite Eve has managed to remain in the conversation. Dino Crisis is still on gamers’ minds. Maybe one day, we’ll see it return.