10 Dormant PlayStation Franchises That Need to Be Revived on PS6
As shown by 2024’s Astro Bot, PlayStation has a lot of dormant franchises. That cutesy platformer, in a sense, was partially a playable graveyard of the series that have been cast to the dustbin of history. But not all hope should be lost, since some publishers have a knack for digging into their back catalogues when they’re too risk-averse to try something new.
As such, here is an unranked list of 10 dormant franchises PlayStation should consider bringing back for the PS6 generation.
10) Ape Escape
PlayStation loves to plaster the lovable Ape Escape apes all over its websites and marketing, but it has been 21 years since the last mainline entry. That’s a long time to be dormant for a franchise that’s still on promotional materials. Astro Bot demonstrated just a small slice of what’s possible, as that Ape Escape tribute stage was one of the best ones in the game. Team Asobi would likely be the best developer to tackle this project since PlayStation foolishly shut down Japan Studio in 2021.
Ape Escape would be an excellent series to bring back because it fills a hole currently in PlayStation’s first-party lineup. It has an overwhelming array of third-person action games, most of which are realistic and with astronomical budgets. The console maker should pursue more games that are silly and smaller in scope — both of which fit Ape Escape wonderfully — especially if it truly wants more “titles for families.”
9) Patapon
Patapon is in a similar boat as Ape Escape in that it was also a quirky Japan Studio creation that has been dormant for around two decades. Patapon 3, the final new entry in this rhythm-based strategy series, let the franchise die on a terrible note, too, with the ridiculous amount of grind it forced upon players and ill-conceived multiplayer mechanics. And while by far the weakest entry for numerous reasons, Patapon 3 also made it clear how flawed and imprecise the core mechanics were.
But the charming personality of the game and potential of its genre blending make it a series that could use another shot. A new team could better realize what was bubbling under the surface and inhibited by poor design. Other games like Wanderblue and Ratatan (which is being made by some of those who originally worked on Patapon) show how this mix has potential and is ripe for a modern reinvention. PlayStation has moved away from handheld systems, but another Patapon might make more sense if the reports surrounding a portable component of the PS6 are accurate. It also recently licensed out the franchise to Bandai Namco for Patapon 1+2 Replay, showing there’s at least some hunger to bring Patapon back.
8) Infamous
Sucker Punch Productions is busy with its Ghost series, which was a welcome shift away from Infamous. However, Infamous still has plenty of electricity running through its veins, especially after a 12-year hiatus.
Part of its potential stems from how Infamous isn’t just about one character. Sucker Punch was quick to change protagonists three times over the four games (or five counting the short downloadable spin-off Festival of Blood). This constant shifting means there are plenty of ways to bring back the series since it isn’t as tied to nostalgia as other franchises that are always about the same characters each time. There are always new places, powers, and people to explore. Granted, PlayStation already has the Marvel’s Spider-Man series and Marvel’s Wolverine, but there are still many ways to tell superhero stories, especially original ones not tied to a comic book behemoth.
7) Sly Cooper
Infamous itself was even an appreciated shift away from the Sly Cooper series, which also has unfortunately been left by the wayside. Sucker Punch didn’t even develop Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the fourth mainline entry, so there’s a precedent for this series to be made by those who didn’t originally envision it. However, this installment strayed too closely to the prior games without doing much new, which resulted in an appropriately tepid reception.
Sly deserves a bolder reinterpretation but one that doesn’t forsake the style that made the sneaky series what it was. Stealth games have changed quite a bit since 2013 and a stealth game — even one in a cartoony wrapper — should evolve enough to keep pace. Perhaps it would be worth it to follow Sly’s son or daughter and they also try to piece together the Thievius Raccoonus since going back to Sly and his annoying and ever-bloated gang might make for a game that is, once again, somewhat stale. Thieves in Time also had an open enough ending to allow for anything, but a fresh start would likely be more fitting. Regardless, Sly, with the right treatment, should be let out of jail.
6) Syphon Filter
Syphon Filter is yet another sneaky franchise PlayStation has let sit in the shadows for almost two decades. However, Syphon Filter never quite got to ascend like Sly Cooper. It started out on the PS1 before mostly being locked to the PSP until its death. Although those portable entries were ported to the PS2, they were designed with the PSP in mind and weren’t able to fully fulfill their potential. Syphon Filter deserved a more console-first approach and rarely got it.
With the PS6, PlayStation could finally give the series that shot. Bend Studio’s Days Gone, while decent, didn’t exactly hit, and the live-service game it was developing after got canned. It’s doubtful the same people are at the studio now, but perhaps going back to Syphon Filter would help the studio find its footing again and rediscover its roots. Sam Fisher and Solid Snake are still in the process of making their comebacks and Physint is on the way, so there’s acknowledgement among some publishers that gaming is missing its stealthier heroes. Gabe Logan was never quite in the upper tiers of the genre’s most dependable spies, but, with the right mindset and team, he could climb the ranks.
5) Resistance
Resistance helped define the PS3, but PlayStation has mostly forgotten about it after. The alternate history sci-fi shooter allowed developer Insomniac Games to flex different muscles but ones that had grown strong after years of making Ratchet & Clank. This meant gunplay went beyond the typical mindlessness of other shooters with an array of exotic weaponry.
This type of approach is exactly what the shooter genre needs now, as does PlayStation with its array of third-person games. First-person shooters have mostly gone the multiplayer route, which has been disappointing. Even though Resistance had decent online modes, the campaigns were the big draw here, especially with Resistance 3. This final console entry was the most confident and best one of the bunch, making it all the more frustrating that the series died shortly after. Resistance has so much unexplored potential, and it’s up to PlayStation to realize that.
4) Killzone
But if PlayStation doesn’t want to resurrect its first-person shooter series with multi-eyed aliens, then perhaps it will want to resurrect its first-person shooter series with red-goggled humanoids. Killzone was yet another franchise that defined many PlayStation consoles, something aided by its iconic villains, the Helghast. These space fascists helped make these games feel dirty and gritty and meant they felt different from other shooters. Blending together a Vietnam War and World War 2 shooter and injecting a healthy dose of science fiction into that mix was enough to give Killzone the unique tone it needed.
As was the case with Resistance, these qualities would help it stand out in today’s helping of shooters that don’t have as striking of a style. The Killzone games were admittedly quite brown and gray, but very few did it as well as Killzone; Killzone 2, Killzone 3, and Killzone Shadow Fall are among the best-looking games on their respective systems even all these years later. Shadow Fall was the last Killzone game and one of the worst entries, and it would be unfortunate to let the series die in that way.
3) Siren
The rise of streaming has helped popularize the horror genre, something demonstrated by the success of the last decade of Resident Evil games, the two most recent Silent Hills, and the numerous low-budget Steam games that garner big audiences. It would make sense for PlayStation to make inroads here, and, thankfully, it already has Siren.
Siren was a bit prickly and punishing for those who didn’t want to spend copious amounts of time hiding and memorizing enemy patterns. Given its difficulty and obtuse qualities, it’s not the most accessible horror series. However, the freaky monster designs, Japanese setting, overall oppressive nature, and intriguing sightjacking mechanic that lets players see through their foe’s eyes are all great qualities worth further exploring. Siren was birthed once PlayStation hired Silent Hill director Keiichiro Toyama, and it would be nice if the company still had this kind of ambition to venture into other genres that are outside of its purview.
2) Twisted Metal
PlayStation somehow made a better-than-expected Twisted Metal TV show with Peacock and somehow that wasn’t reason enough to put out a new Twisted Metal game. There was reportedly one in development that never saw the light of day, but that’s not a great excuse.
Car combat games may be one of those genres that’s best left in the 1990s, given the failures of Destruction AllStars and the 2012 Twisted Metal reboot. However, there has to be a way to bring the genre back and a studio with the ideas and skill to make it happen. PlayStation likely won’t have as much positive sentiment surrounding Twisted Metal again, so now — or, more appropriately, a few years ago — is the time to start putting the rubber to the road.
1) MotorStorm
Gran Turismo is successful enough to continue its reign on PlayStation, but the company used to publish multiple different racing games, too. Many of them have more or less died out, including MotorStorm, the series that started and ended on the PS3.
MotorStorm was a great racing series — especially with its middle chapter, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift — that excelled because of its ability to support all kinds of vehicles. Players could race dirt bikes against buggies and big rigs, which led to a level of variety in the genre that hasn’t been emulated much since. It’s a novel concept and something that still holds up today. MotorStorm ended with MotorStorm: Apocalypse and MotorStorm: RC — its two weakest entries — and none of the five MotorStorm games are locally playable on modern consoles, both of which have sadly let the franchise fade into ill-deserved obscurity. PlayStation just needs to understand that there is still some gas in the tank here.
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