Open-World Game Franchises That Are Effectively Dead

Even successful, well-known open-world games aren’t guaranteed hits. Recently, several large-scale projects, after years of work, have failed to meet expectations and haven’t sold well. Sometimes, just one or two of these disappointments can be enough to shut down a game studio or put a franchise on hold indefinitely.

Let’s explore some remarkable open-world game series that have unfortunately faded into obscurity. These series are no longer being developed, either because the companies that made them have closed, the owners haven’t updated them in years, or there are no plans for future releases.

Look, I’d love to see these shows back someday, and you never know – sometimes things that seemed totally gone actually come back! But honestly, right now it doesn’t seem very likely at all.

Just Cause

No More Cause for Rico to Fight For

The Just Cause series is well-known for its over-the-top action and huge, open worlds. Starting in 2006, a new game has come out roughly every four or five years, and many fans consider the second installment the best, thanks to the addition of iconic features like the grappling hook.

While Just Cause 3 and 4 continued the series’ over-the-top action, Just Cause 4 felt especially hurried. Released only three years after its predecessor, it didn’t offer enough new features and received disappointing reviews and sales. This likely played a role in the difficulties faced by developer Avalanche Studios, eventually leading to a restructuring. Recently, co-founder Cristofer Sundberg confirmed that a Just Cause 5 is unlikely, as many of the people who originally created the series have moved on.

Rage

Not Mad Max, Not Quite Borderlands

The Rage series had a lot of promise as an open-world shooter, and it’s often compared to Mad Max. After the first game came out in 2011, fans eagerly awaited a sequel for eight years. Many hoped Rage 2 would be a huge success and launch a popular franchise like Borderlands. Unfortunately, it ended up being a major letdown, receiving poor reviews and failing to sell well.

Although never officially canceled, the future of the Rage series looks bleak. The sequel didn’t perform well, ranking among the lowest-rated first-person shooters developed by id Software. With the studio heavily involved in its creation, Avalanche Studios, now closed after two unsuccessful games, any hope for a new Rage installment has faded. It appears the developers are now prioritizing Doom and Quake instead.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of

This One Still Hurts

The cancellation of Monolith’s open-world Middle-earth games – Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War – is a huge disappointment for many fans. These games stood out because they were set in Tolkien’s beloved world and featured the innovative Nemesis system, which allowed for almost limitless replayability and exciting, fluid combat similar to the Assassin’s Creed series. It’s hard to understand why these successful games won’t continue.

The cancellation of the open-world Wonder Woman game, announced unexpectedly in early 2025, was a surprise, especially because it also meant the end of Monolith Productions. While many weren’t highly anticipating the Wonder Woman game, the bigger loss was the end of the Middle-earth: Shadow of series and its innovative Nemesis system. It’s truly disappointing.

Watch Dogs

Struggling With Its Own Identity

While not completely abandoned, the Watch Dogs series appears to be on indefinite hold. Ubisoft seems to have paused further development after the challenging creation and underwhelming reception of Watch Dogs Legion. Throughout the series, Watch Dogs has struggled to find a consistent direction and identity. Despite offering a potentially exciting world centered around modern-day hacking, Ubisoft hasn’t quite been able to fully deliver on its initial promise.

It’s been over five years since Watch Dogs Legion came out, and Ubisoft hasn’t given any indication of future games in the series. This is unusual, as they typically like to build on successful franchises. Things look even worse now that a reliable source at Ubisoft has revealed several Watch Dogs projects were canceled, suggesting the series is likely finished. Ubisoft also stopped supporting Legion much faster than they did with another struggling game from the same time, Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Unless Ubisoft announces something new, Watch Dogs fans probably shouldn’t expect another game in the series anytime soon.

Prototype

Should’ve Mutated More Aggressively

The future of the Prototype series is uncertain, but rumors and some recent activity suggest a possible return. Leaks and speculation point towards remasters of the open-world superhero games, and some recent changes to the game’s Steam files have added fuel to the fire. However, after more than 13 years without a new Prototype title, it’s best to remain cautiously optimistic until an official announcement is made.

Both Prototype (released in 2009) and its 2012 sequel were unique action games featuring a powerful, mutant superhero. They were praised for their immersive worlds, gritty tone, and blend of fast-paced combat and stealth, all fueled by extraordinary abilities. While the games gained a dedicated following, they weren’t massive commercial successes. This led to layoffs at the developer, Radical Entertainment, in 2010 and 2012. The studio was eventually shifted to work on other Activision games, meaning original titles – including any further Prototype games – were put on hold indefinitely, and the franchise was largely forgotten.

True Crime

The Deadest of Them All

The True Crime series used to compete directly with the popular Grand Theft Auto games. It offered large, modern cities to explore, along with plenty of action and vehicles. While True Crime: Streets of LA in 2003 did reasonably well, the follow-up, True Crime: New York City, wasn’t as successful, causing Activision to change its plans for the franchise.

Instead of making another game set in New York, the creators decided on True Crime: Hong Kong, developed by a new team, United Front Games. This project was later reimagined and released as Sleeping Dogs by Square Enix, a completely separate open-world game with no ties to the True Crime series. Despite getting a second chance and becoming a fan favorite, Sleeping Dogs didn’t sell well when it first came out. In 2014, Activision gave up the True Crime trademark, and United Front Games closed its doors in 2016, effectively ending the attempt to compete with GTA.

Mercenaries

The Fall of a Promising Studio

The Mercenaries games were early examples of the over-the-top, chaotic, and destructive open-world gameplay later seen in the Just Cause series, featuring lots of explosions and tough soldiers. While the first game, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, was well-received, the sequel, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, had a troubled launch, largely due to problems within the game’s development studio, Pandemic Studios.

Fans were right to be worried. After the poor reception of World in Flames, EA closed Pandemic Studios in 2009. But the Mercenaries series wasn’t over just yet. EA assigned Danger Close Games to create a new Mercenaries game the same year. Unfortunately, the project ran into many problems and was eventually canceled when Danger Close shut down in 2013, effectively ending the Mercenaries franchise.

Risen & Elex

At Least Gothic Makes Its Return

Piranha Bytes is a European game studio known for consistently creating immersive, open-world RPGs in the style of their original Gothic series. Though they no longer own the rights to Gothic, they’ve continued to refine their unique formula with games like the Risen trilogy – including Risen 2: Dark Waters and Risen 3: Titan Lords – and the Elex games, which uniquely combine fantasy and science fiction.

Although Piranha Bytes’ games never achieved widespread success, they built a loyal following and several titles gained a dedicated cult fanbase. However, after Elex 2 didn’t sell as well as hoped, it became obvious the studio was facing difficulties. Rumors of its closure began in December 2023, and in June 2024, Piranha Bytes officially shut down. With Embracer Group unable to find a buyer for their game properties, this likely marks the end of all the games they created.

2025-11-08 18:36