The Saints Row reboot was originally intended to focus on Johnny Gat and other classic characters from the franchise. The Saints Row series is one of the most beloved open-world franchises out there, but it has had a fall from grace in recent years. Saints Row 4 was released in 2013, a month before Grand Theft Auto V was released and absolutely changed how open-world gaming would be viewed for years to come. Volition decided to move on to other projects and the Saints Row series was put on ice for the better part of a decade. The developer opted to move to reboot things once it realized they had gone to hell, space, and put super powers into the series in the last game.
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Unfortunately, the reboot was not received very well. Saints Row was slammed by fans and critics alike for its lackluster story, annoying characters, and dated gameplay. Many people noted that it was a mistake to move away from the original Saints as characters like Johnny Gat were incredibly beloved and made a noticeable impact on the series. Unfortunately, Saints Row failed to stick its landing and Volition ended up being shut down earlier this year. The fate of the Saints Row series remains a mystery, but it sounds like things could’ve gone differently. YouTuber mrsaintsgodzilla21 made a video claiming that a “decent portion” of the reboot’s development was focused on a new story with Johnny Gat, Dex, Shaundi, Pierce, and others. Volition had established a “20/80” rule where the tone would be 20% like Saints Row: The Third and 80% like Saints Row 2, allowing for moments of over-the-top mayhem while balancing it with the grounded gangster gameplay that fans loved about the second game. Unfortunately, higher-ups at Volition and commands from publisher Deep Silver supposedly resulted in a problematic development that may have sabotaged something that would’ve really pleased fans.
The video goes on to mention that when Volition was recently acquired by Gearbox, it had remedied a lot of these internal issues and set up the studio for success in the future. Saints Row may live on under a different developer in the future, but unfortunately, it won’t be with Volition. It’s also hard to say whether it would have these iconic characters returning. It’s a shame to hear we could’ve had the game we all wanted, but it was mismanaged, but that’s the way it goes in this industry sometimes!
