Some video game worlds you want to linger in forever. Not many games manage to create an atmosphere, characters, and a story you want to keep being a part of. But when such masterpieces do come around, you never want to let them go. Unfortunately, though, the gaming industry is too volatile, and sometimes, sequels never happen.
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Every other month, news about mass layoffs and studios shutting down floods the feed. Sometimes, wrong decisions of the higher-ups are to blame. Other times, an unforeseen flop ends up putting an otherwise stellar studio on the wrong end of the guillotine. This list is based on exactly that: a summary of amazing video game franchises that have no future in sight. An obituary of sequels that should have been out by now, just lost in the void. But before you read on, fair warning: you might find some of your favorites here.
1) Bloodborne
FromSoftware is a master at balancing difficulty and exploration. Bloodborne is one of the best examples of that. The gothic Soulslike has some of the most challenging enemies, but the satisfaction of beating them is unmatched. Though that’s not to say Bloodborne’s gloomy art style is any less of a treat. But there is a downside to being a Bloodborne fan. It’s a sort of cursed IP as it stands.
Simply put, Bloodborne is stuck in time. Firstly, it’s a PlayStation 4 exclusive unavailable anywhere else. Secondly, it came out a decade ago in 2015. Since then, neither PlayStation nor FromSoftware has shown a hint of interest in returning to the IP. That’s both understandable and incredibly depressing.
It’s understandable because FromSoftware has been on a roll with Sekiro, Elden Ring, and Armored Core. But it’s also depressing because Bloodborne has so much potential. A Bloodborne 2, or even a simple remake, would cause waves in the gaming space. However, it’s been such a painful ride for Bloodborne fans that no one dares to imagine the IP’s future.
2) Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is one of the highest-rated games of all time. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut edition is actually sitting on a 97 score on Metacritic. Why? Because Disco Elysium is a piece of art. Unlike traditional RPGs, Disco Elysium has little combat. Instead, it focuses on dialogue trees, choices, and personality trait skill checks. It’s a wholly unique system to which you can’t draw comparisons.
But as innovative as 2019’s Disco Elysium is, it doesn’t have a future. The developer ZA/UM had some shady internal business going on. This led to several lawsuits being filed by company employees, including Disco Elysium’s creator Robert Kurvitz. In the news that followed in the coming years, it was revealed that multiple Disco Elysium sequel projects had been cancelled.
Several spin-offs, an expansion titled Locust City: A Disco Elysium Story, and a full-fledged sequel had all been canned due to incompetence. Ultimately, Robert Kurvitz and Disco Elysium’s lead staff all went their separate ways. Now they are working at different studios, and Disco Elysium 2 is officially dead. On the bright side, ex-Disco Elysium developers are working on two spiritual successors: Hopetown and XXX Nightshift.
3) Dishonored
The retro-futuristic setting, stylized visuals, and endless ways to navigate any level, Dishonored 1 and 2 showed how linear stealth games are supposed to be made. Dishonored gave players countless ways of completing missions. Sometimes, you sneak around, sometimes you change disguises, or sometimes you use your powers to possess a rat or teleport. Given how good they were, it never came as a shock that both Dishonored games got amazing scores on Metacritic.
However, despite the success, the Dishonored series has been in limbo since 2017’s Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. After that, developer Arkane Studios went on to create Deathloop and Redfall. The former was nominated for Game of the Year in 2021, while the latter was one of the biggest gaming failures of 2023.
Redfall’s poor reception led to Arkane’s Austin branch being closed. The branch in Lyon, France, is now working on an IP based on Marvel’s Blade. According to rumors, it might come out in late 2027. That’s still far away, and considering what happened with Redfall, the studio is likely not working on a Dishonored 3 in secret. Perhaps they might have a plan, but as far as an educated guess goes, it’s not going to happen in this console generation.
4) The Evil Within
One of the best horror game series to emerge from the 2010s was The Evil Within. The Evil Within follows the story of Detective Sebastian Castellanos as he investigates a virus outbreak. It’s the classic post-apocalyptic zombie stuff. The Evil Within 2 then continues Sebastian’s story as he attempts to rescue his daughter.
The Evil Within was pure stealth horror. Enemy designs were terrifying, the art sinister and gorgeous, and the characters would emotionally grow on you. Unfortunately, as great as The Evil Within is, its future seems bleak. In 2023, Shinji Mikami departed from Tango Gameworks. And to add insult to injury, Tango Gameworks was shut down by Microsoft in June 2024 before being acquired and re-opened by Krafton in August.
While Tango Gameworks is functional today, Krafton is keen on developing Tango’s Hi-Fi Rush IP further. Rights to The Evil Within remain with Microsoft. Knowing they closed down Tango, they probably have no plans of touching it anytime soon.
5) Middle-earth
When Middle-earth: Shadow of War came out back in 2017, there was immense praise for it. The story was exciting with Talion forging a new ring and then forming an army against Sauron. The gameplay was as exciting as ever, thanks to the beat ‘em combat. Whereas the patented Nemesis System stole the show. It allowed NPCs to remember interactions with you, which made the world lifelike. The Middle-earth games were damn near perfect, but it’s a shame we will likely never see one again.
After nearly seven years of no new projects, Middle-earth developer Monolith Productions was shut down in 2025. It was a shock since the Middle-earth games were a hit. They had everything from satisfying combat and parkour free roam to a gigantic open world. It’s unlikely that the Middle-earth series will be picked up by another studio. So, given the situation surrounding the IP, life’s going to suck for anyone who hoped for a third game.
6) Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear pioneered stealth in video games. The most recent entry, 2015’s Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, pushed the stealth genre to a different level by making it work in open-world games. You were infiltrating enemy outposts throughout a gigantic map. At the same time, you could recruit enemy soldiers and make them work for you. Details like shooting out lights, deploying decoys, and so much more were there, too. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain was truly stealth action at its peak. Unfortunately, you should forget about Metal Gear Solid 6.
You see, Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima split with IP owner Konami right after The Phantom Pain was released. He went and formed his own studio, Kojima Productions, and developed Death Stranding. Konami developed a new Metal Gear game without Hideo Kojima’s direction, but it tanked disastrously. On the other hand, Kojima Productions just released Death Stranding 2 in 2025 and has two more games in the pipeline due in the next couple of years. Given Hideo Kojima’s current timeline and Konami’s botched attempt, it’s sadly a certainty that Metal Gear Solid 6 won’t happen.
7) Sifu
When you say banger combat, Sifu is the first game that comes to mind. Leg sweeps, hip throws, hooks, straight punches, eye pokes, Sifu has over 150 unique attacks based on the Pak Mei style of Kung Fu. You can perform combos, beat up enemies with melee weapons, and then perform brutal animated finishers to farm aura. Sifu’s visually eye-catching, and mechanically, it’s too addictive.
But here’s the problem. That was over three years ago, and recently, in June 2025, Sloclap released Rematch, a fantasy sports game. But here’s the bigger problem. Rematch is another banger that has over a hundred thousand players right now, and it’s still growing. Sloclap’s focus for the time being will be to cultivate Rematch’s success. Unfortunately, though, as another day goes by without a Sifu 2 announcement, the higher the probability of it never happening. It’s still not unusual for a sequel to come out five or six years after the first game, so fortunately, there’s a chance.
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