On August 31, 2023, when Embracer Group announced the closure of Volition Studios as part of restructuring, some gamers were immediately worried about the future of their beloved franchise, Saints Row. If you are hopeful that the franchise may continue, it may be time to kill the idea.
The last time that we heard from Chris Stockman, the design director of the first Saints Row, he said he had been asked to create a pitch for a prequel. He was optimistic at the time, saying his dream was closer to reality.
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In a recent exchange on Discord, Stockman seems to have lost all optimism for the franchise. In a reply to a user, he said he was ghosted even though he offered several pathways to drive the franchise forward.
“Honestly, I think the franchise is dead, unfortunately,” Stockman replied to a Discord user sulking about how the last canon game was released a decade ago. “I get the sense that Embracer has zero ability to do anything with it. I wish things were different. I tried my best to offer a path forward but they’ve ghosted me.”
Remember when we got excited about the prospect of a Saints Row prequel? Well according to Saints Row 1 Design Director Chris Stockman, Embracer is completely ignoring the idea.
Saints Row is once again dead. https://t.co/cpPVcRjxwD pic.twitter.com/FWpjC6kmkT
— rpg! (@papaRPG) February 20, 2026
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The last Saints Row was released on August 23, 2022. It was titled Saints Row and served as the first full reboot of the franchise. It was developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver.
Sadly, the reboot failed to appeal to most gamers. It managed a Metascore of 65 on Xbox Series X, 63 on PC, and 61 on PS5. It is believed that the entry’s poor commercial performance contributed to the studio’s shuttering.
Do you hope to see more Saints Row games, or do you prefer the franchise stay dead? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
