Like a zombie-bitten corpse, video game franchises rarely stay dead for long. Even when once-popular series go dark for a decade, it feels like publishers are always willing to try again … eventually. In 2021, Metroid Dread showed downtrodden fans that Nintendo still cared about the classic series. We also got several revival announcements this year, with games like Dead Space and Alan Wake set to make a return in the next year or two.
While there are tons of exciting returns in the works, lots of beloved franchises are still waiting for their much-deserved resurrection. Heading into 2022, I’m less curious about the upcoming releases I already know about and more interested in what could make a surprise comeback. And with all the rumors floating around, I’m already getting my hopes up. Here are six franchises that could get the revival treatment in 2022.
Silent Hill
Claiming that Silent Hill could return soon is the new “boy who cried wolf.” Over the past few years, players have speculated that the iconic horror series could be revived any day. The most popular theory is that Hideo Kojima would helm a new game in the franchise. That desire for that to be real led gamers on a bizarre odyssey this year as many convinced themselves that the upcoming indie horror game Abandoned was secretly a new Silent Hill (it’s not).
Conspiracy theories aside, there’s good reason to think that Silent Hill could reappear soon. Several rumors made the rounds last year, speculating the project was in the works at either Bloober Team or Kojima Productions. The former denied the claim, noting that the rumors were based on outdated information. However, an October rumor indicates that Sony may be bankrolling a new installment with Kojima at the helm. For now, it’s still wishful thinking, but it does sound plausible given Sony’s history with Kojima.
Bioshock
It’s been a long time since we’ve entered the world of Rapture. Bioshock Infinite was the last release in the dystopian action series and that was back in 2013. The series is overdue for a new installment. 2K Games already confirmed that a sequel is coming back in 2019, but new rumors indicate that it could finally make its debut soon.
Several supposed Bioshock 4 leaks popped up this year to varying degrees of believability. One popular rumor claims that the game is titled Bioshock Isolation — and it even had a mock-up logo as supporting evidence. That rumor also noted that a reveal was coming in early 2022, so it hasn’t been totally debunked yet. Journalist Colin Moriarty added more fuel to the fire, noting that the upcoming game would be set in Antarctica in the 1960s, a claim supposedly backed up by VGC’s sources. With so many credible rumors floating around, it seems likely we’ll see this in some form in 2022.
Titanfall
When it comes to Titanfall 3, fans got some mixed signals this year. Back in September, Respawn Entertainment Community Coordinator Jason Garza was asked about the possibility of a new Titanfall game during one of his streams. “We don’t have anything in the works. There’s nothing there,” he responded. That seemed like as good a confirmation as any, so websites reported it accordingly.
Respawn’s Twitter account clapped back at the claims shortly thereafter, tweeting, “Contrary to what some folks are reporting, Titanfall is the very core of our DNA. Who knows what the future holds…” That made it sound like a deliberate tease for a future game, though Titanfall 3 has yet to be officially confirmed. In any case, Respawn may want to lock down its messaging about the franchise rather than calling out journalists for reporting what its own staff says about it.
Twisted Metal
Twisted Metal was once synonymous with PlayStation consoles. The edgy, vehicular combat game was a staple of Sony’s early game library. Despite that, we haven’t seen a mainline entry in the series since 2012. There’s good reason to think it’ll return though. A TV series is in the works with Anthony Mackie reportedly on board, so it’s rational to think a game could come out to coincide with that.
Sure enough, that’s exactly what the rumor mill claims. In September, journalist Jeff Grubb noted that a game revival is quietly in development. Out of all the rumors on this list, this one carries the most water. We know that Sony is putting much more effort into broadening its media strategy, adapting games like Uncharted and The Last of Us into film and TV. With Twisted Metal in development, it’d be weird for the company to launch a TV show based on a series that’s been inert for a decade.
Castlevania
The Castlevania series isn’t exactly dead. In fact, it’s thriving in some ways. It has a successful Netflix series and still routinely gets retro collections featuring old games. That said, it’s been a while since we’ve gotten a full, proper Castlevania game. Considering that Metroid had a successful 2D revival in 2021, I for one am hungry to see if Castlevania can take the same approach.
That might not be a dream. Anonymous sources reportedly told VGC that Konami has several franchise revivals in the works, ranging from Metal Gear to (surprise!) Silent Hill. Castlevania is supposedly on that list, with a new game in development internally at Konami. While it’s a flimsy rumor due to the anonymous sources, it does make sense considering the Netflix series’ popularity. Just like Twisted Metal, it would be strange for a publisher to not capitalize on a franchise’s success in other media.
Gex
Bet you didn’t see this last one coming. Yes, Gex, the snarky gecko of 90s fame, could be making his return in 2022. On December 15, Square Enix filed a new trademark for Gex, which was enough to pique fans’ interest. It could just be a routine IP clean-up, but Gex fans can believe, can’t they?
Frankly, a Gex revival makes as much sense as anything else. Classic 90s franchises have routinely made nostalgic comebacks over the past few years. Crash Bandicoot returned in a big way with an all-new game and the original Spyro games got a remaster treatment in 2018. It’s easy to see how Square Enix might want to capitalize on that trend by remastering Gex’s old adventures or making a new one entirely. I’ll take anything at this point; Gex fans aren’t allowed to be picky.
