10 Amazing Video Games That Killed Franchises
7. Dishonored 2
The original Dishonored was one of the best-received games of 2012 and ended up selling an impressive 5.8 million units, ensuring that Bethesda had a new franchise on their hands.
Dishonored 2 released in 2016, with many deeming it an improvement over the first game, and most everyone at least considering it a rock solid follow-up.
Despite this, the sequel sold significantly less than the first game, failing to even shift half as many units.
This was blamed on a mediocre marketing campaign and the decision to launch the game within earshot of new entries into the Call of Duty, Battlefield, Titanfall, Final Fantasy, and Watch Dogs franchises.
Dishonored 2, as a more niche immersive sim, simply couldn't withstand so much competition.
Though Bethesda still released a standalone expansion, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, the next year, this was already deep in development at the time that Dishonored 2 flopped, so it was always going to release regardless.
However, between Dishonored 2's poor sales and the fact it had a bigger budget than The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Bethesda decided to put the franchise on pause.
While there have been rumblings of a possible Dishonored 3 in the years since, from a pure numbers perspective it doesn't seem terribly likely without a sudden uptick in popularity of the first two games.