10 Video Game Franchises That Just Sat Out An ENTIRE Generation
9. Burnout
At the opening of the sixth console generation, Criterion Games created the Renderware game engine and used it to craft the Burnout franchise. Unlike Gran Turismo or Forza, it was a game purely based around wanton destruction. This made the game far more fun to play for both casual and hardcore players alike.
The franchise would continue to grow and improve with its greatest highlights being Burnout 3: Takedown and Burnout: Revenge. When it came to the seventh generation, Criterion took things up a notch with its own open-world driving free from loading screens.
With upgraded hardware, the formula in Burnout Paradise was ripe for expansion, but after the release of Burnout Crash! in 2011, EA no longer any financial incentive to continue the series. Criterion Games has gone from being a pioneer in 3D game engines to a side studio brought in to work on a piece of a larger project.
Burnout is now a relic of past gaming generations where not every racer had to be officially licensed and rely on realistic driving physics. The likes of Need for Speed and The Crew have continued the wider racing genre, but they're lacking in the fun factor that made Criterion's franchise work so well. It deserves to make a comeback.