9 Indie Video Games That SAVED Doomed Franchises
7. Burnout Became Dangerous Driving
The first game in the Burnout racing series actually came about as a way to for developer Criterion Games to showcase the capabilities of their RenderWare engine. Burnout would go on to be one of the greatest racing series put out with an emphasis on more of an arcade style than more realistic racing sims such as Gran Turismo. After Acclaim folded, the series, as well as developer Criterion Games, got into the hands of everyone's favorite franchise/studio destroyer - Electronic Arts.
EA, true to form, decided to pillage 80% of Criterion to instead produce more Need For Speed games. As a result a trio fled the company and founded little studio Three Fields Entertainment. Three Fields was made up of people who had been making the Burnout games for years, including lead developer, Fiona Sperry. But they didn't have the kind of money to make a new Burnout game like they wanted.
After developing much smaller titles - each with an emphasis on designing assets or coding for an eventual Burnout-like game, Three Fields was finally able to make Dangerous Driving. Critically acclaimed, even winning an award for Best Original Racing Game in 2019, the company is currently developing a sequel set to expand on the game's breadth to be more like 2008's much-loved Burnout: Paradise.