How To Save A Dying Video Game Franchise

When attempting to dig deep into players' fond memories of the past, there are a number of ways to go, and developers need to think wisely about which path to take.

Those who feel that the established continuity hasn't been tarnished beyond redemption can always just stick to the existing number convention and make another straight sequel - take Devil May Cry 5 following up the well-received but commercially mediocre DmC reboot with a direct follow-up to Devil May Cry 4.

Then there's the reboot approach, such as with 2011's table-clearing Mortal Kombat, or even a soft-reboot as with 2016's Doom re-tooling, which effectively restarted the series but without ditching the existing lore.

And finally there's the remake, of simply doing what the aforementioned Crash Bandicoot and Tony Hawk franchises did by diving back into the most revered back catalogue titles to rejuvenate interest in possible new entries.

Whether sequel, reboot, or remake, however, there's one thing all these types of follow-ups need to do...