How To Save A Dying Video Game Franchise

Sometimes a video game concept has simply run its creative course with the established regime, and what's desperately needed is a hungry new team to come in and offer their own spin on a tired formula.

Again, it's a risky approach given the potential for a new developer to either veer too far away from the original vision and risk alienating fans, or simply fail to capture the subtle gameplay nuances of what came before.

But it has been a successful gamble for numerous franchises - MachineGames has brought the stagnant Wolfenstein franchise roaring back to life despite being a totally new outfit prior to starting work on the hit FPS series.

And don't forget Rockstar Games, who resurrected the Max Payne franchise from the commercial doldrums with the highly successful third game.

Again, this is a challenging approach which poses a high potential for failure if publishers don't take the time to find the right developer for the job, but when it works, it really works. Max Payne 4 when, though?

If hand-picking some new blood to shepherd a franchise into a new age is as brave as it gets, on the other side of the coin, there are more cynical options...