Fifth Saints Row Supposedly Drew Handfuls From SR2, but Publisher Wanted Something Different

Last year's Saints Row, a reboot of the once-popular series, turned out to be quite a disappointment. Now we've learned that the project was originally intended to look very different.

1. It turns out that for a long time the new Saints Row was supposed to be a continuation, not a reboot.
2. In the original concept, the main roles in the story were played by characters familiar from previous installments, such as Johnny Gat, Shaundi, Dex, Aisha and Pierce.
3. The atmosphere was to be a bit more serious than in the last few installments, described as "80% of Saints Row 2 + 20% of Saints Row: The Third". This would make it possible to tell a dramatic story, which, however, would also not lack crazier moments.
4. Mike Watson, who died in 2021, was one of the mission designers. Among the tasks he worked on was to be an adventure in which we would eventually kill Dex for good.
5. Deep Silver, which is the publisher of the series, was not happy with this shape of the project and ultimately forced a change in concept.
6. However, the fault does not lie solely with the publisher. The head of Volition was also expected to contribute its share to the failure of the project by demanded frequent reworking of the storyline, and the changes spoiled the combat system. The situation in the team became so bad that departures of experienced developers were a common thing, making development even more difficult.

It's hard not to get the impression that the original concept had a better chance of success. After all, what eventually hit the market failed to convince both old fans of the series and new players.

Recall that the new Saints Row made its debut on August 23, 2022 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

The game received poor reviews and disappointed financially. As a result, Volition first lost its independence and was transferred under the management of Gearbox, and in August of this year it was completely closed.

1. Saints Row Review: A Safe Reboot
2. Saints Row - game guide
3. Saints Row - official website

Saints Row

August 23, 2022

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• Plaion / Deep Silver / Koch Media
• Volition
• Saints Row (franchise)
• Embracer Group