Saints Row fans, you’re in luck. A new reboot of the series has been confirmed, and it appears as though it’ll return to the franchise’s roots.
Okay, so we all know what went wrong with the 2022 Saints Row reboot. It was criticised for being buggy, with major design issues, and generally struggled to live up to the hype of the games that came before it.
While fans were left disappointed by the reboot, there is still hope that with the right direction, another Saints Row reboot could return to the franchise’s former glory.
In an interview with Esports Insider last month, Saints Row 1 design director Chris Stockman called on Embracer Group to reboot the series under his direction.
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“If you're listening to this, contact me. Let’s go,” Stockman said. “I can bring much of the old band back together who worked on Saints Row 1. I could turn that IP around with a decent budget. They don’t even have to fund it. I could get other outside people to fund it. I could turn the franchise around. I know I could.”
Well, it turns out that Embracer may indeed have contacted Stockman following the interview. The developer posted on the Saints Row Reddit page to confirm that the company has asked for him to pitch a reboot of the series.
“Guys and Gals, I have hopeful news,” Stockman’s post reads. “I've been asked to create a pitch for a Saints Row reboot! I can't say anything more than that but my dreams for this game just became a little more than just dreams!”
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In terms of credibility, Stockman's Reddit account is currently 9 years old and has been posting Saints Row-related content and answering questions over that period, so we're pretty sure this isn't an impersonator.
Stockman left Volition after the release of Saints Row 1, going on to found a company called Bit Planet Games focused on developing virtual reality games. He stresses in the post that his pitch won’t be for a VR title, but he instead will be “going back to my roots”.
What will the Saints Row reboot feature?
In terms of what kind of themes the Saints Row reboot could feature, Stockman told Esports Insider that it would “take the franchise back to the 70s and do a period piece, a prequel of how the gangs from the first one started.
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“You’re running around with a crew of teens that ended up as the main characters for the first game. You could really go all in on the 70s theme with big Afros, bell-bottoms, and the music of that whole period.”
While I’m sure a new Saints Row reboot could never be an equal rival to Rockstar Games’ upcoming GTA 6, given the alleged budget that game has, it’s about time we had more games that feature the same kind of gameplay. The more alternatives, the better.
Topics: Saints Row, GTA 6