Saber Interactive’s Matthew Karch has shared his thoughts on the grim silence surrounding the Saints Row franchise, stating that the games became excessively costly and lacked clear direction.
In a conversation with Stephen Totilo for Game File (behind a paywall), Karch remarked that “the Saints Row team is gone” and elaborated on his beliefs regarding why it is unlikely for the series to receive a new entry anytime soon.
“They were far too costly for what they were,” Karch explained. “They lacked a clear vision of what they were creating. There was no real direction. It couldn’t endure. So, who would be willing to finance them for the next game after such a catastrophe?”
Karch appeared to refer to the 2022 Saints Row reboot, which received mixed reviews and “failed to meet overall expectations, leaving the fanbase somewhat divided,” according to remarks from Deep Silver’s then-parent company, Embracer, which subsequently transitioned Volition from Deep Silver to Gearbox before completely shutting down the studio in August 2023.
“Ideally, it would be great for everyone to have a job,” Karch continued. “But games requiring nine-figure budgets are only generating eight-figure revenues, which is detrimental to many developers.”
“The era of lavish spending on games, except perhaps for titles like GTA, has ended,” Karch stated. “It’s over. This industry needs to mature. If it doesn’t, the entire sector is at risk. Unfortunately, that implies job losses.”
At one point, Karch, as the CEO of Saber, and the other individuals at Volition all operated under Embracer together. The Saints Row intellectual property, as well as Volition’s Red Faction series, is now under the control of the Embracer-owned Plaion while Saber was sold off in March 2024 in a deal worth nearly $250 million. Shortly after the closure of Volition, Deep Silver assured fans that Saints Row and Red Faction would “continue” at Plaion, yet so far, we have yet to see any signs of that.
While we wait for GTA 6 to hopefully launch in the fall, here are some games similar to GTA to keep you entertained.