Like it or not, we're seeing franchises turned into annual installments but does the old adage of "you can never get enough of a good thing" apply here? It seems that more developers are falling into this category with annual releases of franchises with minimal improvements.
The biggest perpetrator are Sports games. I used to buy Madden every year until I became weary of the minor improvements and continuous menu changes. Every year games like Madden, NHL, MLB and NCAA <insert sport here> get a new release, and in most cases, it's really not necessary. Madden hasn't done anything in the last few years that they couldn't have just applied with a title update. Take a look at the list of "New Features" that demand your hard earned money in Madden 12 and tell me that most if not all of those changes could have been added to the game via a downloadable update.
I think EA is the worst offender of this with MOST of their EA Sports titles(there are a few examples of good ones here). I'm still hearing the same commentary and seeing the same presentation in NHL 12 that I heard in 2009. Granted that doesn't make the game a winner or loser but I'm sure gamers would be ok with waiting an extra Calendar year to get a truly worthy upgrade to make the games more realistic.
Assassins Creed is a series that I quite enjoy. The story is fun and rather unique, but did we really need 3 games in the past 3years all featuring Ezio? I'm glad that Ezio's story has come to a close but I can see why Ubisoft is milking the series. There was a 2yr gap between Assassins Creed and AC2. In that time, Ubisoft took the time to listen to the criticisms and improve on the weaknesses the original had allowing them the time to build a larger world that can be used across multiple titles, more in depth story and upgrade every facet of their new series. This was a huge shot in the arm to the franchise as it received critical acclaim and huge sales success.
But now, Ubisoft is falling dangerously close to that lazy category as they've now released 3 titles in 3yrs that all feature the same character and cities. Time will tell if they continue with that downward trend as we're told that there will be yet another installment in the series in 2012.
Remember Rockband and Guitar Hero? I do. They were insanely popular games that died off very quickly largely in part to the annual releases and over saturation in the market. Guitar Hero is no more. Why? Uhmm...How about 3 expansions, 3 band centric releases and 6 new releases in 6 years. Rockband saw 3 New Releases, 2 Band Centric (What happened to all the promised DLC for the Beatles?), 1 Spin off and 7 trackpacks in 4yrs. Over saturation killed this genre.
People will argue that CoD is getting new releases every year and while that's true to a degree, the new releases are set in very different worlds and by different developers (It's been 2yrs since Modern Warfare 2)so it's not really something I think of as an annual title.
Personally I think that developers really need to take a step back and rethink this strategy of flooding the market with their AAA franchises just to keep the brand in the news. If they really want to impress me, take the extra time to build new innovative gaming experiences. Take what they've been successful with and build on it. Sure the wait will suck but in the end, it can only mean good things for us and them.
Hitman's David Bateson and Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Magnus Bruun featured in voice acting panel.
A solo developer sold three million copies in early access. Two years on, Manor Lords finally feels structurally coherent. December 2025's Major Update 5 reworked food systems, overhauled castles, and added two new modes. Villages grow organically along roads with visual coherence remarkable for solo development. Still early access, still incomplete in places, but in 2026 the foundation is genuine.
Travis Bruno of Capsule Computers writes:
"Through a few decades of gaming there have been many excellent games that still can stand the test of time today even on their original platform and countless others that have been easily forgettable and lost to collecting dust on a shelf or in a box. Only over the last few console generations have gamers been able to see their games improved over the course of patches and touch-ups thanks to the internet and while some games remained buggy, they were still beloved. Similarly, other titles offered such an expansive open world that players could sink countless hours into it and find a striking narrative whenever they chose to dive into it rather than explore a new cave or dungeon.
Over the better part of the last two weeks Crimson Desert has been a game that has seen some lows and some incredible highs throughout our time with the game. To top that off, Pearl Abyss has been so quickly patching issues and even adding content, that entire notes about previous issues were struck away as the experience continued to smooth out and impress at almost every turn. Bearing all the signs that it started as an MMO, the transition to a single-player game may not have been painless, but Crimson Desert has delivered a world that deserves to be explored and lost in for hours on end in one of the most surprising out-of-nowhere titles in the last few years."
One title can't flood the market.
CoD won't do it alone but: CoD + Battlefield + Medal of Honor + Resistance + Halo + Killzone + MAG + Homefront + Brink = market flooded. CoD's success in these conditions is surprising.
I've played Assassin's Creed since the very first game. I enjoy every minute of them. But the lack of substantial content in Revelations is a little worrying. I got assassination contracts from Il Magnifico in ACII, and from Machiavelli in Brotherhood. Where are the dozen or so Suleiman contracts in Revelations? And only one mission per faction? Plenty of story, lacking in side jobs. I'll still probably pre order the next one. It's just a little worrying.
Hurting the industry? I do not know. The reason for these yearly franchises existing is because their is a need for them and is immensely profitable for the industry. You mention guitar hero and rockband which were brought out quite a lot in a short space of time but it could be argued this games were fads. It was a new way to play music games but once it is done once the second time is less popular and so on. Eventually the fad would have died because there wasn't much more that could be done. In essence it is a karaoke instrument game. I wouldn't say the yearly releases hurt the industry because it is obvious that there is a need for them. When it becomes less popular to do it then we will see a decrease in yearly releases. Remember the gaming industry is an entertainment industry and so needs to provide entertainment for its consumers. There may not be technical achievements but the yearly releases still support the industries core function and that is to entertain and it still does (look at sales figures).
we couldnt get enough ww2 games and that eventualy died down.
Yes its hurting the industry due to simply being it could of being sold as an expansion pack or DLC
I wonder when Activision will do 2 CoD a year. I like Activision but they should take a year break on CoD, same goes for every dev with yearly releases