2011 is one of the busiest years ever for major video game releases, the vast majority of which are sequels and prequels to established franchises. Even within Game Rant's most anticipated games of 2011, 17 of the 20 titles are further installments in existing series.
With that in mind, there are many successful and high quality games that we know sequels are coming for that have yet to be announced. Some of these games are expected and/or rumored to become official in the near future, so let's take a look at what we expect are 5 imminent major video game sequel announcements.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The next Call of Duty is the most obvious of choices for games we expect to hear about in the very near future and we expect the official announcement from Activision to confirm Modern Warfare 3 as the game Infinity Ward, Raven Software and Sledgehammer Games have been working on.
Several magazines have hinted that the official reveal and first look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 would come at the end of April. How will it compare and stand up to what we've seen from Battlefield 3, and will it differ significantly from the previous 3 titles in the series?
Grand Theft Auto V
Rockstar gave us Red Dead Redemption last year as a game of the year contender and soon, they're going to give us LA Noire, undoubtedly another game of the year contender. But what comes next and how long do we have to wait to see a return to their bread and butter, the controversial and popular Grand Theft Auto series?
If recent reports of GTAV voice casting and other website-related hints surrounding Grand Theft Auto 5, could this be a big reveal from Rockstar at E3 2011? It's only a matter of time.
Resident Evil 6
In the last week, Capcom's Resident Evil franchise has made a lot of headlines, but none thanks to Resident Evil 6. Instead, we've been flooded with news and media for the newly announced spin-off, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and the upcoming Nintendo 3DS game, Resident Evil: Mercenaries.
A 3D hand-held title an a 4-player co-op action game based in Resident Evil history is not what some fans are looking for. If Operation Raccoon City producer Masachika Kawata's hints and our predictions come true, the next numbered sequel, Resident Evil 6, should be on its way as well and should take players back to the franchise's survival-horror roots.
Alan Wake 2
The under-appreciated Alan Wake finally debuted last year after years of development and it was very good. In fact, it won out the Best Story category for Game Rant's 2010 Video Game Awards.
Developer Remedy Entertainment listed yet another job positions to hire for a Triple-A title game, sparking buzz of an Alan Wake sequel. While we don't know what exactly that game is yet (officially), they did say in the past that Alan Wake 2 would be a lot more "weird," meaning it's something they have in planning or development. Microsoft desperately needs more Xbox 360 exclusives soon since Sony's PlayStation 3 dominating 2011 in that category.
Half-Life 2: Episode 3
Arguably the most desired sequel of the bunch, fans have been patiently and eagerly awaiting even the slightest bit of news regarding the return of Gordon Freeman for Half-Life 2: Episode 3. In our chat with Valve writer Erik Wolpaw, we tried to squeeze for info on the next Half-Life but couldn't get much.
With Valve launching Portal 2 soon and Team Fortress 2 still maintaining a strong community, don't be surprised if Half-Life makes a surprise appearance at E3 2011. It should come before Left 4 Dead 3...
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Which sequels do you want to play most?
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