There are a lot of reasons why companies stop making games in a franchise, even ones which were once beloved. Declining sales, different creative desires from developers and many other factors contribute to the death of a franchise.
But in the age of reboots and revivals, it seems as though any franchise has the chance to come back, sometimes resulting in excellent and popular new games like the 2016 re-imagining of Ratchet & Clank, and sometimes resulting in complete failures like Star Fox Zero. There's no guarantee the return of a previously popular franchise will go well, but there are plenty which deserve a chance.
10 Jak And Daxter
Often compared to the previously mentioned Ratchet & Clank series, Jak And Daxter follows the sci-fi action adventures of two partners platforming and shooting their way out of trouble. But the series was able to have its own identity, with more mature and interesting stories with arguably better characters.
The games were developed by one of PlayStation's most successful studios, Naughty Dog, who stopped making the series so that they could work on other new projects. So the death of the franchise did give the world The Last of Us, but now that it's been 12 years since a new Jak And Daxter game, it may be time to give it another chance.
9 F-Zero
Nintendo has a mixed relationship with its exclusive franchises, some like Mario and Zelda have had continued support 35 years since their creation. However, some never got a chance to truly shine. The futuristic racing series F-Zero is unfortunately an example of the latter.
While certainly less popular than Nintendo's Mario Kart racing games, F-Zero still has a cult following to this day, despite no new releases since the early 2000s. Captain Falcon has remained a consistent character in the Smash Bros franchise since the beginning, so there is still some recognition of the franchise, but a new game would be amazing.
8 Splinter Cell
Splinter Cell followed the life of secret agent and stealth expert Sam Fisher. Existing for a while parallel to the Metal Gear franchise but taking a more grounded and serious approach to storytelling, the Splinter Cell series contained some incredible and challenging stealth-action experiences.
The stealth genre in general seems to be in decline right now, with only a handful of the great stealth franchises remaining. And even Ubisoft's other flagship stealth series Assassin's Creed, while still going, has taken a more action RPG approach over traditional stealth.
7 Sleeping Dogs
The story behind the creation of the Sleeping Dogs franchise is an odd one. Beginning life as True Crime: Hong Kong, part of the existing True Crime series, the game was then cancelled, bought by Square Enix and converted to the stand-alone game Sleeping Dogs which released in 2012.
Despite having many similarities with Grand Theft Auto, the games excellent writing, unique Hong Kong setting and well polished combat set it apart from being labelled a mere "GTA clone".
There was a direct sequel initially planned for the game, which then turned into a bizarre online multiplayer triad simulator which found little success and was ultimately cancelled.
6 Bully
Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit only had one full game and a remaster, but remains to this day one of the biggest sequel requests in gaming. Developed by Rockstar, Bully used the violent open-world formula that the company is known for, but was so different from the likes of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption.
Set in a boarding school, Bully's story is as melodramatic as it is hilarious. Despite having a few technical issues, it has an enormous fan base who would love to see a return. Rockstar has teased a sequel several times but there is still no solid evidence that a new Bully is in on the cards.
5 Prototype
Prototype was an open-world sandbox featuring a mutated super human who could shapeshift is body into all manner of weaponry. Although it had a mediocre story, it was still so much fun leaping from building to building destroying tanks and helicopters with ease along the way. And with the inclusion of a mechanic which allowed the player to absorb and transform into any NPC, there was also some clever stealth elements worked in.
Prototype and its sequel Prototype 2 were both well received at their release and despite decent sales numbers of the second game, publisher Activision said it didn't meet their expectations, and so the franchise was scrapped.
4 Saints Row
At first being seen as nothing more than a copy of Grand Theft Auto, the Saints Row series would with each new game carve out its own unique identity, becoming more fantastical and wacky with every title.
There have been 4 main games, as well as a stand-alone expansion to Saint Row IV starring series regular Johnny Gat in Hell, aptly named Gat out of Hell.
There was also a spin-off game released in 2017 called Agents of Mayhem, but there have been no full, official Saints Row games since 2013. There is however, hope for the main series as a full sequel is rumoured to be in development, but details of it are very minor.
3 Star Wars: Knight Of The Old Republic
There have been so many games to come out of Star Wars that there are dozens of gaming franchises which exist within the wider Star Wars franchise. But no game series in the extended universe is more beloved than Knights of the Old Republic.
Developed by BioWare, this RPG series told stories in the Star Wars universe better than many of the actual movies. After the first 2 games, BioWare made an MMO follow up called Star Wars: The Old Republic, but a true sequel is still in high demand.
2 Jade Empire
Another BioWare RPG which wowed players on release, Jade Empire was a truly unique entity. Exploring a beautiful world inspired by the mythology of China was an absolute treat.
Lacking the name recognition of some of BioWare's other games, it's not likely there'll be a sequel, but given the wealth of sci-fi and western fantasy games made by BioWare, it would definitely be interesting to see a return to the under-utilized world Jade Empire.
Even if there will be no sequel, now that the Mass Effect series has a remake, it's fair to ask where is that treatment for other BioWare classics?
1 Super Mario Strikers
There has been no shortage of Mario related sports games over the years, but while the likes of Mario Tennis and Mario Golf have received plenty of different games, Super Mario Strikers only got 2.
Considering how frequently Nintendo releases the other sport spin-off titles, it seems unfair that the world's most popular sport has been left exclusively on older console generations.