Partly thanks to events like the Great Recession, the seventh generation of video gaming was abnormally long, starting with the Xbox 360's launch in 2005 and not ending until the release of the PS4 and Xbox One in 2013. The eighth generation looks to be a bit shorter, lasting from 2013-2020, but despite being nearly as long as the longest gaming generation to date, it still missed out on some of the industry's biggest franchises.
There were a number of high profile video game franchises that did not receive new releases on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. Some of these make sense, as it could be that the previous game in the series under-performed, but others are pretty surprising. In fact, some of the biggest video game franchises of all time didn't release brand new entries on the PS4 or Xbox One, despite having a significant presence in previous generations.
Here are some of the most blatant examples of big video game franchises that skipped this entire generation when it comes to new entries.
BioShock
BioShock was a huge franchise for the previous generation, with the original game becoming one of the biggest new hits of the era. BioShock 2 continued the legacy in a well-received sequel that let players return to the creepy underwater city of Rapture, but BioShock Infinite turned everything on its head with a new setting, gameplay mechanics, and more.
BioShock Infinite launched at the tail-end of the seventh generation console life cycle, earning near-universal critical acclaim back in 2013. BioShock Infinite was also a considerable sales success, so it came as quite the shock when Ken Levine shut down Irrational Games to focus on more experimental projects. We know that a new BioShock game is in active development, but it would be surprising to see it release for PS4 and Xbox One with next-generation consoles on the horizon.
Dead Space
Like BioShock, Dead Space was huge for the Xbox 360 and PS3 era of video games. The original Dead Space successfully combined Resident Evil 4-style gameplay mechanics with a science-fiction setting and bigger focus on horror. Dead Space 2 earned quite a deal of praise as well, and the games were popular enough to justify an entire media franchise that expanded to animated films, books, and more. Dead Space 3 is where things fell off the rails a bit, with co-op, microtransactions, and more action set-pieces turning off hardcore fans. Like BioShock, there hasn't been a new Dead Space game since 2013, but some fans still hold out hope for Dead Space 4.
Grand Theft Auto
It's true that Grand Theft Auto 5 was ported to PS4 and Xbox One with new features and enhancements, but there wasn't a brand new GTA game released all generation long. In fact, Rockstar Games significantly slowed down its release of new video games in general, instead spending its resources on making the games it did release bigger and more expansive than ever before. Rockstar's next game is heavily rumored to be the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto 6, but it seems likely that it will be aiming for next-generation platforms like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 instead of PS4 and Xbox One.
Prince of Persia
In the sixth generation, Prince of Persia was one of Ubisoft's premiere franchise. Assassin's Creed took its spot in the seventh generation, but Ubisoft still tried to bring Prince of Persia back with the 2008 reboot. Unfortunately, the Prince of Persia reboot didn't really land with fans of the franchise, and Ubisoft's attempt to return to the original storyline with 2010's The Forgotten Sands was also met with a mixed reception. Since then, Ubisoft has relegated the Prince of Persia franchise to Hollywood feature films and mobile game spinoffs, and so a proper new Prince of Persia has never released for the PS4 or Xbox One.
Considering how popular Prince of Persia was on the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox, it seems like a no-brainer for Ubisoft try to bring it back at some point. Shockingly, the company brought back Beyond Good and Evil before it did Prince of Persia, but maybe we'll see the Prince again on next-generation consoles.
Silent Hill
Silent Hill: Downpour launched on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012, and the classic survival-horror franchise hasn't really been seen since. Hideo Kojima attempted to revive Silent Hill with his ambitious Silent Hills project, which he teased with the well-received demo PT. The PT concept never materialized into a full-fledged game, as Konami canceled Silent Hills and parted ways with Kojima in what was a rather ugly split. The success Resident Evil has had with returning to its roots shows that there is clearly a market for classic survival-horror games like Silent Hill, but Konami seems more interested in creating Silent Hill pachinko machines than actual video games. Konami's focus on other industries has seen it largely leave traditional game development, so it may be a longshot for fans to see Silent Hill next generation either.
Splinter Cell
This generation saw Ubisoft create one of its most successful Rainbow Six games to date with Rainbow Six Siege, as well as put out some Ghost Recon games that earned mixed reviews. But while most of Ubisoft's major Tom Clancy franchises received new entries this generation, one series in particular has been neglected. Splinter Cell has not seen a new entry all generation long, with no new game released since 2013's Blacklist. Ubisoft has hinted that a new Splinter Cell game could very well be in active development, and while rumors of it always crop up around E3, nothing official has been announced yet. Those anxious to see Sam Fisher return to the limelight will no doubt have their fingers crossed that E3 2020 brings some good news about Splinter Cell, and maybe there's hope for a new game to come to PS4 and Xbox One just yet.
The Elder Scrolls
Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls has become one of the biggest video game franchises of all time thanks to the mega hit that was Skyrim. But instead of releasing a new main series Elder Scrolls game this generation, Bethesda has instead focused largely on the Fallout franchise and re-releasing Skyrim. PS4 and Xbox One received an enhanced port of Skyrim and there was also a Skyrim VR game released, but an entire generation has gone by with no new main series Elder Scrolls game. We know that The Elder Scrolls 6 is in the works, but it's not expected to launch for another two to three years at least. While it's certainly possible that The Elder Scrolls 6 could come to current-generation consoles, all signs point to the game coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X instead.