One of the saddest stories going on in the gaming industry is the numerous layoffs and company shutdowns that have been happening seemingly every week or so. The worst part is that this trend didn’t start in 2024; it began in 2023. During that year, over 10,000 people lost their jobs within the industry, and multiple studios were shut down for one reason or another. One of those studios was Volition, which was the team behind the fan-favorite franchise Saints Row. Most people agree that the reason the studio was shut down was due to the failure of the franchise’s reboot.
What wasn’t made clear in 2022, when the reboot launched, was how “badly it did” in sales upon launch. Ironically, we’ve now gotten that answer thanks to a post on Linkedin that was shared on Twitter. In it, they share numerous pieces of data, including that the reboot sold just 1.7 million in its lifetime.
For context, that means that this game was the lowest-selling main entry in the series’ history. Even the original Xbox 360 title sold more than that, and that title definitely cost less to make than the reboot. This was when the hammer dropped on them, as their new owners, The Embracer Group, cited a huge loss due to the game’s failure and shuttered the company despite them being active in the industry for about 30 years.
So why didn’t the game sell well? There are numerous reasons. First and foremost, the game didn’t have a good launch due to being buggy in numerous levels. There was a severe lack of polish that turned gamers off. There were game-breaking bugs within it and glitches that made it impossible to use basic game mechanics at times.
Then, there was the story and characters. The Saints Row franchise is known for having over-the-top storylines highlighted by the gangsters you play. However, everything about the reboot’s story and crew was bare bones and didn’t resonate with gamers or critics. Many people called the game “dull,” and Metacritic’s overall score was in the low-to-mid 60s on both the professional and player side.
Many blame The Embracer Group, which likely didn’t mind rushing out the game despite it not being in the proper state for launch. The entity has bought up many gaming companies over the last few years, hoping to make a big profit, but it hasn’t taken the time and care to make that happen, and thus, it’s now become synonymous with shutting down studios to “save money.”
