Embracer continues to be an embarrassing gaming company, purchasing too many development studios and then shutting them down because they couldn’t sustain them. The company has also nixed a ton of potential game revivals, with a recent report revealing a canceled Red Faction sequel was in development.
According to an ex-employee’s anonymous interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, a “safe” Red Faction sequel was pitched after the closure of original developer Volition. Developer Fishlabs pitched a sequel that would play similarly to the well-liked Red Faction: Guerrilla, supposedly set a hundred years after this game.
The devs were trying to make an even bigger version of Guerrilla, while also attempting to avoid what was done in the poorly-received Armageddon sequel. Basically, it would have been another massive open-world game filled with destruction, which is what fans of the first game always wanted.
"We were trying to look at what did Guerrilla do right, what did Armageddon do wrong, and how can we marry the two and continue on with it," the source said.
Unfortunately, despite guaranteed money with a “safe” Red Faction sequel, Embracer and Plaion wouldn’t give this sequel a proper greenlight. Fishlabs supposedly impressed the publishers with a fake trailer for the game, but it wasn’t enough.
Things only get worse from these, as Fishlabs was told to fire developers that weren’t actively working on any projects. Around 50 developers were fired and with them, the hopes of a new sequel for this beloved franchise. It’s a shame too since gaming revivals are pretty big these days and fans would have flocked to a new game in this series.
Embracer is known for canceling revivals of these beloved games. A new Deus Ex game was in the works, but the publisher decided to axe it. There was also a new Time Splitters in development, but fans can guess what happened there.
Plaion and Embracer still seem to be open to making a new Red Faction game, but it’s a shame that Fishlab had to fire devs who were working on a prototype. In the meantime, fans who want some Red Faction action can purchase most of the games on PC. Red Faction: Guerrilla was also re-released on current-gen systems and is readily available now.