The biggest sequels from gaming's rumour mill

Every gamer has a sequel they’ve been waiting for. Is yours in this list?

Everyone has that one franchise that, for them, sits heads and shoulders above 99% of the endless gaming production line.

While some argue that an obvious emphasis on sequels overshadows the creation of fresh, original IPs, you’d be hard pressed to find a gamer that isn’t currently waiting for an announcement for a shiny new addition to an adored franchise.

The secretive nature of the industry continues to breed endless speculation about what the future holds for both consoles and their games. But as with everything leaks and rumours will continue to circulate.

Here are five rumoured sequels that have been causing a stir in the community over the last year or so:

1. Bully 2

Rockstar have made devoted fans of Bully wait even longer than those of Red Dead Redemption, with the franchise’s debut coming 13 years ago in 2006… three whole console gens ago. But despite the series’ barren run and the developers’ dismissal of numerous ‘leaks’, fans have yet to forget the harrowed halls of Bullworth Academy.

Last week fans of the PS2 classic went into meltdown after discovering a Bully Easter egg within the new GTA Online Casino update, with many believing Rockstar was teasing a sequel to the open world cult classic.

However, these rumours have yet to be verified. One thing we do know is Rockstar are planning a late announcement for 2019, so hopefully we shouldn’t have much longer to wait to find out whether we’ll ever get to embody the never ageing Jimmy Hopkins again.

2. Splinter Cell 8

Like a fine wine, Sam Fisher seems to get better with age. As the lone agent’s hair grows increasingly grey, his physical prowess and sharpshooting abilities seem to grow stronger. It’s only logical to want an eighth sequel isn’t it then? No, we’re not greedy!

Ubisoft has done little with its signature stealth shooter franchise for half a decade, but a few seeds of encouragement from figureheads at the company have reignited hope that before too long we’ll be stalking the shadows one again donning the iconic trident night-vision mask.

CEO Yves Guillemot himself addressed questions about the series last year, revealing ‘Splinter Cell is a brand we talk about a lot. It’s also personally one of my favourite series. We don’t have anything specific to share at the moment, but teams are working on different things so stay tuned for more.’

3. Dead Space 4

Dead Space has garnered notoriety as one of the creepiest horror franchises of all time, with its claustrophobic ‘backs to the wall’ shooter mechanics buoyed by a litany of terrifying enemy types known as Necromorphs.

EA’s sci-fi horror instantly stood out among a small library of generic and underwhelming titles in 2008, and fans took to the zero-gravity graveyard like ducks to water. Unfortunately, after a stellar trilogy (concluding in 2013), Visceral’s production slowed dramatically and EA decided to cut the devs from their roster.

Fans were literally in uproar on Reddit and Twitter following EA’s presser. But despite being axed from the publisher, Visceral’s former lead creator Glen Schofield refuses to let the franchise die, revealing that he’d ‘love the chance to make the fourth instalment’ to the series.

Here’s to hoping another big publisher sees the potential to partner Visceral Games for future next-gen Dead Space titles. Someone @Naughty Dog on Twitter please.

4. Bioshock 4

While the credentials for previous entries are somewhat debatable, there’s little doubting 2K Games’ desire to reprise their monumental success of the Bioshock trilogy for next gen consoles. The franchise is easily their biggest single-player seller by considerable margin – the big daddy, if you will – receiving critical acclaim and rave reviews following each release.

It’s more a matter of when than if with this one.

If you need further convincing, reputable industry analyst Michael Pachter – the guy that successfully revealed CoD: Black Ops 4’s battle royale mode way ahead of time – has asserted that the hugely anticipated fourth instalment is coming in 2020, seven years after Bioshock Infinite.

Unfortunately, Irrational Games is no longer an arm of 2K Games, and that means that the amazing Ken Levine will no longer be writing and directing future games in this universe… or universes? Bioshock gets a little confusing. We’ll happily take another sequel though.

5. Battlefield: Bad Company 3

For months, a slew of rumours and leaks regarding Battlefield’s narrative heavy spinoff Bad Company have consistently cropped up on Reddit, and it looks increasingly likely that we’re headed for an official announcement soon.

Developers DICE have focused their efforts on progressing their multiplayer flagship Battlefield since 2010, releasing a steady stream of sequels year on year while putting Bad Company on the backburner.

However, a Redditor leaked a snap which he claims comes from an alpha version of Bad Company 3. This ‘evidence’ is far from conclusive, we know. Reddit is among the least reliable sources for concrete info. But the subtitles definitely resemble the light-hearted and humorous tone synonymous with Bad Company games, and what’s more the subtitle aesthetic is a close match to previous titles.

Which of these would you be most keen to see developed? Let us know in the comments below.

The biggest sequels from gaming’s rumour mill