Want to know a surefire way to turn heads? Have your video game series switch developers. It's an instant way to spur interest, curiosity, excitement, and even panic.
Changing development studios can mean good or bad things. Hiring a different team has sometimes revived a beloved series and made it better than ever. Other times, a shift in developers has killed some of the most famous series in gaming. Some series have even bounced from studio to studio, never finding a concrete home or identity. You never know what you’ll get when new people are in charge.
10 Crash Bandicoot Rose, Fell, And Rose Again
If you grew up with a PS1, you'll remember the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy. These legendary platformers from Naughty Dog helped define the PlayStation. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst when the series was handed to developer Traveller’s Tales.
Their first game Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex was a shallow attempt to recreate the magic of the originals, and the series struggled to find its footing for nearly two decades after. Thankfully, developer Vicarious Visions returned the series to its full glory with the N. Sane trilogy. Welcome back, Crash!
9 Star Fox Never Found A Home
It's sad to see such a cool series like Star Fox never find a studio to call home. Star Fox and Star Fox 64 were impressive for the SNES and N64. Both were developed in-house at Nintendo, but ever since, the Star Fox crew has bounced from one developer to another with no clear direction for the series.
It all started with Star Fox Adventures, developed by Rare, which mostly cut the space battles in favor of Zelda-esque combat and puzzles. The series then jumped to Namco, who tried to recapture the essence of the originals to mixed results. Since then, Q-Games and PlatinumGames have both taken a crack at it, but the series has yet to make a full comeback.
8 Mortal Kombat Was Saved By Warner Bros
Mortal Kombat is one of the most important fighting series ever, but behind it is a tragic story of a development studio that went under. Midway Games was the primary developer of the series from its debut in 1992 until 2008. Unfortunately, the company lost millions of dollars in the late 2000s and filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
Thankfully, Warner Bros Games stepped in and bought the rights to Mortal Kombat. Midway's Chicago studio became part of Warner Bros and was rebranded as NetherRealm Studios. They've been developing the Mortal Kombat games ever since, and the series continues to go strong today.
7 Star Wars: Battlefront Suffered Under EA
It's hard to forget the nightmare that was the Star Wars: Battlefront reboots. The originals were developed by Pandemic Studios and are generally looked fondly upon. But it all went downhill when EA acquired the rights to the series.
The reboot of the first Battlefront suffers from lacking a single-player mode and featuring repetitive multiplayer gameplay. Things got even worse with the sequel, which became infamous for its heavy reliance on loot boxes and microtransactions. The controversy destroyed the game's reputation, and the series has been dormant ever since, stagnant where the originals continued to grow.
6 Donkey Kong Made A Comeback With Retro Studios
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Rare was the king of platformers in the mid to late '90s, largely thanks to their work on the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. These games were the pinnacle of the SNES, and Rare would continue to develop DK titles until Microsoft bought the studio in 2002.
The series would jump between Nintendo EAD, Namco, and Paon for the next eight years and consist mainly of spin-offs. It wasn't until Retro Studios stepped in that DK would make a triumphant resurgence. Donkey Kong Country Returns brought the series back to its roots with new twists. Tropical Freeze improved upon the new foundation and became one of the greatest 2D platformers for Switch.
5 Call Of Duty Has Several Development Studios
It's hard to imagine where first-person shooters would be without Call Of Duty. Infinity Ward developed most of the series until 2010, when Activision made the surprising announcement that the studio’s co-founders were fired.
Since then, the series has bounced between Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Treyarch, collectively tasked with launching a new game every year. While few titles have managed to surpass the bar set by Modern Warfare, the series continues to grow strong and hasn't missed an annual launch since 2005.
4 Metroid Had An Unprecedented Shift In Development
Metroid fans are the most patient people on Earth. Retro Studio's Metroid Prime games and Nintendo's 2D mainline titles disappeared for nearly a decade. In 2021, developer MercurySteam gave the series much-needed CPR with Metroid Dread, an outstanding action game for Switch. But fans of the Prime titles weren't so lucky.
Metroid Prime 4 was teased at E3 2017 with the shocking announcement that Retro wouldn't return to develop. After nearly two years of silence, Nintendo surprised the world again with a video stating they were unsatisfied with the new studio and would be scrapping everything. Retro was rehired for Prime 4 and little is known about the game to this day.
3 Halo Had A Divisive Change In Studios
Bungie's original Halo trilogy is nothing short of a masterpiece. While Halo 3 was supposed to end the series, things took a different turn when Microsoft handed the property to their in-house development studio, 343 Industries.
Following Halo 3 proved to be a Herculean task, and the series has had its ups and downs since. Whether the new titles hold up to the originals is a divisive topic, but it ultimately boils down to taste. 343 Industries continues to develop the series aside from the occasional spin-off like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.
2 Metal Gear Died Without Hideo Kojima
Hideo Kojima is arguably Konami's most famous designer and his name became synonymous with the Metal Gear series. Kojima Productions developed most of the series until the studio severed ties with Konami in 2015. Metal Gear would never be the same again.
Konami's in-house team developed Metal Gear Survive in 2018. To no surprise, nobody wanted a Metal Gear title where you survive the zombie apocalypse. The game was panned for recycling assets from the previous game, featuring repetitive gameplay, and having microtransactions. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
1 Fallout Was Revolutionized By Bethesda
No one will blame you if you don't remember pre-Bethesda Fallout. The first two games were developed by Black Isle Studios and featured a top-down perspective with point-and-click controls. When the rights were sold to Bethesda, the series took a triumphant leap into 3D, producing some phenomenal action RPGs like Fallout 3 and 4.
While Bethesda shaped the series into what it is today, one of the most beloved Fallout titles was made by a different studio. Fallout: New Vegas was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, founded by former members of Black Isle Studios. Funny how it came full circle.