Over the next two years, releases of video games based on original IP are going to take a backseat to sequels, reboots, and licensed titles. Just 20.6% of titles are based on original IP—sequels comprise 43% of the list, followed by licensed titles at 30%. VR titles follow at 11%, with reboots making up 8% of the list.
See the complete update to TLL’s list of planned video games with licensing potential, featuring 63 titles slated for release in 2017 and beyond, here.
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Judging Original Properties’ Potential
While sequels, reboots, graphical updates, and games based on licensed properties all provide licensees with a track record for fiscal success, new properties are considerably more difficult to judge. Although there is definitely risk, new IP may also have a great upside.
Some examples from our list include Ever Oasis, a new franchise from Nintendo, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a spiritual successor to the Castlevania series from producer Koji Igarashi.
Licensing In
A whopping 30% of games on the list are licensed. Some notables include:
- Star Trek: Bridge Crew, a VR game from Ubisoft pushed back to a 2017 release.
- Another VR game, John Wick Chronicles: An Eye for an Eye, which is timed to release with the next film John Wick: Chapter 2 in Feb. 2017.
- Overkill’s The Walking Dead, an “original” game from Starbreeze Studios and 505 Games based on the zombie-themed TV series.
- Three Star Wars games are set to be released from Electronic Arts, with developers Visceral and Respawn working on new releases.
New Sequels & Reboots
Some long-awaiting sequels are in the pipeline, including:
- Konami’s Super Bomberman R, the first installment in the Bomberman series of action maze games in over half a decade. The game is a launch title for the Nintendo Switch console.
- Shenmue III from Ys Net raised over $6 million in last year’s Kickstarter campaign, 14 years after Shenmue II—with more crowdfunding resuming this year through PayPal and Alipay.
- The first Metal Gear game to be developed since Hideo Kojima’s departure from Konami in late 2015, Metal Gear Survive, will launch through Konami.
VR-enabled Play
For the first time, we’re tracking which games have at least some VR elements—over 11% of titles on the list.
- Bandai Namco Entertainment’s Ace Combat 7 will be the first ction combat flight simulator in the series to have VR support.
- Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XV, released late last year, will have DLC for VR content.
- Gran Turismo Sport from Sony marks the beginning of a new era into the second generation of the racing game series; although it was expected to be a complete VR game, only some aspects include the tech.
See the complete update to TLL’s list of planned video games with licensing potential, featuring 63 titles slated for release in 2017 and beyond, here.