Everyone in the game industry is gearing up to take advantage of 2021’s summer. E3 and other game conference are coming back, even if they’re still only online. Every company, big and small, wants to get in on the industry’s long-awaited reunion.Deep Silveris only one of many companies that has the chance to talk about its projects this year. As the owner of nostalgic IPs likeDead IslandandSaints Row,Deep Silverand its parent company Koch Media could definitely make a big impact this year. Oddly enough, though, Deep Silver recently confirmed that it won’t be bringingDead IslandorSaints Rowto E3 2021.
That’s frankly a pretty shocking confirmation. Fans of both these Deep Silver franchises desperately want to see a new game produced, so they find it agonizing that it’s been so many years since a new entry. Apparently neither of these franchise are anywhere near getting a new game. However, although that seems like it’d be a huge blow to morale forDead IslandandSaints Rowfans, it’s actually a good thing that Deep Silver and Koch Media are being so transparent. Open lines of communication between fans and developers can be hard to find in the game industry. Deep Silver’s honesty will actually protect its reputationbetter than letting fans down at E3.
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Dead IslandandSaints Rowhave been missing from the game industry for a pretty long time.Dead Island 2is an increasingly notorious exampleof a game trapped in development. It’s been about a decade since it was first announced, being passed from developer to developer over the course of the years. Deep Silver and Dambuster Studios promise they’re working onDead Island 2,but it hasn’t revealed much more than that. In a similar vein, the newestSaints Rowgame came out in 2013. Developer Volition confirmedSaints Row 5’s existence a long time ago, but fans still haven’t seen hide nor hair of it.
Koch Media is coming to E3, but as a recent statement indicated,Dead IslandandSaints Rowaren’t. Deep Silver and Koch Media seem like they’re setting themselves up for failure by admitting to fans that they don’t want to talk about these franchises yet, but it’s the right move. If Koch Media didn’t warn fans that its presentation wouldn’t include these hotly demanded games, the ensuing disappointment would be immeasurable.
Dead IslandandSaints Rowfans are sure to be sad for now that updates on these games aren’t around the corner, but it’s better to let the community down easy than to lift up their hopes, then leave them wanting. E3 is the wrong place for Koch Media and Deep Silver to make a bad impression.
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Deep Silver Acknowledges E3’s Importance
Koch Media isn’t the only studio that needs to be wary of how fans will think of it differently after E3. Everyone who’s attending E3 2021 needs to make a big comeback after more than a year of setbacks and missing announcements. EvenNintendo needs to impress fans at E3, considering how many important games fans want to hear about, likeThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2andMetroid Prime 4.It doesn’t matter that Nintendo is one of the biggest, most formative companies in the game industry; it could still walk out of E3 with heavy fan backlash on its hands if it doesn’t tell fans about a big chunk of its many demanded games.
Deep Silver is already dealing with a lot of restless fans who want to hear something significant aboutDead Island 2andSaints Row 5.It doesn’t need to risk causing trouble by saying nothing about these games during Koch Media’s time at E3. Therefore, it’s opted for the safer way of disappointing fans by telling them in advance that the games won’t be there. It’s a much softer way of telling fans a piece of news that would’ve been disappointed either way. Deep Silver certainly has been vague and largely quiet about the state ofDead IslandandSaints Row,but at least it was clear with fans this time. If fans can accept no news on these games at E3, then Deep Silver with have actual news to share later in the year.
Dead Island 2andSaints Row 5are in development.
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