Video gaming is a fast-moving industry with new releases coming almost constantly. Most long-running franchises like Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed see new titles as frequently as possible, sometimes as often as once a year. It's far rarer for a video game series to lie dormant and then resurrect years later.
Nonetheless, this has happened many times throughout gaming history. A franchise has come back with a vengeance long after most gamers have started talking about it in the past tense. In some cases, this takes the form of a new mainline title after years with nothing but spin-offs, remasters, or attempts at reboots.
10 Devil May Cry 5
Devil May Cry is a franchise that revels in feeling dated. Its gothic aesthetic, goofy storytelling, and stylish action gameplay all hearken back to a bygone era in entertainment. For a long time, the series was relegated to this bygone era, with Devil May Cry 4's 2008 release being the last mainline installment.
Notably, the large gap between Devil May Cry 4 and Devil May Cry 5 saw the much-maligned DmC: Devil May Cry alienate the fanbase by trying to reboot and modernize the series. Devil May Cry 5 came out in 2019, 11 years after the previous main title, and instantly won acclaim by holding true to its old roots.
9 Baldur's Gate
The first two Baldur's Gate games were part of a slate of iconic Dungeons & Dragons RPGs released in the 1990s and early 2000s. They were old-school RPGs in both the tabletop rules they used and their video game presentation. Baldur's Gate 3 came out in 2023, with several attempts to make a third installment in the literal decades between.
The gap between Baldur's Gate II and Baldur's Gate 3 is so significant that three entire editions of Dungeons & Dragons have come and gone, giving the two games very different rulesets. Before Baldur's Gate 3, the last content released for the franchise was Baldur's Gate: The Siege of Dragonspear, an expansion pack bridging the two titles in 2013's Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition.
8 Duke Nukem
The Duke Nukem franchise is one of gaming's most infamous. Its early titles, particularly Duke Nukem 3D, won their fair share of praise for bringing a sense of character and comedy that the first-person shooter genre had been lacking. However, Duke Nukem 3D, released in 1996, was the last entry for over a decade.
Duke Nukem Forever was released in 2013 after 15 years in development hell. Development suffered multiple false starts and overhauls that resulted in a fraught process. Unlike many gaming revivals, Duke Nukem Forever wasn't a triumphant return. It proved the franchise's last installment due to its notoriously poor reviews.
7 StarCraft
StarCraft became an instant gaming sensation after its 1998 release. It proved far more than just a spaceborne imprint of Warcraft. StarCraft developed a rabid fanbase and a significant competitive scene. Despite good sales and this positive reception, a sequel wouldn't materialize for over a decade.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty released in 2010. In between the two, StarCraft fans had to content themselves with the expansion pack StarCraft: Brood War. Internal resource management saw this lengthy delay, with Blizzard Entertainment focusing more on the Warcraft franchise in the intervening years.
6 Doom
Doom has long been one of gaming's most famous franchises. However, it has very few actual titles. There are only five mainline Doom games, with a significant gap between it two eras of development. After Doom 3's mixed reception in 2004, DOOM wouldn't be released for another 12 years.
The Doom franchise wasn't entirely stagnant between 2004 and 2016. There were numerous expansion packs like Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil and Doom II: No Rest for the Living, alongside spin-offs like Doom RPG. Nonetheless, brand-new mainline content was scarce during DOOM's lengthy development.
5 Pikmin
Pikmin was never one of Nintendo's biggest series. However, its unique concept and undeniable charm won it a respectable fanbase. Pikmin 3 released in 2013 to widespread praise from critics as a well-crafted installment from the series that showed modest evolution over earlier games.
However, Pikmin 4 took much longer to build on Pikmin 3's developments. It came out in 2023, almost exactly a decade after the previous title. Aside from the handheld spin-off and the ARG mobile game Pikmin Bloom, franchise fans were left with nothing in the way of new mainline content to enjoy.
4 Alan Wake
Alan Wake became a cult classic shortly after its release. Despite underwhelming initial sales, it maintained a devoted fanbase and positive word-of-mouth that helped it remain in the public consciousness. However, this didn't translate into an immediate sequel. Alan Wake 2 is scheduled for October 2023, not even out yet.
Remedy Entertainment explored several other franchises in the intervening years. They released Max Payne 3, Quantum Break, and Control between the two titles. The latter saw a resurgence for the Alan Wake franchise due to a shared universe and a prominent crossover in the Control: AWE DLC.
3 Diablo
Diablo became a rare franchise with multiple decade-long gaps between mainline entries. The first two Diablo games were classics of the late 1990s and early 2000s, building up a devoted fanbase. After Diablo II, however, 12 years passed before the release of Diablo 3, spanning from 2000 to 2012.
Diablo 4 then came out in 2023, 11 years after Diablo 3. The intervening years weren't as stagnant as the many between the last two titles. Diablo 3 got the Reaper of Souls and Rise of the Necromancer packs spread through the years after its release. On top of that, there was the remaster Diablo II: Resurrected and the contentious mobile game Diablo Immortal.
2 Age Of Empires
Age of Empires was one of the most active franchises with the most significant gap between mainline installments. Age of Empires III came out in 2005. What followed was a 16-year gap before Age of Empires IV's 2021 release. However, only three years passed in that time without some form of new content.
Age of Empires spent a significant time focusing on fresh content for older games rather than a new title. Both Age of Empires III and the remastered Age of Empires II: HD Edition saw many expansion packs in the years between. This was alongside spin-offs like 2011's Age of Empires Online and the mobile tower defense game Age of Empires: Castle Siege.
1 Armored Core
Armored Core was one of the first franchises to put FromSoftware on the map, long before they became a household name. However, Armored Core wasn't the studio's focus for a long time. Armored Core V came out in 2012, with its sequel Armored Core: Verdict Day following a year later. Armored Core VI: The Fires of Rubicon saw a September 2023 release.
This lengthy delay was a simple matter of resource allocation. Developers FromSoftware spent the intervening years becoming one of the most prestigious gaming companies in the world with titles like Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring. Armored Core VI was a case of the company returning to its roots in the modern day.