The original Saints Row was an unexpected hit. Rising above the tide of urban sandboxes in 2006, the game pushed its tomfoolery further than even Grand Theft Auto dared. The most recent entry, however, was a misfire. 2022’s reboot was busted across technical levels and tonally out of sync for fans. Last year, rumors arose that the series might get another pass, but Chris Stockman, design director for the original game, now says the long-running Row has a fork in it.
“I think the franchise is dead, unfortunately,” Stockman told a fan on Discord (via Eurogamer). “I get the sense that Embracer has zero ability to do anything with it.”
Though Stockman hadn’t been with Saints Row developer Volition for years, he claimed last November that Embracer Group approached him to help with a course correction for the franchise. The pitch, as he described it, was a Saints Row prequel set in the 1970s. This new setting could have done a more balanced job at giving Saints Row a desperately needed fresh coat, while affording itself ample opportunities for its signature buffoonery.
Remember when we got excited about the prospect of a Saints Row prequel? Well according to Saints Row 1 Design Director Chris Stockman, Embracer is completely ignoring the idea.
Saints Row is once again dead. https://t.co/cpPVcRjxwD pic.twitter.com/FWpjC6kmkT
— rpg! (@papaRPG) February 20, 2026
Promising as that was, it did not get very far. Only a few months later, Stockman now believes he is being ‘ghosted’ by Embracer and that it’s probably the end of the road for Saints Row’s 20-year joy ride. “I wish things were different,” he wrote.
While it’s since become the norm, Embracer Group were one of the earlier conglomerates who got into the practice of hoovering up game studios and squeezing them dry. They’ve toyed around with portfolios like Gearbox, Crystal Dynamics, THQ and dozens more, all to mixed results. Their acquisition of Volition occurred in 2018, part of a package in the purchase of Koch Media. The 2022 reboot would be the only game Volition made under Embracer, developed under routine restructuring and staff transfers between other studios. When this banged up Saints Row failed to meet sales expectations, Volition was shuttered by Embracer in 2023.
This end is merely another page in the book of Embracer squashing out hopeful sequels, having recently binned revivals for Perfect Dark and Deus Ex before that. Their first outing with the Tomb Raider series, having picked up Crystal Dynamics in 2022, is already facing turbulence as Embracer enacts their signature restructuring.
