Franchises

Licensed rally games based on the Dakar Rally, formerly the Paris–Dakar. Acclaim published Paris-Dakar Rally (2001) and Dakar 2 (2003); Bigmoon’s Dakar 18 (2018) was the next officially licensed entry, followed by Saber Porto’s Dakar Desert Rally (2022).

Dark fantasy action role-playing series from FromSoftware, created by Hidetaka Miyazaki. It began with Dark Souls in 2011 and continued with Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III.

Hack and slash action-adventure series created by Vigil Games and later continued by Gunfire Games. Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, each main game follows one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Acclaim BMX games licensed from Dave Mirra. The Xbox sequel adds the Venice and Greenville levels and a park editor.

Techland action role-playing series published by Deep Silver. Dead Island launched on 6 September 2011 on the island of Banoi, with melee combat and four-player co-op. Riptide followed in April 2013. Dead Island 2, from Dambuster Studios, launched on 21 April 2023 in Los Angeles.

Team Ninja fighting franchise created by Tomonobu Itagaki, published by Tecmo and later Koei Tecmo. Fast 3D hand-to-hand combat built around the Triangle System—blows, throws, and holds—plus interactive Danger Zones, spanning mainline DOA entries and Xtreme spin-offs.

Capcom action-adventure series created by Keiji Inafune. Dead Rising launched on 8 August 2006 in the Willamette mall. Capcom Vancouver developed the later entries, with Microsoft Studios publishing several of them. Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster followed on 19 September 2024.

Science fiction horror series created by Glen Schofield and owned by Electronic Arts. Visceral Games developed most of the games around one continuing storyline.

Namco third-person shooter series. The 2002 game follows Grant City cop Jack Slate and his dog Shadow after Jack is framed for murder.

2012 Tequila Works side-scrolling cinematic platform survival horror, originally published by Microsoft Studios. A Director's Cut followed in 2016 from Deep Silver.

Action game developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision. Daniel Way wrote it. It released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 in North America on 25 June 2013. Deadpool breaks the fourth wall while fighting alongside Cable and the X-Men against Mister Sinister. Activision removed it from digital stores when its Marvel license ended, then released PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions in November 2015 with the original downloadable content. Those versions were removed again on 16 November 2017.

Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions open-world action adventure series about reconnecting a fractured America after the Death Stranding, starring Sam Porter Bridges and the mysterious Beach.

NovaLogic tactical shooter series that pioneered large-scale outdoor FPS combat starting in 1998. Landmark entries include Land Warrior, Urban Warfare, and Black Hawk Down; later Xtreme titles and a long dormancy followed NovaLogic’s closure. TiMi / Team Jade revived the name in 2025 as a free-to-play multiplatform shooter with a remade Black Hawk Down campaign.

Bungie’s shared-world science-fantasy shooter. Destiny (2014) mixed raids, strikes, and Crucible PvP across last-gen and current-gen consoles; Destiny 2 (2017) expanded to PC and continues as a live-service title under Bungie after the Activision split, with annual expansions from Forsaken through The Final Shape and beyond.

Pandemic Studios / THQ Nordic comedy alien-invasion franchise starring Furon agent Crypto, from the 2005 originals through Path of the Furon and the Black Forest Games remakes.

Action role-playing series from Ion Storm and later Eidos-Montréal. First-person shooting, stealth, and augmentations in a cyberpunk future of conspiracies.

Capcom’s stylish action franchise starring demon hunters Dante, Nero, and allies — spanning the classic numbered games, the Ninja Theory reboot DmC, and Devil May Cry 5.

Blizzard action RPG dungeon crawler set in Sanctuary. From Diablo and Hellfire through Diablo II / Lord of Destruction, Diablo III / Reaper of Souls, Diablo Immortal, and Diablo IV with Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred expansions—loot-driven hack-and-slash against the Burning Hells.

Film tie-ins that follow John McClane from the 1989 DOS and NES Nakatomi Plaza games through Probe’s three-in-one Die Hard Trilogy, n-Space’s Las Vegas sequel, and the 2002 first-person shooters Nakatomi Plaza and Vendetta.

Bandai arena fighters based on the Digimon television series. Rumble Arena 2, developed by Black Ship Games, is a 2-to-4 player fighter where Digimon can digivolve.