370°

Insomniac Games Cannot Develop Sunset Overdrive 2 Because Of Microsoft

Microsoft owns exclusivity rights for the next two sequels of the IP.

porkChop492d ago

That's a weird situation. Insomniac/Sony own the IP, but MS own the publishing rights to the next 2 sequels, any DLC, and any remasters. I don't see Sony allowing Insomniac to develop 2 Xbox exclusives, even if MS were to fund them. The franchise is as good as dead.

Cacabunga492d ago

This claim that MS makes no sense and contradicts with idea whyIG wanted to stay independent..
in all honesty this game is not great at all, it’s average and very repetitive. Was done and released at the same period as Fuse which was also a bad game.. IG is nothing without PlayStation

Zeref492d ago Show
crazyCoconuts492d ago

81 Metacritic - not bad not great
Not my style of game personally, I didn't like it enough to finish it back then. I'm 100% fine without a sequel on this one

itsmebryan492d ago

@Caca

Sunset overdrive was really fun and t son ani I enjoyed the story. We recently started playing it again on XSX. Have you played it?
Also now Sony is forcing insomniac to layoff people and only make Marvel games for the next 10+ years it's no way a sequel will ever get made. I bet Insomniac is regretting going to Sony now. What a waste.

Rocketisleague492d ago

Insomniac is nothing without rocksteady you mean. Now they're stuck making the same game over and over with a new skin as it brings in money. And realistically spiderman was just a reskin of arkham series already.

SyntheticForm492d ago

Sunset Overdrive had a great sense of humor and was quite fun to play.

Insomniac losing SSO isn't the tragedy, it's losing their autonomy.

Christopher492d ago

Independence is but an illusion when you get in bed with any major publisher.

Christopher492d ago

***Also now Sony is forcing insomniac to layoff people and only make Marvel games for the next 10+ years it's no way a sequel will ever get made. I bet Insomniac is regretting going to Sony now. What a waste. ***

I love this jump to conclusion people are making from seeing "lower budget" for main games.

They're reducing budget on one game, but also now working on 3 games at once. That obviously translates to laying off people because you need less people to work on more games at once.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 492d ago
DarXyde492d ago

It doesn't rule out spiritual successors.

zaanan492d ago

Jet Set Overdrive, let’s GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! ;)

492d ago
CobraKai492d ago

@Hilda
Why not both? Im loving Insomniac’s Marvel games but i ACTUALLY DO want original games from them as well. I don’t want such talented developers to be caged like Wolverine, only to make games like Wolverine. They need to be let loose.

492d ago
DarXyde491d ago

Hileda,

Insomniac has two studios. If it is true that Sony wants them to do smaller budget projects, that is the perfect opportunity to make original IPs, don't you think?

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 491d ago
RaidenBlack492d ago

Are there any xbox studio(s) that are capable of developing the sequel(s)?
Maybe Obsidian's writing team collaborating with Coalition's gameplay team .... but that's highly unlikely.

Zeref492d ago

Tango Gameworks is who you're looking for. HiFi Rush has a similar but less Mature vibe to Sunset Overdrive.

There's also some on the Activision side that could fit like Beenox who did some of the earlier spiderman games or Toys For Bob who are doing Spyro and Crash.

Chevalier492d ago

Why not Tango? HiFi Rush seems to be very much designed in the vein of Sunset Overdrive. They could write and develop them

Profchaos492d ago

vicarious visions would be my first choice given how well they handled both crash and thps 1+2

badz149492d ago (Edited 492d ago )

@RaidenBlack

MS only own the publishing rights, the IP is owned by Insomniac, thus Sony. MS can't have anybody else making it, because it's not their IP and Insomniac can't proceed with the sequels because MS has to fund the games as part of the publishing agreement but why would MS fund a Sony's 1st party studio to make a game? The IP is now in a deadlock situation, thus...unless a miracle like Sony suddenly feeling generous to let Insomniac takes MS's money to make 2 sequels that MS would not want to appear on PS5 because they are not a 3rd party publisher (yet), not going to happen!

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 492d ago
Zeref492d ago

Good move to secure the sequels by Xbox.
Probably for this exact situation, where potentially Xbox fans would get left out of a sequel of a game they adored.

Ideally Sony and Microsoft would put gamers first and work together to bring the sequel to both platforms. But we all know that's never gonna happen.

DarXyde491d ago

"adored"?

There are many games on every platforms I wish were adored.

Sunset Overdrive was not adored. Great game, but hardly anyone gave it a chance. In this case, Microsoft went out of their way to advertise this game at major events and it was still ignored.

Game might be well liked by those of us who've played it, but in reality, it is like Gravity Rush. Great game, grossly overlooked, and no amount of sequels is likely to fix that.

My guess: it just didn't resonate with the Xbox audience at large. Whether people want to admit it or not, some games do better on some platforms. Microsoft knows this. Why else would Atlus JRPGs launch on XGP? They're trying to make it a thing and increase uptake on the platform. There aren't enough SSO type games on Xbox for people to care much about it.

As for a sequel where both parties come together... Well, Goldeneye was a whole thing, but it happened. I wouldn't say it can never happen.

Rynxie492d ago

Okay, then make sunset overdrive 4. There you go.

EvertonFC492d ago

Couldn't they get around it by doing a prequal

porkChop492d ago

Sunset Overdrive starts at the beginning of the outbreak. A prequel would literally not be Sunset Overdrive. It also wouldn't work that way. MS owns the rights to the next 2 games in the franchise, a prequel would be included in that.

TheCaptainKuchiki492d ago

What would even be the point? It's not like SO was a system seller anyway

BeHunted492d ago

Maybe not, but more games increases Xbox Game Pass catalogue.

Lightning77492d ago

Unfortunately you are right. Ms will Never employ a Sony employee to make the game. No way that's happening they have 2 very different buissness plans plus slitting shares and profits it'll be get messy.

Rip Sunset Overdrive 2014-2023

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 491d ago
-Foxtrot492d ago

Hold on a minute, I thought the whole point Insomniac went to other people over Sony during that time was because they wanted to be independent enough to own the IP of the game they made.

Now MS owns publishing rights to the next two sequels?

Dosent that defeat the point of why they did it? Well, what they told us anyway at the time.

Vits492d ago

It was a bet. Insomniac owns the IP, but in exchange for the +40M in funding, they gave up the publishing rights for this game and two sequels. If it was successful, then after those two sequels, they would be free to do whatever they wanted. If it was not successful, they could follow a Bungie-like approach and simply negotiate to regain those rights back from Microsoft.

But they were acquired by Sony, and now, unless the latter makes a proposal that Microsoft can't refuse, it's very unlikely that they will sell those rights. The franchise is as good as dead.

Eonjay492d ago

Either Sony buys them out of the contract or we only ever see Sunset Overdrive remaster.

crazyCoconuts492d ago

Reviews and sales were just ok. I doubt anyone is going out of their way to resuscitate this

Outside_ofthe_Box492d ago

So they never had true control of the IP due to giving MS publishing rights. I remember them saying to ask MS if gamers wanted a sequel. Definitely defeated the whole point of denying Sony and being exclusive to Xbox.

-Foxtrot491d ago (Edited 491d ago )

Yeah that’s what I was trying to say, it’s silly.

Why not just make a multiplatform game or say to MS they could be exclusive for 5 years or something

Hell even say “if it’s a huge success keep the IP and we’ll continue making sequels for you, if it fails then it reverts to us after so long”

__SteakDeck__492d ago

Can’t Mr. “When we all play, we all win” Nice Guy Phil Spencer sell the publishing rights to Insomniac? Lol Glad people can finally stop asking about a sequel to this game. Insomniac can just make a better new IP, that borrows some mechanics from Overdrive. But we’ll probably have to wait until at least 2031 for that. Lol

Rockstar492d ago

That's true!
Good guy Phil is "for the players" and "a gamer" so this is going to happen!

GamerRN492d ago

Well, isn't Sony ALSO a good company just trying to be about the games? Can't they allow Microsoft to make a sequel? Don't they want to make sure that no company is stopping the other from making games?

Outside_ofthe_Box492d ago

Have you been living under rock? According to the most neutralist of gamers, Sony and Microsoft have reversed roles this gen. Sony is anti consumer and Microsoft are the good guys. Good Guy Phil better make it happen!

badz149492d ago

You're wrong on that. The ball is actually in MS's court. They have the publishing rights but not the IP, so if they actually gives a damn about the IP, they should buy the IP from Sony and let their own studios make a sequel.

Any crumbs of interest from Sony regarding the IP has vanished when they knew about the publishing agreement and the IP was never associated with the PS brand to begin with. Can't blame them letting the IP they can't monetize on rotting on the shelve. So it goes straight to MS now when it comes to salvaging the IP.

This is just 1 IP Phil, and shouldn't be THAT expensive considering how it went down. The fact that they are not even trying to get the IP showed they too don't care. Let's just say RIP to SSOD. It's as good as dead now.

Einhander1972492d ago

Who cares, Insomniac has their games laid out well into the next generation.

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Knushwood Butt3d ago

Me neither. Deleted it. Robocop is clearly more my level.

lukasmain2d ago

It's pretty damn good. I'm about 16 hours into it. Lots of secrets and mysteries. I'm on day 14 I think. Still haven't beaten it. Gotten very close a few times. Unlocked many secrets already. Instead of writing down things, I usually take pictures with my Playstation and write on them using the editor, its very fast. There is a small element of luck, but mostly it's about learning and planning and solving puzzles that are bigger than the one room you're in or the item you're looking at. There are so many secrets that some players will never know unless you put in the time and learn and pay attention. It's an eerie and mysterious puzzle game. I think it's addicting and a lot of fun. 9/10

kpgs2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I just got to day 4. First 2 days I started going into it blind, and just trying to remember by memory but got overwhelmed pretty quickly. Got a handy dandy notebook and my notes will definitely help in the long run.

Been enjoying it so far, but with Oblivion dropping and me stupidly picking it up, might take a hit to my playtime on Blue Prince.

I like that critical thinking and puzzle solving go hand in hand, and you're not having your hand held the whole time.

jznrpg2d ago

No game is for everyone. We all have different tastes, some have broader taste some have more specific taste and it’s ok either way. Play what you like!

Christopher2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

***The problem is, the game tells you absolutely nothing about what you’re actually supposed to do.***

Getting to room 46 itself is a puzzle and the whole game tells you to solve puzzles.

***But how do you know if something in a room actually has meaning?***

It's a puzzle game. It's not just going to hand you the answer. I guess this is the point where we get to people who want an NPC to tell them how to solve the part of a puzzle and the people who truly want to figure out the puzzle for themselves.

This makes me feel like some gamers are becoming more like my nephews, they're not solving problems, they're just looking for youtube videos of people who have solved them and following what they did.

P.S. Please don't write another first paragraph like the one in this again. It really sets a tone that you don't know what you're doing.

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