Sega dropped a bombshell at the Game Awards live show – five bombshells, actually, and I'd imagine retro gamers are still reeling from the back-to-back surprises. "Over the next several years," as show host Geoff Keighley put it, we're apparently getting new installments for:
- Jet Set Radio
- Shinobi
- Golden Axe
- Streets of Rage
- Crazy Taxi
- "And more," according to the trailer
The "more" bit leaves a lot up in the air – Sega could be referring to any games, not just retro revivals in this vein – but this list is already stacked as-is. That said, it sounds like this is the start of a wave of retro revivals.
On a fittingly old-school website, complete with a new-school "SEGA!" shout in the trailer, the publisher promises "new games now in development." A tweet from Sega matches this verbiage, and I'm only so hung up on the wording of this stuff because I'm genuinely struggling to believe that "new games" for all of these franchises are "now in development." It's real, folks. We made it.
- Over a year after Sega revealed its grand IP revival, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is officially coming this August from the devs behind the incredible brawler Streets of Rage 4
- Sega outlines plan to "strengthen" Persona, Yakuza, and Sonic studios, says "Atlus is an important studio for us to expand Japanese IPs overseas"
Most of these series have been dormant, to varying degrees, for many years. Streets of Rage is actually doing pretty well thanks to 2020's Streets of Rage 4. And Jet Set Radio got an amazing spiritual successor in Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, plus it's much easier to play the original game on modern platforms now, but the cult hit that started it all is a 2000 Dreamcast release. Meanwhile, Shinobi's been dormant since 2011, we haven't had a full-fat Crazy Taxi in ages, and Golden Axe hasn't moved much since 2012's vintage collection.
"In recent years, Sonic the Hedgehog has forged new paths for Sega, bringing the franchise to life and reaching new audiences in ways we had only dreamed of in the past," says Sega and Sega of America co-COO Shuji Utsumi. "Building off that success, we are digging into our legacy and reimagining several franchises to bring these games to more audiences around the globe.
"Today's announcement is just the start of our initiative. First and foremost, our ambition will be to create great games with memorable characters and worlds. We hope fans of all ages will look towards our future with anticipation as we release these projects in the coming years.”
It's not quite as old, but It Takes Two director's fantastic single-player co-op game, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, is getting a full remake.
