In gaming, some IPs and franchises become so important to the players that a sequel announcement makes us lose ourselves. They explode across the internet, and YouTube comments and Reddit discussion threads get set on fire for many weeks to come as more news and updates steadily stream in. Except sometimes... they just don't.

Months turn into years, and soon, our hype turns into cautious optimism. The initial spark after the great reveals becomes a faint flow that's kept alive only by the occasional forum discussion thread, and then comes the process of rewatching old trailers and wanting more. The silence becomes louder, and for some major titles, that silence could very well result in the hype dying out completely if we don't hear from their studios soon.

The Elder Scrolls VI (2018)

Seven years since the announcement, we still don't know anything

It's almost funny now to think back to that 30-second teaser we got for The Elder Scrolls VI, all the way back in 2018. It was just a landscape and a title card, but we all lost our collective minds, didn't we? And yet, that's all Bethesda has given us since then. Starfield came and went, updates rolled in for TES Online, Skyrim somehow got even more re-released, and we had the phenomenal Oblivion remaster. But The Elder Scrolls VI is still locked up in a vault somewhere, it seems.

Yes, I know Hammerfell (if that is going to be the map) can't be built overnight, and TES worlds demand time, but with seven years gone with no gameplay or real details, or even cinematic trailers, everyone's patience is certainly fraying, myself included. Sure, I'll wait, and I'll keep playing Skyrim with new mods to change things up. But damn, Bethesda, at least throws us all a bone, and maybe a province name?

Max Payne 1 + 2 Remake (2022)

There's nothing I want more than for this to succeed... and come out

The Max Payne games have always been some of the greatest experiences you can ever have, especially as a '90s kid or someone gaming in the early 2000s. I might not have liked the direction of the writing in the third game, but it was still a fantastic action-thriller that kept you hooked. So when Remedy and Rockstar announced that they'd be remaking the first two games in one package, it was a chance to revisit the gritty New York setting that was quintessentially Max Payne, but with modern tech on the Northlight engine. And yet, after that glorious press release in 2022, we've had nothing.

We've seen vague mentions of this game being in concept development, but with Alan Wake 2 and its DLC, and then FBC: Firebreak, Remedy's first multiplayer shooter, having come out since then, we have seen no screenshots or footage of the Max Payne remake. It's just silence and the occasional hopeful tweet from die-hard games. The remake entered full production last year, but we've received no updates, screenshots, or trailers. The closest we've gotten is Sam Lake's own Alex Casey character in Alan Wake 2, which could give us a good look at what Max would look like in the remake.

Then, with iconic voice actor James McAffrey's passing, we still aren't clear how the voicing for Payne is going to go. Did McAffrey voice all his lines prior? Will they reuse old audio and convert it to HD? Or will they go down the blasphemous routes of AI usage or change the voice actor? The longer we get no answers, the more the game starts feeling like it's stuck in bullet-time itself, waiting for the next move.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake (2021)

The Force has been dwindling with this one

It was back in 2021 when a reveal trailer at a PlayStation Showcase showing Revan's mask emerging from the shadows sent everybody reeling. A full-blown remake of one of the greatest RPGs ever? Sure, we may never have gotten a Knights of the Old Republic III, but Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was going to be remade for the PlayStation 5 and Windows, and it sounded too good to be true. Sadly, maybe it was just that. Development soon shifted from Aspyr to Saber Interactive, and then, Sony even removed the trailer from YouTube, citing it as a part of "normal business".

As with a lot of Star Wars games, the Knights of the Old Republic remake, too, had entered development hell over licensing issues, and the state of things, as they are, is not reassuring. We've been told it's still alive, though, but with no tangible updates, the skepticism everyone has is completely natural. It's hard to keep the faith with everything that has happened, but Star Wars fans are nothing if not patient and resilient.

Insomniac's Wolverine (2021)

The cyberattack and leaks really set Insomniac back

A man in a hat, sitting at a bar, in the aftermath of a bar fight, wearing flannel and hoping to finish his drink — that's what we saw in a trailer from Insomniac in 2021. Then came the claws, jumping out from between his knuckles, and the gaming world immediately went bonkers. Hot off the success of both 2018's Spider-Man and 2020's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Insomniac could do no wrong, and they had just announced a game for everyone's favorite X-Man, Wolverine.

After that, Insomniac understandably got busy with Spider-Man 2, and they then got hit by a monumental cyberattack that leaked game files, development data, and even an internal title release timeline, along with gameplay footage of the Wolverine game in development, which, in its early stages, looked very rough. Since then, mum's been the word on absolutely anything from one of Sony's biggest first-party studios, and we haven't seen an inkling about the upcoming game. The lack of major first-party titles on the PlayStation 5 isn't helping, and I can't help but wonder when Wolverine (and perhaps a Venom game) is coming out since we've had zero updates on the same.

Marvel's Blade by Bethesda and Arkane (2023)

A dollar for a smoothly-made Blade piece of media would leave me broke

I just rewatched the trailer from Bethesda for Marvel's Blade before writing this, and I can't wipe the smile off my face. Arkane, fresh off the stylistic highs of Deathloop, and riding high with the success of Dishonored (no, let's not talk about Redfall), tackling the most stylish vampire hunter ever? Sign me up, I said. But there's been nothing since the cinematic reveal. No interviews, no concept art, and not even a logo variation.

It's clear as day that the game is going to ooze atmosphere with its French setting and Arkane's signature style, but the longer they stay silent, the more we're starting to worry. After all, artistic endeavors with the Blade IP have rarely ever gone smoothly, with the Blade movie going through some of the deepest development hell since 2019. With Redfall being a terrible failure, Arkane really could use a confidence-restoring hit, and Blade could certainly be it. Now all we need is a glimpse and an update.

Crysis 4 (2022)

Where's a Prophet when you need one?

When Crytek announced Crysis 4 in January 2022, along with a full-blown black-and-white teaser, I lost my damned mind. It was once again time to ask if our PCs could run Crysis 4, but sadly, this time around, the answer is simply "we don't know". Why? Because outside of that flashy nanotech cinematic, we've had nothing, and early this year, layoffs hit the company. Since then, any news on Crysis 4 has gone dark.

We've had tiny dev updates about hiring and early development, but nothing to sink our teeth into. Crysis has always been about melting PCs with its mind-boggling visuals, so maybe the silence is just them building the tech to make even an RTX 7090 cry. Still, a single in-game shot wouldn't hurt, would it? I just want to know the suit's still charging.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 (2008)

The poster child for development hell

This one's practically the poster child for long, agonizing development cycles. Beyond Good and Evil came out all the way back in 2003, and was one of the most memorable games on the PlayStation 2. Ubisoft first announced a sequel in 2008, and was silent for a long while, before re-revealing the game in 2017 with jaw-dropping scale. Development on the game since then has not been smooth, to say the very least. There have been delays, leadership changes, and scattered updates that feel less like real progress, and more like proof-of-life announcements.

Now, Ubisoft does insist it's still happening, but we're yet to see anything substantial outside of two cinematic trailers, with the last one being seven years old. If it ever does come out though, Beyond Good and Evil 2 might very well be one of the most impressive gaming revivals in history. Or it could become a cautionary tale. Let's see.

System Shock 3 (2015)

How many times can I play the remake?

The System Shock remake remains one of the best of all time, and it really did handle an immensely prophetic game incredibly well. So, when Otherside Entertainment announced System Shock 3 in 2015, all sci-fi horror fans rejoiced, before being met with a decade of silence. Staff departures followed, and soon, Tencent bought the rights to the game. Since then, the lack of updates has been as eerie as the hallways of the UNN Rickenbacker.

The fate of System Shock 3 remains unclear, and I know the games have always thrived on dread and tension, but geez, not like this. This is absolutely the wrong kind of success. Ten years since its announcement, I can almost hear SHODAN mocking me for still holding out hope and waiting for System Shock 3.

Star Wars Eclipse (2021)

I don't want another Star Wars 1313

This one hurts... a lot. Quantic Dream's reveal trailer for Star Wars Eclipse was pure Star Wars spectacle. We saw droids, Jedi, and even Yoda, with a high-stakes tone set in the High Republic era. This was going to be an action-adventure AAA title with branching narratives, and yes, I know that they did mention the game was "years away" during the reveal. Turns out they really weren't kidding.

Outside of a website, we have had zero updates or news about Star Wars Eclipse. There had been rumors about hiring struggles and engine challenges, but Quantic Dreams quashed them in 2022. And yet, there's been nothing but silence since then, too. Even today, it's one of the best gaming reveals ever and has genuine magic, especially to a Star Wars fan, but right now, it feels like a distant star. Beautiful to look at, sure, but impossible to reach anytime soon. I just hope the game doesn't turn into another Star Wars 1313, where we're promised one of the greatest Star Wars games, only for it to never be made.

We're only asking to know what's going on

Look, we've all accepted that game development takes time, especially when it comes to great, ambitious projects that have everyone's eyes on them. But silence can be deadly, too. Without updates, even the most hyped announcements can fade into background noise, and player bases can lose confidence.

We're not asking for rushed releases or broken launches, but a trailer here and a screenshot there could very well keep the flame alive. There's only so much silence you can have before people start moving on.