Good games usually leave players wanting for more, and publishers know they have a money-spinner on their hands. Both these factors usually guarantee at least one sequel, but the truly great games guarantee multiple installments. Some, like Call of Duty, have gotten so popular that a yearly sequel is almost guaranteed.
However, in this article, we’ll look at five sequels that have been a long time coming. Every title on this list can claim a spot in gaming’s hall of fame, and as such, have armies of loyal and passionate fans awaiting their next entry.
While some of the games on this list are officially confirmed to be in development, none have release dates as of this writing.
Note: Opinions expressed in the article are those of the writer. It’s okay to disagree!
5) Wolfenstein 3
Developer Machine Games’ reboot of pioneering first-person-shooter Wolfenstein 3D with 2014’s The New Order, followed by The New Colossus three years later, put the legendary series back on top after some lackluster entries in-between.
Set in an alternate-reality 1960s America straight out of The Man in the High Castle, it’s up to the series’ longtime protagonist BJ “Terror Billy” Blazkowicz to push back against the fascists. The game’s immensely satisfying weapons and the visceral combat were a hit with players both old and new to the series. The narrative was dark yet campy, and featured such memorable moments as coming across a German Beatles album.
Unfortunately, 2019’s Wolfenstein: Youngblood, a co-op game where you play as Blazkowickz’s grown-up twin daughters, disappointed most fans of the franchise with its story and gameplay mechanics. As such, it only heightened expectations of a true sequel to The New Colossus and the return of everyone’s favorite N*zi-massacring machine.
4) Mafia 4
Mafia: City of Lost Heaven, and its sequel, Mafia 2, were critical and commercial successes. Featuring highly detailed period-specific cities, vehicles, and guns, players got to live out mob stories on par with legendary movies such as The Godfather or Once Upon a Time in America.
However, third time was not the charm, as the series hit a bump in the road with Mafia 3, a title that deviated from the franchise’s familiar New York-themed environments to venture down south to a setting based on New Orleans. While the story, combat, and driving mechanics were sound, the gameplay was repetitive and tedious.
Fortunately, in an interview with mafiagame.com last year, Hangar 13 studio general manager Roman Hladík confirmed that a fourth game is in the works. We can assume the studio learned from the mistakes made with Mafia 3, given how well 2020’s Mafia 1 remake turned out. While Hladík did say it was a couple of years away, it would be quite the pleasant surprise for fans to get it in 2023 itself.
3) Deus Ex 7
The original Deus Ex, released in 2000, featured a revolutionary blend of shooter, stealth, and RPG mechanics set in a dystopian Bladerunner-esque cyberpunk world laced with conspiracies and plot twists. You can play the game any way you liked and customize your character’s skills and attributes to complement your preferred style.
Thereafter, six sequels continued this style of gameplay to varying degrees of success. While Invisible War, the immediate successor to the first game, was widely panned for being dumbed down, subsequent installments such as Human Revolution (2011), and most recently, Mankind Divided (2016), were solid entries that boast combined sales of 12 million units. Despite that, there’s no word of a sequel, and 2023 would be a fine time to round off Adam Jensen’s story.
2) Civilization 7
Sid Meier’s iconic turn-based strategy game series has been setting the benchmark ever since the first installment in 1991. Since then, the Civilization series has churned out five sequels, all of which have kept the core gameplay the same while building on it (no pun intended) with new mechanics and systems.
As the name implies, players have to lead their chosen civilization from strength to strength by researching and discovering new technologies, winning conquests, making cultural progress, and more.
While the most recent entry, 2016’s Civilization 6, received mostly favorable reviews, most hardcore fans of the franchise consider 2010’s Civilization 5 as the pinnacle of the franchise, and it’s about time a new benchmark is set with a seventh entry.
1) Half-Life 3
At this point, “Half-Life 3 Confirmed” has become a meme unto itself. And why not? It has been one of, if not the most-anticipated game in the world for the better part of two decades. Ever since the release of Half-Life 2’s second and final DLC, Episode Two, numerous fake rumors have done the rounds about another DLC, or the mythical Half-Life 3 itself.
The first Half-Life (1998) was a watershed moment for the video game industry. It featured an incredible story, with memorable scripted sequences that I can still relive in my mind more than three decades later. The game also spawned a thriving mod community, which led to the creation of the hugely popular Counter-Strike mod. Half-Life 2 was just as ground-breaking, featuring physics-based combat mechanics for the first time.
The release of the VR-only Half Life: Alyx, a prequel set between the events of the first two games, gave fans hope of a sequel being next, but they continue to wait for Valve to come out and say “Half-Life 3 confirmed!” Should that transpire, it’s safe to say that nothing else could possibly top the possible release of Half-Life 3 in 2023.