Franchise Fatigue: 20 Video Game Series That Have Been Milked Dry

The Last of Us

Once hailed as a storytelling masterpiece, this franchise has shifted from emotional survival saga to a brand stretched across sequels, remakes, remasters… and then remasters of those remakes. The original game was a punch to the gut – in the best possible way – but now it feels like we're trapped in a beautifully rendered loop. From the PS4 remaster to the Part I “ground-up” remake and beyond, the series has become a prime example of diminishing returns through overexposure. Yes, the performances still land and the visuals get better every time, but when you're asked to re-buy the same trauma in 4K every few years, fatigue is inevitable. There’s brilliance here – but also a strong sense of déjà vu. | © Sony Interactive Entertainment

Five Nights at Freddy’s

What started as a minimalist indie horror gem quickly exploded into a jumpscare industrial complex. Between mainline games, side stories, mobile spin-offs, novels, and a movie, this franchise has spread faster than the animatronics themselves. The creepy charm that once made it iconic has been dulled by sheer volume and lore so tangled it needs its own wiki team. For die-hard fans, there’s fun in the chaos – but even they’ll admit that quality control sometimes takes a backseat to content output. When each new title promises “answers” but delivers more questions, you start to wonder if we’re playing for fun or just trapped in the loop. | © Scott Cawthon20 Video Game Series Milked Dry

Skyrim (The Elder Scrolls V)

Let’s be clear – we’re not even talking about The Elder Scrolls franchise as a whole here. This is just about Skyrim, which has been released, remastered, re-released, and expanded so many times it’s become a running joke. From “Special Editions” to “Anniversary Editions” to countless mini-expansions and Creation Club content, the game has been milked harder than a Tamrielic cow. It’s not that Skyrim isn’t a great game – it’s that we’ve been playing it for over a decade while waiting for The Elder Scrolls VI to become more than a title card. The world is still magical, but the enthusiasm wears thin when you’ve Fus Ro Dah’d your way through the same dragons for the fifth time. | © Bethesda Softworks

Assassin’s Creed

Once a groundbreaking franchise that let players leap across rooftops and centuries, this series has gradually turned into a historical sightseeing simulator overloaded with side quests. What started with stealth, intrigue, and tight narrative arcs has evolved into bloated open worlds stuffed with to-do lists and gear scores. The historical settings are still stunning – no complaints there – but the formula has been stretched so far, it’s hard to tell one installment from the next. With each soft reboot, Ubisoft promises a return to form, yet the games often feel like they're chasing trends more than refining identity. Spin-offs, mobile titles, and planned live-service platforms only muddy the waters further. It's impressive in scope, sure – but when every map feels like work, the thrill of the leap fades. Assassin’s Creed needs a break – or at least a sharper blade. | © Ubisoft

Call of Duty

There was a time when Call of Duty stood for innovation in first-person storytelling. Now, it's the poster child for franchise fatigue. The annual release schedule has turned what used to be a major gaming event into a routine calendar note. Each new entry promises revamped gameplay, fresh modes, or a nostalgic callback – yet too often it’s just familiar chaos in a shinier wrapper. The multiplayer remains addictive, but it's also bloated with battle passes, skins, limited-time events, and mechanics that reset with each title. Even Warzone, once a breath of fresh air, has become tangled in convoluted updates and balance issues. The brand still prints money, but creatively, it’s been stuck in a holding pattern for years. At this point, even the loadouts are getting tired. | © Activision

Halo

Once the face of console-shaking sci-fi and multiplayer innovation, Halo has since become a checklist of remasters, micro-launches, and endless lore. You remember Halo: Combat Evolved – it reshaped the FPS genre. But today? It’s remastered collections, decade‑old campaigns reissued, and a constant “next big entry” that still feels recycling nostalgia. Expanded universe novels, TV adaptations, and a mobile spinoff stretch the brand further. While die-hard fans still chant "Finish the fight," the cinematic story momentum has faltered under franchise layering. When each installment leans heavily on fan service rather than bold innovation, even master Chief-level inertia sets in. | © Xbox Game Studios

Lego

From plastic bricks to console hits, the Lego game series once surprised with clever parodies and delightful crossovers. Now? The game catalog spans movies, superheroes, licensed IPs – Marvel, Star Wars, DC, Jurassic… the list goes on. Even original Lego worlds have become less frequent as studios chase familiar icons for guaranteed sales. The charm is there, but dilution follows when every brand has its own title now: Lego Harry Potter, Lego Avatar, Lego Indiana Jones… you get it. Every iteration offers buildable fun, but the surprise factor is lost in the endless conveyor belt of themed releases. At some point, the novelty bricks against brick fatigue. | © TT Games

Pokémon

Few franchises are as undeniably successful as Pokémon, but bite-sized creatures and endless expansions come with a cost. Each generation brings a new region, new Pokémon, and slightly updated mechanics – but core fans notice when innovation slows. Side titles, mobile spin-offs, remakes... you’ve got Pokémon Go, Legends, Scarlet/Violet, and everything in between. While nostalgia powers purchases, critics argue the brand leans harder on familiarity than fresh evolution. Competitive play is still alive, but fan exhaustion creeps in when “new” maps and mons feel like re-skins of familiar formulas. The Pokédex keeps expanding, and somehow so does the fatigue. | © The Pokémon Company

Resident Evil

Originally a spine-chilling pioneer of survival horror, Resident Evil has since veered into action-heavy sequel after sequel. Yes, we got stellar remakes of the classics – RE2, RE3, RE4 – that recaptured the original magic. But the mainline titles sometimes feel like bigger-budget action games in bioterrorism suits. Endless spin-offs, mobile games, cinematic universe tie-ins, and even theme park attractions have stretched the brand thin. Current fans debate: are these entries honoring horror roots, or just pumping adrenaline for spectacle? You still get Jillian exploration and zombies – but every blockbuster entry adds to a long legacy of going too big. | © Capcom

FIFA

It may be called EA Sports FC now, but let’s be honest – it’s still FIFA in everything but name. The franchise has been on an annual release treadmill for decades, and fans know the drill: new kits, slightly tweaked mechanics, a few buzzwords like "Hypermotion," and a shiny new cover athlete. Underneath it all? The same gameplay loop you’ve been playing for years. Ultimate Team continues to rake in cash while career mode quietly collects dust. Even with the licensing split, the DNA hasn’t changed – just the branding. It's still the same match day, same pitch, same fatigue for players hoping for genuine evolution. | © Electronic Arts

Mortal Kombat

The franchise that made spines a collectible item has come a long way since its arcade glory days – and sometimes, maybe too far. Mortal Kombat is still iconic, yes, but it’s also a franchise that’s been rebooted, retold, and repackaged more times than Scorpion has yelled “Get over here!” Each new release throws in more cinematic cutscenes, more elaborate fatalities, and more lore-stretching plot twists that turn what was once a simple fighting game into an operatic multiverse. And let’s not even start on the guest characters – from Rambo to Peacemaker. It’s undeniably entertaining, but when every entry feels like a reboot of a reboot, fans start asking if the franchise is evolving – or just trying to finish itself. | © NetherRealm Studios

Sonic the Hedgehog

At supersonic speed, it’s easy to lose your way – and Sonic the Hedgehog knows this better than most. The franchise went from 2D legend to 3D experiment to an unpredictable mash-up of mobile apps, Olympic team-ups, storybook spin-offs, and now Hollywood blockbuster fame. But with every new game comes the question: will this be the one to recapture Sonic’s magic? Sometimes it is. Often, it’s not. Sonic Team has tried everything – open worlds, RPG hybrids, even a werehog phase – and while there are bright spots, the core identity seems to keep slipping through the rings. There’s love for the blue blur, but also exhaustion from decades of trying to get it just right. | © Sega

Street Fighter

Throw a fireball, charge a super, release another version. Rinse, repeat. That’s been the loop for Street Fighter, a franchise that helped define the fighting genre and then... refused to stop defining it. Don’t get us wrong – the skill ceiling is still high and esports scene alive – but each generation arrives with “Ultra,” “Turbo,” or “Champion” editions not far behind. The roster rotations, the balance patches, the costume DLCs – it can feel like déjà vu dressed in a gi. Capcom’s efforts to modernize the visuals and mechanics are appreciated, but the formula hasn’t changed all that much since arcades ruled the earth. And that’s both its strength – and its fatigue point. | © Capcom

Mega Man

Mega Man has had more comebacks than boss stages. With dozens of mainline titles, spinoffs like Battle Network, and constant re-releases, the Blue Bomber has been kept alive more by nostalgia than new ideas. Fans have waited for years hoping for a fresh evolution, but the reality is: most releases are retro-style rehashes, compilation packs, or mobile experiments that rarely stick. There’s reverence for the series, sure – those tight platforming mechanics still work – but innovation has long since slowed. At some point, even diehard fans begin asking: is Mega Man charging up for something new, or just endlessly looping through old stages? | © Capcom

Final Fantasy

It’s ironic that a series named Final Fantasy has become one of the most enduring and overextended franchises in gaming history. What began as a breakthrough in JRPG storytelling has since sprawled into spin-offs, mobile tie-ins, gacha games, sequels to sequels, and now multi-part remakes of single games. Some of the recent entries – like XIV and XVI – are genuinely strong, but fatigue sets in when every release comes with layers of context, brand extensions, and franchise baggage. The music still hits, the cutscenes still dazzle, but fans are growing weary of waiting for the next “true” step forward. When a fantasy never ends, even magic starts to feel like obligation. | © Square Enix

Castlevania

What began as a gothic platformer with just a whip and Dracula has evolved into a sprawling mythos stocked with reboots, spin-offs, animated series, and alternate timelines. The franchise still brings nostalgia for heart-pounding stages and violin-heavy soundtracks, but the sheer volume of releases – from Circle of the Moon to Lords of Shadow – dilutes the original gothic simplicity. With each new title, Konami tries new gameplay loops – RPG mechanics, souped-up graphics, or episodic storytelling – but sometimes the feel gets lost in reinvention. As a result, long-time fans often long for that raw whip-on-bat simplicity. Even its Netflix adaptation can’t recapture the magic of flipping through the original levels at midnight. | © Konami

The Legend of Zelda

From The Legend of Zelda to Breath of the Wild and beyond, this franchise has shaped the action‑adventure genre – but its legacy has also grown into self-imposed weight. Every new installment faces massive expectations: world-altering mechanics, musical cues, nostalgia callbacks, and expanded storylines. When each entry must outdo its predecessor, fatigue sets in – not for gameplay innovation (Zelda still surprises) but for the relentless anticipation. Remasters like The Wind Waker HD and expansions like Tears of the Kingdom can feel both rewarding and familiar. Link’s silent heroism still resonates, but the franchise has become so vast that sometimes the simplicity of drawing the Master Sword feels buried under generations of hype. | © Nintendo

Mario

It’s hard to imagine that one plumber’s adventures could fill more cartridge space than a subway map – but here we are. Mario used to be simple, with platforming precision and pixel-perfect jumps. Now? There’s party games, kart races, sports spin-offs, educational apps, movie tie-ins, and even a mobile empire. The red hat remains iconic, but not every title rekaptures the joy that the original Super Mario Bros. delivered. Fans still love Mario with nostalgia-fueled zeal, but frequent repackaging – especially in remastered Switch ports – means the novelty fades fast. Even his mustache occasionally feels overworked. | © Nintendo

Donkey Kong

Once the underdog of oppressed ape and clumsy barrels, Donkey Kong has swung over many genres – platformer, kart racer, rhythm games, and even online multiplayer. The original arcade smash introduced Mario and laid the groundwork for a new kind of platformer. Now, DK is part of crossover party games or tropical fruit puzzles more than savage jungle runs. While Donkey Kong Country reboots have rekindled that side-scrolling glory, many spin-offs feel like quick brand blitzes rather than meaningful reinventions. Banjo and Diddy are still fun to control, but pieces of bongo-rhythm and barrel-blast fatigue are creeping in. | © Nintendo

Star Wars

This franchise’s galaxy stretches wider than any star map – and that’s both its strength and its flaw. Star Wars games began as arcade classics and have expanded into fighter sims, RPGs, VR experiences, and live-service sandboxes. While titles like Knights of the Old Republic enthralled with lore, others felt like empty ships launched poorly. EA’s licensed era added shooters and stale loot crates; fans survived nostalgia but occasionally lost hope. Franchise spin-offs even include collapsed projects, remastered ports, and VR betrayers like Battlefront II’s loot-box storm. The problem isn’t space – it’s overfilling it. The force is still strong, but jedi-level patience is wearing thin. | © LucasArts