Sony Might Finally Revive Classic PlayStation Franchises, but Fans Should Keep Expectations Grounded

The idea of Sony finally revisiting some of its older PlayStation franchises has started picking up steam again, and this time the conversation feels a little more serious than the usual fan wish lists. Following recent rumors that Infamous may return in some form, insider Nate the Hate added fuel to the fire, saying there is truth to Sony "exploring and considering reviving some of their older unused IPs."

That single statement immediately pushed longtime PlayStation fans into speculation mode. Names like MotorStorm, Sly Cooper, Ape Escape, SOCOM, Resistance, Killzone, and Warhawk all started circulating again. If you've been around since the PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3 era, it's easy to understand why people are excited. Sony built a massive catalog of recognizable franchises during those generations, but a large portion of them have been sitting untouched for years.

At the same time, there's also a pretty harsh reality attached to a lot of those older games, especially the multiplayer-focused ones. 

Franchises like Killzone, SOCOM, Resistance, and Warhawk were products of a very different era of online gaming. Back then, multiplayer titles didn't need to exist forever. You bought the game, played it for a while, and eventually moved on to something else. Modern AAA multiplayer games don't really work like that anymore.

If Sony decided to bring back Killzone today, for example, there's a strong chance it wouldn't simply return as the kind of straightforward shooter fans remember. It would probably be designed around live-service systems, long-term monetization, seasonal updates, and ongoing player engagement. That's simply the direction most major publishers move toward when they invest heavily in multiplayer projects.

What makes the situation even stranger is that Guerrilla Games, the studio behind Killzone, is already working on a live-service project, except it reportedly isn't connected to Killzone at all. Instead, Sony appears to be pushing a live-service Horizon project despite Horizon originally thriving as a single-player franchise. 

From a fan perspective, that decision still feels odd because Killzone already had multiplayer roots that could have naturally supported that kind of model.

Because of that, it's difficult to imagine Guerrilla returning to Killzone anytime soon. Once the current Horizon multiplayer project is out of the way, the studio will likely move directly toward Horizon 3 to continue and finish Aloy's story. That alone probably pushes any serious Killzone revival years down the line.

SOCOM faces a similar issue, although for different reasons. While older PlayStation fans still remember the franchise fondly, it's hard to tell whether the modern audience for SOCOM is actually large enough to justify the kind of budget Sony now expects from its major releases. 

Even if the series did return, it would almost certainly be reshaped into a live-service experience because Sony clearly sees multiplayer games through that lens now. The same logic applies to Resistance and Warhawk. Fans still love those franchises, but Sony's current strategy makes it difficult to picture them returning in the form people actually want.

That's why smaller-scale revivals feel far more realistic right now than entirely new AAA sequels.

An Infamous remaster, an Infamous Collection, or even full remakes of the first two games seem far more achievable in the near future than an entirely new installment. Those projects carry lower risk, require fewer resources, and still allow Sony to measure audience interest before committing to a massive new game.

And honestly, that approach probably makes the most sense. If Sony is truly still in the "exploring and considering" phase with these older IPs, then completely new entries are likely many years away. Modern development cycles are enormous. If a new Sly Cooper or Jak and Daxter game entered production today, there's a good chance you wouldn't actually see it until 2030 or later.

Collections and remasters, however, could arrive much sooner. An Infamous Collection within the next year or two feels realistic. A remaster of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time could also happen without requiring the same level of investment as a full sequel. Ratchet & Clank is another obvious candidate. 

A proper HD collection featuring the PS2 trilogy, Deadlocked, and even the Future games would probably generate strong interest from longtime PlayStation fans.

More importantly, these kinds of releases would help rebuild goodwill with some of Sony's most loyal players. A lot of longtime fans feel like PlayStation has spent this generation focusing too heavily on live-service ambitions while neglecting the franchises and experiences that originally built its reputation.

That frustration has only grown as Sony continues chasing trends dominated by games like Fortnite and Call of Duty. The argument often used is that because those games dominate player engagement charts, Sony needs its own live-service hits. But that logic doesn't necessarily hold up when applied to every studio and every franchise.

Sports games like Madden and NBA 2K also sell millions every year, yet nobody expects every publisher to suddenly start building competing sports franchises filled with Ultimate Team systems. Just because a specific style of game succeeds financially doesn't mean every studio needs to pivot entirely toward that business model.

The concern many PlayStation fans have now is that Sony keeps dedicating huge resources toward chasing the next big live-service success, despite the reality that only a handful of games can truly dominate players' time long term. Historically, PlayStation's identity was built around single-player games that delivered memorable experiences without asking for years of constant engagement.

That identity hasn't disappeared completely, but there's definitely a feeling that Sony drifted away from it for a while. 

Projects like Concord collapsing and multiple live-service cancellations have already forced the company to reassess some of its direction. There's now a growing belief among fans that failures in the live-service space could ultimately push Sony back toward the kind of experiences players originally connected with.

At the same time, there's also a larger conversation happening around PlayStation's development philosophy overall. Sony's first-party games are now some of the most visually advanced and expensive productions in the industry. Still, many players feel the graphical race is starting to hit diminishing returns. Games like Horizon Forbidden West already look incredible, and there's only so much more visual fidelity most people realistically care about.

Some fans would rather see Sony scale back the obsession with technical spectacle slightly if it meant studios could take more creative risks or revive smaller franchises more often. Not every PlayStation game needs to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to exist.

That's part of why the idea of remasters and collections keeps coming up. 

They're manageable projects that can fill release gaps, preserve older games, and reconnect players with franchises that have been dormant for years. Even something as straightforward as a Resistance Collection or Killzone campaign remaster would probably generate excitement without requiring Sony to reinvent those series completely.

Of course, expectations still need to stay grounded. A brand-new Infamous game or a full Killzone reboot probably isn't around the corner. If Sony revisits these franchises at all in the near future, smaller remastered collections handled by support studios feel far more realistic than giant new AAA productions. Still, after years of silence surrounding many of these franchises, even the possibility that Sony is finally looking back at its older catalog is enough to get longtime PlayStation fans paying attention again.