Franchises

Dark fantasy action role-playing series from FromSoftware, created by Hidetaka Miyazaki. It began with Dark Souls in 2011 and continued with Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III.

Hack and slash action-adventure series created by Vigil Games and later continued by Gunfire Games. Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, each main game follows one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Techland action role-playing series published by Deep Silver. Survivors fight zombies in an open world, with melee combat, beginning on the fictional island of Banoi.

Team Ninja fighting franchise created by Tomonobu Itagaki, published by Tecmo and later Koei Tecmo. Fast 3D hand-to-hand combat built around the Triangle System—blows, throws, and holds—plus interactive Danger Zones, spanning mainline DOA entries and Xtreme spin-offs.

Action-adventure series created by Keiji Inafune. Capcom launched it in 2006; later entries were developed by Capcom Vancouver.

Science fiction horror series created by Glen Schofield and owned by Electronic Arts. Visceral Games developed most of the games around one continuing storyline.

2012 Tequila Works side-scrolling cinematic platform survival horror, originally published by Microsoft Studios. A Director's Cut followed in 2016 from Deep Silver.

Action game developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision. Daniel Way wrote it. It released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 in North America on 25 June 2013. Deadpool breaks the fourth wall while fighting alongside Cable and the X-Men against Mister Sinister. Activision removed it from digital stores when its Marvel license ended, then released PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions in November 2015 with the original downloadable content. Those versions were removed again on 16 November 2017.

Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions open-world action adventure series about reconnecting a fractured America after the Death Stranding, starring Sam Porter Bridges and the mysterious Beach.

NovaLogic tactical shooter series that pioneered large-scale outdoor FPS combat starting in 1998. Landmark entries include Land Warrior, Urban Warfare, and Black Hawk Down; later Xtreme titles and a long dormancy followed NovaLogic’s closure. TiMi / Team Jade revived the name in 2025 as a free-to-play multiplatform shooter with a remade Black Hawk Down campaign.

Bungie’s shared-world science-fantasy shooter. Destiny (2014) mixed raids, strikes, and Crucible PvP across last-gen and current-gen consoles; Destiny 2 (2017) expanded to PC and continues as a live-service title under Bungie after the Activision split, with annual expansions from Forsaken through The Final Shape and beyond.

Pandemic Studios / THQ Nordic comedy alien-invasion franchise starring Furon agent Crypto, from the 2005 originals through Path of the Furon and the Black Forest Games remakes.

Action role-playing series from Ion Storm and later Eidos-Montréal. First-person shooting, stealth, and augmentations in a cyberpunk future of conspiracies.

Capcom’s stylish action franchise starring demon hunters Dante, Nero, and allies — spanning the classic numbered games, the Ninja Theory reboot DmC, and Devil May Cry 5.

Blizzard action RPG dungeon crawler set in Sanctuary. From Diablo and Hellfire through Diablo II / Lord of Destruction, Diablo III / Reaper of Souls, Diablo Immortal, and Diablo IV with Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred expansions—loot-driven hack-and-slash against the Burning Hells.

Off-road racing series developed and published by Codemasters, following the Colin McRae Rally games. Colin McRae: DiRT released for Windows and Xbox 360 in Europe on 15 June 2007. After Colin McRae's death in September 2007, Codemasters used his name once more on Colin McRae: DiRT 2 in 2009, then dropped it for DiRT 3 in 2011. Later entries split between the arcade DiRT games, including Showdown and DiRT 5, and the simulation DiRT Rally games. Electronic Arts bought Codemasters in February 2021.

Arkane Studios’ immersive sim franchise of supernatural assassins in the Empire of the Isles. Players choose stealth or lethal approaches as Corvo, Emily, and Billie Lurk across Dishonored, its story DLC, Dishonored 2, and Death of the Outsider.

Larian Studios fantasy RPG franchise set in Rivellon, spanning Divine Divinity through Divinity II and the Original Sin games.

Nintendo platformer franchise starring the ape Donkey Kong, from the 1981 arcade debut through Rare’s Country trilogy, Retro’s Returns/Tropical Freeze, and Bananza.

First-person shooter franchise created by John Carmack, John Romero, and others at id Software. An unnamed space marine fights demons and the undead to stop an invasion of Earth.