Back in 2012, Radical Entertainment gave gamers the wild world of Prototype 2, allowing them to shapeshift and wreak havoc as Sgt. James Heller. Those who played the game absolutely loved the concept, and wanted more entries in the franchise.
Radical thought a third entry could be the last game for the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3, or a launch title for the then-new consoles, the PS4 and Xbox One. However, Prototype 2 sales were underwhelming, leading to the threequel being shelved. Over a decade later, though, Xbox owns the IP, and bringing Prototype 3 back could significantly sway market share their way.
Prototype 2‘s Middling Sales Led To The End Of Radical
As reported by Kotaku back in the day, Radical’s parent company issued a press release stating their reasons for putting the Prototype series on ice:
Although we made a substantial investment in the Prototype IP, it did not find a broad commercial audience. Radical is a very talented team of developers, however, we have explored various options for the studio, including a potential sale of the business, and have made a difficult conclusion through the consultation process that the only remaining option is a significant reduction in staff. As such, some employees will remain working for Radical Entertainment supporting other existing Activision Publishing projects, but the studio will cease development of its own games going forward.
This gutting news was effectively the final nail in the coffin for the Prototype franchise. Fans were bummed and left wondering what could have been.
An Xbox Reboot Of Prototype Would Be Majorly Successful
Fast-forward to today, and the Prototype series has remained stagnant. One thing that’s gotten hotter, though, is the battle between Xbox and PlayStation. Sony gained significant momentum during the PS4 generation with a constant onslaught of exclusives that critics love, and they seem keen on doing the same with the PS5.
Xbox, however, finds it harder and harder to keep up. The disastrous Xbox One generation hampered trust in the brand, and even though they’ve made big improvements this generation, with stronger hardware and huge acquisitions, they’re still behind the Japanese juggernaut in market share. This is where the idea of Prototype 3 as an Xbox exclusive kicks in.
Microsoft closed their Activision Blizzard acquisition last October after a lengthy 18-month long legal battle with Sony and regulators. Since then, many have been wondering which dormant Activision IPs Xbox could revive. Turns out, Prototype is one of them, and bringing it back as an Xbox and PC exclusive would be huge.
The Prototype series was famous for its flamboyant, flashy powers and ridiculously fun traversal. A potential third entry could benefit so much from the hardware advancements of the Xbox Series X/S. Mind-blowing graphics, realistic open-world destruction mechanics, and detailed physics are only the beginning of what’s possible.
With game development costs ballooning, it may be quite expensive to fund an ambitious game like this, but the possible rewards are huge. An Xbox-exclusive Prototype 3 would be a game-changer, giving fans the continuation they wanted all those years ago. The sheer goodwill alone makes the idea seem worth it.
While Prototype 3 may have been a missed chance in the past, it’s time for it to come back, even more so with all the reboots and remakes of classic franchises these days. The threequel has a serious chance of tipping the scales in the console war, as well as reinvigorating the love many had for the franchise all those years ago.
