Original Saints Row designer says unloved 2022 reboot “missed the mark”, but the big news is Embracer wants him to pitch a revival

Original Saints Row design director Chris Stockman has revealed he wants to revive the open-world crime series following the poorly recieved 2022 reboot, and claims publisher Embracer Group has reached out to hear more.

Stockman departed developer Volition (which was closed in 2023 as part of devastating layoffs across Embracer) in 2007, shortly after Saints Row 1’s release. Following stints at Human Head Studios and Zynga, he founded VR-focused studio Bit Planet Games, known for the likes of Ultrawings and The Battle of Sol. But nearly 20 years after Saints Row 1’s release, Stockman reckons he still knows what makes the series work – and it wasn’t in the recent reboot.

“There’s a level of expectations for a Saints Row game, and [developer Volition’s reboot] missed the mark on all of them”, Stockman recently told Esports Insider. “When I found out that they were rebooting Saints Row, I spoke to an old friend of mine who was my old boss for Saints Row 1. He was the producer, and I was learning about what they were doing, and I thought, ‘Man, this is a terrible idea.’ What is it trying to be? You’re rebooting it, but why are you rebooting it? There’s a lot of characters in the series that people love. It wasn’t Saints Row at all. Just call it something else at that point.”

In the same interview, Stockman encouraged Saints Row owner Embracer to reach out, saying, “If you’re listening to this, contact me. Let’s go. I can bring much of the old band back together who worked on Saints Row 1. I could turn that IP around with a decent budget. They don’t even have to fund it. I could get other outside people to fund it. I could turn the franchise around. I know I could.” And it seems Embracer is curious to learn more.

“Guys and Gals, I have hopeful news!,” Stockman wrote on the Saints Row subreddit. “I’ve been asked to create a pitch for a Saints Row reboot! I can’t say anything more than that but my dreams for this game just became a little more than just dreams!” Stockman later told PCGamesN, he’d contacted Embracer himself after the original interview “created a bit of a fervour”, and discovered “there is interest” within the company. “A pitch has been requested.”

As for what Stockman has in mind for a potential revival, he “won’t say much” at this point as he want to “keep my cards close to my chest, for now.” However, he’s keen to “bring the Saints Row franchise back to its roots”, believing it has “strayed way too far away from that.” He’s also confirmed he’s not envisaging it as a VR game and that he won’t be bringing back the series’ (at this point pretty iconic) giant dildos if Embracer bites. “I would’ve never put that abomination of a weapon in”, he added on Reddit.

And despite Stockman’s current caginess, his earlier Esports Insider interview might reveal a little of what he’s got in mind. “What I would have done [for the reboot] was to take the franchise back to the 70s and do a period piece,” he explained, “a prequel of how the gangs from the first one started. You’re running around with a crew of teens that ended up as the main characters for the first game. You could really go all in on the 70s theme with big Afros, bell-bottoms, and the music of that whole period. I’d have taken it into a different direction so you’re not competing with the modern-day GTA games.”