In the 12 years that separated 1997 and 2009, Rockstar Games developed six mainlineGrand Theft Autotitles, four sizable expansions, and four spinoff games. In the 12 years since 2009, however, there has been only one:GTA V. It’s a game that has now sold more than 150 million copies and will soon have beenreleased across three different console generations. With no clear news regarding the game’s sequel though, fans are beginning to get a little frustrated.
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It’s now been almost eight years since the release ofGTA V, and althoughGTA Onlinecontinues to receive regular updates, manyGrand Theft Autofans are chomping at the bit for a new game. It could always be worse though, asElder Scrollsfans can likely attest, though fans of both series will no doubt be hoping that they’re not made to wait quite as long for a new game as the fans of these other big gaming franchises.
10Pikmin 3 (9 Years)
Despite Nintendo’s enthusiasm for the series,Pikmin’s impact on the gaming industry was nowhere near as dramatic as some ofthe company’s other big-hitting IPs. That said, it still sold well enough to warrant a sequel, which was released for the GameCube in 2004 some three years on from the original.
Though the first two games were re-released for the Wii under the New Play Control! banner, series fans were made to wait nine years for a true sequel toPikmin 2. Things haven’t gotten any easier forPikminfans since then either, with eight years having now passed sincePikmin 3and no clear signs of a fourth game being imminent.
9Fallout 3 (10 Years)
Just 384 days separated the North American releases of the first twoFalloutgames, both of which were incredibly well received by players and critics alike. A couple of Brotherhood of Steel-inspired spinoff games followed over the course of the next six years, but a true sequel toFallout 2took quite a bit longer.
Fallout 3was eventually released on July 05, 2025, which just so happened to be the day before the ten-year anniversary of its predecessor’s release. Given the myriad of changes that the title brought with it, it’s perhaps understandable why it took so long to make. Reviewers responded well to the new style, with the title going on to win several Game of the Year awards.
8Star Fox Zero (10 Years)
Nintendo has accrued a fantastic libraryof first-party exclusivesover the years, but not all of them always get the love that they truly deserve.Pikmin,Donkey Kong, andF Zerohave all been neglected in recent times, as too has Fox McCloud and the rest of hisStar Foxteam.
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GivenShigeru Miyamoto’s personal connection to the series, it’s a little surprising that so little has been done with the franchise since it barrel-rolled its way onto the scene in the early nineties. Releases have been sporadic, with a full decade separating the launches ofStar Fox CommandandStar Fox Zero. The latter was released five years ago now, and there’s still no sign of a sequel.
7Street Fighter IV (11 Years)
Modern fighting games owe an awful lot to Capcom’sStreet Fighterseries. Together with the likes ofVirtua Fighter,Tekken, andMortal Kombat,Ryu and co played a pivotal role in shaping the genre, especially during the nineties. When updated versions are taken into account, there are scores ofStreet Fightergames. As far as mainline entries go though, there have been only five in just under three and a half decades.
With an average wait of around seven years between entries, those hoping to receive news regardingStreet Fighter VIanytime soon may well find themselves disappointed. It could always be worse though, with fans once made to wait 11 full years forStreet Fighter IVfollowing its predecessor’s 1997 release.
6Doom (12 Years)
Much likeStreet Fighter,Doomis a genre-defining series that’s still going strong today. id Software’s 1993 titlelaid the groundworkonto which many future first-person shooters would build. This includes the game’s own sequel, which was released less than one year on from its predecessor. After that, however, things went a bit quiet.
It took ten years for a true sequel toDoom II: Hell on Earthto arrive, withDoom 3releasing for Windows in 2004. Another long wait followed for fans, as despite a number of spinoffs, re-releases, and mobile titles, it wasn’t untilDoom(2016) that a new mainlineDoomtitle saw the light of day.
5Flight Simulator (14 Years)
MicrosoftFlight Simulatoris one ofthe longest-running video game franchises of all time. The series' first entry, which was released in 1982, actually predates Windows and ran on its own custom operating system. Since its release, there have been 13 moreFlight Simulatortitles, with the most recent coming in 2020.
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It’s worth noting, however, that of the 14Microsoft Flight Simulatorgames, all but one were released between 1982 and 2006. The 14-year gap betweenFlight Simulator XandFlight Simulator(2020) shows just how much work went into the latest release, which also happens to bethe firstMFSgame to make its way to consoles.
4Pilotwings Resort (15 Years)
Pilotwingsmay not be Nintendo’s most popular IP, but that’s not to say that it doesn’t still have its fair share of fans. The series started life on the SNES in the early nineties, before returning to serve as one of just twoNorth American launch titles for the Nintendo 64some six years later.
It was perhaps the N64’s limited library around the time of its release that helpedPilot Wings 64to become as popular as it did. Unfortunately, however, despite selling more than a million units, fans of the flight simulation game had to wait until 2011 for a newPilot Wingsgame, which was finally released for the 3DS after a 15-year gap.
3Killer Instinct (17 Years)
There was a brief window in the mid-nineties whenKiller Instinctwas the undisputed king of the arcade. Its high-octane combat and stunning visuals were incredibly impressive for the era and subsequent releases for the SNES and N64 were equally impressive.
After Microsoft’s acquisition of Rare, however, the series slipped into a long hiatus, with 17 years separating the releases ofKiller Instinct GoldandKiller Instinct(2013) for the Xbox One. The latter went on to receive a Windows release in 2016, but since then, there’s been very little news about the franchise’s fate.
2Shenmue 3 (18 Years)
Whenlegendary Japanese developerYu Suzuki took to the stage at Sony’s 2015 E3 presentation, it felt for a moment as if the stars had finally aligned. At that point, fans of theShenmueseries had been waiting 14 long years for a sequel toShenmue 2, a game that itself took a while to make its way to North American shores due to the death of the Dreamcast.
Four years and arecord-breaking Kickstarter campaignlater,Shenmue 3was released for PS4 and PC: 18 years on from its predecessor’s European and Japanese Dreamcast debut. A lukewarm critical response to the game has once again left the future of the series in doubt, though that hasn’t deterred Suzuki, who has vowed to stop at nothing until his epic saga is complete.
1Streets Of Rage 4 (26 Years)
Companies like Nintendo and Konami often catch a lot of criticism forneglecting their IPs, but Sega is arguably just as guilty in this regard. The company currently holds the rights to countless beloved franchises, yet aside from releasing the occasionalSonicorYakuzatitle, does very little with them. Thankfully, the developer is at least willing to license its IPs out, which is exactly what happened withStreets of Rage 4.
The originalStreets of Ragetrilogy was released between 1991 and 1994 and made a name for itself as one ofthe best beat ‘em up series out there. As the popularity of the genre began to wane, however, the franchise slowly faded away into obscurity. That was until Dotemu approached Sega about licensing the IP, anyway, withStreets of Rage 4ultimately arriving more than a quarter of a century on from the series’ third entry.
