There are many wonderful video games that lend themselves well to the possibility of a sequel. Perhaps it’s a cliffhanger to the story, or perhaps it’s the chance to improve on or explore different gameplay elements. Developers have flagship franchises for a reason: the amassed fanbase that can’t wait to explore what they can come up with next.

It is a blend of characters, gameplay, art styles, and so many other factors that cause us all to crave a new entry. And 2019, like any year, will see many beloved franchises return with what will undoubtedly be strong installments. Whether you can’t wait to experience the stunning brutality of Mortal Kombat 11, the charming delight of Yoshi’s Crafted World, the hack-and-slash gameplay of Devil May Cry 5, or if you’re simply looking for your next Pokémon fix, 2019 has got you covered.

But those sequels are to be expected. 2019 will also see follow-ups to games that some could argue don’t need to be made. Or follow-ups to titles that came out so long ago, you might wonder why someone would choose to make them with how much games have been able to evolve. That’s absolutely not to say these games will be bad, or even that the originals were (though in some cases, that’s the truth.) But there are some sequels coming out this year that, no matter how you feel about them, are a bit surprising. Here are 25 video game sequels coming soon that no one asked for.

25 Shenmue III

Via: denofgeek.com

Don’t get me wrong. Shenmue I & II undoubtedly hold special places in the hearts of their fans. And those fans were probably aching for a conclusion to Ryo’s tale for a few years after the second game’s release. But that was back in 2001.

While critically successful, neither game made nearly enough money to recoup what it took to make them. And Kickstarter games such as this can vary wildly in quality. Factor in two delays and the many games released since that have perfected the genre, and Sony will need more than nostalgia for Shenmue III to work.

Release Date: August 27th, 2019

24 Rage 2

Via: gamewatcher.com

The original Rage was released by Bethesda in 2010 and focused on a soldier who emerged from hibernating in a shelter to a post-apocalyptic world that was destroyed by a meteor and had to fight against a tyrannical group called The Authority. Needless to say, it wasn’t that original of a story.

The well-received gameplay, however, made Bethesda believe it warranted a sequel which was announced at E3 2018. Rage is by no means a bad game, it’s just a little out of left field considering the studio’s other massive franchises.

Release Date: May 14th, 2019

23 Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order

Via: denofgeek.com

While technically a stand-alone adventure, any Star Wars game could be considered a sequel of something. EA’s next dive into the galaxy far, far away will focus on a lone Jedi sometime between episodes III and IV after most Jedi have been wiped out.

There are about a billion videos on YouTube proving that many fans are unhappy with how EA has treated Star Wars. One aspect that’s grounds for excitement is the development team working on it: Respawn. They’re the same group behind Titanfall and Apex Legends, so the gameplay at least should be pretty fantastic.

Release Date: November 15, 2019

22 System Shock 3

Via: otherside-e.com

Clearly, not every sequel releasing in 2019 has roots in a poorly received first entry. In fact, there are a plethora of games releasing this year that come from long dormant franchises. System Shock 3, for example, will belong to a series that helped spawn some terrific FPS/RPG hybrids like BioShock and Deus Ex.

But the second game in the series was released way back in 1999. There’s no way a third game was on anyone’s minds, unless you’ve been following the behind-the-scenes problems that have seen it bounce between publishers since 2015.

Release Date: Late 2019

21 Battletoads

Via: denofgeek.com

Another dormant franchise returning in 2019 is Battletoads, the 90s-tastic beat ‘em up starring three toads with minor shapeshifting abilities. It’s safe to say that everyone was pretty surprised when the revival was announced at Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference.

Especially since the last game came out in 1994. These games feature notoriously brutal difficulty and, more importantly, were developed by Rare. The studio is a far cry away from what it was 20 years ago. Sea of Thieves had an underwhelming launch to say the least, so it may be best if fans don’t get their hopes too high.

Release Date: TBA 2019

20 Streets of Rage 4

Via: techradar.com

Revivals are all the rage, it seems. A totally different beat ‘em up series returning this year will be Streets of Rage, which also hasn’t seen a proper installment since 1994. The previous entries are fun enough as you and your friends could clean up the crime-ridden streets one bad guy at a time. And each character does have strengths and weaknesses.

But it’s a product of the 90s and seeing it return just seems like an out-of-left-field idea. It’ll probably be fun for a couple hours, but the announcement only elicited one question for me: Why?

Release Date: TBA 2019

19 Tom Clancy's The Division 2

The Division 2 Gameplay
via: youtube.com

Tom Clancy’s The Division was yet another dystopian shooter and took place in a quarantined NYC after an outbreak of smallpox. The gameplay was generally well-received, scoring critically around 80 on Metacritic with a user score of 7. It didn’t exactly break new ground.

But it did sell a ton of copies, so Ubisoft naturally greenlit a sequel. Average games can sell well all the time, so this seems like a “may as well” decision on Ubisoft’s part. Unlike in 2016, however, there are more anticipated games releasing within the same window. So hopefully Division 2 brings something more unique.

Release Date: March 15th, 2019

18 Cat Quest II: The Lupus Empire

Via: nintendowire.com

What’s that? You haven’t heard of this top-down, indie RPG starring cats? Well then you aren’t alone, because I hadn’t either. The first game was released in 2017 to okay reviews, scoring around the mid-70s on Metacritic.

The story followed the feline hero as he tried to rescue his lost sister and featured real-time combat and some dungeon crawling elements. With a campaign that could be completed in a fairly short amount of time and an abundance of cat puns, it doesn’t really seem like a sequel was necessary.

Release Date: TBA 2019

17 Two World III

Via: v1.escapistmagazine.com

Hoo boy, talk about a troubled franchise. The 2007 original in this fantasy action RPG series didn’t do so hot, with the X-Box 360 version in particular being criticized for a plethora of bugs and abysmal voice acting. And yet, a sequel was made. And to be fair, it did do better with critics. But then we all found out that publisher Topware was pressuring review sites against giving scores under 7. Yikes. A third installment has been in the works since 2016, but I must wonder who’s excited about it.

Release Date: TBA 2019

16 Team Sonic Racing

Via: pushsquare.com

Even if this was an entry in the main series, that’s a franchise that has continuously let down its fans. Outside of 2017’s wonderful Sonic Mania, it’s a series that many regard as being well past its prime. But this is a kart racer spin-off.

Other kart racers starring the blue blur normally fail to garner positive reviews with the majority of them residing in the 50s or 60s on Metacritic (2012’s Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed being the exception.) With Mario Kart 8 and the Crash Team Racing remaster releasing a month afterwards, why bother with this?

Release Date: May 21st, 2019

15 Watch Dogs 3

Via: gameparty.net

The original Watch Dogs was famously criticized for featuring graphics that were vastly inferior to what was shown off in trailers. Not only that, but the main character was boring and the story was predictable. The gameplay, which focused heavily on hacking and stealth, was its saving grace.

And for the sequel, Ubisoft wisely chose to focus on a different character and setting. However, it didn’t sell nearly as well as the first did, most likely because too many had already been disappointed. So the all but confirmed rumors about Watch Dogs 3 are surprising.

Release Date: TBA 2019

14 Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

Via: pcgamesn.com

Released in 2008, Mount & Blade was a single-player action RPG on the PC that strangely didn’t feature a story. Players could roam around a medieval sandbox environment, joining factions and leading sieges. The battles were fun, but there wasn’t much there in terms of depth.

Fortunately, the 2010 sequel added in multiplayer. Unfortunately, it didn’t add much else and received only slightly better reviews. It did provide modders hours of entertainment. But as it was released 9 years ago, I doubt anyone was clamoring for a new one.

Release Date: TBA 2019

13 EA Cricket 2019

Via: YouTube.com - EA Sports Cricket Videos

To be fair, there is an incredibly niche yet passionate group of people that still play EA Cricket 07, the last game released in the franchise. But also to be fair, EA is one of the most despised publishing companies in gaming.

It’s the amount of people that still play overseas where the sport is popular that has made EA rethink cancelling this series. A new game was announced in 2017, giving EA time to get rights to all the players. But unless you’re a die hard Cricket fanatic, you probably don’t care about another EA sports game.

Release Date: TBA 2019

12 The Surge 2

Via: game-insider.com

Yep, it’s another sci-fi dystopian franchise getting a sequel in 2019. The Surge focused on a world where humans had used up all of the Earth’s resources and battled each other using powerful exoskeletons. The gameplay was action-oriented with some light RPG elements, similar to the Souls series. It was good, but not great.

Critics seemed to agree as the game scored in the low 70s on Metacritic. So the fact that it’s getting a sequel, and so soon after the first’s release, is a bit surprising.

Release Date: TBA 2019

11 Payday: Crime War

Via: Microsoft

Payday is a cooperative FPS series where players team up to steal money, people, or valuable objects on heists. It’s nowhere near the most popular FPS series, but both games have done well enough that a third is currently in development. This is not that game.

This is a mobile game that Starbreeze Studios is releasing with the help of Universal to accrue some finances after their The Walking Dead game sold so poorly. Players can choose to side between cops and robbers, but it’ll most likely still be a watered-down version of what they really want.

Release Date: TBA 2019

10 Windjammers 2

Via: rockpapershotgun.com

The first Windjammers is a Pong-like disc throwing game originally released on the Neo Geo in 1994 so there is absolutely no way you were asking for a sequel to it. Each of the six playable characters had different stats and special throws. But outside of that, there wasn’t that much special about it.

So when a sequel was announced during a Nintendo Direct focusing on Nindies, many were probably surprised. Sure, the first game saw a minor resurgence in popularity after it was re-released on PS4 and PS Vita, but this was wholly unexpected.

Release Date: TBA 2019

9 Freedom Planet 2

Via: store.steampowered.com

One must only look on any platform’s e-shop to notice the popularity of retro inspired platformers or metroidvanias. Freedom Planet, which took heavy inspiration both in terms of gameplay and graphics from classic Sonic titles, reviewed and sold well when it was released in 2014.

But in the five years since, the amount of retro inspired games has increased astronomically. With so many of them being deemed as “must play,” you’d be forgiven for forgetting about this one’s existence. And I can’t help but play devil’s advocate and wonder how much this sequel will be able to stand out from the pack.

Release Date: TBA 2019

8 ELEX 2

Via: wccftech.com

Another post-apocalyptic game, but at least it wasn’t set on Earth. ELEX took place on Magalan, a planet devastated by a comet. But that comet brought with it the titular element, which gave inhabitants magical abilities and powered their machines. Your character could join one of three factions as they battled over how to move the planet forward.

Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, it was… outside of the bugs it shipped with and the unbalanced combat that tested your patience as you slogged forward. The sequel will probably fix these problems, but I doubt it’s something people were craving.

Release Date: TBA 2019

7 Spelunky 2

Via: vg247.com

Another one of the indie platformers that was heavily inspired by retro games, but one that arguably helped lead the charge to what we have today. Spelunky was a platformer with procedurally generated rooms. Players took control of a nameless protagonist as he explored underground tunnels in search of treasure.

The game was a ton of fun and reviewed well. But it was released in 2008, so it’s likely no one was asking for or expecting a sequel when it was announced a decade later. However, like the original, it will be free to play.

Release Date: TBA 2019

6 MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

Via: pcgamer.com

Far from the actual fifth entry in the franchise, this mech battling game will be part of the Battle Tech universe. But within the MechWarrior storyline, there hasn’t been a proper entry since 2002’s MechWarrior 4: Vengeance.

This series has normally sold and reviewed well, though the entire franchise has had multiple developers work on different titles. MechWarrior 5’s Piranha Games developed 2013’s MechWarrior Online, which received okay reviews. However, with a mysterious Titanfall release teased for later this year, it’s hard to tell if this will be able to gain an audience.

Release Date: September 10th, 2019