Sega Plans To Revive "Major IPs"

Sega is looking to bring back some of its "major" unused game franchises, the company revealed in a recent business presentation.

Following its earnings report for the most recent fiscal year, Sega Sammy shared its "Road to 2020" presentation, which outlines the company's plans to utilize and expand its catalog of IPs in order to create more global hits. In the "packaged games" sector, Sega Sammy will double down on its existing properties and look to "obtain" new ones "for North American and European PC games." The publisher also plans to "promote global development" by organizing studios around IPs: Phantasy Star, Puyo Puyo, and Persona were singled out as the major franchises of its domestic studios, while Sonic, Company of Heroes, and Dawn of War are the driving forces of its North America developers. Total War, Football Manager, and the Endless series, meanwhile, are the main focus of its European division.

Most interestingly, the presentation also revealed that Sega Sammy is planning a "revival of major IPs." While the company didn't go into details about which of its dormant IPs it plans on revitalizing, there's no shortage of franchises it could potentially bring back, like Shinobi, Panzer Dragoon, and Jet Set Radio. Obsidian, the studio behind Sega's Alpha Protocol, also commented on the news via Twitter, though the tweet seems more like a good-natured joke than an explicit tease for a new installment.

Things were looking up for Sega from its previous fiscal year. Persona 5 and Total War: Warhammer were two of the publisher's biggest recent successes, while Phantasy Star Online 2 continued to perform well in Japan (though Sega still hasn't said anything further on the game's Western release). Sega also finally confirmed it is bringing Platinum's cult classic shooter Vanquish to Steam, and the publisher still has two new Sonic games on the way this year: the retro-styled Sonic Mania (which recently got a new gameplay trailer showing off the Flying Battery Zone), and Sonic Forces, a new 3D installment that features both modern and classic Sonic gameplay (similar to Sonic Generations). Both titles are in development for PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC.