Revitalizing Saints Row's Humor to Reach a Wider Audience

The Saints Row series initially seemed to follow in the footsteps of Grand Theft Auto, but as the GTA series took a darker, more realistic turn, Saints Row carved its own path. By the end of the series, players had experienced a wide range of over-the-top antics, from gaining superpowers to wielding bizarre weapons. However, the latest installment of Saints Row, set to release on PC and consoles, takes a different approach. While still maintaining some of its signature humor, the game now resembles a Hollywood action movie, complete with shootouts, car chases, and stunts, as players build a new Saints gang in the fictional city of Santo Ileso. This change in tone has sparked debate among fans, but according to principal producer Rob Loftus, the shift was a deliberate creative choice aimed at broadening the game's appeal. The studio sought to create a type of humor that would resonate with a larger audience, moving away from the series' previous style. Loftus notes that societal tastes have changed over time and that the original Saints Row games were products of their era. The new approach focuses on connecting with players through a more universally suitable humor. The decision to alter the game's tone was not driven by external pressures, but rather by the studio's own desire to evolve and expand its audience. Franchise creative director Brian Traficante emphasizes that the team was never given a checklist of topics to avoid, but instead focused on understanding what players connected with in the past and how to recreate that connection in the present. The game's comedy is designed to be surprising and unexpected, with a focus on cleverness and clever twists. Traficante also highlights the importance of ensuring that the game's humor is not harmful, a principle that has guided the studio's approach from the outset. The shift in tone was also influenced by the studio's experience with Agents of Mayhem, a 2017 spin-off that failed to impress critics and generate significant sales. The team learned valuable lessons from this project, which helped shape their approach to the new Saints Row. Another factor was the series' increasingly outlandish narrative, which had become difficult to top. The studio decided to take a step back and reboot the series, introducing a new cast of characters and a fresh storyline. The default character, a young Black woman, marks a significant departure from the typical protagonist seen in AAA titles. The studio felt it was time to make this change, and the character has become a central figure in the game's identity. As for the future, Volition is open to exploring other franchises, such as Red Faction, and is not limiting itself to open-world Saints Row-type games. The studio's strength lies in its ability to develop games across multiple genres, and it will look to leverage this experience to create new and exciting projects.