Best FPS Franchises That Are Finished

It’s always sad to see a once-prominent first-person shooter franchise start to fade in quality or even appear at all. Call of Duty is a franchise hard to imagine ever going away, but if the quality doesn’t rise soon, fans may start to abandon it. The sights are trained steadily on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

Sergeant William Pierson in Call Of Duty WW2

Once-Great FPS Game Franchises That Lost Their Identity Over Time

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By Tristan Jurkovich

For whatever reason, these shooters were eventually forgotten in large ways. While most of their developers or publishers have never said anything definitive about not making any more games, from sequels to remasters, it’s hard to see these shooter franchises return. There is always hope, though, and that’s what’s important.

Call Of Juarez

How The West Was Done

First Game: Call of Juarez (2006, EU)
Last Game: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (2013)

Call of Juarez started as a first-person shooter Western in 2006, which was actually the European release. Except for Call of Juarez: The Cartel, which was set in the modern age and poorly received, the three Western entries are all praised in their own way.

The last game was Call of Juarez: Gunslinger in 2013, which received a somewhat recent Switch port in 2019. The developer, Techland, still exists, so they could make a new game someday, but since 2015, they seem more interested in Dying Light, which is probably why Call of Juarez is done.

The Conduit

Mr. President?

First Game: The Conduit (2009)
Last Game: The Conduit 2 (2011)

The Conduit was a Wii-exclusive shooter series that was about aliens invading Washington. D.C. In the modern era. There are two games, with the sequel ending on a heck of a cliffhanger with a famous President that fans are still reeling from.

Technically, the last entry in the series was an Android-based conversion of the original in 2013, two years after the sequel was released. The developer, High Voltage Software, mostly exists now to port existing games to other hardware, which may be why fans shouldn’t hold their breath on The Conduit 3.

The Darkness

A Comic Book Shooter

First Game: The Darkness (2007)
Last Game: The Darkness 2 (2012)

The Darkness, as a concept, first appeared in 1996 in comics. It took over a decade, but a game was finally released in 2007, featuring a mobster, Jackie Estacado, being possessed by creatures that helped him in combat, from little fetch goblins to tentacles that could grab enemies.

The game received a sequel in 2012, with a new comic book aesthetic, and then that was it. Starbreeze Studios developed the first game while Digital Extremes made the sequel, and it seems unlikely that either company would want to try their hand at another game, given how long it has been.

Dishonored

A Spiritual Successor To Thief

First Game: Dishonored (2012)
Last Game: Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (2017)

Dishonored was like a spiritual successor to Thief, a classic atmospheric stealth series beloved by PC players. Every Dishonored game featured characters who would use special powers in open-ended gameplay stitched around assassinations.

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The series debuted in 2012, there was a major sequel in 2016, and the last game technically was a standalone experience tacked onto the sequel called Dishonored: Death of the Outsider in 2017. Arkane, and its other branches, still exist within Bethesda and Microsoft, and right now they are working on a Blade game for Marvel. So, a Dishonored sequel seems unlikely anytime soon.

Duke Nukem

All Out Of Bubblegum

First Game: Duke Nukem (1991)
Last Game: Duke Nukem Forever (2011)

Duke Nukem began as a side-scrolling action game in 1991 before making the big leap into first-person with Duke Nukem 3D in 1996. With plenty of spinoffs and ports, Duke Nukem stayed in the cultural zeitgeist for a few years, with rumors about a big new game being in limbo.

That sequel, Duke Nukem Forever, wouldn’t come out until 2011, and it seemingly ruined the franchise forever, and its current owner, Gearbox, does not seem interested in trying again. There is room out there for a parody-based shooter, and Duke Nukem could be the one if someone had a good idea for a sequel.

Red Steel

The Wii’s Samurai Western Exclusive Series

First Game: Red Steel (2006)
Last Game: Red Steel 2 (2010)

Red Steel consists of the original game, which is set in the modern day, and Red Steel 2, which is set in the Old West. Both games were developed by Ubisoft Paris, with the initial entry being a launch title for the Wii, which was met with thin praise.

However, the sequel, which took advantage of the Wii MotionPlus add-on, made the motion controls work much better. Since Ubisoft, in general, has a lot on its plate at the moment, it’s probably safe to say that anything unrelated to Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, or Tom Clancy is going to be largely ignored for the time being.

Perfect Dark

SO CLOSE

First Game: Perfect Dark (2000)
Last Game: Perfect Dark Zero (2005)

Perfect Dark is a Rare treat, literally, which was their N64 shooter follow-up to their wildly popular adaptation of Golden Eye 007. Rare followed up this spy thriller with a prequel, Perfect Dark Zero, in 2005, just in time to launch alongside the Xbox 360. For decades, fans have wished for a sequel, and then in 2020, it seemed like their wish was going to come true.

An untitled Perfect Dark game that appeared at The Game Awards in 2020 was being developed by a new studio, The Initiative, alongside Crystal Dynamics in a collaborative effort. Unfortunately, Microsoft canned the project earlier in 2025, so it’s back to the drawing board now.

F.E.A.R.

Call Of Ghost Duty

First Game: F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon (2005)
Last Game: F.E.A.R. Online (2014)

The F.E.A.R. Series began in 2005, featuring a seemingly normal tactical shooter until supernatural connections started to unfurl. While there were expansions, the main series was a trilogy of shooters, with the second being regarded as the best one.

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The last game is largely unconnected to the main trilogy, F.E.A.R. Online, which was a free-to-play shooter released in 2014 and shut down in 2015. The franchise was started by Monolith Productions, which was shut down by Warner Bros. Earlier in 2025, meaning that chances for a F.E.A.R. Sequel or reboot are slim.

Medal Of Honor

The OG Overtaken

First Game: Medal of Honor (1999)
Last Game: Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (2020)

Medal of Honor set its sights on the PS1 in 1999, featuring a World War 2 campaign unlike any other, and it was a big hit for consoles everywhere, leading to numerous sequels.

Most games are about World War 2, although in the PS3 era, they went modern, which is where things started to fall short with Medal of Honor: Warfighter getting raked over the coals in 2012. There was a long gap until 2020’s Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, which was a VR game and also not well-received, which is probably why EA is no longer interested in continuing the franchise.

Battlefield: Bad Company

A Literal Blast

First Game: Battlefield: Bad Company (2008)
Last Game: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (2010)

The Battlefield series started in 2002 with Battlefield 1942, but one of the most popular spin-offs, Battlefield: Bad Company, would not get off the ground until 2008. It was a more humorous group of soldiers with the added bonus of having destructible environments, which is why it gained mild popularity within the series.

There were only two games, not counting expansions, and then that was it. Like most Battlefield games, these spinoffs were developed by DICE, which is continuing the franchise for EA in what seems to be a make-or-break situation with Battlefield 6.