Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is “the First Step of a Franchise” – Don’t Nod

gamingbolt.com:

In the early months of 2024, most conversation has been dominated by heavyweights such as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload, and Dragon’s Dogma 2 (among others), but a relatively smaller-scale game that’s captured the attention of quite a few people in spite of the busy period it launched in is Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. Don’t Nod’s action RPG launched in February for PC and consoles, and was met with acclaim by critics and audiences alike. But given the success it enjoyed on the critical front, might Don’t Nod be looking to expand on the IP with future sequels?

According to narrative director Stéphane Beauverger, that’s certainly a possibility. Speaking in a recent interview with MP1st, when asked if Don’t Nod is planning on developing DLC or sequels for Banishers, Beauverger said that as a rule, the studio always looks at new games as “the first step of a franchise”, and that in his role, thinking about future stories in a universe is part of his job.

“We always consider our games as the first step of a franchise,” Beauverger said. “As a Narrative director, it is part of my job to think ahead about future possible games taking place in the same universe. But such decisions are not made only by creative teams, more teams are included in the process.”

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily suggest that Don’t Nod has a Banishers sequel in the works already, but it’s clear that the studio is at least prepared for the possibility of one. Hopefully, the first game will be successful enough from a commercial perspective to warrant a sequel.

In our review of the game, we awarded it a score of 8/10, saying, “Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden might not be revolutionary in anything that it does, and from a gameplay standpoint, it can sometimes feel a bit too straightforward for its own good, but with a well-realized setting, captivating story, excellent protagonists, and genuinely compelling choice-and-consequence moments, it’s an easy