The reboot of the Saints Row series, which was released last year and received mixed reviews from both press and fans, was almost a direct sequel to Saints Row 4. However, this idea was discarded in the early stages of development. This was revealed by an anonymous worker who was involved in the game’s development on Matt McMuscles’ YouTube channel, What Happened?.

According to the developer, the original idea in late 2017 was for the reboot to be a sequel or reboot of Saints Row, but based on the ending of Saints Row 4. The same characters would be kept and the story would involve the player rebuilding their gang empire from scratch, as the characters would be in a strange dimension or in the past based on the ending of Saints Row 4. However, there were many adjustments made for the story to make sense, and unplanned missions were added during the game’s production cycle to further develop and deepen the characters.

The development of Saints Row was plagued with difficulties, such as crunch and lack of cohesive ideas, which led to many people losing faith in the project and the studio constantly losing staff. At its worst, two to three people would leave the studio every week.

As for the reception of the latest Saints Row, the game meets the expectations of those who don’t ask for more than it offers: solid gameplay mechanics, charismatic protagonists, varied missions, and a powerful editor that allows for a customized gaming experience. However, it has been criticized for playing it safe and avoiding innovation that could have given the series a new twist.

Sources:
– Matt McMuscles (What Happened?).
– Analysis of the latest Saints Row.