Saints Row 1’s director is pitching a prequel that gets ‘back to the roots of what made SR 1 entertaining,’ but I mostly want to know what became of the Saints Row 2 PC patch whose developer died

Somehow, Saints Row returned. Well, kind of. In a giddy post on the Saints Row subreddit, a lead on the original game in the Saints Row series announced that someone, somewhere might be interested in firing up Volition’s (RIP) open-world crime games once more.

Chris Stockman, who served as design director on the first Saints Row game before absconding from Volition, announced to the community that he had “hopeful news” for the future. “I’ve been asked to create a pitch for a Saints Row prequel!”

If you want a vast swathe of juicy details, this is the part where I disappoint you. “I can’t say anything more about that,” wrote Stockman, “but my dreams for this game just became a little more than just dreams!” Though there is one reason for series fans to be happy: Stockman did let slip that whatever he’s pitching isn’t a VR game, and that he’s “really going back to my roots!”

Stockman says his “core idea” is “to go back to the roots of what made SR 1 entertaining in the first place. It was somewhat grounded in reality but also a bit zany too. It had a lot more satirical elements vs the later entries.” He also, offhandedly, refers to his pitch as “Saints Row ’77” which might tell you a little bit about where his head is at in terms of setting.

He also says “Sorry, no giant dildos as weapons” and that “I would’ve never put that abomination of a weapon in the series.” Which I can imagine causing equal amounts of anguish and rejoicing depending on which side of that particular Berlin Wall you come down on.

Either way, it sounds like Stockman’s dreams revolve more around Saints Row 1 and 2 than Saints Row 3 and 4, which sounds alright to me. It’s been a long time since I’ve played either, so there’s every possibility they wouldn’t hold up, but I have fonder memories of those games (or, well, mostly 2) than I do of the later games in the series, even though I liked 3 and 4 well enough.

Anyway, shoutout to the Redditor who mithered a little about the fate of the Saints Row 2 PC patch. If you’re not familiar, a renowned SR2 modder named IdolNinja got a gig at Volition, and eventually got the green light to start a skunkworks project aimed at properly fixing the game’s wretched PC version.

Tragically, IdolNinja died before that work completed, and even though Volition pledged to finish the job in his memory, that likely went out the window when the studio got shut down by Embracer. There are mods that make SR2 playable in 2025, of course, but it’s always stuck in my craw that IdolNinja’s final project never got finished.

Alas, Stockman’s been away from Volition and Saints Row for too long to know what’s going on there. “I have nothing to do with that patch. I didn’t write it. I don’t even know what’s in it. It’s sad the original developer passed away but that’s more than likely why it was never released.” Who knows? Maybe a well-received reboot would reignite interest. Or maybe I’m just on the copium.