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Series, Spin‐off, & Franchise

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amherberger edited this page Apr 22, 2024 · 4 revisions

Series

A video game series is a collection of titles that share a common theme and frequently follow an overarching main story. It may or may not follow the plot in a logical or sequential order, but the main intent is still there.

Examples:

Uncharted Series

The Witcher Series

Batman: Arkham Series

Please avoid using series to connect the following:

  • Rumoured games
  • Mods, Fangames and Forks
  • Packs
  • Editions
  • Bundles
  • Ports should be added to series on a case-by-case basis. A good way is to look at the license. If the license is still there, it can be added as part of the series.

Furthermore, if you are a developer with only one game released, do not add a series to your game. Even if multiple games within the same main story are planned, please release the second game first before adding a series.

IGDB now supports connecting multiple series to a game, which can be useful for tracking sub-series of games, or a subset of games that are more tightly connected together despite also being part of a larger series.

Examples:

  • Final Fantasy XIII is a part of the main Final Fantasy series, but also started its own Final Fantasy XIII series, so it would be part of both series.
  • Pokémon Black Version 2 is part of the main Pokémon series, but it’s also a direct sequel to Pokémon Black, so it would be part of the Pokémon as well as the Pokémon Black and White series.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is part of the main The Legend of Zelda series, but it is also a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, so it would be part of The Legend of Zelda series as well as the Breath of the Wild series.

There are instances where it is not appropriate to add a new or existing series to a game. These instances include:

  • Games planned by the developers to be a series that only have one game currently announced.
  • Unofficial / fan games.
    • In the instance that an unofficial / fan game gets a sequel, it would be appropriate to create a new series for those fan games. For example, it would be appropriate to add the “Star Revenge” series to Star Revenge 3, but it would not be appropriate to add “Super Mario Bros.
  • Hardware / Collections / Lines such as Arcade Archives.

Spin-off

A Spin-off is a game that moves away from the established norms of a series, usually telling a non-canon story, or following a different character than the main series. A spin-off will usually have significantly different gameplay mechanics, sometimes changing genres entirely. Spin-offs are usually not considered part of the main series they spin-off from, but some get popular enough to start their own series.

Examples:

  • Yakuza: Dead Souls is a spin-off of the Yakuza series.
  • Super Mario Kart is a spin-off of the Super Mario Bros. series. As it got several sequels, it is also part of the Mario Kart series.
  • Hyrule Warriors is a spin-off of the Dynasty Warriors series as well as The Legend of Zelda series. As it got a sequel, it is also part of the Hyrule Warriors series.
  • Mega Man X is a spin-off of Mega Man. As it got several sequels, it is also part of the Mega Man X series.
  • Clash Royale is a spin-off of Clash of Clans. While Clash of Clans did not have a sequel, we can only set games as spin-offs of series, so in this instance, Clash of Clans is a series with one game (this is the only exception where we allow a series to be associated with one game).

Of note for spin-off games that spawn their own series, we would only consider the first game to be a spin-off. For example, Super Mario Kart would be listed as part of the Mario Kart series and as a spin-off of Super Mario Bros., while Mario Kart 64 onward would simply be listed as part of the Mario Kart series, and not as spin-offs. We would also not consider unique demos / prologues to be spin-offs, and would only track that on the main game release.

Franchise

A video game franchise frequently stretches beyond the limits of a main game series to include sub-series and offshoots. It  may also include other media that explores the series in some way, such as cartoons, television shows, movies, comic books, toys, and so on.

Please keep in mind that just because a game has merchandise doesn't mean it's a franchise.

Examples:

  • Star Wars: The Old Republic is a part of the Star Wars franchise.

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a part of the Animal Crossing franchise. Not only are there multiple games in the series, but Animal Crossing also got an animated movie in Japan + has an extensive catalogue of merchandise.

  • The Last of Us has grown so large in popularity that it has become a franchise thanks to the success of the games. TLOU now has other media entries, such as a comic book mini-series and a planned television series. This makes it larger than just a video game medium.

  • Although Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is not part of the main series, it's part of the Uncharted franchise.

  • Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is a part of The Witcher franchise.

  • Poppy Playtime is NOT a franchise in our opinion. Although the game contains both merchandise and NFTs, it has not yet been fully released.

Fangames/Unofficial and unlicensed games should not be tagged with an official game series and/or franchise.

What is the difference between Series and Franchise?

Series: One type of game, and the continuation of that. Games in a series should relate to each other. A series will almost always belong to at least two games.

Franchise: Franchise is part of related media without being the same format. Being part of a franchise means that a medium can branch out beyond the gaming sphere.

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