The Weekly Raid: Which Franchise Should Be Turned Into An MMO?

MMOs built with familiar characters, settings, and stories draw in players thanks to their established franchise. Games like Star Wars: Knight Of The Old Republic, Lord of the Rings Online, and World of Warcraft. But those are a handful of examples. There are innumerable untapped universes brimming with novelty.

Considering the success of Elder Scrolls Online I can support a Fallout MMO. Building on rich lore, established rivalries, and self-aware humor could create an engaging wasteland to explore. While deviating from traditional gameplay is a risk, a Fallout MMO in a new environment could bolster the franchise's lore while existing independently from the single-player series.

Established game-series aren't the only contender for a franchise-MMO. No one has managed to successfully transcribe Frank Herbert's Dune series to another medium since David Lynch's botched Jodorowsky film, and SyFy channel's mini-series. An MMO doesn't have to directly correlate with the established franchise. It could build on Dune's foundations of the franchise and expand the universe.

This one might sound ridiculous, but an MMO based on Waterworld. Not so much a Waterworld featuring Kevin Costner, but the setting of Waterworld where the polar ice-caps have submerged the Earth and desperate bandits roam the seas. It's a setting that hasn't been explored outside a few survival games such as Subnautica, but I would love to see a company take a risk and create an open world, Mad Max-esque high-seas MMO.

Which franchise do you think ought to be turned into an MMO? Let us know in the comments below! 

Each week the MMOs.com crew posts a question about MMOs to you, coinciding with the weekly podcast. We hope to hear from you in the comments section below!