A Saints Row prequel going "back to its roots" might actually happen, as its original director works on a pitch "to get the band back together"

The original director of Saints Row has sparked faint hopes for a return as he teases that he's been asked to put together a pitch for a potential prequel. Chris Stockman, who served as the design director for the first Saints Row game at Volition before moving on to found independent studio Bit Planet Games, tells PCGamesN that he's "attempting to get the band back together," although things are still very much up in the air. As one of the first big rivals to Grand Theft Auto, there'd be nothing more fitting than for it to return alongside GTA 6.

"I've been asked to create a pitch for a Saints Row prequel," Stockman shared to the game's Reddit page earlier this week. "I can't say anything more than that but my dreams for this game just became a little more than just dreams." We got in touch with Stockman to confirm the account was his, and asked for a little more clarification on his plans for the open-world game. He restates that he's "aiming to do a prequel," although adds, "Won't say much beyond that yet as I want to keep my cards close to my chest, for now."

Stockman says he approached the Saints Row IP holder, Embracer Group, "after the interview I did with Esports [Insider] created a bit of a fervor." In the mid-October story, he questioned the point of rebooting the series, saying that "It wasn't Saints Row at all" without the characters people knew and loved.

Now, Stockman tells us, "I want to bring the Saints Row franchise back to its roots. As you know I directed Saints Row 1 and I feel the series has strayed way too far away from that. I completely understand why they went that way but in the end they kind of painted themselves into a corner they couldn't get out of." While I loved Saints Row The Third, there's certainly a case to be made that it pushed things down a road of endless escalation.

It's too early in the process to get your hopes up, of course. But Stockman says, "There is interest. A pitch has been requested." He adds, "I am attempting to get the band back together. If this works this will be an amazing story. I hope it works!"

A dramatic Saints Row comeback would certainly feel like the perfect complement to the GTA 6 release date, but we've got plenty more of the best crime games to keep you busy otherwise.

Let us know whether you'd be interested in the return of Saints Row in our community Discord server, where you can chat with thousands of other readers.