List of multimedia franchises originating in games, toys, and merchandise
Following is a list of multimedia franchises originating in games, toys, and merchandise.
In the following tables, the initial media through which the franchise characters or settings became known is shown in boldface. Only works of fiction are considered part of the series; a book or a documentary film about the franchise is not itself an installment in the franchise.
Franchises originating in video games
[edit]Including film or television works
[edit]Not including film or television works
[edit]| Franchise (creator) |
Literature | Comics | Video games | Other media |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Wake | yes | no | Alan Wake (2010)
Alan Wake's American Nightmare (2012) expansion pack |
soundtrack and other merchandise |
| Banjo-Kazooie | no | yes | Banjo-Kazooie (1998) | action figures, toys, and other merchandise |
| Battlefield | Battlefield 3: The Russian (2011)
Battlefield 4: Countdown to War (2013) |
no | Battlefield 1942 (2002) | action figures and other merchandise |
| Bioshock | yes | no | Bioshock (2007)
Bioshock 2 (2010) BioShock Infinite (2013) |
soundtrack, action figures, board games, clothes and other merchandise |
| Bloodborne | no | various | Bloodborne (2015) | Card game, board game and other merchandise |
| Contra | no | yes | Contra (1985) | various merchandise |
| Crysis | Crysis Legion (2011)
Crysis Escalation (2013) |
yes | Crysis (2007)
Crysis Warhead (2008) expansion pack Crysis 2 (2011) Crysis 3 (2013) |
Board game, action figures and other merchandise |
| Darksiders | no | yes | Darksiders (2010)
Darksiders II (2012) Darksiders III (2018) Darksiders Genesis (2019) Spin-off |
Action figures and other merchandise |
| Dead Island
(Techland) |
yes | yes | Dead Island (2011)
Dead Island Riptide (2013) expansion pack Escape Dead Island (2014) spin-off |
various merchandise |
| Destiny
(Bungie) |
yes | yes | Destiny (2014) | Artbooks, Guidebooks, Soundtracks, Cookbooks, and various other merchandise |
| Deus Ex | Deus Ex: Icarus Effect (2011)
Deus Ex: Fallen Angel (2013) Deus Ex: Black Light (2016) Deus Ex: Hard Line (2016) |
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)
Deus Ex: Children's Crusade (2016) Deus Ex: The Dawning Darkness (2016) |
Deus Ex (2000)
Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003) Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016) |
Art Books, Guide Books and other merchandises |
| Diablo | various | various | Diablo (1996) Diablo II (2000) Diablo III (2012) |
|
| Dishonored | various | no | Dishonored (2012)
Dishonored 2 (2016) Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (2017) expansion pack |
Tabletop role-playing game and other merchandise |
| Drakengard | various light novels and books | various manga | Drakengard (2003)
numerous sequels and spin-offs |
CD drama, soundtracks, musical band, stage play and other merchandise |
| Duke Nukem | no | Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard (2011) | Duke Nukem (1991) | Action figures, toys and other merchandise |
| The Elder Scrolls | The Infernal City (2009)
Lord of Souls (2011) and several others |
no | The Elder Scrolls: Arena (1994) | board games, tabletop role-playing games and several other merchandise |
| The Evil Within | yes | yes | The Evil Within (2014)
The Evil Within 2 (2017) |
various merchandise |
| Fable | Fable: The Balverine Order (2010)
several others |
no | Fable (2004) | Music, soundtrack and other merchandise |
| Fallout | no | yes | Fallout (1997) | tabletop wargame, board games and other merchandise |
| Gears of War | Gears of War: Aspho Fields (2008) several sequels |
Gears of War (comics) | Gears of War (2006) Gears of War 2 (2008) Gears of War 3 (2011) Gears of War: Judgment (2013) |
board game |
| God of War | yes | yes | God of War (2005) several sequels and side games |
music |
| Guild Wars | various | no | Guild Wars (2005) | Artbooks, Guidebooks, soundtracks and numerous other merchandise |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | no | various | Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)
Horizon Forbidden West (2022) |
Action figures, soundtrack and other merchandise |
| Ico | yes | no | Ico (2001)
Shadow of the Colossus (2005) The Last Guardian (2016) |
Soundtrack, Artbook, Guidebook and various merchandise |
| Infamous | no | yes | Infamous (2009)
Infamous 2 (2011) Infamous: Festival of Blood (2011) expansion pack Infamous Second Son (2014) Infamous First Light (2014) expansion pack |
various merchandise |
| Just Cause | no | yes | Just Cause (2006)
Just Cause 2 (2010) Just Cause 3 (2015) Just Cause 4 (2018) |
various merchandise |
| Killzone | yes | yes | Killzone (2004)
Killzone: Liberation (2006) spin-off Killzone 2 (2009) Killzone 3 (2011) Killzone: Mercenary (2013) spin-off Killzone Shadow Fall (2013) |
various merchandise |
| Left 4 Dead | no | The Sacrifice (2010) | Left 4 Dead (2008)
Left 4 Dead 2 (2009) |
songs, figure action, music and other merchandise |
| Legacy of Kain | no | yes | Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) | Merchandise |
| Life Is Strange | yes | yes | Life Is Strange (2015) | Merchandise |
| Metal Gear (Hideo Kojima) |
yes | several[broken anchor] | Metal Gear (1987) numerous sequels and spin-offs |
other media |
| Metroid
(Nintendo) |
no | various | Metroid (1986) | Soundtracks and other merchandise |
| Onimusha
(Capcom) |
yes | yes | Onimusha Warlords (2001) | Guide books, soundtracks and other merchandise |
| Portal | no | Portal 2: Lab Rat (2011) | Portal (2007)
Portal 2 (2011) |
Board game, T-shirt, collectibles and other merchandise |
| Quake | no | yes | Quake (1998) | Guide books and other merchandise |
| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | no | Sekiro Side Story: Hanbei the Undying (2020) | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) | Guide Books and various merchandise |
| The Oregon Trail
(Don Rawitsch |
yes | no | The Oregon Trail and numerous sequels, editions and spin offs | Board Game Card Game Handheld device |
| Sly Cooper | Sly Cooper: To Catch a Thief (2006) | The Adventures of Sly Cooper (2004-2005)
Manga (2005) |
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (2002)
Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2004) Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005) Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (2013) |
various merchandise |
| Soulcalibur | yes | yes | Soul Edge (1995) | Action figure, collectible cards, and various other merchandise |
| Splatoon
(Nintendo) |
no | various | `Splatoon (2015)
Splatoon 2 (2017) Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion (2018) Splatoon 3 (2022) Splatoon 3: Side Order (2024) |
Amiibo Figures, Music and other merchandise |
| StarCraft | yes | yes | StarCraft (1998 and later expansions) StarCraft II (2010 and later expansions) |
tabletop games |
| Suikoden | yes | yes | Suikoden (1995) | guide books and various merchandise |
| Star Fox
(Nintendo) |
no | various | Star Fox (1993) | Amiibo Figures, Web video and other merchandise |
| Thief | no | yes | Thief: The Dark Project (1998)
Thief II: The Metal Age (2000) Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004) Thief (2014) |
Merchandise |
| Ultima | yes | yes | Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness (1981)
several sequels, spin-offs and console ports |
Merchandise |
| Watch Dogs | yes | yes | Watch Dogs (2014)
Watch Dogs 2 (2016) Watch Dogs: Legion (2020) |
Merchandise |
| Wolfenstein | no | yes | Wolfenstein 3D (1992) | guide books and other merchandise |
| Zork | yes | no | Zork (1977)
numerous sequels |
interactive gamebooks |
Franchises originating in board games, card games, tabletop games and role-playing games
[edit]Franchises originating in toys, attractions and other media
[edit]See also
[edit]- List of fictional shared universes in film and television – many multimedia franchises are based in fictional universes
- List of public domain works with multimedia adaptations
- List of highest-grossing media franchises
- Media mix
References
[edit]- ^ Roger Parry, The Ascent of Media: From Gilgamesh to Google Via Gutenberg (2011), p. 317, ISBN 1857885708: "Along with associated feature films, comic books, and character merchandise, Mario has become a hugely valuable global multimedia franchise".
- ^ a b Harry J. Brown, Videogames and Education (2008), p. 41, ISBN 0765629496:
In one of the most celebrated ventures in media convergence, Larry and Andy Wachowski, creators of The Matrix trilogy, produced the game Enter the Matrix (2003) simultaneously with the last two films of the trilogy, shooting scenes for the game on the movie's sets with the movie's actors, and releasing the game on the same day as The Matrix: Reloaded. Likewise, on September 21, 2004, Lucasfilm jointly released a new DVD box set of the original Star Wars trilogy with Star Wars: Battlefront, a combat game in which players can reenact battles from all six Star Wars films. In 2005, Peter Jackson likewise produced his blockbuster film King Kong (2005) in tandem with a successful King Kong game designed by Michael Ancel and published by Ubisoft. In the last several years, numerous licensed videogame adaptations of major summer and holiday blockbusters were released a few days before or a few days after their respective films, including: all three Star Wars films (1999–2005); all five Harry Potter films (2001–2008); all three Spider-Man films (2002–2007); Hulk (2002); The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002); The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003); The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005); Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007); and Transformers (2007). These multimedia franchises have made it more difficult to distinguish the production of films and videogames as separate enterprises.
- ^ Marc DiPaolo, War, Politics and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Film (2011), p. 39, ISBN 0786485795: "The multimedia franchise is bolstered by the imaginations of the Transformers fans that imbue the flimsy material with their own potent fantasies of family cars and household devices turning into robots".
| Media series | |
|---|---|
| Media lists | |
| Highest-grossing | |
| Best-selling | |
