The sequel to Ryse was close, but something happened: this is the real reason

The continuation of Ryse: Son of Rome was on the table, but it ran into decisive internal problems.

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The debate over whether Xbox should revive Ryse resurfaces every now and then, and it does so because the game left a very particular impression: visually spectacular and with an atmosphere that still stands out today, but far from becoming a commercial success. With this contrast in mind, many players have wondered for years why a sequel never came to fruition.

Behind this absence, there is no mystery, but rather business decisions, disagreements over rights, and a very different context from the current one. The project was once planned, but it never advanced enough to become a formal production.

Why Ryse 2 never developed: rights, sales, and a troubled studio

The most repeated and supported reason by old reports is clear: Microsoft and Crytek did not reach an agreement on the ownership of the license. The former had financed the original game, but did not own the IP; the latter wanted to remain the owner of it despite facing economic difficulties:

Microsoft refused to invest in a sequel without acquiring the intellectual property, and Crytek rejected those conditions. The project was left frozen there.

This is added to the fact that Ryse had a lukewarm reception at its launch. Although over time it has gained a small group of followers who appreciate it more than the original critics, its commercial performance did not justify such a large investment without guarantees. The proposal, born as a project for Kinect, ended up becoming a technical demonstration capable of impressing, but with a design that failed to convince the general public.

• Another key factor is that Crytek no longer operates as it did back then, and part of its teams dispersed years ago. The company has not shown signs of resuming that line of development, and without Xbox’s control over the license, the possibility of a sequel faded away over time.

Ryse remains a very remembered title, especially for its visual aspect. But its sequel got trapped between corporate decisions and a moment in the industry very different from the current one.