Talking Point: Which Licensed Games Deserve A Comeback On Xbox?

The licensed game landscape feels quite different today to what it once did, with Marvel and DC tie-ins being some of the major licensed game efforts that still get lots of care and attention in the modern era. However, after just playing through The Patrick Star Game and ultimately being very disappointed in it, we've started to think about some of the old licensed game series' that should be making a proper comeback instead of stuff like this.

We suppose, as the lead image suggests, The Simpsons is one of those series that always comes up when we start on this topic. Hit and Run is such a beloved title that we're baffled by its dormant state for more than two decades at this point, not to mention 2007's The Simpsons Game that's also become a cult classic over time. Sadly, with the impending closure of The Simpsons Tapped Out on mobile, we really don't know what's next for this IP in the gaming world.

What about something that's a little more forgotten? EA dropped a couple of The Godfather games back in the Xbox 360 era - that franchise could be a great candidate for a more modern take. As a big driving game / road tripping fanatic, this writer would like to see something like Eidos's The Italian Job series make a surprise comeback on modern tech, although that one's probably a bit niche for a modern release!

When SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated made its comeback in 2020, we were quite excited about the future of SpongeBob games on Xbox, but that began fizzling out with The Cosmic Shake followed by this new Patrick Star game. It might be time to give this one a rest for now, but there's plenty more old school licensed games that could make a big comeback on Xbox.

Head on down to the comments section and tell us which licensed games you'd like to see return. It can be anything, from the OG Xbox era right up to something more recent!