Licensed games have pretty much been a thing since gaming has existed but, they’ve always been a mixed bag to say the least. While many have been lackluster cashgrabs, and some infamously bad games such as ET and Superman 64 there are also plenty of good ones.

From surprisingly good games such as Samurai Jack: Battle through time and Toy Story 3 to some of the greatest games of all time like Batman: Arkham City and GoldenEye. If a good developer is given enough time they can make something truly special such as the recent Spider-Man games and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

There are many anticipated licensed games in development at the moment from ips such as TMNT, multiple from marvel including Iron man, blade and Captain America/ Black panther team up, many with proven devs at the helm such as motive and arkane. 

I often think about which developers could really bring a franchise to life and here’s some that I think could be very good pairings for these particular franchises. Many of them have made games that could fit the style of the ip, while also doing more than enough to make it stand on their own without being a direct clone.

John Wick, Developer: Sloclap

John wick was probably the most defining action movie of the 2010s going into the 2020s as well. It featured a character played by Keanu Reeves (someone literally everyone seems to love) that was the ultimate killing machine with virtually unlimited stamina as most of the movies take place within weeks, or sometimes days after another.

While John Wick actually does have one game, John Wick Hex, it’s not something people expected as it’s a tactical RPG. The game isn’t bad but when thinking of someone like John wick you want a sick ass action game, something I think Sloclap could pull off very well.

The developers of Sifu as well as Absolver, Sloclap knows how to design well crafted combat systems and I think particularly the style that was represented in Sifu would be a great base for a John Wick game. John is a brutal fighter and master marksman that can use virtually anything as a weapon, a theme that was also present in Sifu. If Sloclap were given the reigns, I think they could make something that’d leave a lot of gamers happy.

The Punisher, Developer: id Software.

Marvel is currently expanding into games quite heavily and if they do greenlight a Punisher game for modern times, I think id would be an excellent fit.

The Punisher is one of the most brutal mainstream comic book characters at the moment and based on the glory kill system featured in the recent Doom games, I think id could capture how absolutely savage he is. Not to mention id simply knows a thing or two about creating a fun shooter. These elements were captured well in the 2004 game from thq and it’d be great to see a modern take.

Known for having a heavy arsenal, a superhuman tolerance for pain, being a highly skilled fighter and employing methods more brutal than the criminals he hunts, I could see the developers of Doom giving Frank Castle an excellent game.

SpongeBob SquarePants, Developer: Toys for Bob

Something a bit less violent now, SpongeBob is an Ip that at one point or another has probably been an important part of many modern gamers lives. The character has had a few memorable games, with most fans citing Battle for Bikini Bottom as SpongeBobs best game.

He had a game release last year The Cosmic Shake, which wasn’t bad by any means but was just a standard platformer overall. I think SpongeBob is a character that deserves a truly amazing game and I think Toys for Bob could be the ones to make it.

The developer showed they’re excellent platformer designers with Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. While a SpongeBob game may not need to be quite as challenging as that game could get, the eye popping visuals and excellent level design are something that could greatly benefit a SpongeBob game.

Nick has shown interest in putting out more quality games recently as Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 was well received. So maybe they would contract someone like Toys for Bob for the next SpongeBob game.

Doctor Strange, Developer: Remedy.

This is actually a game that was rumored to be in development and I hope it’s true as Remedy with the Doctor Strange license sounds like a match made in heaven. Remedy is known for handling supernatural and mystical elements masterfully throughout their games.

Particularly I think the 3d metroidvania style seen in Control would fit a Doctor Strange game very well as he goes through various realms and dimensions tracking down mystical artifacts he often uses in combat along the way.

Doctor Strange is also a character that deals with some horror elements along the way. While it probably wouldn’t venture into survival horror or anything like that, Remedy surely knows how to make something eerie and tense after their work on Alan Wake.

Plus, the strong writing usually seen in Remedy’s games coupled with a good writer from marvel also has the potential for an excellent story in gaming. This is one pairing that I truly hope the rumors are right about.

Avatar TLA, Developer: Tango Game works

Avatar has had multiple games released but, pretty much all of them have been disappointing. Most were cash grabs and even talented developers like Platinum could only do so much with less than a year to develop.

While mostly known for horror, Tango game works showed their versatility with Hi-Fi Rush. Much like Remedy, Tango is good at handling supernatural elements, even if Avatar isn’t horror (although I’m sure a section involving Koh could be absolute nightmare fuel.). They’ve shown they know how to make a fun and creative combat system as well so perhaps they’d come up with one that captures the element bending of Avatar better than any has.

Lastly, I think Tango would capture the world of Avatar better than any studio has tried as the worlds they created in Hi-Fi Rush and Ghostwhire : Tokyo were sights to behold, assuming Nick gives the studio the proper time to work that is.

Sherlock Holmes, Developer: Telltale Games

Something I’m a bit surprised didn’t happen before, Sherlock Holmes and Telltale seemed like a no brainer. Although it remains to be seen if the revamped Telltale will have the same magic the studio did with games like The Walking Dead, if The Wolf Among Us 2 proves to be as good as it’s predecessor then I’d love to see Telltale tackle a Sherlock Holmes story.

Many Telltale titles were lauded for their strong storytelling and plot twists as well as handling and in ways reinventing established characters such as The Joker in the Batman games they did.

While Sherlock Holmes has had adventure games before, with one launching last year in fact, I think an outing by Telltale could be a truly memorable experience. We’ll have to see if the magic still exists when The Wolf Among us 2 eventually releases.

Judge Dredd, Developer: MachineGames

After the highly positive response to Indiana Jones, many others may look at MachineGames to handle an adaptation of their franchise. One IP I think they could smash out of the park even harder than they did with Indy is Judge Dredd.

The setting of Judge Dredd does draw some parallels to Wolfenstein, the series that put MachineGames on the map due to its dystopian nature. So something tells me they’d feel very at home with the Judge Dredd IP. Judge Dredd has all the makings of an excellent fps as his trademark weapon alone, The Lawgiver pistol is among the most badass guns in any fictional media.

Coupled with his other arsenal including a rifle that can cut through anything and a machine gun mounted motorcycle, and you’re giving one of the best fps devs quite a lot to play with.

The Incredible Hulk, Developer: Avalanche

The last marvel IP I’ll talk about I promise. The Hulk actually has a fondly remembered game that’s often rated among the greatest superhero games ever with The Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction. That game was 20 years ago however and the studio that made it, Radical entertainment is a cod support team now.

If Marvel does commission a Hulk game in their ever growing line up, Avalanche would probably be a great fit. The studio behind the Just Cause franchise, they know something about making a gigantic playground of destruction. I think Avalanche would capture the raw power of  Hulk in a way that hasn’t really been seen before, and the freedom of mobility in the just cause games would fit the hulk well as he’s a character who can leap out of orbit.

Between the just cause games as well as Mad Max, avalanche has shown the ability to create fun worlds to create all kinds of chaos in so giving them a character that can level planets if he wants to would be a joy to see.

Invincible, Developer: Rocksteady

Although Suicide Squad is fresh in a lot of people’s minds, I still think Rocksteady could create another fantastic superhero game if they’re allowed to do what made the Arkham games so great rather than being forced into a live service game. Personally, I’d love to see them tackle Invincible.

With the Arkham games they were able to create a landmark series that influenced other superhero games heavily, most notably Spider-Man but also titles that flew under the radar like the underrated Captain America game back on the PS3 and 360.

While I know Rocksteady has pitched a Superman game in the past, something I’d like to see, I think the potential combat system in an invincible game could define a different type of superhero game in a similar fashion that the Arkham games managed to as the Series features fights. While I love Superman, I think he’ll always be difficult to translate to a game due to the nature of his character.

I think Invincible would be a great chance to make a Superman-like game but without the difficulty of adapting the character. Plus after the excellent original story between the Arkham games, I’d love to see how an original adventure in the invincible universe would play out.

Berserk, Developer: From Software

I’m not exactly the biggest From Software guy but, I think the punishing and bleak world of Berserk would be perfectly in line with the games they make. Although I’m not sure something souls like would necessarily work since despite the massive sword, Guts isn’t exactly a slow paced fighter.

However with Sekiro they showed they could certainly deviate from the souls formula while maintaining the trademark difficulty of their games. I think they could design a unique combat system for berserk as well as capture it’s very unforgiving world as many From Software games are set in brutal and unforgiving lands themselves.

I’m sure gamers would lose their minds if something like this ever gets made since From Software is known for making extremely high quality games. So we know for sure we’d get a well polished game that could reflect the series themes quite well.

Of course these are only a few

There are many licenses out there that could use a proper game. Franchises such as Godzilla, Kingsman, Deadpool and countless others all have potential for great games. For all we know some of these IPS could even have games in the works. It’s always fun to speculate and if any of these do have games in development, whether it’s from these particular devs or not I’d be happy to see them.