Last year, Insomniac Games’ plans through 2032 leaked as part of a massive hack. That near decade-long itinerary had stops for superheroes and returns for Ratchet & Clank, but there was one key franchise that was nowhere on the route. Resistance, Insomniac’s sci-fi first-person shooter series, has been AWOL since Resistance: Burning Skies invaded PSPs back in 2012. At this point, it feels like Sony is leaving money on the table.

Experiencing Some Resistance

I pay attention to Resistance because I didn’t pay attention when I had the chance. I played a bit of the first game around the time of its PS3 launch, but as a Nintendo kid who was just starting to branch out to consoles with more mature games, I was abysmal at first-person shooters. Over a decade later, I love a good FPS and consistently enjoy Insomniac’s games, but unless I shell out for one of the higher-tier PlayStation Plus subscriptions, there’s no way to play any of the Insomniac Resistance games on modern hardware (and that only gives you access to the third entry, anyway). Even then, the series is only available via cloud streaming, which I’ve found to be hit or miss with my internet. The PSP entry, Resistance: Retribution is the only one available for purchase on PS5.

I’ve heard that Resistance 3 is the closest a non-Valve game has come to Half-Life 2, and as a big fan of hitting aliens with a crowbar, that’s something I’d really like to experience.

The only other option is to track down used physical copies and haul my PS3 out of storage. Given that I currently have both my PS5 and PS4 hooked up, I’m not eager to add a third generation of Sony consoles to the mix.

It’s weird that Sony seems to have so thoroughly memory-holed Resistance. From 2006 to 2012, this was one of the publisher's big franchises from one of its most consistent third-party developers, which has since become its most reliable first-party developer. I understand why Insomniac isn’t interested in returning to the games — it already has plenty on its plate — but why not do something, anything, to make these games available to players who still want to play them?

Not Too Proud To Port Beg

This is how Sony has handled other games it owns the rights to when the studios that originally made them are busy. Bluepoint Games pinch hit twice for Team Ico, remastering the studio’s pair of PS2 classics, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus for PS3, then fully remaking Shadow of the Colossus for PS4. It did the same for Sony’s big PS5 launch exclusive, Demon’s Souls, taking over the original Souls game in FromSoftware’s stead.

Bluepoint also developed the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, but when it came time to bring Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy to PS5, Naughty Dog handled the port internally, with external support from Iron Galaxy.

Bluepoint is currently busy making "original content," but another studio could take on a project like this. The games industry is full of skilled professionals with triple-A experience who are currently out of a job thanks to rampant layoffs. Hiring a couple dozen to remaster a dormant, but well-liked, PS3 trilogy seems like a no-brainer. It could also lay the groundwork for that studio to develop a new Resistance game if the remaster is well-received.

Sony largely seems to be focusing on a few key franchises right now, which may explain why its 2024 slate is so empty. Bringing an older franchise back with a low-stakes remaster to see if there’s still interest seems like an easy way to broaden its slate going forward. I like Horizon Zero Dawn and The Last of Us Part 2 as much as the next guy, but Sony needs more than third-person cinematic games in its portfolio.

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