Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors was asked many questions about the 2022 Saints Row reboot during the company's annual general meeting, and his answers were not surprising given fan response. Transcribed by Video Games Chronicle, Wingefors firstly said he had hoped to see "a greater reception" to the game. Embracer Group is a corporate conglomerate that owns numerous video game studios and publishers, among them Deep Silver Volition, the developers of the most recent Saints Row title.
Saints Row has had a mixed reaction at best. It didn't reach a Metacritic score of 70 on any of its available platforms, and it doesn't seem as though the general audience is having a better time with it. Clips of significant visual bugs and glitches have been rampant throughout the internet ever since the game's release, and there has been widespread criticism of the game's combat and exploration gameplay. Dualshockers' review gave the game a 4/10, stating it has "boring gameplay packed into a city that lacks any depth."
Wingefors described the reception as "very polarizing." He expressed how he's glad to see some fans enjoying the game and having fun with it, but on the other hand, he feels sad to see some fans unhappy. Regarding the game's financial performance, he stated it's too early to speak much on it, and he needed to wait for November's quarterly report.
However, Wingefors did express that he is "confident" the game will have a return on investment, meaning that Embracer will make money beyond what they put into its creation. He candidly admits that the profit won't be as great as they have "seen in many other games," but he believes that breaking even is a good starting point.
He was then asked about the future of the franchise following Saints Row's release, to which he gave an unspecific answer. "[It] is quite a process," he said, "to evaluate your position, the outcome." He follows that up by saying that there are hundreds of developers still engaged in this project, that he has great trust in them, and that he's sure "they will recommend things for the future." Whether he agrees with what they recommend is yet to be seen. Wingefors also stated that there is still more content to come, which means the planned expansion pass with supposedly three separate expansions is, so far, still underway.