Shared universes in video games?

[Deleted member 23212]

Marvel and DC are known for having shared universes, in which a majority of their works take place in the same continuity. However, for video games it's not generally the case. There are sometimes shared universes for certain franchises, like Street Fighter/Final Fight/Rival Schools and Assassin's Creed/Watch Dogs, but in the latter's case it's minor and it's not really something that an established company can do as there's already just too many franchises that cannot easily co-exist. What are your thoughts on the idea? I think it'd be an interesting thing to try.

 

[est1992]

I think it's easier for people like Marvel and DC to do --and they're both getting started now-- because their universes are built for that. When you have to do it from scratch, it becomes increasingly difficult, as you now have to take into account all the other things that go into game development.

I'd love to see more of it though. Have a Sam Fisher/Watch Dogs crossover, put some Halo references in Gears of War. It might not work or make sense but fuck it.

 

[Lord Azrael]

I want a Nintendo cinematic universe

I guess Smash is kinda that but I want it expanded

 

[Alastor3]

Alan Wake/Control

 

[JoDa]

Dissidia more or less makes every final fantasy be sort of canon with each other

 

[Zacmortar]

Metal Gear, Zone of the Enders, Snatcher all basically exist in the same universe at wildly different points in time

im sure kojimas Silent Hills woulda tried to give an easter egg to slip it in too

 

[DrArchon]

SNK seems like an obvious one, what with everyone fighting in the KoF tournaments every year or so.

Does Blizzard count? I can't remember what the story is for Heroes of the Storm.

 

[Dyashen]

Rare games often have references to other games. Sea of Thieves, for example, has ship cosmetics inspired by IPs like Kameo or KI but they also have stuff like paintings that have a little nod to one of their other IPs. (screencap below for example has a rock painting that shows the three well known animals of Viva Pinata)

Of course it's not as deep as the MCU or DCU but it's still something they've been pretty consistent about throughout the years.

 

[nekkid]

Technically there's one gaming verse has very few games not in it.

 

[WestEgg]

Mario and Donkey Kong Country I believe. F-Zero doesn't share a universe with Star Fox, but they do have parallel universe equivalent characters between them.

 

[Keym]

im sure kojimas Silent Hills woulda tried to give an easter egg to slip it in too

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[Tyaren]

Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden and Fatal Frame share the same world or universe, which is always funny to me, because these game worlds are so wildly different. Ninja Gaiden being so violent with lots of fantasy elements, Fatal Frame being so dark and creepy and in the DOA universe the girls play volleyball on sunny, tropical islands, sharing soft ice and playing dress up (or rather undress up) in front of "Owner-san".

 

[Tizoc]

SNK are among the first to do this;
Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury are set in the same universe for one thing.

Capcom's Street Fighter, Final Fight, Captain Commando and possibly Rival Schools all take place in the same universe as well.

 

[The Lord of Cereal]

Half Life and Portal take place in the same world and have a lot of references to each other (and a ship mentioned in HL2 appears in Portal 2)

But yeah, other than the Ubisoft games which are very self referential (and thus could be in the same world even though nothing is confirmed) with Far Cry, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs possibly all being in the same world I can't really think of any other video games that have enough Easter eggs to make the shared world a possibility

I know a few of the Final Fantasy games are connected and take place in the same world ( 7 and 10 being the biggest example of this, but I know that there are a few more games directly connected with each other)

 

[Deleted member 59955]

Well WB and DC are about to jumpstart a DC shared gaming universe with the new Batman game and I think it's a great idea. It opens the opportunity for cool crossovers and games for different heroes.

 

[Hanbei]

SNK, Final Fantasy, Capcom, AMC's The Walking Dead and Bandai Namco all co-exist within the very same universe, thanks to Tekken 7.

 

[Aegis Renfro]

It's easy when you own all the IP, as Marvel/DC/Universal/Disney-Pixar does (Universal with the so-far-failed failed monster universe)

Nintendo can and has pulled it off for decades. The current Donley Kong is the grandson of the Donkey Kong that originally kidnapped Pauline, who would eventually become the mayor of New Donk City in Mario Odyssey, for instance.

Final Fantasy pulled it off with Dissidia.

Grand Theft Auto pulled it off.

Hitman and Kane & Lynch are in the same universe.


The Witcher and Cyberpunk are supposed to be in the same universe.

 

[DrArchon]

The Witcher and Cyberpunk are supposed to be in the same universe.

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I mean, if we're including Witcher portals then you might as well add Monster Hunter and Soul Calibur to the list.

 

[modiz]

I feel like taking the shared universe concept further than what Assassin's Creed x Watch_Dogs did is not really viable for gaming, which is an industry that often delays and cancels projects, you cant be dependent on a tight schedule like you can with the movie industry (MCU the most obvious example) unless you are talking about a highly iterative franchises like sports games or AC games (and even those couldnt handle yearly releases this gen)

 

[Deleted member 28523]

bj blazkowicz is commandeer keen's grandfather. commandeer keen is doomguy's grandfather.

i can't remember if Crash is doomguy's cousin or something. I think she's just another marine?

 

[Het_Nkik]

SNK seems like an obvious one, what with everyone fighting in the KoF tournaments every year or so.

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Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury are shared universe, but KoF is its own separate timeline/universe, which is funny considering it's the big crossover game.

 

[Neoxon]

The following games share a universe...

• Street Fighter
• Final Fight
• Saturday Night Slam Masters
• Rival Schools
• Captain Commando
• Strider

 

[ivan.k]

Max Payne/Alan Wake. Max is a character of Alan's book. I guess Quantum Break and Control is the same universe

 

[Max|Payne]

Nier and Drakengard, right?

 

[mikhailguy]

Slightly different, but I like that Spirits Within is in the Life is Strange universe. Apparently, the Last of Us is a game in there as well.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Capcom's my favorite example of this, with Street Fighter, Slam Masters, Captain Commando and Final Fight all being in the same universe, with implications that Rival Schools and Strider are possibly a part of it as well.

Also, IIRC Namco officially confirmed that a good chunk of their games (Dig Dug, Mr. Driller, Ace Combat 3, to name a few) all take place in the same continuity at different points over a long period of time

 

[Zaied]

All of the Tom Clancy games take place in the same universe (maybe not The Division, but I haven't played it so I'm not entirely sure). Notably, Sam was featured in Wildlands, and Hawx has a Ghost Recon mission. I like the idea of more games sharing a universe and/or crossing over. I'd definitely be interested in playing a Tom Clancy title that features elements of Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, etc. Splinter Cell: Blacklist had FPS missions that could've easily been reworked into a Rainbow Six crossover.

 

[Zero-ELEC]

Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden and Fatal Frame share the same world or universe, which is always funny to me, because these game worlds are so wildly different. Ninja Gaiden being so violent with lots of fantasy elements, Fatal Frame being so dark and creepy and in the DOA universe the girls play volleyball on sunny, tropical islands, sharing soft ice and playing dress up (or rather undress up) in front of "Owner-san".

Click to shrink...

Add Nioh to that now too, given you fight a Hayabusa ninja in that.

 

[Croc Man]

Twewy would have been perfect for a shared universe. Different versions of the game played across the world.

 

[Thorzilla]

Would FFVII and FFX count?

 

[Alex3190]

If all characters meet each other in some way in different games then does that make every gaming universe just one big universe ?

 

[TheDinoman]

Allow me to introduce you to the Donkey Kong Universe

 

[shadowman16]

Yakuza has a sorta shared universe between the following:

Yakuza 0-7 (duh)

Judge Eyes (based in the same city as Yakuza, Tojo Clan involved in the plot, takes place between Yakuza 6-7)

Kurohyou 1&2 (PSP spinoff Yakuza games, again takes place in Kamurocho/Sotenbori and heavily features the Tojo Clan, especially in the first game. Takes place between Yakuza 4 and 5)

Hokuto Ga Gotoku (aka FOTNS) - while not truly cannon, the fact that two major Yakuza characters cross dimensions into this game, it sorta counts. But more in a "Marvel Vs Capcom" sense.

Plus, as confirmed in one side story of Yakuza 1, and later elaborated on slightly via a GamesTM interview:
Jet Set Radio (Future) - not sure which of the two games are technically cannon (as Future is basically the same plot as JSR). But in Yakuza 1, there's a character in one of the Kamurocho public restrooms that desperately needs toilet paper (well, tissues) - once the side story is completed you meet the guy in the toilet and its revealed to be Goji Rokakku, who owns the Rokakku Group - and he's the main villain of the JSR games. It was confirmed in the interview that this is indeed supposed to be the same person, and somehow the two game series are supposed to be based in the same universe (and hey, both feature fictional versions of areas of Tokyo/Japan and Rokakku's goals mirror those that government officials would probably try implementing in Yakuza)

 

[Black_Stride]

I mean, if we're including Witcher portals then you might as well add Monster Hunter and Soul Calibur to the list.

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Didnt Ciri outright describe her trip to the Cyberpunk timeline....


I know the devs have said Ciri wont appear in Cyperpunk but i dont think they have said she wont be referenced.

 

[Nax]

Nier and Drakengard have done it the best in my opinion.

 

[Deleted member 8468]

There have been crossovers, but I don't think Marvel/DC are the same universe. They definitely aren't owned by the same companies (Disney and Warner).

I've always been a fan of the Capcom stuff being in the same universe. The VS. games are an easy example but folks have been showing up from various games for Street Fighter since forever. I think they have the most 'comic book' feeling crossovers.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Jet Set Radio (Future) - not sure which of the two games are technically cannon (as Future is basically the same plot as JSR). But in Yakuza 1, there's a character in one of the Kamurocho public restrooms that desperately needs toilet paper (well, tissues) - once the side story is completed you meet the guy in the toilet and its revealed to be Goji Rokakku, who owns the Rokakku Group - and he's the main villain of the JSR games. It was confirmed in the interview that this is indeed supposed to be the same person, and somehow the two game series are supposed to be based in the same universe (and hey, both feature fictional versions of areas of Tokyo/Japan and Rokakku's goals mirror those that government officials would probably try implementing in Yakuza)

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Oh wow, I didn't know this. That's cool as hell.

 

[shadowman16]

Oh wow, I didn't know this. That's cool as hell.

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Really wish I could find the issue number of GamesTM that has the interview in... as it had a couple of interesting tidbits about JSR. I just like that they do in fact consider the two games to be in the same universe!

Its sorta a pity that they've only had a couple of Shenmue Easter Eggs (in 4 and 0) as of all the series that Sega owns to be linked together, it and Yakuza (and now I think of it, Streets of Rage) would all make sense to be tied together. Virtua Fighter and Spike Out would have made sense as well, but both those appear as videogames in Yakuza so it sorta eliminates them.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Days Gone and Syphon Filter.

 

[Gartooth]

The connected Super Mario series is the biggest example of this.

Outside of the arcade Donkey Kong series there were several successful spinoffs that built up the universe. Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country, Wario Land, Wario Ware, Yoshi's Island, Luigi's Mansion.

Edit: Hell you could even include Banjo-Kazooie and Conker in there due to Diddy Kong Racing. LOL

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Mario and Donkey Kong/Country. No this is not a joke post

Edit: Beaten at literally the same time

 

[Deleted member 4494]

It sure seems like Fortnite is trying to do something along these lines. I mean, to be honest, I have next to no idea what the storyline of Fortnite even is, only to say that at some point the universe literally exploded / imploded and that is, I guess, a precursor to getting Deadpool and Kylo Ren in the same room.

Okay, so it's probably not what you're looking for -- if there's some canonical explanation for this, I'd love to hear it (would it make Kingdom Hearts blush?) -- but I do think Fortnite is trying to be a "shared universe" game, or a shared-IP game, which may be something else entirely.

 

[hydruxo]

Alan Wake and Control come to mind. The DLC that's coming is also supposed to delve into the crossover between them even more.

 

[Osu 16 Bit]

Mortal Kombat and Injustice.

 

[B.K.]

The connected Super Mario series is the biggest example of this.

Outside of the arcade Donkey Kong series there were several successful spinoffs that built up the universe. Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country, Wario Land, Wario Ware, Yoshi's Island, Luigi's Mansion.

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Link and Samus appear in Super Mario RPG, so Metroid and Legend of Zelda take place in the Mario Universe, too.

 

[LinkStrikesBack]

Pikmin and Splatoon both take place on Earth at different points in the future, long after humanity has gone extinct, and so they absolutely must both also share a universe.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone share a universe, now that I'm thinking of Sega IP.

 

[Lunatic]

FF games all share a universe depending on the game you play in the series.

 

[Mr. Capo]

DQ1-3 and the Builders sub-series all take place in the same universe.

 

[Cian]

The most elaborate one out there is definitely Kill The Past aka The Sudaverse. The Silver Case, Flower Sun and Rain, killer7, No More Heroes, Killer is Dead and Let it Die are all in the same universe, and debatably Shadows of the Damned, Diabolical Pitch and Michigan: Report from Hell as well. It is one of the most complex video game universes ever.

Dreamboum's excellent thread goes into more detail.

Similarly, the Platinumverse is also pretty wild. Bayonetta really hints at taking place in the same universe as Devil May Cry, and Wonderful 101 features characters from both Bayonetta and Viewtiful Joe, and Bayonetta appears in Anarchy Reigns, so it's all pretty all over the place.