Little more than a week ago, new THQ president Jason Rubin called out Volition's Saints Row 3 as being "embarrassing" in an interview with Polygon, despite the game easily selling over 4 million units. He believes that Volition could turn the franchise into something more on the lines of Red Dead Redemption or Skyrim and mitigate its over-the-top flavors, but it seems he's had a minor turnaround in his understanding of the series.
Instead of seeing Enter the Dominatrix, the would-be upcoming DLC for Saints Row: The Third, its content will simply be incorporated in full into Saints Row 4.
When I looked at the Enter The Dominatrix expansion in production at Volition, I was blown away by the ideas and desire to expand the fiction of the franchise.
I asked the team what it could achieve given more time, more resources, and a broader scope for the project. We all agreed we wanted to play that game.
When it comes to Saints Row, it’s clear our fans want bigger, better, and even more over the top, and that’s why Enter The Dominatrix will now be incorporated into a vastly expanded, full-fledged sequel, scheduled for calendar 2013.
Thankfully, I think Jason Rubin finally got the message that we like our Saints Row to be over-the-top, dildo slap-tastic, and unadulterated in every f***ing sense of the word. At the same time, this is awesome news. I would rather have the content bolster and lengthen Saints Row 4 than seeing as a standalone pack for a game that's already a bit old now.
That said, I believe he also understands that it could be better and deeper than just fun. Between the bouts of juvenile humor, the story could be expanded further with better character development and mission scenarios. I'm not talking about serious emotional drama here, but perhaps using the comedic opportunity for commentary on the absurdity of the real world.