If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Alpha Protocol will only live once

Poor sales equal no sequel, says SEGA.

Unsurprisingly, SEGA won't be green-lighting a sequel to mediocre spy RPG Alpha Protocol.

"Let's speak very commercially," a frank SEGA West president Mike Hayes told CVG. "The game hasn't sold what we've expected, therefore we won't be doing a sequel."

Alpha Protocol was released during a competition-free period on 28th May in Europe (early June in the US). The only role-playing alternatives had been offered months earlier: Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII.

Yet even after a six-month delay, Obsidian's only ever original IP struggled to convince critics. Eurogamer eventually settled on an appropriate 007/10.

SEGA's Mike Hayes believes Alpha Protocol was "a good game" that had a "brilliant" concept. The problem, he insisted, is that RPGs have to score better than other genres to achieve a similar level of success. They're also more expensive to make due to being "naturally big projects".

All of which makes you wonder why it was ever commissioned in the first place.

Obsidian is currently developing Fallout: New Vegas for money-bags Bethesda and Dungeon Siege 3 for money-bags Square Enix.

Topics in this article

Follow topics and we'll email you when we publish something new about them.  Manage your notification settings.

About the Author
Robert Purchese avatar

Robert Purchese

Associate Editor

Bertie is a synonym for Eurogamer. Writes, podcasts, looks after the Supporter Programme. Talks a lot.

Comments
Eurogamer.net logo

Buy things with globes on them

And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store!

Explore our store
Eurogamer.net Merch