| Saints Row IV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Volition[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Deep Silver |
| Producer(s) | Jim Boone |
| Designer(s) | Scott Phillips |
| Programmer(s) | Ryan Spencer |
| Artist(s) | Stephen Quirk |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Composer(s) | Malcolm Kirby, Jr. |
| Series | Saints Row |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Saints Row IV is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 2011's Saints Row: The Third, the fourth installment of the Saints Row series, and the final main installment in the original series that began with the original game.[1] The game was released in August 2013 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and was later ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Linux in 2015. A Nintendo Switch port was released on March 27, 2020, and a Google Stadia port was released on November 1, 2021.
The game's open world nature allows players to freely explore a simulation of the fictional city of Steelport while completing main and side missions at their leisure. It incorporates science fiction elements, and continues the series' reputation for over-the-top parody. The single-player story follows the same player-created character from the previous games, who is elected President of the United States after thwarting a terrorist threat. Five years into their governance, they find themselves trapped in the Steelport simulation along with members of their gang, the 3rd Street Saints, after an alien empire known as the Zin attack the Earth and capture them. With help from some Saints who managed to escape and hacked the simulation to give them superpowers, the player attempts to rescue their captured friends, escape the simulation, and defeat the Zin.
Saints Row IV was the first game developed by Volition after its acquisition by Koch Media in early 2013, following the bankruptcy proceedings of the franchise's original publisher, THQ. The supernatural and superpower concept for the game started in Enter the Dominatrix, a cancelled expansion planned for Saints Row: The Third, which the team expanded into Saints Row IV. Volition later released a "director's cut" of Enter the Dominatrix as downloadable content for Saints Row IV alongside another expansion, How the Saints Saved Christmas, as well as various weapons, costumes, and vehicle packs. A standalone expansion, Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, was released in January 2015, serving as an epilogue to the base game.
The game received several limited and summative edition releases, and was briefly banned in Australia. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its humor and character customization options, but criticized its lack of challenge. It sold over one million units in its first week. The next game in the series, a reboot, titled Saints Row, was released in August 2022.
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- ^ Savage, Phil (July 8, 2013). "Saints Row 4 considered "end of that saga," future games to go in different direction". PC Gamer.