Back in 2013 Aus gaming publisher Nordic Games ended up buying two of THQ’s key franchises; Darksiders and Red Faction they also snagged MX vs ATV as well. Many were left disappointed by the acquisition as they feared that a second sequel to the cult hit Darksiders would be replaced in favor of a reboot, however Nordic reassured fans that a sequel would indeed be the next entry in the franchise, however there was some sour with this sweet, as they confirmed that gamers shouldn’t expect the sequel until 2015 at the earliest. While no news on the dormant Red Faction franchise was given, it was at least good to know that Darksiders 3 was perhaps their top priority out of the two AAA properties, and it was even in what may be the early stages of development.

A few months ago after last hearing about both franchises in Summer 2013, Nordic Games announced the Red Faction & Darksiders Collections. These two collections titles would include would include every title in the respective franchises’ history, as well as their respective DLC.  With E3 right around the corner a collection announcement is pretty odd timing, especially given the fact that both are scheduled for Summer 2014 releases. Usually when collections are announced they’re used to not only regain interest in the franchise in question, but also to raise extra funds for development on a new title. Given the fact that both the Darksiders & Red Faction franchises sold quite decently for THQ it’s hard to believe that Nordic is simply releasing these collections just for funding sake, even more so considering they didn’t port them to current-gen consoles.

So if the third entry of at least Darksiders is indeed coming, what will Nordic do with it? Rumors and even Vigil have tossed around what the original plan(s) for Darksiders 3 were, however now there’s more than a few possibilities compared to when Vigil and THQ were in control of the property. Let’s take a look shall we:

Vigil’s Original Plan; All Four Horseman Being Playable in a Co-Op Experience:

IGN spoke with Vigil last year over the demise of THQ, Vigil, and subsequently at the time; Darksiders 3. According to Vigil Director Joe Madureira, what looked to be the plan set in stone was for the game to feature all four horsemen as playable characters in a new four player co-op experience:

“It was always our hope to do a full four-player co-op game, with all four Horsemen playable,” Madureira told IGN. “It’s possible we could have pulled it off. I would have liked to introduce Fury and Strife. I know many fans feel robbed that they never got to play the last two Horsemen.”

“Story wise, we tossed around the idea of the Horsemen attacking Hell to challenge Lucifer,” he continued. “And then taking the battle to the Charred Council to regain their freedom. Epic stuff. There was also an idea to do crazy ‘western’ type story, where the Horsemen are mortals after the rebirth of Mankind, sort of an alternate future. But neither idea got very far.”

Rumored: Fury and Strife Were Playable In A Two Player Co-Op:

Though these rumors didn’t make it to the surface very far for very long, it was highly suggested that Darksiders 3 was to star Fury & Strife in a possible co-op experience, though these rumors were never confirmed or denied. Given the fact that Death sacrifices himself for War & humanity, it’d make sense for new horsemen to take the lead. Though, surely Vigil had a story in place to explain why Death had been brought back in their finalized version of the game’s story.

Possibility: War Returns:

With Nordic in possession of Darksiders, it’s more than likely that they will be making some major script changes to the third game, and may even scrap Vigil’s version altogether. If that’s the case, it’s highly possible that War could return as a protagonist given the fact that Death sacrificed himself to prove his brother’s innocence as well as restoring mankind. If Nordic chooses to go this route, they may change War in their image including look, style, combat, etc in order to give it a reboot feel with out it’s story feeling like it’s gone completely back to square one.

Possibility 2: Death Returns:

Though we aren’t entirely aware of Death’s faith after the conclusion of Darksiders 2, it is suggested that he met his demise restoring War’s honor and mankind’s existence, however Nordic could pull some kind of scapegoat that keeps Death alive in the story and as the protagonist in Darksiders 3. Hell, they could even have us experiencing Death’s adventures in the after life.

Possibility 3: Strife or Fury is Playable,  Leaving Room For A Fourth Game:

It’s possible that Nordic could opt to use half of the rumored Fury/Strife story and only having one of them playable so to leave room for a sequel. Both have part of their stories revealed in the Darksiders comic book, so they could have Darksiders 3 act as  prequel, or at the very least feed off of the info from the comic into the sequel.

There’s still more options for Nordic, but these are a few that I’d personally like to see used. With all of the recent events surrounding the gaming industry we could see some fan hopeful & ground breaking announcements come this June. And with Darksiders 3 already set to a pre-suggested release for next year, anything can happen between E3 and then. Here’s hoping Nordic doesn’t keep us waiting for too much longer.