Sequels are cornerstones of the entertainment industry, especially when it comes to movies and video games. While original content can make take the world by storm and make quite a splash, franchises are how developers and publishers make most of their money. For instance, some of the biggest game franchises out there are Super Mario, Halo, and Call of Duty, which have been around for 15 years or more.What's more, many AAA titles nowadays receive new installments annually, to quench players' thirst for more content as well as the companies' shareholders who crave more money. Sometimes, though, a video game series can take an extraordinarily long hiatus, only to return to the fold several years, if not decades, later. As it turns out, more than a dozen such games are finally going to hit store shelves in 2018.Related: 18 Best Video Game Sequels Coming in 2018Here are all the long-awaited video game sequels that are finally releasing in 2018.This Page: Kingdom Hearts III, God of War, Underworld Ascendant, Crackdown 3, Darksiders III and Metro Exodus

18. Kingdom Hearts III

Square Enix revealed Kingdom Hearts III - the long-awaited sequel to 2005's Kingdom Hearts II and the concluding chapter in the Dark Seeker saga - was in development at E3 2013, following years of speculation. A PS4 teaser debuted at that year's expo, with the developer later confirming plans to develop the game for the Xbox One as well. While the game is a sequel to Kingdom Hearts II, it takes place after the events of 2012's Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. Square Enix has showcased Kingdom Hearts III at virtually every major convention and expo over the past few years, and they plan on releasing the sequel in 2018, though an exact release date hasn't been set yet.

17. God of War

God of War - Kratos and son

Kratos got his vengeance in God of War III, and he also seemingly killed himself with the Blade of Olympus so that the world could be imbued with the same hope that he had. But his story didn't end that day. Sony Santa Monica is in development on a God of War soft-reboot that continues the story that left off with Ready at Dawn's 2010 installment. The game comes eight years after God of War III hit store shelves and is moving the franchise away from Greek Mythology and into Norse Mythology. To cap it off, Kratos is back with a son named Atreus, who may or may not continue his father's mantle in the God of War franchise going forward.

16. Underworld Ascendant

Concept art from Underworld Ascendant

Origin's open-world fantasy franchise, Ultima, spawned numerous spin-off series in the 1990s, and one of them is making a comeback in 2018. Underworld Ascendant - the sequel to 1992's Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss and 1993's Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds - is being developed by Otherside Entertainment and published by 505 Games, as part of an ongoing licensing arrangement with EA, who dismantled Origin in 2004. Furthermore, the long-awaited sequel only started to move forward due to a successful crowdfunding campaign. Although not much is known about Underworld Ascendant's plot, the sequel's gameplay is expected to be reminiscent of the original titles.

15. Crackdown 3

The first Crackdown became popular primarily because the game contained an access code for the Halo 3 beta - and Microsoft marketed the title as such. But what spawned out of that was a critically acclaimed action-adventure franchise that's now made a name of its own. Crackdown 2 released in 2010, though the response was more tepid than the first game. However, Microsoft has been keen on making another installment, and Crackdown 3 is finally scheduled to release in spring 2018. In addition to continuing Crackdown 2's story, the game will feature Azure-powered destruction, which makes virtually everything in the game destructible.

14. Darksiders III

Some promotional art for Darksiders III featuring game protagonist Fury

THQ is finally returning to the fold after being sold to Nordic Games in 2013. THQ Nordic is slated to release their first new game since the sale in 2018. Darksiders III is being developed by Gunfire Games since Vigil Games' rights to the franchise were sold to Nordic along with THQ, though many developers working on the game are former Vigil employees. The long-awaited sequel runs parallel to 2010's Darksiders and 2012's Darksiders II, with players taking control of War's sister, Fury, a mage and member of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

13. Metro Exodus

A screenshot from the upcoming Metro Exodus video game

Ukraine developer 4A Games is known for their graphically impressive Metro series, based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's novels of the same name. The first game, Metro 2033, released in 2010 to critical acclaim and spawned a sequel in 2013, Metro: Last Light, which took place one year after the events of the first game. And now, 4A Games is back with Metro Exodus, the third installment in the core Metro series, which is due out sometime in 2018. The story takes place two years after Last Light and is said to follow the sequel's Redemption ending.

12. The Guild 3

The Guild 3

Golem Labs is bringing back 4HEAD Studios' The Guild series, a historical real-time strategy game, after a 12-year hiatus. The Guild 3, a sequel to 2006's The Guild 2, takes place in Europe during the year 1400 and tasks players with creating a family dynasty of their own. While the game has been in development for many years, it only recently entered Early Access, with Golem expecting to ship the full release sometime in spring 2018.

11. State of Decay 2

State of Decay 2 - For Xbox One and Windows 10 PC

Undead Labs burst onto the scene in 2013 with their debut action-adventure, survival horror title, State of Decay. Rather than follow virtually every other survival horror game, State of Decay prioritizes players' critical thinking skills as well as how they defend their base - their home - against an onslaught of zombies. The game released on PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One in 2013, and its sequel, State of Decay 2, presents a unique opportunity for Microsoft Studios to bolster its exclusive slate. The publisher first announced State of Decay 2 in 2016, and after years of development, the game will finally release in 2018, with 4-player co-op to boot.

10. Mega Man 11

Mega Man 11 Art

Mega Man is back! The iconic Japanese video game series has been around for over 30 years, and Capcom wants to make sure gamers don't forget that, for they will be releasing Mega Man 11 - the 11th entry in the core Mega Man series - at the tail-end of 2018. The developer-publisher made the announcement during Mega Man's 30th-anniversary celebration in December 2017, confirming that Mega Man 11 will feature major graphical upgrades and release in 2018, eight years after Mega Man 10 released on PS3 and Xbox 360.

9. Soulcalibur VI

Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and other fighting games are cornerstones of the gaming industry, and Project Soul's Soulcalibur series happens to be among those titles. The mainline Soulcalibur franchise started off with 1995's Soul Edge and continued all the way through Soulcalibur V in 2012. The studio announced Soulcalibur VI at The Game Awards 2017, which will include series regulars Mitsurugi and Sophitia Alexandra. While details are still scarce on the title, publisher Bandai Namco confirmed that Soulcalibur VI will release in 2018, presumably towards the end of the year.

8. Valkyria Chronicles 4

Sega's military-themed video game series, Valkyria Chronicles, first released in 2008 and produced three mainline installments as well as two, mostly unconnected spinoffs. The third core title, Valkyria Chronicles 3, released on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2011. Although the game reviewed well, it didn't sell enough copies for the studio to immediately begin working on a fourth installment. After years of waiting, Valkyria Chronicles 4 is finally slated to release in 2018 on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The sequel will first release on the PS4 in March 2018, with the game coming to the other platforms later this year.

7. The Last of Us Part II

The Last of Us video game remastered

Naughty Dog's 2013 game, The Last of Us, released at the tail-end of the PS3's lifecycle, but it pushed the console to its limits and became a defining chapter in the last console generation. Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the long-awaited and highly-anticipated sequel, The Last of Us Part II, at PSX 2016 and revealed the return of Ellie and Joel, the first game's main protagonists. But the sequel's second trailer showcased several new characters, meaning the sequel is going to expand the series as much as it's continuing its fundamental narrative. A release date hasn't been set, but it's fully expected to release sometime in 2018.

The Wolf Among Us - Bigby Wolf

6. The Wolf Among Us: Season 2

Telltale Games' The Wolf Among Us is a canonical video game prequel to Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series. The first season of the episodic game began in October 2013 and generated an unyielding cult following. Telltale spent the next few years developing various other games, such as Game of Thrones, Minecraft: Story Mode, and Tales From the Borderlands, but they are finally returning to The Wolf Among Us this year. The Wolf Among Us Season 2 is expected to release sometime in fall 2018.

5. Shenmue III

Ryo Hazuki in Shenmue

Legendary video game designer Yu Suzuki originally envisioned an 11-chapter Shenmue series, spanning four or five games, but he only managed to develop two before being shut down due to poor sales and high production costs. Shenmue II essentially ended on a cliffhanger when it released in 2001, and Suzuki's Shenmue III - developed by Ys Net and published by Deep Silver - is expected to continue and possibly conclude Ryo Hazuki's quest. Suzuki finally brought the game out of development hell by putting launching a Kickstarter campaign, which became the fastest campaign to reach $2 million (in under eight hours). According to Shibuya Productions' Cedric Biscay, Shenmue III is still on track to release in 2018.

4. MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

FASA Corp's BattleTech is world-recognized fictional universe that spans across multiple media forms, which happens to include spinoff games such as the MechWarrior series. The first installment, MechWarrior, released for the MS-DOS way back in 1989, and the last mainline installment in the series, MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, hit consoles in 2001 (not counting the free-to-play title, MechWarrior Online, in 2013). FASA shelved the series until enough interest convinced them to bring it back one more time with MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, which is scheduled to release at some point in 2018.

3. The Bard's Tale IV

Concept art from the upcoming The Bard's Tale IV

The Bard's Tale is one of the oldest role-playing series in the gaming industry. The first installment originally released for the Apple II in 1985, which was later ported to the Commodore 64 and NES, among various other platforms. The last game in the series, The Bard's Tale Construction Set, released in 1991, but the iconic dungeon crawler is finally coming back after being stuck on ice for 27 years. inXile Entertainment's The Bard's Tale IV is slated to release for PC, Mac, and Linux sometime in 2018.

2. Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Level-5's role-playing series Ni no Kuni is returning to the fold after a seven-year hiatus (not counting the Japanese mobile game release in 2012) with Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. The sequel takes place hundreds of years after the events of 2011's Wrath of the White Witch and follows King Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, who embarks on a quest to reclaim his kingdom after being usurped from his throne. Sony PlayStation first revealed the game at PSX 2015, and it's finally hit store shelves in March 2018.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 Horseback Gang

Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 marks the third entry in the Red Dead series but is considered a prequel/sequel to the franchise's second installment, Red Dead Redemption. Rather than continue the story that left off with Redemption, though, and follow John Marston's son, Jack, Redemption 2's story takes place prior to the events of the last game, with players controlling Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van Der Linde gang. While Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't necessarily a sequel, it is a long-awaited follow-up to one of the most favorited games from the last console generation, and people waited years for Rockstar to finally confirm that they're making another Red Dead game, let alone release it in 2018.

More: The 50 Most Anticipated Games of 2018