Ratchet & Clank interest "hasn't waned" for fans, says Insomniac

Ratchet & Clank interest "certainly hasn't waned" for fans of the series, according to Insomniac boss Ted Price. In fact, it's a series fans of the developer "are most passionate about."

Speaking with Eurogamer, Price said the series has done "really well" as a whole, and the secret to its success has been diversifying each release while staying within the core perimeters.

"Ratchet started as a kitchen sink game where we'd do a ton of different things in terms of mechanics, in terms of mini-games," said Price. "It's just a plethora of stuff that's been shoved together. And we've become better at narrowing the focus for the Ratchet games over the years. I think it will always be a game that is about multiple mechanics.

"As a studio I believe we are getting better at focusing early on what will make a game great. With Ratchet: Full Frontal Assault it's about the move back to original Ratchet mechanics but then providing something different in the context of this tower defense. It would be easy to get distracted putting a hoverboot track in the game or do space combat or something that has nothing to do with making an awesome tower-defense game combined with Ratchet's original mechanics.

"That would be a mistake."

Price said he'd like upcoming IPs Outernauts and Fuse to be turned to a series as well, as Insomniac loves "building franchises," as once the first game has been established, the firm wants "to continue making games for [the] fans who love it."

Ratchet & Clank: Q-Force, also known as Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault in the US, contains Cross-Play between the PS3 and Vita versions, is one of Sony’s Cross-Buy titles, and will release in the fall.