…whether a franchise is dead or alive IS measured by popularity.
That’s one way. But the better way is how good of a product is. Is by judging it on writing, story, and characters. If you do that to Bethesda Fallout. They are killing the franchise.
What was the biggest complaint about the first game? It was boring. Kojima over did it with the crazy stuff to counter that complaint. You have many musical moments and the final boss fight like he just watch FLCL for the first time. I like the first game’s more lay back vibe.