Given remakes being all the rage in the twilight years of the 2010's and most of them doing quite well with even the "failures" like RE3 Remake and FF7: R still selling like hot cakes and more or less being decent games on their own that were victims of their own hype (brevity was RE3's issue and the weird plot twist hurt FF7:R, but I think future installments could hopefully alleviate it) then I think remakes of classic PS1 and PS2-era titles will be the main thing for AAA gaming in the 2020's once the COVID-19 lockdowns are fully behind us, and especially once woke culture crashes and burns.
I could see a few games getting remade in the 2020's decade, quite honestly.
1. A Legend of Zelda remake for 2020 or 2021 using the same engine as Breath of the Wild.
Based on what I know about Nintendo, I think they'll probably remake Majora's Mask or Wind Waker in this scenario since both a lot of nostalgia value but aren't quite on the same "Sacred Cow" level of status as Ocarina of Time is. They could also try a remake of the original NES Zelda as well, since the OG Zelda was one of the earliest prototypes for open world gaming and would lend itself well to Breath of the Wild-style gameplay
2. A remake of Morrowind
As much as I utterly cringe at the thought of this idea, I wouldn't put it past Bethesda to try this stunt since Fallout 76 bombed badly, the Skyrim well is starting to run dry, and Morrowind now has this cult status as "the last good Elder Scrolls game" so you know damn well Bethesda sees the potential for nostalgia bucks and will no doubt screw it up massively
3. Dead or Alive Remake/Reboot/Sequel
This seems kind of bold and "optimistic" but hear me out, I think we could see Koei-Tecmo try to do an MK9-style reboot/remake of the franchise that more or less serves as a reimagining of the first two or three games and is very much a "back to the roots" title.
Woke culture has more or less peaked this year, Anita has cashed in the last of her chips for one "last hurrah" with Last of Us Part 2, and Evo has essentially crashed and burned with all the dirty laundry being aired about Evo and the Smash community.
DOA has been in the crosshairs of SJW's since the start of "Current Year" and Evo's fuckery was one of the main reasons why DOA6 ended up the way it did.
If Koei is smart about it, they'll do a return to form and just go all-in on the fanservice and "sexy" characters and costumes for a reboot of the DOA franchise.
It may be gaudy and cringe in some ways, but it will sell like hotcakes and more or less be seen as a palate cleanser after a decade of frumpy and pretentious wokeness, especially if the game itself can stand on its own gameplay merits outside of the fanservice.
Sony's censorship policies and the SJW hate-boner for anything tangentially weeb-related may be an issue right now, but I think the cultural tide turning the other direction will get them to go and change their tune, especially following the blunders surrounding Last of Us Part II and if the Volcano High game bombs badly enough.
Hell, if Koei wanted to be really daring, they could even have a "nude mode" DLC that's exclusive to Steam or whatever, but that would probably be a bit too ridiculous in all honesty.
4. GUN remake
I know what you're thinking, "What the fuck is GUN?" or "Why the fuck would anyone remake an obscure AA title from 2005?" but hear me out.
GUN is at best a hidden gem and cult classic, but it could also be spun as a "new franchise" by the people at Activision and they could probably cash in on the unexpected success of Red Dead Redemption as well, especially since Rockstar is preoccupied with GTA Online and porting GTA V for the umpteenth time.
GUN was more or less the proto-Red Dead Redemption, even moreso than Red Dead Revolver was. It was basically meant to be GTA III in the Old West and was part of the first wave of "GTA Clone" sandbox games in the Sixth Generation of consoles.
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle of Bikini Bottom got a remake, and with GUN, you don't even need to pay for the licensing of another IP. Which brings me to my next potential idea....
5. The Simpsons: Hit & Run Remake
Given that this is often considered "The one good Simpsons video game" alongside the original Konami arcade game, I would not be surprised if Disney decides to go for a nostalgia cash-in while Harry Shearer, Julie Kavner, and Dan Castellaneta are still among the living. It's unlikely but if they do try it, it will probably suck because anything Disney touches turns to shit these days.
The only way it could work though is if Disney can let go of its terminal wokeness to bring back Apu and let Hank Azaria voice the non-White characters like Carl and Lou. I don't see that being likely, and chances are if Disney allows for a remake of Hit & Run, it will flop.
Sadly, a Simpsons Hit & Run remake actually has a lot of potential if they allow it to have the full potential and go for a ground-up reboot/re-imagining of the game.
I'd include a lot of the content that was cut from the original version and maybe even add some extra levels (honestly, I'd love to see levels where you play as Moe or Milhouse, since Apu got his own level in the story)
As cringe as this sounds, a good Simpsons Hit & Run remake/reboot could work well if they also had a multiplayer mode that's more or less meant as a Simpsons "GTA Online" but without all the awful things about GTA Online these days.
Won't ever happen though.
