Summary
Sonyhas recently renewed the trademarks forThe Mark of KriandRise of the Kasai, two hack-and-slash games that were originally released for the PS2. These classic gems from the 2000s have been left aside bySonyfor quite a while, but it seems that the publisher could be interested in this series once more.
Developed by San Diego Studio,The Mark of the Kriwas originally released for PS2 in 2002. The game was anexcellent old-school hack-and-slash adventurethat received mostly positive reviews, praised for its unique art style greatly inspired by Polynesian culture and action-packed levels. The title was successful enough to gain a direct sequel calledRise of the Kasaiin 2005, which was developed by BottleRocket Entertainment and allowed for four different playable characters. Despite still achieving success, however, the franchise never received a third game.
Now, Sony has renewed the trademarks for the two hack-and-slash titles, showing interest in theseclassic PS2 gamesonce more. According to filings in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Sony filed to renew the trademarks back on Jul 12, 2025. Fans could be wondering what Sony will do with these franchises, though, and that is not entirely clear at the moment.
Sony Renews Trademarks for The Mark of Kri and Rise of the Kasai
BothThe Mark of KriandRise of the Kasaican be played on PS4 and PS5 at the moment with high resolutions, so a simple remaster does not seem especially likely. However, it could happen, especially considering that Sony has been releasing several PC ports in the last few years, and some of them, like therecentHorizon Forbidden Westport, have been well-received by the community.
It’s also possible that Sony is planning a sequel or a reboot ofThe Mark of KriandRise of the Kasai, delivering a brand-new story set in the game’s universe. Despite thehuge success ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, for example, AAA games can be very expensive to make, costing over $300 million. So, it’s natural that Sony would also like to revive lesser-known franchises that could potentially bring in profit without having such high production costs. In any case, fans of the classic PS2 games should temper their expectations. IP renewals are fairly common, so it’s still entirely unconfirmed whetherThe Mark of KriandRise of the Kasaiwill make a comeback or not, and fans should wait until Sony officially announces anything before getting too excited.
