Saints Row IV is a recalled game in the Saints Row series.
- "It's a good example of how you take what you have and you say, 'How can we fuck this up completely?'"
- ―Donny Wilson
Development
Saints Row IV is described in promotional material as "An insult to the fans". When asked to elaborate on this, head proof reader Stave Garos explained: "We hate our fans, and so that's why with Saints Row IV, we really took this approach of it being like a real 'fuck you' to all those fans who wanted Saints Row: The Third to be more like Saints Row 2". Head continuity expert James Boom further explained: "We really wanted to take everything that the true fans loved about Saints Row I and Saints Row II, and shit on it."
The initial phases of development were detailed by lead pause-screen animator Phillip Scott: "We decided to take the iconic first cutscene from the Saints Row, and stick it in a mission, but deliberately get every detail wrong, just to show how little we care about Saints Row. My favorite part of that mission was the Freckle Bitch's billboard, since I was personally responsible for the lack of Freckle Bitch's stores in Steelport"
In a promotional play-through video of that mission, lead level grime designer Dave White explained that "It's the little details that really matter, so if you play that level with your eyes open, you can't help but notice that there are signs for Steelport dry cleaners, when the mission is set in Stilwater"