The Knack trademark has been renewed by Sony, leading to speculation of a new game in the series, or at the very least a continued interest in the franchise.
As noted by Gematsu on Twitter, the trademark was filed in Japan on March 17 and was finally made public today. There's not much to go on here past that, leaving a lot of room for speculation.
Sony Interactive Entertainment filed a trademark for "Knack" on March 17 in Japan. Bandai Namco Entertainment filed a trademark for "Stacky Basket." Both were made public today.Knack: https://t.co/7VbxIEo2OAStacky Basket: https://t.co/ZMd3vOkvPy pic.twitter.com/Thg8i9naF3March 28, 2022
The immediate thought is that this could be a precursor to Knack 3. The first game, a launch title for the PS4, has long been used for meme-fodder in the gaming community as the basic platformer is outside of what most beloved PlayStation exclusives look like. It was considered a middling title and it never seemed to find an audience like so many other of Sony's best efforts.
Knack 2 was an unexpected, yet much-improved, addition to the franchise, though Knack 3 would be a genuinely surprising addition to the PlayStation library. Further, Sony’s Astro series seems to have taken the place of the fun and light 3D platformer space Knack would occupy.
Analysis: but does this really mean Knack 3 is coming?
While this could lead to a Knack 3 development, it’s hard to believe we’d see it, though stranger things have happened.
Trademarks being renewed on their own are hard to judge in a vacuum. With no supporting information as to why Sony has filed the trademark, it’s impossible to know the business reason for this. It's not uncommon for a company to file trademarks for intellectual property that it doesn’t have immediate plans for.
This can be done to keep the IP legally sound and up to date on the off chance that it is used in the future. While this could suggest another game in the franchise, it’s probably more likely the equivalent of IP housekeeping on Sony’s part.
That being the case though, it’s clear Sony isn’t ready to let Knack entirely fade away into obscurity. At the very least, the company is keeping its options open with Knack, and that should give any genuine fans some slim hope that the transforming hero could return one day.
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