Publishers aren't the main reason horror franchises are quick to lose the scares.
It’s hard to talk about games like Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3 without having someone go off on a tangent on how the publishers “ruined” these series by trying to broaden the series fanbases – moving beloved franchises away from their horror roots and towards the more spectacle driven action genre. There is an idiom of truth to this complaint. Horror doesn’t generate Call of Duty sales volume. It’s a niche genre where only the exceptional few break into the mainstream. Action titles, counterparts of the money eating summer movie blockbusters, appeal to a much greater audience and are thus able to bring in much more cash. So yes, it makes sense that the “big bad” publishers would be responsible for the taming of your favorite horror franchise.
