If the Saints Row franchise continues past next month's Saints Row IV, the series could move in a new direction. That's according to Saints Row design director Scott Phillips, who told Gamereactor that Saints Row IV is the conclusion of the existing saga.

"We're definitely considering Saints Row IV sort of the end of that saga of this character and the Saints as they are," Phillips said. "So if there's any more future Saints Rows--which you know we always hope there will be, we hope there's fans for future games like that--they will probably continue in a different direction."

Saints Row IV launches August 20 in North America. It follows past entries Saints Row (2006), Saints Row 2 (2008), and Saints Row: The Third (2011).

The franchise was created by Volition and was published by THQ before the company went bankrupt late last year. The Saints Row series and developer Volition were purchased by Deep Silver (Dead Island) parent company Koch Media during a January auction for $22.3 million.

For more on Saints Row IV, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.