[eropple]

Blizzard released Hearthstone in 2014, Heroes of the Storm in 2015, and Overwatch in 2016. It's very difficult to characterize that as "milking". And Bethesda has Starfield in the pipeline, though it's a next-gen title at this point.

[Jach]

I also don't think Blizzard or Bethesda are particularly good examples of game studios "milking" it. Sure you can use the "new IP" filter to describe those who are "milking" and those who aren't, but to me it's ok to reuse existing IP if there's a significant new spin to it (rather than beating a dead horse). Take Doom 4 (2016) as an example from Bethesda via id, rather than being a knockoff it totally revived the series, capturing what it means to be "Doom" while also feeling fresh against all the other FPSes at the time. In contrast look at Nintendo's parade of 2.5D Mario side-scrolling platformers since New Super Mario Bros DS. They're all basically the same. Yet even then they can still sometimes produce something greater than that with Odyssey.

[eropple]

To be honest, I was trying to respond in good faith and not consider other Zenimax/BGS properties outside of Bethesda proper. And even they're doing Starfield, as I mentioned.

Fallout 76 seems to kinda suck, but that's one game.

[FooHentai]

You can bring in some fresh cows while continuing to milk the older ones, which is what both appear to be doing (e.g. WoW, Fallout) ;)

[DonHopkins]

Rockstar certainly is milking their Red Dead Redemption franchise.

https://youtu.be/cfTnsqNuDg8?t=137