The game started development in August of 2017.
After Saints Row IV (2013) was released, the developers felt that they went too far with the wacky style of that game. This reboot was intended to get the series back into a more serious tone that still contained a lot of humor, similar to Saints Row 2 (2008).
Final game developed by Volition before the studio was shut down on August 31, 2023. Contrary to popular belief, this game was not the main reason for the closure. Volition had already suffered financial difficulties and layoffs years before the game was developed, and their Saints Row spin-off Agents of Mayhem (2017) turned out to be a commercial failure. This reboot was another attempt to recover the studio financially, which was not possible due to the poor sales and mixed critical responses. Following the closure of Volition, Embracer Group moved the company's IPs, which included the Saints Row series, to Plaion.
Baby Driver (2017), Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) and John Wick (2014) served as the main inspiration for the game.
The working title of the game was "Saints Row Cinco".