10 Canceled Games We Wish We Could Play | Screen Rant
With the extensive amount of work that's necessary to create a video game and the various bureaucracies involved, it's no surprise that many planned titles never see the light of day. Whether it's due to lack of funds, mismanagement, corporate shenanigans, or just plain bad luck, these titles end up joining the growing graveyard of creative what-ifs.
While some of these potential games get scrapped early on or are simply too obscure, others get far enough into development or are anticipated enough that the cancellation leaves a lasting impact for both the creators and the potential players.
Before creating the obscure, but also influential, horror game The Path, the Belgian art game developer Tale of Tales was working on an adventure game simply titled 8. Based on the classic fairy tale "Sun, Moon, and Talia" and other variations of "Sleeping Beauty," the game would've followed an eight-year-old deaf-mute girl in a white dress who finds herself trapped within a large palace in the middle of a magical forest.
After the princess was cursed by the wicked fairy, the seven other fairies changed the spell so that the whole kingdom simply fell asleep for 100 years. But, because the wicked fairy sent eight unworthy princes to the palace, the magical forest that's protecting the sleeping kingdom is decaying. As the young girl, players would have to explore the kingdom and fix the problems caused by the eight princes. Since Tale of Tales has left the video game industry, the title will likely never be completed. Information on 8 can be found on Tale of Tales website.
After having disputes with some of Capcom's higher-ups and feeling restricted by his recent role as Capcom's Global Head of Production, Keiji Inafune, who is often considered the father of the Mega Man franchise, left the company in 2010 to start his own companies. But, when he left the company, there were three Mega Man titles being worked on. Without the backing of Inafune, these three titles were eventually abandoned by Capcom.
One of these titles was a game set within the Mega Man X universe that was codenamed Maverick Hunter, which was supposed to be a western-inspired first-person shooter reboot of the sub-series, according to Polygon. The developer, Armature Studio, was composed of former members from Retro Studios, who are best known for creating one of the best GameCube titles: Metroid Prime.
Announced in 2002, StarCraft: Ghost was supposed to be a new installment in the military science fiction StarCraft series for sixth-generation consoles. Set four years after StarCraft: Brood War, the game would've focused on a Terran woman named Nova who is a psychic covert operative that discovers a conspiracy. Unlike its real-time strategy predecessors, this game was planned to be a stealth-action third-person shooter.
During development, the original team working on the game, Nihilistic Software, struggled with developing the plot and balancing the stealth and action elements. Later, the game was switched over to a new team, Swingin' Ape Studios, before being dropped because the sixth generation was over. The story is detailed by Patrick Stafford for Polygon.
Another Mega Man game that was canceled after Inafune's departure was the 2.5D side-scrolling platformer Mega Man Universe (per Kotaku). Although the game's main storyline and campaign would've largely been the same as Mega Man 2, the game would set itself apart by allowing players to play as several iterations of Mega Man which could each be customized. Also, players could play as other characters from other Capcom franchises.
But, the biggest draw of the game was the fact that the player would've been able to create their own levels like in the Super Mario Maker series. Players would've been able to share these levels online with other users.
Because Valve wanted to avoid repeating the long six-year silence between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, they decided to create a short episodic trilogy that would be simple to make and would keep the series active before the next mainline installment. Each episode was supposed to only take about a year to make.
But, although Half-Life 2: Episode One met that requirement, development for Half-Life 2: Episode Two became a problem because more and more ideas and content kept getting added until the episodes were becoming more like full sequels rather than bite-sized episodes, according to IGN. Ironically, the cliffhanger at the end of Half-Life 2: Episode Two would lead to an even longer silence for the series until the 2020 VR game Half-Life: Alyx.
Since 2003, the well-received dark fantasy action-adventure series Legacy of Kain has been left in the dust despite attempts to bring it back from the dead. During the development of the last title, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, Eidos Interactive, who had been struggling financially, shut down Core Design and pushed the Tomb Raider franchise onto Crystal Dynamics while they were still working on Defiance, which led to major employees, like iconic female creator Amy Hennig, leaving the company.
Since Crystal Dynamics had their hands full, Climax Studios was given the reigns to create the next installment, which was eventually called Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun. Taking place many years after Defiance, the game would've followed the vampire Gein and the human Asher who have fused into one being. After Eidos Interactive was bought by Square Enix, management problems from Square Enix's side led to the cancellation of the project, as reported by EuroGamer.
Unlike the other two Mega Man titles, Mega Man Legends 3 had some hope of still being released after Inafune left because it was part of an already established sub-series with plenty of fans and nostalgia. Continuing from the cliffhanger of the second game, this installment would follow two new characters, Aero and Barrett, as they help rescue Mega Man Volnutt.
Whenever Capcom wants to resurrect a series, however, they usually run a "test" to determine whether it would be a lucrative choice, which usually means re-releasing old titles. In this case, the "Development Rooms" website was created to determine fan feedback, but fans had no idea about this and the website failed to meet Capcom's standards.
From 2013 to 2017, one of the most anticipated titles for the Xbox One was the action RPG Scalebound. Developed by PlatinumGames, who is best known for the Bayonetta series and Nier: Automata, the game was supposed to follow a swordsman named Drew who traveled across the world of Draconis with his bonded dragon Thuban.
Unlike other PlatinumGames titles, which were largely focused on one or two gameplay elements, Scalebound was filled with tons of different features including dragon flying, dragon transformation, weapon customization, and more. With the team using a new engine, working with an overseas publisher, incorporating multiplayer elements, and using A.I., it all ended up being more than they could chew, according to director Hideki Kamiya's apology in an interview with Cutscene.
Famous video game creator Hideo Kojima has always tried to surprise players with creative marketing campaigns. One early example of this is how trailers for Metal Gear Solid 2 deliberately mislead players into thinking they were still going to be playing as Solid Snake rather than the new character Raiden. But, Kojima took it to the next level with the popular short promotional demo for Silent Hills titled P.T. (Playable Teaser), which was made to look like an indie game.
Released by the fictional 7780s Studio, players only found out after completing the game that it was a long teaser for a new Silent Hill installment that would be directed by both Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, and the new main character would've been played by Norman Reedus. Because of disagreements between Kojima and Konami, however, Kojima left Konami and the title was canceled, as reported by Polygon.
Released in 1995 for the SNES, Chrono Trigger is an iconic JRPG that is often considered one of the greatest video games of all time. Headed by famous names such as Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yuji Horii, and Akira Toriyama, the game was revolutionary for its graphics, battle system, and story.
After the release of the well-received sequels Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki and Chrono Cross, a new title in this beloved series has not appeared. Though there were plans for a new installment called Chrono Break, the development of Final Fantasy XI and exodus of many key members to Monolith Soft led to the game being left behind.