It’s not uncommon for games to travel through a long arduous journey before they can see the light of day. Unfortunately, some titles aren’t as lucky as others and end up either in development limbo or get canceled altogether. These are 10 games we’ll sadly never get the chance to play.
Star Wars 1313
Star Wars 1313 was set to be the AAA Star Wars game we’ve all been waiting for. A gritty take on the Star Wars universe, 1313 focused on a young Boba Fett living in a sub-level under the city-planet known as Coruscant. The game was in development under LucasArts, but that all changed in 2013 when The Walt Disney Company acquired LucasArts.
After the acquisition, the studio was shut down and all internal projects that were in development at the time, including 1313, were scrapped. From the reveal trailer, the game looked to employ a cinematic approach to its action-adventure gameplay, comparable to that of the Uncharted series.
Heavenly Sword 2
This may or may not come as a surprise, but Heavenly Sword was originally expected to be a trilogy. After Heavenly Sword was released on the PS3, Ninja Theory quickly began work on Heavenly Sword 2. However, Ninja Theory was forced let SCE Cambridge, most currently known as Guerilla Cambridge, take over the development of the sequel. In 2008, the project was canceled altogether.
Despite the setback, Ninja Theory moved on from Heavenly Sword and focused their efforts on a new IP called Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Ninja Theory is currently working on a spiritual successor to Heavenly Sword, called Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
inSANE
Game developer Volition and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro joined forces with the purpose of delivering us a brand new survival horror game called inSANE. After the demise of Volition’s publisher THQ, development on the title was halted. With the rights of the game still in his hands, del Toro reached out to multiple companies with the intent to revive the project. Much to del Toro’s disappointment, no company took an interest in his vision. This lack is interest from other publishers doomed the game and ultimately sentenced it to limbo where it will forever stay as vaporware.
Scalebound
After being in development for nearly four years, Scalebound, a game that was destined to come out for the Xbox One in 2017, was canceled. Developed by Platinum Games, this dragon focused action RPG was the studio’s first foray into the genre. From the get-go, Scalebound proved to be a challenge for the team.
The game was expected to have gameplay that was unlike anything the studio had done previously. Despite reported issues with the game’s engine and the team missing deadlines, Hideki Kamiya, the founder of Platinum Games, had high hopes for the title. Kamiya even went as far as to describe the game as a dream come true for him. In late 2016, due to the troubled development, Microsoft Studios and Platinum Games came to the conclusion that it was best to “part ways” and Platinum ceased work on the title.
Prey 2
Another highly anticipated game, Prey 2, was canceled reportedly due to “quality” issues. Human Head Studios released the announcement trailer at E3 2013. The trailer managed to pique event goer’s interest, but unfortunately, even a great trailer couldn’t save this game from cancellation. Although the game looked promising, publisher Bethesda didn’t believe that the game would live up to the high expectations.
LMNO
Electronic Arts formed a partnership with Steven Spielberg in 2004. In this partnership, Spielberg was contracted to develop three games for EA. One of those games was going to be a sci-fi action-adventure RPG codenamed LMNO.
This game, which featured a former federal agent and a mysterious female alien-like character as the protagonists, was meant to be an emotional story that would tug at our heartstrings. It turns out that what caused the downfall of this game was the fact that the team just couldn’t seem to get their ideas to coalesce into one workable story.
Fallout Online
Take Fallout and combine it with an MMO and you’d have Fallout Online. Fallout Online was going to be the Fallout MMO experience fans had been clamoring for, that is if Bethesda Softworks wouldn’t have gotten in the way. During development, Bethesda told developer Masthead Studios that although the game is set in the Fallout Universe, the game can’t mention or make any references to Fallout.
Bethesda’s decision rubbed Masthead Studios the wrong way and caused unrepairable friction between the developer and publisher. After a lengthy legal battle, the two parties reached a settlement and the game was canceled.
StarCraft: Ghost
StarCraft is most typically known for its real-time strategy gameplay, but StarCaft: Ghost looked to deviate from that path. This title was meant to be a stealth action game set within StarCraft‘s universe. The game was announced in 2002, but after several delays, the game was put on “indefinite hold” in 2006. Sadly, it seems like we’ll never know what could’ve been.
Rainbow 6: Patriots
No one was surprised to find out that another Rainbow 6 game was in the works, but I believe we were all stunned when news broke of Rainbow 6: Patriots cancellation. The game had been in development for several years, but as the developers moved on from last generation’s console to the current generation, problems occurred.
The game was eventually replaced with Rainbow 6: Siege. When asked why, the developers explained that they wanted to deliver a “next-gen experience” and it was just easier to start over with a clean slate.
Eight Days
Eight Days was originally meant to only be a tech demo in 2005, but about a year later, Eight Days was announced as a full-fledged game. The game managed to impress everyone with its first trailer and it quickly became a highly anticipated title.
Despite the popularity, the game was canceled in 2008 after an internal review conducted by Sony revealed that the game wasn’t very fun. The lack of an online mode was one of the most common critiques of the game. Since then, the game has faded away from most people’s memories.
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