The Five Most Disappointing Cancelled Video Games
The video game industry is very hit or miss, on one hand you have games that burst into a massive popularity like Epic Games’ Fortnite, on the other you have massive let downs like BioWare’s Mass Effect: Andromeda. However, there is a third hand! This hand holds the video games that could have been, the games that never got a chance to prove themselves to players or critics. The games we would have loved to see, but unfortunately never got off the ground. I speak, of course, of cancelled video games. Video game cancellations are never a good thing and are always disappointing to fans that looked forward to the cancelled releases, but for whatever reason, the studio just isn’t able to complete the game. So, what are our most disappointing video game cancellations of all time?
5. Gotham by Gaslight
Starting off at #5 is the Batman game that would have been developed by THQ. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight is an incredibly popular Batman one-shot by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola. The comic centers around a 19th-Century Bruce Wayne who has just begun his bout as Batman just as the famed serial killer, Jack the Ripper, makes his grand entrance into Gotham City. While the beloved comic eventually saw a Warner Bros. Animation adaptation, THQ attempted to obtain the rights in order to develop a video game based on the storyline. Unfortunately, this was not the case as THQ was unable to secure the rights and the game was scrapped. Until now, I didn’t even know that this was even a possibility and now I’m really bummed out that THQ’s version of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight never got to see the (gas)light of day.
4. Silent Hills
The cancelled Silent Hills game would have seen a bunch of big names including Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), and Hideo Kojima (Death Stranding, Metal Gear Solid) come together for the survival horror game developed by Kojima PRoductions for the PS4. Silent Hills would have been the 9th installment in the Silent Hill video game series. Unfortunately, the game was scrapped in 2015. However, Kojima, Reedus, and Guillermo del Toro would later join forces to release Death Stranding in 2019, which would go on to win The Game Award for Best Performance by Mads Mikkelsen.
3. Star Wars (Visceral)
The Star Wars game code-named “Project Ragtag” had been in development by Visceral Games since around 2013. Project Ragtag was set to be published by Electronic Arts until it was unfortunately cancelled in 2017. The game was led by Amy Hennig, creator of the Uncharted series for PlayStation. Just days after Visceral showed a demo of the game, EA decided to shutter the doors to Visceral Games. I would have loved to see Visceral Games’ take on Star Wars, but at least we got Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order right?
2. Scalebound
Scalebound was supposed to be an action-adventure game where you would play as a character named Drew; players would have followed Drew through his endeavors in the world of Draconis. We would have also been accompanied by a dragon named Thuban who was able to be used in combat if Drew activated the “Dragon Link” ability. I was looking forward to this game ever since I got my first Xbox One – I mean a game that lets you kick ass against a bunch of dragons? How can you go wrong with that? Unfortunately, Platinum Games and Microsoft decided to completely scrap the game after years in development and delays, so Scalebound never got to see the light of day. I’m still salty about this, although Devil May Cry is pretty close to the combat we would have gotten with Scalebound, but there aren’t any big dragons that you can control in Devil May Cry.
1. Star Wars 1313
One of the most disappointing cancelled video games of all time – especially for Star Wars fans – Star Wars 1313 was set to be the coolest Star Wars game ever. It was going to give players a complete story surrounding Boba Fett and the life of a bounty hunter in Star Wars. The game was in development by LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation, and even Skywalker Sound, so you can imagine how great this game would have been. Unfortunately, production on Star Wars 1313 came to a screeching halt when Disney acquired and subsequently shut down LucasArts and all of its assets in 2013. This still bums me out and I really hope that Disney reinstates LucasArts and resumes development on Star Wars 1313. Maybe we could even get a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 and bring it back into the Star Wars canon?
