Top 10 Canceled Games That Had Tons Of Potential
“LMNO”
Steven Spielberg may be a titan in the film industry, but some of his forays into video games have suffered from too much ambition. In 2005, he partnered with Electronic Arts to develop a video game code-named LMNO. The game would have centred on the player’s relationship with an extraterrestrial named Eve. Using first-person parkour movements, the player would have had to help Eve evade the authorities. The player’s decisions would have affected their relationship as the story progressed. Not much else is known about the title, which was seemingly quietly cancelled. But it’s a fascinating idea that we wish we could have played.
“Mega Man Legends 3”
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Sadly, “Mega Man Legends” is another in a long line of video game trilogies that will never be finished. The first two entries in the series gave gamers a different view of the famed Blue Bomber, both from a gameplay perspective and switch from 2D to 3D. The Legends series still maintained the run-and-gun gameplay the franchise was known for, but also featured an expanded moveset for Mega Man – allowing for more open exploration. The series gained a modest following and a third entry was announced for the Nintendo 3DS in 2010. However, shortly thereafter, series creator Keiji Inafune left Capcom. Although development was still set to continue, the game was ultimately cancelled in 2011, leaving fans stuck with the second game’s cliffhanger ending - forever dangling off the edge.
“StarCraft: Ghost”
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The Starcraft series is renowned for its engaging story and brilliant and fast paced tactical gameplay. Both games in the Starcraft series are still played competitively to this day. Starcraft: Ghost would have been a drastic departure for the famed series, adapting a third-person stealth-action approach. Though many story details remain unknown, the released and leaked footage showed off impressive gameplay, with a myriad of gadgets that would make Sam Fisher jealous. While a definitive reason for the game’s cancellation was never given, Blizzard’s success with the World of Warcraft franchise may be part of it. Another reason could be the imminent release of next generation consoles when the game was being developed on previous gen hardware.
“Star Wars: Battlefront III”
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To be clear, we’re talking about Free Radical Design’s Battlefront III from the 2000s, not any future EA releases. Developed by Pandemic Studios, the first two entries in the Battlefront series were commercial and critical successes. So naturally, a third entry in the franchise was greenlit - this time with Free Radical Design taking over development. The title had ambitions to push the series farther, both in terms of graphical capabilities and combat scenarios. However, it seems that the poor reception to Free Radical’s game Haze caused LucasArts to rethink their deal and cancel both Battlefront III and a planned Battlefront IV with the developer.
“Crank the Weasel”
Long before Cuphead captivated fans with its 20s style cartoon animation, there could have been Midway’s Crank the Weasel. Given the risque and frankly borderline nature of the title alone, the game would have been similar in tone to Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Players were to fill the shoes of the titular weasel, whose goal was to steal and cause as much chaos as possible in order to earn a ride to Pleasure Island. The game was originally slated to release in 2003 but was cancelled without much explanation just shy of its launch date. Players interested in the title still have a chance to play a small section of the game thanks to lead artist Eric Browning, who released a short demo on PC in 2017.
“Prey 2”
The original Prey was a standout title for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in 2006, with its portal-based gameplay wowing players a full year before Valve’s Portal stole the spotlight. Despite the game’s commercial success, the series went dormant until 2011, when Bethesda and original developer Human Head Studios unveiled a sequel. Far more ambitious than its predecessor, the game featured an open world to be explored by a former U.S. Marshal-turned-intergalactic bounty hunter, whose flight had been interrupted by the alien invasion of the first game. Although the reveal was well received, Bethesda eventually cancelled the sequel, stating that the game wasn’t meeting their quality standards. There’s a joke in there about Bethesda and their standards, but it glitched through the environment before we could tell it. While a new game titled Prey was eventually released by Bethesda and Arkane Studios, it had no similarities to the series’ previous entry.
“Fable Legends”
This is one of the rare instances of a game being cancelled during its open beta. Fable Legends was planned as a multiplayer game in which four Heroes were opposed by a single Villain. Announced in 2013, the game had a long development, with a planned release date for summer of 2016. The title had an interesting setup, but after fans had waited for so long for another mainline entry in the Fable series, the response was lukewarm at best. Whether this lack of enthusiasm affected the game’s overall fate remains unknown. But fans will hopefully have much more to look forward to when Playground Games’ entry eventually releases for the Xbox Series X.
“Scalebound”
This XBox One exclusive would have seen the player teaming up with a fearsome dragon companion - let us repeat that, your very own dragon companion! Developed by PlatinumGames, best known for Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengence, it was to be a third-person RPG focusing on between the player and their dragon. During battle, players could issue the dragon commands, or take direct control using “Dragon Link” mode. Ultimately the project was cancelled after being delayed, and so here we are, without our dragon companions. There’s still hope as Microsoft owns the IP, but both companies seem to have moved on.
“Star Wars 1313”
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There are very few sure things in life and in gaming. But Star Wars 1313 definitely had the potential to be a sure thing. A casualty of Disney’s acquisition of the Star Wars license, 1313 was cancelled after its very impressive demonstration at E3 2012. The game would have followed a young Boba Fett before he became a legendary bounty hunter. The demo featured Uncharted-style combat and climbing mechanics and very impressive set pieces as Boba’s ship was attacked and destroyed during its descent to floor 1313 of Coruscant. Of all the projects for Disney to leave behind in favor of their own canon, this one probably hurts the most. With Boba’s successful return on The Mandalorian and even his own spin off series, maybe someday we’ll get the chance to visit Coruscant and find out what was waiting on floor 1313. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Mega Man Universe” Before “Super Mario Maker” We Could Have Created Our Own Mega Man Levels “Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots” Fighting Homegrown Terrorists Was Scrapped & Evolved into “Rainbow Six Siege” “Battle of the Sith Lords” Darth Maul’s Rise to Power Was Cancelled in the Lead-Up to Disney’s Acquisition
“Silent Hills”
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It’s not often you can catch lightning in a bottle. But it seemed like Konami had done it when they paired up industry icon Hideo Kojima and Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro to work on “Silent Hills”. When their interactive teaser “P.T.” was sneakily dropped on the Playstation Store in 2014, it sent fans and the internet into a frenzy. Sadly their vision would never be fully realized. After Konami’s nasty split with Kojima, the game was cancelled and Konami deleted the P.T. demo. Kojima went on to partner with Sony and form Kojima Productions and Del Toro swore off game development altogether, believing any title he was involved with was cursed to fail. Thankfully their vision inspired other developers, and P.T.’s influence is still felt in modern horror titles today.
