10 Announced Games We WON'T Be Playing This Generation
“Metroid Prime 4” (TBD)
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First announced 6 years ago at E3 2017 - good God - Metroid Prime 4 has had a tumultuous development to say the least. Initially being developed by Bandai Namco Studios, development was restarted in 2019 under original Metroid Prime series developers Retro Studios and the title has been mostly radio silent since then. With the recent successes of Metroid Dread and Metroid Prime Remastered, the series is experiencing something of a renaissance and fans have long been salivating for any new details about the upcoming 4th entry’s progress. However, given Nintendo’s recent track record of not showing a game until it’s near release, in most cases anyway, as well as rumors of the Switch’s successor launching next year, it's more likely Samus’ adventure will begin on the hopefully titled “Super Switch”.
“Beyond Good And Evil 2” (TBD)
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A game that has surpassed even the all mighty Duke Nukem with now over 15 years of development time, Beyond Good and Evil 2 was first announced in 2008 with a cinematic trailer and then wouldn’t resurface again until once again E3 2017. Bad year for game announcements. The game would be shown off again at E3 2018 and then, nothing. Outside of a few developer diaries, as well as series creator Michel Ancel leaving Ubisoft in 2020, things aren’t looking good for Pey’j and Jade as the game seems to be languishing in development hell with many recent reports noting the game is still in “early development,” whatever that means at this point. The bits of gameplay shown off were ambitious to say the least, showing characters going from the planet’s surface to space and back again seamlessly, but this little piggy might have bitten off more than he can chew.
“Horizon 3” (TBD)
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Guerilla Games’ Horizon series is one of the best new franchises to come out of the PS4’s already impressive catalog and along with the recent releases of Horizon Forbidden West and its Burning Shores DLC, Guerilla isn’t going to be leaving the Horizon series behind anytime soon. With the recent announcement that the company has roughly 16 active “plans” for the franchise as well as recently confirmed multiplayer entry, Horizon 3 *subtitle here* was also all but confirmed by the developer. However, given there was almost 5 years to the day between the releases of Zero Dawn and Forbidden West as well as the DLC Burning Shores just releasing in 2023, it’s unlikely production on the sequel has gotten very far. Coupled with rumors the PS6 could release as early as 2027 or 2028, the ever-increasing scale of the series means we’re not likely to continue Aloy’s adventure on the PS5.
“Black Panther” (TBD)
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The most recently announced game on our list and also the one we know the least about. Recent reports indicate that newly formed EA studio Cliffhanger Games will be using Unreal Engine 5 to develop the Wakandan King’s new single player outing but beyond that details are scarce. Given that the announcement also mentions the studio is newly founded, it’s likely there is still much conceptual work to be done on the title as well as actual production such as writing and motion capture before development can even fully commence. Black Panther recently received his own campaign in the doomed Marvel’s Avengers and isn’t the only outing for the Black Panther as Amy Henig’s next project will be focused on the Black Panther and Captain America battling Hydra during the events of World War 2.
“The Witcher 4” (TBD)
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Widely regarded as not only one of the greatest games of its generation but also of all time, The Witcher 3 put CD Projekt Red on the map in a big way, and after their stumble out of gate with Cyberpunk 2077 and its subsequent redemption arc, the developer announced a sequel to Cyberpunk but also a new trilogy in the Witcher universe. With development in the Cyberpunk series winding down with DLC, the fourth entry in the Witcher franchise is only now entering pre-production as of 2023. Even with the developer abandoning their internal RED Engine in favor of Unreal Engine 5, gamers are still unlikely to join either Geralt, Ciri or whoever will headline this new trilogy any time before the next generation of consoles.
“Gears of War 6” (TBD)
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Arguably one of Microsoft’s only flagship franchises outside of Halo, Gears has also been one of Xbox’s most consistent, with each release receiving near universal praise from both fans and critics. However, despite the series having a pretty regular release schedule, even with the developers switching from Epic to The Coalition, a new entry in the Gears series usually released 2-3 years apart. With Gears 6 releasing in 2019 with a more ambitious scope than previous entries, not to mention its cliffhanger ending, fans eagerly awaited its followup that has yet to materialize 4 years later. With news that downsizing within Microsoft has led to the cancellation of many of The Coalition’s other projects, development on Gears 6 seems to have only JUST NOW entered pre-production, meaning at best we’re still looking at another 3-5 years before the conclusion of the newest trilogy in the Gears of War saga.
“Mass Effect 4” (TBD)
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Mass Effect 4, or whatever the next chapter in Bioware’s sci-fi space opera ends up being called, is not even in our galaxy yet if the latest reports are true. After a somewhat controversial ending to the original trilogy, as well as the abysmal launch of Andromeda and Anthem, Bioware is in desperate need of a win, and while their upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf isn’t expected to launch until sometime early next year, that means production on the next adventure for the crew of the Normandy is still many, many years away. First announced in 2021, the next Mass Effect game is reportedly still only in pre-production as the developers focus on getting Dreadwolf out the door. With the recent release of the Legendary Edition tiding fans over as well as introducing newcomers to the world of Mass Effect, the hype for Shepherd’s hopeful return is at an all-time high.
“The Last of Us Part III” (TBD)
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Although divisive, there’s certainly no denying the success of The Last of Us Part 2, and now with the well-received TV series bringing in even more fans, there’s no way that a sequel isn’t in the works, especially given recent rumors. Fans have long suspected one of Naughty Dog’s numerous “unannounced projects” might be The Last of Us Part 3 and new leaks suggest that “major filming” is set to begin this year, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing the title anytime soon. Given that both the first Last of Us and its sequel launched as swan song titles for the PS3 and PS4 respectively in addition to video game productions becoming bigger and more expensive and time consuming, there’s a very good chance the 3rd entry could miss the end of the PS5’s life cycle and become a launch title for whatever comes next.
“Elder Scrolls 6” (TBD)
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Bethesda was once the industry leader for surprise announcements and launches, with some of their most high-profile games such as Skyrim and Fallout 4 being announced and launching within only a few months from their reveal. However, as Bethesda and Todd Howard are set to FINALLY release Starfield, they’re already looking to the future. The far, far, future. Announced with a cinematic name drop trailer, The Elder Scrolls 6 will be Bethesda’s next big project after Starfield’s release, but Todd wasn’t done there and also name-dropped Fallout 5 as their project after that. Given the extremely long development time of Starfield and the monumental success of Skyrim, as well as all its many ports, there’s virtually no chance we will see anything from Elder Scrolls 6 before the PS6 and Xbox Next are released.
“Perfect Dark Reboot” (TBD)
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First announced at the Game Awards in 2020, the Perfect Dark Reboot was meant to be the first title from Xbox’s AAA studio The Initiative after having been established in 2018 with many well-known names in video game development. However, 3 years after this announcement, the most recent bit of news is that this reboot has been rebooted and is still considered in the “early stages of development”. Crystal Dynamics was also brought on to co-develop the game after The Initiative lost more than half of its staff in 2021. We know next to nothing about the game itself besides some basic plot elements and given the slow state of production so far, it’s unlikely we’ll learn any new details any time soon or even see the game until either well into the Xbox Series’ lifespan or far more likely, as a launch title for its successor.