10 Canceled Xbox Games We'll NEVER Get to Play

10 Canceled Xbox Games We’ll Never Get to Play

Ty Richardson

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 Xbox games that unfortunately got axed mid-development.

“Scalebound”

This was a rather unique moment for both PlatinumGames and Xbox as the two were prepared to show the power of the Xbox One with this title. “Scalebound” had been in development for a long time, going all the way back to 2006 when PlatinumGames first opened its doors. It wasn’t until 2013 when development truly started, planned to be an action RPG with four-player co-op support. Despite some positive reception to what little gameplay was shown, the project fell apart. Since “Scalebound’s” cancellation in 2019, various heads from Platinum have revealed that the team was not prepared to tackle an online-focused game, studio head Atsushi Inaba stating that “Scalebound” “didn’t do all of the things that we needed to do as a developer” and that “both sides failed”. As a result, “Scalebound” is now dead in the water as the deal between PlatinumGames and Xbox meant that Microsoft would own the “Scalebound” IP. Platinum staff have made their desire to return to the project public, but Xbox has not said anything on the matter.

“Banjo X”

Long have fans of the bear and the bird been wanting a tried and true third game. Well, we were only inches into that dream becoming a reality. After the release of “Conker: Live & Reloaded”, Rare decided to try and remake “Banjo-Kazooie” as they just did with “Conker’s Bad Fur Day”. Alas, the project did not get far. Some artwork was made, Mumbo Jumbo got a 3D model, and there was supposedly a functioning 4-player co-op mode. There was even talks about how to make Gruntilda compete against the player as they both try to accomplish the same tasks. Two problems cropped up; 1) the folks at Rare deemed the AI needed would be too difficult for the Xbox to handle, and 2) development was starting in 2004, and the Xbox 360 was launching very, very soon. Rare would move onto a kart-racing starring Banjo and company known as “Banjo-Kazoomie”, which allowed players to swap vehicle parts to build their dream vehicle. However, it only got as far as the prototyping phase. And everything from both “Banjo X” and “Kazoomie” would eventually be recycled into “Nuts & Bolts”. But it wouldn’t be the last attempt at an Xbox kart-racer.

“The Fast and the Furriest”

Rare did have plans for a multiplayer game that would reunite Banjo and Conker. “The Fast and the Furriest” was originally planned to be a party game where players competed in a variety of minigames starring various Rare characters. However, the game changed at some point into a kart-racer. Serving as a spiritual successor to “Diddy Kong Racing”, players could race as Banjo, Joanna Dark from “Perfect Dark”, Sabrewulf from “Killer Instinct”, Rash from “Battletoads”, and many others across a wealth of tracks. Conker was noticeably not going to be involved. Ideas included building your own vehicles with interchangeable parts and even using character-specific powers to destroy and build parts of the track mid-race. Trophy Thomas from “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” was also going to be a part of the game as an original character. No reason was given as to why the game was canceled.

“Perfect Dark Core”

Despite the rough launch of “Perfect Dark Zero”, we were about to get a third game in the series, and it would have been a bigger departure due to both teams of the two games already working on other prototypes. And so, “Perfect Dark Core” was to be developed by Chris Seavor and the “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” team. The team planned to go a much darker approach with this one, a story more serious where Joanna’s mental stability would deteriorate while uncovering yet another alien conspiracy. The world was also planned to be more open with some parkour and RPG mechanics thrown into the mix. While you can find videos of animations and gameplay, the project was eventually canned. Part of this was due to the team suddenly losing a couple of members as they were sent to other projects. However, Seavor points to “Zero’s” awful sales and the explosive popularity of “Halo”. Here’s hoping Crystal Dynamics and The Initiative’s “Perfect Dark” reboot revitalizes the IP.

“Fable Legends”

Poor Lionhead Studios was one of the first major victims in Xbox’s mismanagement problems. After a tumultuous period of trying to make Kinect games (“Fable: The Journey” didn’t pan out too well), Lionhead started working on a new “Fable” game that would focus on online multiplayer. Set four hundred years prior to the first game, “Fable Legends” was to be a MOBA dungeon crawler where a villain player would create quests for the hero players to take on, throwing whatever enemies, traps, and more to foil their mission. A beta was conducted before the project was unceremoniously canceled in 2016, months before launch. Some of Lionhead’s staff showed up to the studio only to be greeted by an email saying that the studio was shutting down immediately by order of Microsoft. A few others were already aware of the studio's potential shuttering by this point. Today, Xbox heads say they’re regretful about closing Lionhead Studios with some heads former and current taking blame for the decision.

“Dead Or Alive: Code Chronos”

While it wasn’t a project from an Xbox first-party studio, Koei Tecmo’s “Dead Or Alive” series has a storied history with Xbox, with “DOA 3”, “Ultimate”, “DOA 2 Ultimate”, “DOA 4”, “Xtreme Beach Volleyball”, and “Xtreme 2” all being exclusive to Xbox and Xbox 360. “Code Chronos” was to be yet another installment exclusive to Xbox 360. In a 2006 interview with Play Magazine, creator Tomonobu Itagaki announced the game and revealed it would focus Ayane and Kasumi before the events of the first “Dead Or Alive”. Then, things went quiet until 2010 when then Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi announced “Code Chronos” was canceled. Within these four years, Itagaki had found himself embroiled in sexual harassment allegations and was suing Koei Tecmo for missing bonuses that supposedly promised to him during DOA 4’s development. Itagaki left the company in 2008, and “Dead Or Alive” continued without him until DOA 6 ended post-launch support.

“Sundown”

Yeah, we aren’t quite done with Rare yet. Turns out the studio was taking a second crack at horror in 2006, the first being 2004’s “Grabbed By the Ghoulies”. Whereas “Ghoulies” had that usual cartoon-y style Rare had become known for, “Sundown” was to be much more realistic and gritty. Players would survive and fight a parasite that could mutate its host into horrific monstrosities. You scavenge for supplies and bolster your defenses during the day, then fight the parasite at night. Why the project was canned, we may never know, but there is plenty of concept art and even some footage of a rough prototype to view online.

“Project Titan”

Before “Halo: Infinite” took things to an open world format, we were going to get a “Halo” game just as big in scope. Er, at least it seemed that way. “Project Titan” was the codename for a new MMO set in the “Halo” franchise, and it was going to be developed by Ensemble Studios, the company behind the “Age of Empires” games. And Microsoft was dishing out the money to make this happen as they were planning to use it as a competitor to “World of Warcraft”. Money was injected into building a whole new branch for Ensemble. The game would have utilized a cover system, psion for special abilities (the game’s “mana”, basically), and a different artstyle to distinguish itself from the rest of the franchise. However, burning ninety million dollars does not guarantee your success. And as it turned out, the new office never started construction because Microsoft planned to close Ensemble as soon as “Halo Wars” finished development. “Titan” was canceled while “Halo Wars” wrapped up development, and leadership within Microsoft changed. Don Mattrick was put in charge of Xbox, and he proceeded to shut down Ensemble anyways. All in the name of profitability.

“Conker: Gettin’ Medieval”

Last Rare game before we hit our final entry, we promise. Rare has seen a wealth of canceled projects, and Conker has seen quite a few of them. Of them all, “Gettin’ Medieval” had the most promise. After launching “Conker: Live & Reloaded”, Chris Seavor had wanted to go in the direction of online multiplayer with a focus on Death (the character) and a theme on medieval fantasy. Classes would expectedly be changed to fit the game’s aesthetic, but character art is pretty much as far as the project got. But from the way Seavor has talked about it, it sounds like “Gettin’ Medieval” would have just been a standalone version of “Live & Reloaded’s” multiplayer with a different coat of paint.

“Odyssey”

This might be one of the first canceled games Activision Blizzard has seen under Big Daddy Xbox. In 2017, Blizzard Entertainment began work on a new survival game they dubbed “Odyssey” with a team of two hundred people. Players would travel across various portals gathering resources in servers of up to one hundred players. However, development was constantly plagued by the online limitations of Unreal Engine, causing the team to switch to Synapse, which caused further problems. And that’s without mentioning the massive toxic workplace lawsuit and Cosby Suite scandal. Once Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, staff had their fingers crossed that they’d be able to switch back to Unreal. Microsoft had other plans, though. In January 2024, Microsoft enacted a round of layoffs across all of its sectors, including Blizzard Entertainment, which led to “Odyssey” getting canned. Some of the staff were simply moved to other projects while everyone else was laid off.

Was there an Xbox game here you believe would have been a smash hit? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!