Top 10 Cancelled Games You Would Have LOVED

This canceled project would have given players a whole new angle from which to view the expansive StarCraft universe, taking the normally real-time strategy series into the third person action genre. Rather than a hulking, armored Marine, players would have taken control of Nova, a Terran special ops agent who must uncover a sinister conspiracy within the Terran Dominion. Initially developed by California-based studio Nihilistic Software in conjunction with Blizzard, development was eventually handed off to Swingnin’ Ape Studios before finally being canceled in 2005. Much like its stealthy protagonist, the game disappeared into the shadows, leaving only cutscenes and gameplay footage to entice StarCraft fans.

In the original Alan Wake, players slipped on the shoes of a struggling writer who finds himself beset by mysterious shadowy forces while attempting to overcome writer’s block in the secluded Washington town of Bright Falls. Heavily inspired by the works of Stephen King and TV series like Twin Peaks, the game won numerous accolades for its atmosphere and writing, driving interest in a sequel. Despite developing a prototype for a proposed second game continuing Alan’s adventures, publisher Remedy were unable to find a distributor for their ambitious follow-up. Elements from Remedy’s prototype were retooled into “Alan Wake’s American Nightmare,” so not all was lost.

While navigating mazes and dungeons filled with lethal traps and enemies is an experience most gamers will be more than a little familiar with, the acclaimed Dungeon Keeper series gives players a taste of what it’s like on the other side of that familiar staple, allowing them to construct deadly mazes to thwart pesky heroes. When it came time to develop the series’ third installment, which would have included the first above-ground segments in the series, development was halted by publisher EA, who moved series developer Bullfrog onto other, more lucrative projects. A mobile title was released in 2014 but was heavily criticized for its extensive use of in-app purchases.

Set in the expansive post-apocalyptic future of the Fallout universe, this proposed MMO would have seen players fighting to survive in the irradiated ruins of the US, cooperatively battling raiders, super mutants, ghouls, and each other for control of the Wasteland. Interplay had apparently mapped out around 65 thousand square miles of terrain, which would have made this MMO truly deserving of the “massive” part of the term. Unfortunately, legal disputes between Interplay and Bethesda Softworks, put the project back into the vault, sealing it off from Fallout fans forever, no matter how many points they’d put into their lockpicking skill.

The Legends series brings the Blue Bomber’s adventures into the third dimension, allowing players to explore the far-flung future of 80XX in full 3D, instead of the series’ usual 2D sidescrolling action. After two core games and a spinoff focusing on the air pirate antihero Tron Bonne, series creator Keiji Inafune expressed interest in a third core entry. The third game would have introduced new characters and continued the series’ epic story. However, Inafune split with developer Capcom in 2010, leaving the third entry in the Legends series to join games like Mega Man Universe and the FPS Maverick Hunter on the list of canceled Mega Man projects.

When it comes to first-person shooters, the classic title Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 is considered a massive landmark in the genre, as well as one of the best movie-tie-in games ever produced. So naturally, nostalgic gamers looking to relive their cherished memories have been eager for a modern update to the classic title. In 2008, it looked as though this wish would be granted, as word got out that developer Rare as well as Microsoft, MGM and Activision would bring an HD remake of the influential shooter to the Xbox Live Arcade. Sadly, copyright disputes killed the game like a shot from a golden gun.

Imagine How to Train your Dragon but filtered through a lens of anime and rock music and you’ll have a pretty good idea of why this game’s cancellation earlier this year was such a downer. From legendary studio PlatinumGames and director Hideki Kamiya, who helmed such classics as Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, the game would have had players assume control of a massive dragon and its human rider Drew in a wholly original fantasy world known as Draconis. The game was originally slated for release in 2016 before being pushed back a year but was finally canceled earlier this year, for reasons that have yet to be clarified.

The acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney in 2012 resulted in a lot of great things, but sadly also brought about the cancellation of this highly anticipated title. A dark, gritty third-person action shooter reminiscent of the Uncharted series, the game would have had players assume control of the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and explore Coruscant’s seedier side as he ventures into Level 1313, a lower level of the galactic capital and home to numerous shady criminal elements. Despite looking like every Star Wars fan’s dream when it was unveiled at E3 2013, development of the game was halted after developer LucasArts was shut down by Disney.

A horror game masterminded by Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear Solid series and director Guillermo del Toro sounds too good to be true, and it turns out the world just wasn’t ready for a dream team of that magnitude. Hype for the much-anticipated project reached a fever pitch upon the release of the game’s playable trailer P.T, which sees Norman Reedus’s protagonist navigating an endlessly looping hallway populated by pure nightmare fuel. But in 2015 it was announced by Del Toro that the game was officially canceled following Kojima’s break from publisher Konami, leaving us dreaming of the nightmares that could have been.

While no word on the future adventures of everyone’s favorite mute, crowbar-swinging theoretical physicist has been issued from Half-Life developer Valve, the resignation of series writer Marc Laidlaw from the company, as well as the leak of a story treatment for the planned next installment, it’s somewhat safe to assume we won’t be seeing a new Half-Life game anytime soon. Given the series’ legendary status and a legion of devoted fans, many of whom still hold out hope to this day that they’ll get closure on the series, we can’t think of a bigger shame. Maybe it’s time we all just moved on.