Top 10 Video Game Sequels Cancelled After The First Game

Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 video game sequels canceled after the first game.

For this list, we’re looking at possible game series that disappeared after one entry, for a variety of reasons.

Let us know in the comments which franchise you hope returns someday.

Released in 2009, the original “Wet” certainly was unusual. Though it was published by Bethesda, it wasn’t a particularly memorable game; it was pretty mediocre, though it did have some interesting gunplay mechanics and a killer soundtrack. Despite all that, a sequel was actually announced, going by the name “Wet 2: Double Feature”, which got the small fanbase pretty excited. “Wet 2” had a lot of potential; it could have addressed all the criticisms of the original and become an extremely fun shooter that stood the test of time. The problem was that after the first game was a flop, Bethesda took away funding and it became impossible to make.

It probably wouldn’t have been called “The Order: 1886 2”, but it was canceled long before a proper title was ever made public – if one existed at all. “1886” was an early title for the PS4 that disappointed upon release; though it had great graphics and an interesting premise, it was extremely short. Many players desperately wanted more from this game but unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Sony didn’t see the potential in making a new game in the series, though the development studio, Ready at Dawn, purportedly did want one to come to fruition. Rumors emerged in early 2020 that the sequel really was on the horizon, but nothing official has ever appeared.

Unlike other canceled sequels, “Among Us 2” never saw the light of day because the original simply became too successful. Though it was released in 2018 and found a small but solid audience, in 2020 it took the world by storm thanks to its accessibility and how fun it was to play with friends during quarantine. Because of this, developers Innersloth shelved its plans for an “Among Us” sequel, instead putting more resources into the original game and adding new content in the form of maps and skins. It’s a nice change of pace to hear about a sequel canceled for a good reason, and maybe there really will be an “Among Us 2” someday.

Though this was technically the fourth game in the “Mass Effect” series, “Andromeda” looked set to be its own thing. We were heading to a new galaxy 600 years in the future, where anything could happen. Unfortunately, “Andromeda” was widely regarded as disappointing by its own audience, EA, and BioWare itself. That permanently shelved plans for a direct sequel to “Andromeda”, as well as the closure of BioWare Montreal and the cancellation of all the game’s promised sequels, too. There is going to be a new “Mass Effect”, of course, but the consensus is that it’s going to unify the two galaxies, rather than being a straight continuation of “Andromeda”; that dream is definitely dead in the water.

John Carpenter’s iconic movie eventually got the video game treatment two decades after its release, in 2002. By all accounts, “The Thing” was a great game. Though the game has disappeared from the public psyche, it was still wildly successful upon release and if you played it, you probably have fond memories. But for some reason, a sequel was never meant to be. Though it was announced and the original was both a critical and commercial success, it wasn’t enough to stop developer Computer Artworks from experiencing financial trouble. So much so that the company had to close, and hopes were dashed for a sequel to this outstanding horror title.

For a time, Silicon Knights was an incredibly successful studio, famously creating the landmark horror game “Eternal Darkness”. 2008’s “Too Human” definitely wasn’t of the same calibur, but it was still a decent ARPG that had plenty of fans. Silicon Knights discussed rough plans for a “Too Human” sequel over the years, and it’s clear the studio definitely wanted to go that way since they decided to end the game on a cliffhanger. But it never came to fruition, thanks largely to the lawsuit with Epic Games that put Silicon Knights in the ground. Epic ordered every copy of “Too Human”be destroyed for using Unreal 3 without a proper license, and Silicon Knights ultimately went bankrupt.

Rare’s famously foul-mouthed 3D platformer from the early 2000s was fertile ground for at least one sequel, and there was no reason why “Conker” couldn’t have taken off and become a whole franchise. And a sequel called “Conker’s Other Bad Day” was planned, but fell by the wayside after Rare was acquired by Microsoft. There were additional entries in the “Conker” series, including a 2016 game made for the Microsoft HoloLens that really doesn’t count, but there was no full sequel. Rather than make something new and exciting, Rare went on to create the poorly received remaster of “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” instead.

Rather than get canceled because the first “Fez” didn’t do well critically or financially, the sequel to this indie darling platformer was canceled because of a Twitter argument its creator got into. Phil Fish got into an online spat with games journalist Marcus Beer, who made some comments criticizing the culture around indie games developers and Fish in particular. It’s not hard to see why Fish was upset, but apparently, Beer’s comments rubbed him the wrong way so much that he outright quit the video games industry. Fish also said that he’d had a lot of struggles in the industry that led him to stop working on “Fez II”, the cancelation of which was quickly announced.

In 2017, “Prey” was back; Arkane Studios of “Dishonored” fame took the reins and delivered a reboot of the game from 2006. Except, it wasn’t actually a reboot at all – this new game, while pretty good, had basically nothing in common with the original. The 2006 “Prey” was set to have a sequel at one point, however; it was announced and we even saw its logo and trailers. But “Prey 2” eventually became notorious vaporware. Its production saw numerous delays and other issues, often because Bethesda kept demanding the developers add new features. It wasn’t until 2014 that we learned the truth: “Prey 2” had long been canceled because Bethesda apparently didn’t think it would be successful.

Though it got off to a slow start, “Days Gone” proved itself to be a creative and fresh take on the zombie apocalypse with an engaging story and a whole lot of motorcycle customization. But thanks to that slow opening, “Days Gone” didn’t receive as much love as it should have done upon release. It eventually developed a healthy and dedicated fanbase, as well as solid sales figures, but wasn’t successful enough for Sony to commit to a sequel. The promised “Days Gone 2” was canceled, and then to make matters worse, one of its directors John Garvin blamed the fans for the game not happening. He claimed that it hadn’t gotten enough support from the very people clamoring for a sequel.