20 CANCELED Superhero Games You NEVER Got to Play

20 Canceled Superhero Games You Never Got to Play

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking back at what could have been with twenty canceled superhero games we never got to play.

“Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Great Web”

In early 2024, Insomniac Games suffered a huge leak detailing various projects. One, which had already been canceled by the time of the leak, was a live-service multiplayer spin on the studio’s “Spider-Man” games called “The Great Web.” The leaked footage showed it was mostly just a concept, nothing concrete, with all characters featuring similar movesets and animations. Still, it teased new heroes like Spider-Man 2099 and Spider-Gwen. If their abilities were expanded on, traveling into alternate universes with others could’ve been pretty fun. It’s still unclear why the project was canceled. Although, one less live-service game on the market is probably a good thing, even if it does star Spider-Man.

“Project Sabbath”

With the way things have gone with the Arkhamverse lately, it’s especially sad to look back on this one. “Project Sabbath” was going to be the fifth game in the series and would have been set ten years after 2015’s “Arkham Knight.” Damian Wayne was to take on the role of Batman, with the game taking heavy inspiration from “Batman Beyond.” It was in development at WB Montreal, the same studio behind 2013’s “Origins.” Details about the game’s development are scarce, with only concept art existing. Regardless, the studio would eventually get to create another “Batman” game, for better or worse, with 2022’s “Gotham Knights.”

“Marvel 2099: One Nation Under Doom”

Although elements of Marvel’s 2099 universe have appeared in multiple video games, it never did get a standalone adaptation. It did come close, though. “One Nation Under Doom” was in development at Mindscape, Inc. for PC and the original PlayStation in 1996. It was to be a side-scrolling action platformer featuring futuristic characters of multiple Marvel heroes. Sadly, the team only got less than halfway through completing it. Though there was never an official announcement, it’s believed layoffs at the time led to its quiet cancellation. All that exists of it now are a handful of concept art pieces, some magazine previews, and some incredibly grainy demo footage.

“Green Lantern”

In the 80s and 90s, Ocean Software was a big name in producing licensed games, even dipping a toe into the DC pool with a few “Batman” titles. It also, almost, released a game inspired by “Green Lantern” for the Super Nintendo. It was to be another side-scrolling platformer, but was canceled when production got too costly. This was the result of Ocean restarting development a few times, due to it being unhappy with the game’s direction, and DC requesting story changes to be more in line with the then-current comics. Although no footage exists, a handful of screenshots, magazine previews, and sprites have been preserved by dedicated archivists. And the game’s soundtrack was uploaded by the game’s composer, Dean Evans.

“Spider-Man 4”

Not every reason behind a game’s cancellation is obvious, but it is for this next one. Sony and director Sam Raimi originally had plans to continue the Tobey Maguire-led film series. But when the fourth movie was canceled, so too was the tie-in game being co-developed by Eurocom and Radical Entertainment. In 2019, artist Wayne Dalton shared some screenshots from the game, and revealed that the team’s work was repurposed for “Prototype 2,” also developed by Radical. The same year, a prototype for the Wii version appeared online. And in 2021, the Xbox 360 version did as well, giving us all a glimpse at what could have been.

“Justice League”

Another game whose death is the product of a movie’s cancellation, we have a tie-in for “Mad Max” director George Miller’s “Justice League: Mortal.” Double Helix was hired to produce a game before the movie started filming. But Warner Bros. decided to start a new universe with a solo hero, leading to 2011’s “Green Lantern.” The game was to be an arena fighter with a multiplayer mode featuring 16 heroes and villains, and a story mode that followed Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern. While the game was scrapped, Double Helix’s work, at least, wasn’t in vain. Warner Bros. brought the studio on for the “Green Lantern” tie-in, “Rise of the Manhunters,” where some of its work was repurposed.

“X-Women: The Sinister Virus”

The Sega Genesis got a few great “X-Men” games, and was planned to receive one more late in its life that focused on female members of the team. Clockwork Tortoise, which had recently done well in the superhero game space with “The Adventures of Batman & Robin,” signed on as the developer of “X-Women: The Sinister Virus.” It would have followed Jean Grey, Storm, and Rogue trying to stop Mr. Sinister, who had produced a deadly virus that afflicted all male mutants. Although it had a positive debut at E3 1996, it faced numerous issues behind the scenes, which led to delays. With the 16-bit era quickly approaching its end, the game was canceled, Clockwork Tortoise itself followed soon after, and barely anything of the game remains.

“Gotham by Gaslight”

There are a lot of great Batman stories that take place in alternate universes or points of time. 1989’s “Gotham by Gaslight” is credited with having led to DC’s “Elseworld” series, and sees the Dark Knight contending with Jack the Ripper in a steampunk Gotham City circa 1889. It’s an interesting take, and could have made an interesting game. In 2009, developer Wargaming Chicago-Baltimore, called Day 1 Studios at the time and known for its work on the “F.E.A.R.” series, pitched publisher THQ on a “Gotham by Gaslight” adaptation. However, the project was never greenlit, reportedly because THQ couldn’t obtain the rights from Warner Bros. Concept art and footage from the proposed pitch are all we ever got.

“Lobo”

In addition to “Green Lantern,” Ocean Software also once planned to release a game based on Lobo. It would have been a fighting game with digitized graphics à la “Killer Instinct,” and was initially slated to release for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis in 1996. No reason was ever given as to why it never came out, although some have speculated a troubled development period and the industry-wide move away from 16-bit were to blame. However, prototypes of both versions have since appeared online, with the source code of the Super Nintendo version available since 2016. So, yes, technically you could have played this one. But it still never saw an official release.

“Spider-Man Classic”

In 2008, Shaba Games released “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.” And in 2009, Activision closed the studio, canceled its planned sequel, and handed the license to Beenox, which made 2010’s “Shattered Dimensions.” “Spider-Man Classic” would have followed up on the dynamic between Spidey and Wolverine seen in “Web of Shadows,” namely by allowing us to play as both heroes. Not much else is known about the game. In 2013, Lead Character Artist B.D. Fulton described it as a “comic-book hero buddy flick,” and revealed several pieces of art and character models created for the game, some of which showed off new designs for villains Mysterio and Carnage.

“Ghost Rider”

Marvel’s spirit of vengeance did get to star in the 2007 movie tie-in. But like the movie itself, it didn’t really do the character justice. A cancelled game from a pre-Tony Hawk Neversoft, on the other hand, sounded pretty awesome. Meant to release on the original PlayStation, the title was a 2D action game. But it would have allowed players to move the camera angles to study its 3D environments and uncover secrets. Armed with his trusty hellfire chain, Ghost Rider would slash enemies and swing through obstacles à la “Castlevania.” Unfortunately, the project never got very far. Publisher Crystal Dynamics decided to move solely into developing, and the game was canceled.

“Marvel Universe Online”

Cryptic Studios has made a name for itself by creating MMORPGs with licenses like “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Star Trek.” And the team once came close to releasing one for the world of Marvel. The game would have been published by Microsoft for PC and the Xbox 360. It spent a year and a half in development, though all we ever saw was a cinematic teaser that showed the likes of Hulk, Dr. Doom, and Captain America. Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim cited the crowded MMO market as the reason for cancellation in 2008. Cryptic continued development with a different license, and other studios have made Marvel MMORPGs since, but it’s still a shame Cryptic never got to release one.

“Batman: The Dark Knight”

Movie tie-in games are mostly a thing of the past. But we can’t help but wish this one made it through production. It was being worked on by Pandemic Studios, the team behind the original “Star Wars: Battlefront” series and “Destroy All Humans!” After around a year of development, Pandemic decided on an open-world game, which would have been Batman’s first. Unfortunately, they used their own new engine, Odin, which caused a ton of technical issues when implementing the assets they had already created. Publisher EA’s strict deadline to launch alongside the movie’s home release didn’t help matters. With the license set to run out in December 2008 and the plethora of technical issues, EA chose to cancel it.

“Marvel: Chaos”

In 2007, EA’s Chicago-based studio began work on a new Marvel fighting game. With fights taking place in 3D arenas and heavily destructible environments, it seemed like a great game for players to blow off steam as the Juggernaut, Hulk, or Dark Phoenix. However, in 2008, less than a year after the game’s announcement, EA shut down the Chicago studio as a result of internal restructuring. Not only that, but it also ended its professional relationship with Marvel, killing the game simultaneously. Oh, EA. If only you had known just how big Marvel was set to become that very same year with the MCU. You may have chosen to hold onto that license.

“Black Panther”

One more to draw some EA hate, not that that’s very hard to do. In 2023, EA announced a “Black Panther” game with Cliffhanger Games, a new developer founded in 2021. Sadly, in May of 2025, the game’s cancellation was announced as part of a larger overall restructuring within the company. Cliffhanger itself was also shut down. These weren’t the only casualties, but with how popular Black Panther has gotten in recent years, it would’ve been really great to see a game solely dedicated to the hero. It doesn’t help that several devs took to social media to praise how hard at work everyone was, using words like stunning, detailed, and rich to describe the game that would never be.

“The Flash”

Brash Entertainment’s very short life as a publisher was spent making licensed games, none of which really turned a profit. This led to financial issues, which then led to layoffs, returned licenses, and canceled games. One of those canceled projects was an open-world game from Bottlerocket Entertainment featuring everyone’s favorite speedster. The team was reportedly only six months into development, but the brief footage that’s appeared online since its cancellation shows they were well on their way to making a great game. The bright artistic direction brings back memories of the fantastic “Justice League” animated series. And the combat, which featured a variety of cool speed-based abilities, could’ve been something special.

“The Avengers”

Hype was definitely through the roof when the MCU brought the Avengers together for the first time. And THQ was working on a game to release the same year. Interestingly, the 4-player brawler was in first-person. And the studio brought on comic writer Brian Michael Bendis to adapt his “Secret Invasion” storyline. Sadly, in mid-2011, THQ suffered major financial losses due to “Homefront” and the uDraw peripheral. Along with the rise of the Australian dollar, this caused THQ to shut down the 2 Australian studios developing the game. They then sold the license to Ubisoft, who made 2012’s “Avengers: Battle For Earth,” which came and went with little impact.

“Wonder Woman”

This one especially hurts considering the talent that was behind it. A “Wonder Woman” game was announced through a short teaser in late 2021, with Monolith Productions as developer. Responsible for some really solid titles, particularly the “Middle-earth” duology with its unique Nemesis system, this got a lot of people excited. Sadly, that teaser is all we’d ever see of it. In early 2025, Warner Bros. not only cancelled the game, but shut down Monolith as well. This was another decision reportedly made out of a need to restructure, with major losses from games like “MultiVersus” and “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” likely affecting the wider ecosystem of Warner Bros. Games. Needless to say, a lot of fans were left extremely disappointed, us included.

“Daredevil: The Man Without Fear”

Marvel’s street-level hero hasn’t had many opportunities to shine in games. And that’s why this one stings so much. In the early 2000s, young developer 5000ft, Inc. began work on a Daredevil game for the PS2, Xbox, and PC. It eventually became open-world, with Daredevil’s signature ability being used to spot far-away crimes. It would have followed him fighting various gang organizations warring over the Kingpin’s territory, who had recently been assassinated. All of that sounds pretty promising, but internal issues plagued the production almost immediately. When 5000ft, Inc. weren’t trying to keep peace between Marvel and Sony, who disagreed on multiple elements, they were dealing with drug-abusing contract workers. Marvel, unhappy with the product, eventually pulled the license despite the game being almost finished.

“Superman: Blue Steel”

“The Flash” wasn’t the only promising game to be canceled due to Brash Entertainment’s financial woes. Factor 5, known for the “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron” series, had signed a multi-game contract with the publisher, the first of which was an open-world Superman game codenamed “Blue Steel.” But Brash’s closure coupled with the 2008 financial recession not only killed the game, but eventually Factor 5 as well. The game’s lead designer took to Twitter in 2021 to talk about how the game would have based their fights around super brawls from “Justice League Unlimited.” And the footage that’s leaked online showcases just that, complete with heavily destructible environments. We’ve still never gotten a great stand-alone “Superman” game, but at least Factor 5 returned in 2017.

Which of these canceled games do you wish you got a chance to play? Share your thoughts in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!