Another Top 10 Cancelled Video Games

Another Top 10 Cancelled Video Games

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Time again to dive into the realm of games unreleased. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down Another top 10 Cancelled Video Games. Since this is the second time we’re doing this countdown, be sure to check out the original video to see any cancelled games you think we may have missed. Once again, we'll be examining games that were properly announced, promoted with media, and finally cancelled. Obviously, there are some games that don't qualify – games like…oh I dunno…Half Life 3 that have never been confirmed, won’t be making the list.

#10: “Fez 2”

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This game's fate is tied to that of Phil Fish – for good or ill. At E3 2013, a brief trailer teased this sequel to the critically-acclaimed platforming game “Fez”, with the expectation that developer Polytech was beginning work on the project. However, things went awry when – after a heated argument over Twitter – lead developer Phil Fish not only announced his departure from game development, but outright cancelled “Fez 2” out of spite. Such a shame.

#9: “Eight Days”

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We're scratching our heads trying to figure this one out. Made by SCE London Studio, part of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, this action game seems to have been highly experimental in nature. It supposedly was meant to include two parallel storylines, a real life clock, two protagonists who eventually team up to confront the game's villains, and eight states to explore. The game slowly fell from the public's radar, before it was abruptly cancelled on the grounds that it lacked online play. Interestingly, SCE London maintains that it is merely on hold – perhaps a comeback is on the horizon?

#8: “Donkey Kong Racing”

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Big apes just can't catch a break. Rare, a long-time second party developer for Nintendo, began work on a GameCube sequel to “Diddy Kong Racing” that would focus more on Diddy's older cousin – Donkey Kong himself, plus his extended cast. The game Rare teased with a tech demo would have operated on an evolutionary model; the animals that the various Kongs ride could be upgraded by consuming food, or switched out mid-race in favour of a new mount. Unfortunately, Rare's buyout by Microsoft in 2002 makes this project an accidental casualty. Rare did try to salvage this project by rebranding it as “Sabreman Stampede” with their own Sabreman mascot, but unfortunately that too was cancelled.

#7: “Six Days in Fallujah”

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The story behind “Six Days in Fallujah” is as follows: members of the USMC's 3rd Battalion 1st Marines asked Atomic Games to develop a game based on their experiences in the Second Battle of Fallujah. Atomic accepted and began crafting what they described as a realistic military shooter with horror elements, complete with destructible environments. Everything was set to go before publisher Konami announced they were severing their ties with Atomic, based on public outcry over the subject matter. Though this was disappointing, the thought of playing with the lives of marines that fought and died only a few years ago is a grey area indeed.

A sequel to 1994's “Earthbound” was expected, but this stumble certainly wasn't. Shortly before “Earthbound” was released, work began on the next installment. The sequel was to be in 3D and released for the Nintendo 64DD, occurring ten years after “Earthbound” and sporting twelve playable characters across twelve chapters. However, the combination of the 64DD's failure and the development team's inexperience in 3D game design stopped this project short. Thankfully, the story doesn't end there – it became the Game Boy Advance cult classic “Mother 3” – which still never got a western release.

#5: “Dungeon Keeper 3”

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Bullfrog Productions was eager to start conceptualization for their next game, not long after “Dungeon Keeper 2” had hit stores. The plan was to take the series' premise of defending evil monsters from traditional heroic adventurers, tweak aspects of the economy and multiplayer gameplay, and even let players control both the heroes and a new race. Reality soon kicked in, though, as Bullfrog was merged with Electronic Arts UK to work on other projects – leaving “Dungeon Keeper 3” and other works in the dust. Fans finally got a new Dungeon Keeper game on mobile a decade later, but that’s best left forgotten.

#4: “Sonic X-treme”

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Kids, work hard – but not like this. This planned Sega Saturn title was the brainchild of Sega Technical Institute, whose vision for the game shifted from traditional side-scroller to full 3D platforming game. In fact, it would have been the first 3D Sonic game, had pressure and physical limitation not intervened. Game engines were swapped out for one another, team members worked themselves to the point of extreme sickness, and the studio fell into chaos. Eventually, producer Mike Wallis had to make the hard call, and the game was canned – leaving the Sega Saturn without it’s Sega’s flagship mascot to carry it.

#3: “Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans”

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The stars really seemed to line up on this one. American developer Animation Magic was tasked with designing gameplay for a darkly comical Point & Click adventure game based on Blizzard's “Warcraft” franchise. Once the framework was ready, Blizzard provided the voice talent, world design, and patented series continuity. What went wrong? Well, Blizzard took one look at the near-finished product and felt it wasn't up to their usual standards. They elected to cancel the game, though a beta version was leaked and can still be found to this day, and many of the characters found their way into future blizzard endeavours.

#2: “Fallout: Online”

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Bethesda's power knows no bounds. “Fallout: Online” was at the centre of a legal dispute between series developer Interplay and the Fallout franchise's new owner Bethesda Softworks. Pitched as a massively multiplayer online game, little is known about the game other than it apparently being near completion and being set in the Fallout franchise' fifties-inspired post-apocalyptic United States. Bethesda eventually won out, which lead to the game's development being abandoned and Interplay moving on to new projects. Since Fallout 3 was such a resounding success, it’s hard to take sides in this one. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: “This is Vegas” “Faith and a 45” “Worms Battle Rally” “Project Titan”

#1: “Silent Hills”

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Just like Mega Man on our first list, the Silent Hill series has been on a downward spiral for years, and this collaboration between Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro, starring The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus looked to be the franchises saving grace, especially after that incredible PT demo completely freaked us out. Sadly it just wasn’t to be, as internal conflict with Konami and Kojima led to the game getting the axe. While Konami has hinted that we may one day return to Silent Hill, it won’t be with Silent Hillssss. Do you agree with our list? What cancelled games capture your attention? For more retrospective Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.