Developing video games can be a difficult, thankless job. Many video games fell and never emerged from “development hell,” a term people use when something never went further than its development stage.
Although some eventually made it out, some were destined to stay and eventually be canceled either due to the circumstances around it or the changing of the times.
Here are some of the video games that we wished were never canceled but unfortunately did.
Silent Hills
Silent Hills is, without a doubt, a missed opportunity to experience a psychological horror video game developed by Hideo Kojima while its story is written by Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican filmmaker responsible for movies like “Pacific Rim,” Mimic,” and “The Strain.”
The game, which starred Norman Reedus, was supposed to be a reboot of the entire Silent Hill series; its demo, titled PT (Playable Teaser), showed gamers worldwide what Kojima and Guillermo del Toro could do to spook gamers out of their minds.
However, issues between Kojima and Konami drove the game into cancelation, with its PT demo being the game’s only reminder of what could’ve been.
Star Wars 1313
Star Wars 1313 was another game canceled by the circumstances around it, much like Silent Hills. The game was meant to explore the life of a young Boba Fett as he becomes the iconic bounty hunter in the “Star Wars'” original trilogy.
Unlike the many “Star Wars” games that saw players explore vast new planets with Jedi, Star Wars 1313 is more of an M-rated GTA game that have you explore the darker and grittier parts of the cities of the galaxy far, far away.
Unfortunately, Lucasarts, Lucasfilm’s gaming division, started on the game far too late. George Lucas sold the rights to “Star Wars” to the big mouse, making its cancelation all but assured. It was only a matter of time before Disney canceled the game’s development.
Read More: Live Nation’s Ticketmaster Recognizes Bot Problem That Leads To ‘Terrible Consumer Experience’
Prey 2
Prey 2 was a game that should’ve brought life back to the series. Shortly after releasing the first Prey game, Human Head Studios, the company that developed the game, announced its sequel, though development wouldn’t start until 2011.
By this time, Bethesda was collaborating with Human Head to bring the game into a reality, with the former eventually gaining the rights to the game. However, due to the game’s progress not proceeding as Bethesda had originally envisioned for the game, the developer would later announce its cancelation at the 2014 pax Australia event.
Gotham By Gaslight
Many of the “Batman” video games that weren’t LEGO games in the late 2000s and early 2010s were poorly received by gamers worldwide. This was a time before Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham games, which allowed gamers to definitively “be the Batman.”
However, another game should’ve had the honor of that honor as well, and that is Gotham by Gaslight, a “Batman” video game set in Gotham City during the Victorian Era.
The game is a tie-in to the comic of the same name, meaning that developers only needed to bring what happened in the source material into the video game.
While development reached a point where Day 1 Studios, the same company that made Fracture and F.3.A.R., could explore Victorian-Era Gotham City with Batman, fate had other plans. THQ, the game’s publisher, was unable to get the licensing rights from Warner Bros. to further develop the game, leading to its cancelation.
Starcraft: Ghost
Starcraft: Ghost was supposed to be Blizzard entertainment’s first foray into the third-person shooting genre for gaming consoles, with the game focusing on the story of Starcraft’s November “Nova” Terra, the other prominent Terran ghost beside the Queen of Blades, Sarah Kerrigan.
Blizzard Entertainment got far into the game’s development, creating a gameplay trailer of the game to prove to gamers that Starcraft: Ghost is happening.
However, the game’s complicated development and production began near the end of the PS2-Xbox era of video game consoles. To make the game playable on the next consoles, Blizzard had to delay the game’s release, which eventually led to the game’s cancelation.
Related Article: 5 Tips to Deal With Tilt in Video Games