Scrapped: The Cancelled Games That Hurt the Most


This week, EA announced that the Star Wars game being developed at Visceral had been "refocused", and furthermore, Visceral was being shut down. While they didn't explicitly say so, whatever this game was going to be seems pretty much dead. The "broader experience" that it becomes will essentially be a new game developed by other EA studios.

And so, Visceral's Star Wars title joins the pile of much-anticipated cancelled games, one that has been tragically growing quite fast over the past few years. Let's rip open old wounds and take a look at some of the other games on that pile.

Star Wars: 1313



Announced: May 2012
Cancelled: April 2013
Platforms: PC. PS4, Xbox One

A third person action-adventure title, 1313 was set to follow Boba Fett as he navigated underground Coruscant, presumably doing sick Bounty Hunter stuff.  The only existing gameplay footage teased what looked to be Uncharted meets Star Wars. This was another way it echoed Visceral's title, other than that they're both dead.

Not long after Disney took over Lucasfilm, game development at LucasArts was shut down, meaning all of its ongoing projects, including 1313, were scrapped. Perhaps one day we'll get the next-gen Star Wars: Bounty Hunter we deserve.

Scalebound

Announced: June 2014
Cancelled: January 2017
Platforms: PC, Xbox One

Dragons, magic, Beats by Dre, Scalebound looked appropriately crazy for a Platinum title. Quite a lot of footage was released for the Xbox-One exclusive over the years since its announcement at E3 2014. Yet after a initial delay meaning it missed its original late 2016 release date, Scalebound was announced as cancelled early this year.

Not much is known about specifically why it was scrapped, though Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has suggested that pressure caused by the title being announced too early was a major factor. On the plus side, Platinum released the largely succesful Nier: Automata just a couple months later, reportedly saving the studio in the process.

Whore of the Orient

Announced: November 2011
Cancelled: 2016
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One

Developed by former members of Team Bondi, Whore of the Orient is the L.A. Noire successor that never was. All that exists of the project are some screenshots and leaked footage, which show its 1930s Shanghai setting.

Financial troubles plagued development, and the project failing to get much in the way of investors was its downfall, being officially declared 'dead' in 2016. If you're holding out for another L.A. Noire, this won't be it, but until Rockstar makes a sequel, the original's current-gen remaster might scratch that itch.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots

Announced: November 2011
Cancelled: June 2014
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One (Originally PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

While the cancellation of this game brought about the stellar Rainbow 6: Siege fairly quickly, those hoping for another single-player Rainbow effort were disappointed. Patriots would have followed the Rainbow squad as they tried to deal with a terrorist threat in New York City, struggling with their own morality in the process.

In the years following its announcement, very little in the way of development news came about, until it was officially declared scrapped. Siege meanwhile featured a complete change in direction, and was released only a year and a half later in its place.

Fable Legends

Announced: August 2013
Cancelled: March 2016
Platforms: PC, Xbox One

Out of all of the games on this list, Legends was the one closest to release, actually being cancelled during its open beta (which stayed open for another month after this). It looked to be a true co-op Fable experience, with up to 5 players able to take part as 4 heroes and 1 villain. The heroes would have to work together to complete various objectives, while the villain conjured up enemies to try and stop them.

Development issues, delays, and the beta's lack of success were large parts of why the project was canned, and in April 2016 its developer Lionhead Studios closed along with it, after 20 years in the industry.

Silent Hills

Announced: August 2014
Cancelled: April 2016
Platform: PS4

This one still hurts. Stealth-announced at E3 2014 with a fantastic Playable Teaser, and with Hideo Kojima, Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus all attached to it, Silent Hills looked like it would be a long-awaited return to form for the Silent Hill franchise. Not much is known about how similar the title would have been to its teaser, nor what typical franchise elements would return, but excitement was understandably high following its reveal.

Due to turmoil between Kojima and Konami, the details behind which have yet to be fully disclosed, Silent Hills development fizzled out, and Kojima left Konami to reform the now independent Kojima Productions. Some time later, their new project Death Stranding was announced, with Del Toro and Reedus attached yet again, and balance returned to the universe. Still though, what could have been.

What scrapped title pains you the most? Another I didn't mention? Distract in the comments below.

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