5 Cancelled Video Games We Wish We Could’ve Played

Video games, despite being an all-round source of entertainment, aren't always destined for the shelves. Truth be told, there's an abundance of ambitious works that often fail to lunge the final hurdle and cement a place in the market. And that's something we'll never be able to change, no matter how hard we kick and scream over the occasional passing. Although, we can't deny the grief that often sits over us as we gloss over what essentially could've been. It haunts us, knowing we'll never be able to physically experience the journeys that developers battled so hard to create.

Of all the diminished works and shallow flames in the world, we do have to resurrect five of them — if only to reminisce over the initiative each of them possessed like a fine wine. Each cancelled project, despite never making it to the frontline, still somehow ring in our memories today. But unfortunately, luck was not on the cards, and each chapter was destined for limbo, bound to a pipedream with no future to guide them. And, you know — we're still salty about the lot. But then, can you really blame us? Just gloss over these five and you'll see what we mean.

5. Silent Hills

After teasing the world with the touch-and-go playable teaser (P.T.), both Kojima and Silent Hill fans began to swarm the latest project like a moth to the flame. The concept art was released, the plotline was well-rehearsed and mapped out. All efforts pointing towards the highly ambitious Silent Hills game were in full swing, and, as expected from a franchise with such an enormous following — people couldn't wait to bite into it. That is, until the game was canned, of course.

Silent Hills should've been the reboot every survival horror fan needed in a time so flustered by mediocre titles. Kojima held the keys to something truly magnificent, with Silent Hill already drawing an enormous crowd with its unorthodox characters and distorted design. However, after Kojima himself failed to establish a working relationship with Konami over the project, the game was eventually pulled from the board, despite already having the world in the palms of their hands. And, to be honest, that hit hard for gamers of all backgrounds — especially horror fanatics who longed for a fresh reboot.

4. Titan

Titan would've looked to knock the sibling franchises from the podium.

We can all pretty much agree that Blizzard and their bundle of well-established games are all prominent pawns on the MMO front. And while the focus truly has narrowed on the likes of World of Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft these past however many years, there has been the odd underdog IP that tends to float by, usually failing to find a foot to stand on. And in this case, we're talking about Titan, the next-level MMO that was set to ultimately knock the other Blizzard games from the podium. Only, well — it didn't. 

Other than a vague representation of the game and its features, Blizzard never really gave a great deal away when it came to Titan. And unfortunately, the same goes for their final call to cut the cord in 2013. Rather than looking to bridge the gaps and develop something fresh, the gaming giant instead went on to bolster its three flagship franchises and gravitate further to producing new expansions for each. Come 2013, after seven years in the mix, Titan was scrapped, and fans were left to pick up the pieces of the ambitious release.

3. The Simpsons: Hit & Run 2

Yes, it was really a thing. And no, you're not dreaming.

Matt Groening's TV cult classic might've had some pretty dreadful video game ports in its lifetime, what with The Simpsons Skateboarding and Wrestling additions being permanently labelled as two of the worst games in the world, but Hit & Run, surprisingly, managed to keep the series afloat way back in 2003. In fact, it became so popular, that gamers didn't hold back on reaching out to Radical Entertainment for a sequel. Only, what many didn't know was that, under the cover of darkness, a sequel was already under the hammer.

Sadly, with The Simpsons trademark being transferred over to EA, Radical was never able to develop the sequel they originally had in mind. Even though the project was in the early stages of pre-production, the team did have a few of the details mapped out. But it was never meant to be, and people have been left in the dark ever since, still hungry for a Hit & Run reboot or, failing that, a well-deserved remaster.

2. The Lord of the Rings MMO

Thanks, Amazon.

2020 wasn't the greatest year in gaming, mainly due to Covid hurling endless curveballs at the industry. Titles that were originally set for release were shoved back, studios were disbanded and scattered into remote locations, and the majority of tasks were made ten times harder with even more pressure to bypass. Of course, one of the many titles that was set to release was the highly anticipated Lord of the Rings MMO, which Amazon had spent the previous year escalating hype over.

Come 2021, a major dispute between Amazon and Chinese mega-corp Tencent ultimately shattered the dreams of ever publishing the game. But, with Amazon having a history of canned works and lukewarm receptions, fans weren't exactly surprised when the plug was finally pulled on the project. However, that isn't to say LotR fans weren't disappointed over its abrupt cancellation. Truth be told, from what had already been shown, the ambitious MMO was slowly shaping up to be a lofty stepping stone for Amazon and their pipeline of broken games. But, like previous works, one error went on to upset the apple cart and spoil what should've been a true credit to the franchise. Sad times.

1. Star Wars 1313

We won't pretend that we aren't still salty over Star Wars 1313 being cancelled — because we are. In fact, it's been almost eight years since the game was unveiled at E3, and we're all still extremely bitter over its ill-fated demise. Whether we blame Disney for not following up with the game after purchasing the trademark, or whether we put it down to LucasArts for teasing the world and then basically banishing all traces of it. Wherever the blame lies — it's still very much there, and people really aren't happy about it.

Of course, the thing that wound Star Wars fans up the most was that, behind closed doors, the game itself looked complete. Or at least that's what we took away after seeing the spools of interviews and gameplay demos that rolled out over the course of 2013. Whether it was ready for the market or not was another question, though going by the featured content — it wasn't exactly a far cry from a polished marvel. Only, it never quite made it to completion, and that's a wound that will forever cut deep so long as Disney holds the keys to the franchise.

Do you agree with our list? Are there any cancelled video games you wish you could've played? Let us know over on our social handle here.

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