9 Video Games That Didn't Know How To End

The gaming equivalent of running out of road and falling off a cliff.

By Scott Tailford /

Remedy

Why are there so few video game endings we actually remember and talk about positively?

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In an age where the majority of triple-A video games are designed to be played for literal years at a time - facilitating DLC and microtransactions, before a sequel resets everything all over again - the very purpose of an ending is forever changing.

Do you tie off all your potential story threads, running the risk of a satisfied consumer base not coming back? Maybe go with a cliffhanger, as whilst you might not have secured funding for a sequel, a surge of fan interaction could make that a reality somewhere down the line.

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There's also the fact that developing a video game is incredibly hard. Budgets run out, key staff members leave or can have any number of emergency commitments.

Any large-scale title has a team-size reaching closer to 100 individuals, and the likes of Assassin's Creed or Red Dead Redemption 2 have that number doubled, tripled or more so.

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All of this folds back into a game's design, and the challenge of executing on an initial vision becomes substantially more hard.

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-- Spoilers within --