10 Amazing Video Game Franchises That Were Abandoned

7. Zone Of The Enders

Zone of the enders jehuty
Konami

The first Zone of the Enders game, a brainchild from the now severed partnership of Hideo Kojima and Konami, came out in 2001.

For the uninitiated, this series had you battling it out in space with giant robots so, look, you can see why people fell in love with it even if you haven’t had the pleasure yourself. Despite pulling in fans for its intriguing concepts, stylish action combat, gorgeous visuals, and deep narrative, Kojima was a pretty busy guy around the early 2000s and other projects at Konami took priority. Though Kojima announced work on the fourth instalment had begun in 2012, 9 years after the last instalment hit shelves, the project was ultimately cancelled due to issues with the release of the Zone of the Enders HD Collection which was burdened by a flawed plan to up the frame rate.

With Kojima and Konami now firmly parted ways, it’s very unlikely we’ll see another Zone of the Enders game to the dismay of its fanbase.

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Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.