10 Amazing Video Game Franchises That Were Abandoned

2. Bushido Blade

Bushido Blade
Sony

Bushido Blade was a 3D fighting game originally released for PlayStation in 1997. We’re playing it a touch fast and loose with the definition of the term ‘franchise’ here as Bushido Blade was cut short after only two entries but the instant-death-on-hit combat, themes of honour and the warrior code, and innovative strategy mechanics set it apart from other fighting games at the time, and even today. Despite both entries being critically acclaimed and initially a slam dunk for publisher Square Enix, we haven’t seen anything else from the series since 1998.

Developers Lightweight did work on another fighting game for the Xbox after this point called Kabuki Warriors but given its considered one of the worst video games of all time I think we can safely set it aside away from Bushido Blade’s legacy.

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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.