10 Cancelled Video Games That Could Have Been Masterpieces

Why might a video game be cancelled?

Sometimes, it’s for no reason whatsoever, or as a consequence of stupendous mismanagement, budgeting or general incompetence. Sometimes, the game in question is much anticipated, but that alone isn’t always enough to guarantee its survival. After all, publishers are cautious by their very nature, especially when it comes to spending money on projects with uncertain prospects.

Crowdfunding is the obvious alternative, but even that doesn’t guarantee success. In some cases, developers simply cannot raise the necessary funds; in others, irresponsibility forces projects into a premature oblivion, despite substantial backing from a community of supporters. Sometimes, the cost of actually making a game will exceed initial expectations, the project suffering because of overestimation on the part of its creators.

Either way, the following games demonstrated massive amounts of potential, but were cancelled regardless. In some cases, the games themselves were doomed from the start, or fundamentally flawed; in others, only the publishers can be held responsible for robbing us of these potential classics.

They could have been instant successes or massive duds, but either way, our opportunity to find out has been taken away, which is a crying shame.

That said, here are 10 cancelled games that could have changed the world…

Darksiders is a decent series with awesome music and a sizeable fanbase. Its second instalment – Darksiders 2 – however, was partially responsible for the closure of its publishers, who were in pretty dire shape prior to their eventually closure four years ago.

THQ – hoping to generate massive returns on their investments – began sinking money into the series, hoping to save themselves from the inevitable, failing miserable in the process.

The sequel – which outperformed the original significantly – fell short of expectations, considered a commercial disappointment by its publishers who shelved the franchise in response to its ‘poor’ sales. Darksiders 3 – which was planned to begin development shortly after – was subsequently cancelled, despite the series’ increasing mainstream appeal, loyal fanbase and ever growing critical admiration.

Likely, the third instalment would have expanded upon aspects of the original exponentially, helping to transform the series from a humble hack-n-slash into something even more impressive.