10 Cancelled Video Games You Won't Believe Were In Development

When I was just out of university, I applied to work at Realtime Worlds. Having been a huge fan of Crackdown (and not just the Halo 3 demo that came with it), I figured it’d be a great place to start. Unfortunately, I didn’t get he job, and Realtime Worlds closed down very shortly afterwards. Coincidence? I think not.

But, some of the staff from Realtime Worlds decided to start a new studio, and moved a little closer to the Dundee Quayside to form Ruffian Games. Ruffian had the unenviable task of trying to make a Crackdown sequel in an eye-watering eight months, whereupon they decided to try their hands at Streets of Rage.

The Streets of Rage prototype appeared to mix a hearty dose of nostalgic humour with a dark, more oppressive tone, and the shift to 3D gameplay seemed to mimic other games in that subgenre (such as Fighting Force).

It’s easy to see the allure of punching folks in the throat (and, it’s also fun to do in videogames), so this could’ve been quite the cathartic pleasure, though I’m personally unsure how much longevity kicking men in the groin in a more realistic setting could sustain.

Regardless, it’s a testament to the skill and efficiency of Ruffian that so much was created in such a short period of time, and to those of us mourning the loss of Streets of Rage here, we have the truly rad-looking Streets of Rage 4 to look forward to.