10 Decisions That Killed Video Game Sequels EVERYBODY Wanted

Video games tend to get cancelled more than you might realize. Sometimes a game is in development and we're not even aware of it until we find out about it's cancellation, at which point we mourn a project we never even knew existed. Sometimes, though, a game cancellation hurts more than it might otherwise.

Game sequels getting cancelled is nothing new, but sometimes you can trace the project's demise to a single and tangible decision. Worse yet, this often happens to sequels that are hotly anticipated. Be it a sequel to a cult classic or the next chapter in a long-running franchise, fans spend months and even years waiting for these games to arrive.

So when some behind the scenes disaster strikes or, worse yet, a studio goes belly up, often the first victim is the sequel that fans have been craving for the past 2-3 years. It's a bitter reminder that no game is safe, no matter how big it might seem.

So let's take a horrible stroll through memory lane and revisit the ten times when a highly-anticipated video game sequel met its end due to a few fateful decisions.

After Rare was acquired by Microsoft in 2002, there were a lot of questions about what would happen to some of their franchises. The British developer had carved out a unique blend of character, humor and strong design that characterized their titles for years. This was never more evident than their work on Perfect Dark, a first-person shooter developed exclusively for the Nintendo 64.

Taking its cues from GoldenEye 007, then improving on it in nearly every possible way, Perfect Dark seemed like the perfect fit for Microsoft's more shooter-heavy console library.

Years later, work would begin on not one but two sequels; Perfect Dark Core and Perfect Dark Vengeance, with development on the first game leading to a faster turnaround for the second. This went on for some time, but the game eventually morphed into a first-person mech game and bore little resemblance to the Perfect Dark universe.

Additionally, Microsoft would decide that they had little interest in the sequel, as they saw franchises like Halo and Gears of War as being more profitable long-term. In all, Rare's time with Joanna Dark feels like it came to a permanent end with the death of Perfect Dark Core.

A sad end to a franchise that felt as though it had unlimited potential.