10 Fatal Video Games That Killed Popular Franchises

In 2002, Rare was acquired by Microsoft for $375 million. During the transition, dozens of employees left the company for greener pastures, and several incomplete projects were abandoned, including Donkey Kong Racing.

Then in 2005, Rare developed two launch titles for the Xbox 360, both of which were considered commercial failures: Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power. In 2006, the company produced Viva Piñata, and levied criticism against Microsoft for under-promoting their game in favour of Gears of War.

Finally in 2007, things got worse for Rare after founding members Chris and Tim Stamper left the company in order to pursue other opportunities. Beginning in 2008, Rare planned to revitalise several of their most prominent franchises, starting with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, a sequel to the 2001 classic, Banjo-Tooie. Unfortunately, the game was a commercial failure, and was heavily criticised for its focus on vehicle construction over traditional platforming.

Due to the game’s failure, Microsoft shelved the franchise, and also cancelled several other planned sequels to classic Rare titles, including Killer Instinct and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. To date, the series has remained dormant, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Rare itself has worked on comparatively little since its release, briefly collaborating on a remake of Killer Instinct, but spending the majority of its time working on Kinect Sports games.