10 No-Brainer Video Game Sequels That DIDN'T Get Made
3. Fez 2
The next entry is a sequel that was cancelled due to its own creator rather than the pressures of publishers and high management. Released in 2012, Fez drew a large following thanks to its dazzling art style and unique gameplay of changing orientations to traverse levels.
It was an underrated yet celebrated indie title, one that stood alongside the likes of Minecraft and Super Meat Boy to lead the charge into smaller scale releases.
The game was the product of one Phil Fish, who developed the concept himself with assistance from programmer Renaud Bédard. His appearance in "Indie Game: The Movie" showed he went through many difficulties getting Fez to market, especially when it came to publishing deals. Once it did finally arrive, most were generally pleased with how it turned out.
Naturally, the man started to look into a sequel, aiming to deepen the game's well established formula. What happened instead was a very abrupt cancellation. Phil Fish ended up getting into a nasty spat on Twitter with game journalist Marcus Beer, who started insulting the developer. This quickly boiled into a full on comment war with the wider community. As the abuse thrown by by sides got worse, Phil Fish snapped, cancelled Fez II and left the industry entirely.