10 Video Game Cuts Made For RIDICULOUS Reasons
5. The Campaign's Third Act Died For A Holiday 2004 Release - Halo 2
As much as Halo 2 was near-universally praised for its revolutionary multiplayer suite and bold, multi-perspective campaign, many were nevertheless furious with the story mode's staggeringly abrupt ending.
Just as the game seems to be ramping up for an epic finale...it ends suddenly out of nowhere. While fans initially assumed Bungie were simply stringing players along for the inevitable sequel, the sudden stop was actually a direct result of the game's frantic production.
Because Microsoft was absolutely adamant that Halo 2 release no later than November 2004 to hoover up those crucial Christmas sales, Bungie was forced to cut the entire third act of the campaign, which would've seen Master Chief and the Arbiter team up on Earth to defeat the Prophets.
Though writer Joseph Staten hoped that it would be received similarly to The Empire Strikes Back, it was really more akin to The Last Jedi, pissing off at least as many fans as it thrilled.
Bungie employees have spoken extensively in the years since about how Halo 2's campaign had to be patchworked together through an intense crunch period.
"A lot of people sacrificed themselves in ways that you should never have to for your job," said design lead Paul Bertone, who put his own dog in a kennel for two months and slept in the office during the late stages of development.
November 2004 was truly the final date Microsoft was willing to set for the game, between the "necessary" Christmas release and the fact the Xbox 360 was releasing the next year.
This came after Microsoft originally wanted Halo 2 to release in November 2002, just a year after the first game, and later held a vote over whether Bungie should just ship Halo 2 incomplete, prompting Microsoft Studios head Ed Fries to threaten to resign in protest.
Halo 2 was obviously a major commercial investment for Microsoft, but publishers who actually care about delivering good art don't take them out of the oven before they're cooked. Would an early 2005 release really have been that bad?