10 Video Games That Were Cancelled (But Not Why You Think)
8. It Felt Too Much Like Call Of Duty - Doom 4
Why You Thought It Was Cancelled
After the critical and commercial success of Doom 3, Id Software began hinting at the existence of Doom 4 in 2007 and formally announced it in 2008. However, the project's development stalled until 2013 when it was finally cancelled outright, leading to the development of 2016's Doom reboot.
For most, it seemed that Doom 4 was yet another AAA project that got mired in development hell and wasn't able to crawl its way out as production slogged on for years and years before finally being put out of its misery. But that's not quite the case.
Why It Was Actually Cancelled
You might recall that a lot of Doom 4's released prototype footage bore a surprising similarity to Call of Duty, such that fans began mockingly calling it "Call of Doom."
While it's not uncommon for studios to simply ignore the whims of over-sensitive fans, in this case the developers did indeed listen to the mounting feedback from fans and press alike.
According to Doom designer Kevin Cloud, they decided the game they were making was too much like Call of Duty and not enough like classic Doom:
"We had explored a direction and got to a certain point where we felt like this wasn't really capturing what we felt like was going to be a strong Doom and what the fans would want from us."
Creative director Hugo Martin succinctly added, "Doom is about one guy involved in big things and Doom 4 was more about the big things."
Given that the subsequent reboot massively revitalised the franchise, it was clearly the right call to make.