10 Video Games That Were Scrapped AFTER Being Almost Finished
4. Half-Life (Dreamcast)
The original Half-Life was released for PC in 1998 and later ported to the PS2 in 2001, but did you know that Valve also intended to release it on the hallowed Sega Dreamcast?
Original Half-Life publisher Sierra announced a Dreamcast port of their seminal first-person shooter in early 2000, which would feature improved visuals as well as an additional mini-campaign, Blue Shift, focusing on beloved security guard Barney.
But the port had a troubled production resulting in numerous delays, even as early copies of the game were sent to prominent gaming outlets for review, suggesting it was near enough finished.
A poor critical reception, citing myriad technical issues, caused Sierra to further delay the port, all while Blue Shift was released as a standalone expansion on PC, complete with the higher-resolution textures brought over from the Dreamcast version.
In June 2011, just four days after Blue Shift hit PC, Sierra confirmed that the Dreamcast Half-Life port was dead, citing "changing market conditions," no matter that it was clearly very close to done.
This was confirmed beyond all doubt in 2013 when the Dreamcast build leaked online, featuring fully playable, complete versions of both Half-Life and Blue Shift.