10 Video Games Where The Bad Ending Is Canon
3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a fascinating example of taking what is effectively a Game Over sequence and making it canon.
If you lose too many missions throughout the turn-based tactics game, you'll end up with a bleak ending in which XCOM loses the war against the invading alien forces, who have mind-controlled vast swaths of those in power, and that's all she wrote.
Somewhat surprisingly, when XCOM 2 was released a few years later, it actually picked up where this ending left off.
The sequel takes place 20 years after the events of Enemy Unknown, with the aliens indeed having succeeded in their invasion while the XCOM organisation is basically being a mere shadow of its former self.
On one hand players who worked hard to avoid this "ending" might've been miffed when it ended up canon, but it nevertheless helped set the stage for one of the best games in the series.