9 Video Game Characters That Vanished Without A Trace

5. The Protagonist - Almost Every Racing Game

Forza Horizon 5
Playground Games

Bear with me on this one, this is for the racing game fans among you.

You were the rookie, the youngster cutting your teeth, pulling ahead faster and better than anybody expected you could or would. You win championship after championship, compete at a universally renowned level, top every single race and tourney that you could humanely top. You’re pretty much indisputably the best racer that anyone in this game, or the whole damn world has ever seen.

Then the sequel hits... and nobody has ever heard of you.

This one is especially funny when the franchise itself has recurring characters or when the sequel takes place barely a year later. You think that just one of these die-hard racing enthusiasts would have something to say about your glorious achievements, but no.

Doesn’t matter, you didn’t exist. No one will ever mention you again. Welcome to square one.

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Contributor
Contributor

Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.