8 Amazing Video Games That SURVIVED Development Hell
5. South Park: The Fractured But Whole
South Park: The Fractured But Whole proves beyond any doubt that even the most obvious slam-dunk sequel can run afoul of devastating unforeseen issues.
Though a sequel to Obsidian's 2014 hit RPG South Park: The Stick of Truth was quickly given the greenlight, things fell apart after THQ went bankrupt in 2012.
Ubisoft then acquired the rights to the series and switched development from Obsidian to Ubisoft San Francisco.
The new team redesigned the original gameplay format in their bespoke Snowdrop engine, and because South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were intensely involved in development, production was subject to delays amid their busy schedules.
Production was frantic enough that Trey Parker even left the hospital while still recovering from gallbladder removal surgery to record more lines of dialogue for the game.
Even so, it was delayed almost a year beyond its original December 2016 release date, but the long wait ultimately proved worth it, as The Fractured But Whole served up a riotous superhero parody that significantly improved the gameplay from its predecessor.