It’s always disappointingwhen a video game gets canceled. Announcements bring about excitement at the game’s possibilities, only for that excitement to be pulled away months, or sometimes years, later. Players can only be left wondering what could’ve been; many have probably wondered about what potentially legendary games we’ve missed out on because of various cancelations.
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It’s even more disappointing, however, when a game adapted from a larger franchise gets canceled. In the case of television, fans have poured hours into fictional characters and worlds. For many fans, the idea of being able to explore and take part in these fantastical stories created for the screen would be a dream come true. Unfortunately, several interesting and promising games based on popular television shows remain lost and forgotten, never to see the light of day again.
5Game of Thrones
HBO’s popular drama series hooked fantasy lovers the world over during its eight-season run,so many fans would likely love to explore Westeros for themselves. Not long after the show began airing, a MMORPG titledGame of Thrones: Seven Kingdomsdeveloped by Bigpoint and Artplant was underway. The game would’ve allowed players to customize their own characters, form guilds, and even join one of the three houses. There also would’ve been a focus on PVP combat, including large-scale battles to capture forts and castles. A trailer even released in 2012 showcasing much of the gameplay footage.
After several years of development, Bigpoint was acquired by Yoozoo Games. At this point,Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdomswas cancelled and instead turned intoGame of Thrones: Winter is Coming, a somewhat similar MMORPG. WhileGame of Thrones: Winter is Comingoffers several of the gameplay elements thatSeven Kingdomsoffered, an extensive paywall system is set up, makingWinter is Comingessentially unplayable without forking over hundreds of dollars.
4Doctor Who
Who wouldn’t want to be given a chance to travel through space and time with this classic television character? While severalDoctor Whogames have been developed,none have been successful enough to become anything noteworthy. Though in 2005, a game was in development by the Australian studio IR Gurus, later known as Transmission Games. The game was set to release alongside the 2005 reboot of the series, featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose, and would’ve had a plot revolving around aliens plotting to modify the human race using airborne nanobots.
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Unfortunately, not much is known as to why the game was canceled. All that developer Paul Callaghan, who was behind the game, could say about the reasons for the game’s cancellation was that it was “complicated”. Four years later, Transmission Games became defunct, permanently ending any chance for such a game to see the light of day.
3South Park
The hilarious and controversial animated series has been made into several games in the past, but there have also been several that were axed as well. One such game was in development between publisher Ubisoft and developer Buzz Monkey Studios, which would’ve been aGTA-style open-world game set in the world ofSouth Park. Along with exploring the world and completing missions, a split-screen component would’ve allowed multiple players to take part in the game. Fans interested in what the game would’ve looked like can still find footage on YouTube.
It seems that pressure placed on Buzz Monkey Studios from Ubisoft is the primary reason the game got scrapped. Ubisoft had supposedly made the project too ambitious, and this combined with strict deadlines and the fact that this was the first game many at Buzz Monkey Studios had worked on meant that thisSouth Parkgame would eventually get canceled.
2Star Trek
As far as games based on theStar Trekuniverse,Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Furylikely showed the most promise. Inspired by classic LucasArts games,Secret of Vulcan Furywould’ve been an episodic game developed by Interplay Entertainment, who are perhaps best known as the original creators of theFalloutseries. What makesSecret of Vulcan Furyremarkable is just how much of it is lifted out of the original series. Writing the game would’ve been D. C. Fontana and John Meredyth Lucas, both of whom worked on the classicStar Trekseries. What’s more is that the entire original cast was set to voice their respective characters, with many having already recorded some of their lines when the game was canceled.
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While promising,Secret of Vulcan Furywas also quite expensive; the studio had underestimated just how much the game was going to cost, and this financial strain eventually led to Interplay abandoning the project. While finances were the main reason, problems with the cutscenes' motion capture and frequent staff departures also contributed to the game’s cancelation. WhileSecret of Vulcan Furysounds like a Trekkie’s dream game, the project was ultimately too ambitious, with the game supposedly only being 5% complete when it was canceled.
1Stranger Things
FromThe Walking DeadtoGame of Thrones, Telltale is no stranger to creating narrative-heavy adaptations of popular IP. Despite the developer’s popularity, the studio closed in 2018, taking down several exciting games with it. Perhaps there is no bigger loss than the supposedStranger ThingsTelltale game that was beginning development at the time of the studio’s closure. Not much is known about the title, though it would have taken place between the second and third seasons during the spring of 1985.
Of course, having laid off most of its staff, Telltale was forced to cancel the game shortly before going under. While Telltale was acquired by LCG Entertainment Inc., and it seems that the Telltale brand has continued under that name,no plans for going forward with aStranger Thingstitle have been announced. It’s a real shame, since the sci-fi/mystery approach of Netflix’s hit series would have been perfect for Telltale’s episodic and branching narrative design.
