From a very unique take on bounty hunting to cool takes on espionage, several excellent ideas have been buried by their studios, with a variety of factors coming into play that didn’t let them see the light of day. We’re taking a look at a few that we would have loved to play, but sadly never got the chance to.

Let’s dive right in.

1. Crackdown 3

While its Wrecking Zone multiplayer mode drew heavily on Microsoft’s bold idea to bring cloud computing to the Xbox One, Crackdown 3 didn’t really catch on the way it should have, despite being a lot of fun. The final product was sadly nowhere close to the high bar that was set for it, with the result being a very destructible city that was largely devoid of the players it was meant to host.

The dream of entire city blocks collapsing in front of you with your console handling core tasks and the cloud rendering all of the destruction just didn’t materialize, and the game suffered for it as a result.

2. Project Milo

This was a tricky one for a long time, with a lot of back and forth about whether it was actually intended to be made into a game taking place between its creators and Microsoft. Still, it would have been cool to see a game with AI actively responding to you and acting on your voice commands.

This was a relationship sim that could have been quite innovative for its time, but it simply faded away into the background amid all the noise surrounding its “release”.

3. Star Wars 1313

We’d be lying if we said that this one didn’t sting a little. For starters, it was supposed to have Boba Fett as its frontman with a fast-paced gameplay loop that relied on gadgets and more traditional weapons in lieu of lightsabers and The Force. As if that wasn’t enough, it was purported to emulate Star Wars Bounty Hunter while bringing a gritty, darker tone to its story.

Sadly, LucasArts never got to make this one a reality, and we never got to explore District 1313 and see what the underbelly of Coruscant had to offer.

4. Silent Hills/PT

A Silent Hill title that was going to feature a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (whose horror credentials are quite well known), with Norman Reedus playing its protagonist, sounds like a dream, right? That’s sadly all it was to most of the gaming world, with Konami pulling its playable demo from the PlayStation Store shortly after its cancellation.

All we can do is look back fondly at the supernatural time loop being brought to the table, and of course, shudder at the thought of Lisa constantly lurking out of sight just waiting to jump at us. A Playable Teaser was all this one was ever going to be in the aftermath of Kojima’s exit from Konami.

5. Prey 2

Aside from the obvious draw of an amnesiac protagonist affected by the presence of The Sphere from the first game, the chance to be a bounty hunter on an alien planet while uncovering the truth about his abduction sounded too good to be true. That was probably a valid insight when we look back at this one, with the game’s plans to make you embody a bounty hunter never coming to fruition.

We would have loved the chance to make use of all the agency this one gave us as we took on the role it wanted us to, but all we can do now is smile somberly at what could have been.

6. Scalebound

An action-RPG that gave fans of the Eragon novels a lot to be excited for, this one might have been a legendary title had it actually made its way to its audiences. Getting to command a literal dragon in the heat of battle, and even directly take control of it to unleash its fearsome abilities, is an idea that we’re yet to see even in the current generation of games. And that’s without even considering the co-op potential that the concept could bring to the table.

Its eventual cancellation after years of development is a showcase of how even the best of ideas may not translate to commercially viable titles in the long run.

7. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Patriots

Although this one did make way for Rainbow Six Siege, the thought of being part of a unit led by a morally grey former Navy SEAL against a terrorist group that was willing to impose its own beliefs on New York’s residents had all the makings of a Tom Clancy story that was true to the author’s vision and tone.

However, the decision to cancel the title and scrap this unique concept is a choice that we continue to question to this day.

8. The Lord of the Rings: The White Council

An open-world RPG where you would work under the guidance of the White Council, with its story and themes drawing from both the films and books, sounds like a Lord of the Rings adventure that might have put even Frodo and Sam to shame.

But it seems that the idea was cast into the fires of Mount Doom, and while we do have Shadow of War to help us cope, we can’t help but wish for a Palantir to view what it might have turned out to be if its version of Middle-earth was allowed to take shape.

9. Agent

Set in the Cold War and rumored to place its players at the heart of all of the espionage, political assassinations, and counter-intelligence that the era brought along, Agent was a great idea. Even Sony seemed to think so, locking down its IP with the belief that it could “set the bar for the industry” as per Michael Shorrock, who headed SCEA’s third-party relations at the time.

A stealth-action game with Rockstar at the helm certainly fits that description, but like the agents it aimed to bring to life, this one quietly vanished, presumably sacrificed in order to focus more resources on the development of GTA V.

10. Project Titan

The World of Warcraft killer that spent seven years in development continues to have us wondering whether it might have been able to live up to its lofty ambitions.

Despite the best of Blizzard coming together to bring this sci-fi MMO to life, complete with cool mech suits and rumored superhero-esque powers for its characters, along with a unique twist where you play as a normal citizen of the world by day while battling it out at night, Project Titan was unable to get off the ground. This is a cancellation that still rankles, if we’re being honest.

11. The Last of Us Online

Among the many projects that were cancelled in the aftermath of Sony’s ill-fated live-service push, this one was the most disappointing to us. The concept definitely had its merits, with a massive world filled with The Infected being the perfect stage for a survival-horror gameplay loop, complete with a standalone story to keep things interesting.

Unfortunately for it, the concept was scrapped after concerns about its long-term viability began to rear their head. For our part, we would have played this one for hours on end if it had made its way into our hands.

12. Duke Nukem Forever

While Duke was a hero who was quite clear about where he stood on alien invasions, the creative team behind this one could have emulated his conviction. That wasn’t the case, and this title switched engines during its development so many times that it’s hard to think about the game it was meant to be versus the one that we got.

Its vision was ultimately diluted by a needless focus on technical relevance, and as one of the record holders for being the longest game in development, we can’t help but feel that this was a game that deserved to be greater than the sloppy experience it ultimately devolved into.

13. Final Fantasy Versus XIII

The darker, more gothic take on the franchise was quite appealing when it first came to light, and Prince Noctis was quite an intriguing character. But with Final Fantasy XIII and eventually Final Fantasy XIV constantly dividing the attention of its team, and engine issues caused by the PS3’s aging tech, this one was pulled back and repurposed into FFXV.

When the trailer for the game eventually came around, it felt like it had changed almost completely, ditching its darker tone for something better aligned with the franchise’s overall light-hearted trappings. It would then be a solid five years before XV came out, and Versus XIII quietly vanished from the hearts and minds of its potential players.

14. The Getaway 3

We were quite fond of the original Getaway’s unique way of presenting its world, with the sort of cinematic quality that comes along quite rarely. With its parallel storylines and lack of a HUD and other elements, it was quite immersive and also fun to play as a Sony-backed sandbox. The sequel carried on those traditions, and we were delighted to know that a third title was in the works.

But The Getaway 3 was lost to the annals of time, with its cancellation never actually being announced, but quite clearly understood by the gaming world at large.

15. Deep Down

A sci-fi fantasy co-op adventure that would have its players exploring time-hopping dungeons is something we’re still waiting to see. It doesn’t help that Deep Down had its gameplay drawing inspiration from Dark Souls, which was already among our favorites to begin with.

But its 2013 reveal, and the lack of any concrete evidence of its development over the years has essentially made this once unique concept nothing more than vaporware. We’re holding out hope that it eventually becomes a great game, but we’re not going to hold our breath.

BONUS: Wonder Woman

Monolith’s proprietary Nemesis System, a unique mechanic that worked so darn well in the Shadow franchise, was the perfect way to craft a Wonder Woman story that could really dig into the character’s lore who could defy challenges and come back stronger.

That’s probably why the cancellation of this one continues to be an annoyance to us, as the concept is probably not going to make it to any other titles in the near future.

And that’s a wrap on our picks for great gaming ideas that showed a lot of promise but did not ultimately make their way to their players. Here’s to hoping that we don’t have to make another one of these lists over the next few years, though!

But that doesn’t mean Rockstar wasn’t working on it. Speaking to Lex Fridman in a recent interview, former co-founder Dan Houser says the team had “about five different iterations” of the spy thriller. He eventually concluded, “I don’t think it works.”

“We worked a lot on multiple iterations of an open-world spy game, and it never came together. Agent had about five different iterations. I don’t think it works, I concluded. I keep thinking about it sometimes, I lie in bed thinking about it, and I’ve concluded: What makes them really good as film stories makes them not work as video games, or I need to think through how to do it a different way as a video game.”

Though announced as set in the 70s during the Cold War, that was only one version. “There was another that was set in current [times]…we had so many different versions of this game. We worked on it with so many different teams,” said Houser. “I question if you can make a good, open-world spy game,” he added, which is interesting because it was never announced as an open-world title.

Of course, it’s impossible to know now whether it would have been a Grand Theft Auto-style open world or something closer to 007 First Light, IO Interactive’s own spy fantasy based on the James Bond franchise. Eventually, the team may have decided to just focus on more important projects, such as when it abandoned Bully 2.

Agent

Yeah, you’ve probably heard of Agent, Rockstar’s electrifying spy opus. First announced as a PS3 exclusive way back in 2009, Agent pledged a Cold War era thrill-ride through the dangerous world of espionage, counterintelligence, and assassination, but much like the silent death knell of a secret agent, Agent’s fate has been silently snuffed. Rockstar have never officially announced its cancellation, so technically Agent could still be in the works. Given the evocative concept art which leaked a while back, let’s hope so – Agent looked great.

Slitterhead

Gory body horror from Team Silent originators meant Slitterhead’s 2021 announcement was met with much fanfare. Even – exclaim expectant fans – Silent Hill composer-in-chief Akira Yamaoka is along for the ride, lending his blend of warped ambience and bone-crushing guitar riffage to the game’s grisly take on shape-shifting parasites. Last we heard of Slitterhead was a dev diary back in June 2023, so not that long ago, meaning, you know, that Slitterhead is probably still in the works. Be nice to hear something affirmative as to release dates from Bokeh Game Studio though.

Ferocious

If it weren’t for the devlogs shared on February 26^th and April 15^th, we’d think prehistoric survive-a-thon Ferocious had gone extinct. This first-person shooter risks being overshadowed by incoming Jurassic Park: Survival if it doesn’t drop soon, but to be fair it’s blend of jungle stealth, strategy, and survival – with a healthy dose of axe swinging mayhem – looks spot on. Let’s hope the situation at developer OMYOG isn’t as grim as the game’s dinosaur infested isolation.

Pragmata

The sci-fi dad-in-space adventure Pragmata has been delayed indefinitely, so we at least know that this ambitious game has vanished for sure. Why though, the developer haven’t stated. Announced in 2020 with numerous release dates coming and going, the most recent of which was last year which passed without explanation. Even stranger was the developer releasing a brief trailer before the mysterious delaying – almost to remind us it exists before flinging into a black hole. Pragmata might not be in the deepest of development hells, but a window on when we can get our hands on it drifts endlessly further.

Perfect Dark

Just what has happened to Joanna Dark’s rebooted saga? Announced at The Game Awards 2020 with little data forthcoming in the three-and-a-half years since, this Xbox exclusive is likely a number of years from release. What does this mean for Perfect Dark? Well, nothing probably, just that development is probably happening at a very slow pace. The incredible graphics, slick movement, and tight gunplay will remain we hope.

Beyond Good and Evil 2

Despite little evidence, this long-awaited sequel to 2003 Beyond Good and Evil is apparently still in the works. First announced in 2008, it’s genuinely farcical how back in the developer stated in an investor call that development of Beyond Good and Evil 2 was still in its early stages despite contrarily announcing progress as trundling along nicely. The tragic sudden death of Beyond Good and Evil 2’s creative director might understandably have scuppered progress since, but the outlook for this game was bleak either way.

Project Awakening

Let’s be honest, how awesome was Project Awakening’s gameplay reveal? The slick, lifelike dragon slaying looked truly next-gen, but with radio silence for what seems like eons now, maybe next-gen at the time meant next next-gen. The Japanese developer behind Project Awakening Cygames isn’t some faceless corporation though, with Granblue Fantasy: Relink the most recent of their output. Most likely is Project Awakening has been shelved despite it still being listed on the developer’s website as a ‘next-gen’ title advertised as PS4 exclusive.

PLAN 8

This exo-suit MMO shooter was announced in 2019, yet in what is an increasingly crowded sphere of the video game-verse PLAN 8 still seems like it has enough to stand out in 2024. Shame then that the most recent glimpses on its progress date back to screenshots shared in January 2020. The writings on the wall with this one: it’s dead in the water. The developers are supposedly still working on the title but it’s next-gen, genre-defying announcement is going to be woefully out of date by now.

Everwild

Hopefully still incoming from legendary British studio Rare, now owned by Microsoft, is magical nature adventure Everwild. We say hopefully as the glimpses we’ve seen are utterly spellbinding. An MMO in the vein of Sea of Thieves but in a fantasy setting, Everwild looks to meld multiple genres and gameplay mechanics in what is a hugely ambitious project. Every scene in the trailers seen so far look like oil paintings so let’s hope an official reveal is not too far away.

ILL

One of the Unreal Engine 5 tech demo games that drum up reasonable hype but never actually see the light of day, ILL has immense intrigue in it’s The Evil Within-­style torment spliced within a setting reminiscent of John Carpenter’s The Thing. This narrative driven first-person horror has all the ingredients to be a game changer, it’s just that tech demos are hard to believe at the best of times, let alone for a game with little to no update barring a glimpse into gameplay over six months ago.

The Last Night

This is a strange one, as the most hype-accelerating aspect to The Last Night was a tweet some five-or-so years ago which shared a screengrab of its cyberpunk aesthetic comparing it to The Matrix. The loss of esteemed indie game publisher Raw Fury and controversy surrounding game director Tim Soret have likely contributed to The Last Night’s lengthy development., the former especially as developer Odd Tales had to work to reclaim their publishing rights. 19^th November 2023 was the last official update we had of The Last Night. It’s likely still in development, just that progress has been stifled by misfortune.

Vigilancer 2099

This one will ride on the coattails of Cyberpunk 2077 when it eventually drops, it’s neon-soaked cityscapes are so reminiscent of Night City. In Vigilancer 2099 you’ll play as a secretive bounty hunter in a densely populated open world, with limitless traversal options on hand to get to grips with the verticality of Vigilancer’s megabuilding. There’s been next to no news for a couple of years now, so maybe this small-team developer has unfortunately folded.

Splinter Cell Remake

From rumour to full-blown conclusion, it’s been a few years now that a remake to Sam Fisher’s first outing in Splinter Cell has been on the go, but at present it doesn’t feel like we’re close to reliving Sam’s formative missions. For what it’s worth, Splinter Cell remake is confirmed to feature an updated story that will appeal to a modern audience. As and when we get to relive the game, we don’t know, but info will hopefully be forthcoming soon.

Routine

Nearly a decade after it was first announced, sci-fi moon base horror Routine received a new trailer during Summer Game Fest 2022. It’s 80’s retro-future and creepy atmosphere conjure a deep feeling of dread through juxtaposition of style and gameplay, and whilst development has been restarted at least once since its original announcement the aforementioned indie publisher Raw Fury is on board to see this one through to completion. Routine looks genuinely exceptional.

Deep Down

Despite being near completion and never being officially cancelled action role-player Deep Down has still never been released. Instead, this souls like game has been treated to titbits of info over the years since its first announcement in 2013. The developer stated in 2019 that hope wasn’t completely lost on Deep Down, but all hope has all but died. Development might always pick up again seeing as the assets were reportedly close to conclusion, but there’s no sign of that presently.

Freedom Fighters 2

IO Interactive delivered one of the most enjoyable shooters with 2003’s Freedom Fighters, a game that beautifully meshes tactical elements along with pure adrenaline-pumping action and an emotionally charged narrative of overthrowing oppression – and fans absolutely lapped it up. There have been scant rumblings of a sequel over the years, but nothing much has come to fruition. While the IP continues to be under the possession of now-independent IO Interactive, the chances of a full-fledged sequel happening anytime soon are extremely slim. 

Sleeping Dogs 2

Sleeping Dogs might have felt like yet another one of those cheap GTA clones, but United Front Games’ open-world offerings were as much a product of their creativity as it was derivative of Rockstar’s works. Wei Shen’s story of navigating through the criminal underbelly of Hong Kong is a consistently thrilling ride that’s punctuated with great gameplay variety and fun open-world activities, and the ideas were ripe to be built upon with a sequel. United Front Games had some ambitious plans in place, but those were gone to waste as the developer closed doors permanently in 2012 – leaving us with faint hopes that will probably never come true.

Star Wars 1313

There is no shortage of Star Wars-based games in the current market scenario, but it’s hard not to reminisce about the canceled Star Wars 1313 project. The game was being developed by LucasArts themselves at one point, and it would be telling the story of Boba Fett in his early days of navigating the galaxy. Initial showings of the game looked impressive with its cinematic gameplay and faithful rendition of the popular sci-fi setting, but the project was put on hold when Disney purchased the studio – putting the final nail in its coffin.

Agent

Rockstar is behind some of the best games of the last couple of generations, and the studio is also behind the mysterious vaporware that was Agent. First announced all the way in 2007, Agent was supposed to be an open-world game with elements of espionage and fans were understandably excited to see what was in store. Months and years passed with little in the name of concrete information on the game, and Agent slowly faded into the void with no hopes of emerging back once agai

Bully 2

Since we are on the topic of canceled Rockstar games, we should also discuss Bully 2. The original Bully felt like a breath of fresh air with its school setting and a narrative that let you experience the highs and lows of a teenager living in a boarding school, and those ideas were ripe to be built upon with a sequel. While nothing was ever announced in an official capacity, there have been several rumors and reports that state that Bully 2 was at least in the cards at some point if not in active development. Rumors continue to churn out even to this date, but the chances of anything coming to fruition are pretty low.

Scalebound

PlatinumGames has rightfully established its reputation as one of the best names when it comes to developing action games brimming with style and substance, and Scalebound felt emblematic of the studio’s biggest strengths. Scalebound’s idea of using dragons as your companions was enough to send fan expectations off the charts, and initial showings were looking really promising. However, development wasn’t the smoothest and the team faced several problems in trying to create a cohesive experience with online functionality built into the game eventually leading to Microsoft canceling the project altogether. It’s a shame that such an amazing idea was let go to waste, and Scalebound could have genuinely turned out to be a great time if PlatinumGames was given the creative freedom they wished for.

Silent Hills

Konami’s Silent Hill franchise is set to make a grand comeback with several new entries set to release in the near future, but we can’t help but think about the canceled Silent Hills project. Silent Hills was Kojima’s take on the popular horror franchise, and the playable teaser was more than enough to leave fans salivating for the final release. But the infamous Konami-Kojima breakout left the project in ruins, eventually leading to it being canned and our hopes and dreams unfulfilled. 

A New Metal Gear by Hideo Kojima

The Metal Gear Solid series has continued to deliver hit after hit with each new entry, and it continues to be one of the most revered franchises thanks to the incredible attention to detail that Kojima and the team have poured into each and every aspect of the experience. While the series is also making a comeback with the upcoming release of Delta Snake Eater, we would love to see another new Metal Gear directed by Kojima san himself, but the infamous Konami-Kojima break-up leaves little chance of that happening anytime soon.

 A New Burnout

Criterion’s Burnout series was one of the best arcade racers of its time, and its gameplay loop of crashing into rival cars and emphasizing a generally aggressive driving style was what helped the franchise stand out from the crowd. But with EA eventually moving Criterion to work on the Need For Speed series, the Burnout IP was kept hostage and it slowly turned dormant over the years. Without a shadow of a doubt, there are more than thousands of fans who are hoping for a revival, but the current state of EA and its obsession with continuing to invest in NFS means that a new Burnout game isn’t likely to come out anytime soon. 

Portal 3

The Portal games continue to be some of the best puzzle games of all time, thanks to an ingenious central mechanic that forms the basis of all gameplay and the witty writing that came along with it. Many games have tried to create similar experiences since then, but none have managed to capture the magic of Valve’s works – which has left us craving for a potential Portal 3 even after all this time. But given the current stance of Valve’s game development division, it seems like Portal 3 would probably never see the light of day. 

New Dino Crisis 

Dino Crisis was very much a product of its time, a game confident in its ability to deliver a consistently thrilling experience despite being based on a concept so weird. We have had some really fond memories of shooting down dinosaurs with machine guns, and we would really love to get a new entry with the same level of eccentricity and fun that is so characteristic of the franchise. However, it feels highly unlikely that the developer would be making much effort to breathe new life into this now stagnant IP. And no, Exoprimal doesn’t count.

Deep Down

Yet another one of the developer’s failed projects, Deep Down was put forth as one of the PS4’s launch titles. Deep Down featured impressive graphics for its time, and the concept of working your way through procedurally generated dungeons with friends sounded like a really fun idea that could have genuinely turned out to be a big hit. Development wasn’t obviously the smoothest, which eventually led to the game being delayed to an indefinite date. We still think about what Deep Down could have been, but all we can do is hope.

Titanfall 3

Titanfall 2 was a great game that y featured one of the best FPS campaigns of all time but it failed to capture much of an audience since it was sandwiched between the highly overrated Battlefield and a Call of Duty series- making it a commercial failure. The future of the franchise already looked bleak after that failure, and now that the developer has been focusing majorly on Star Wars – a potential Titanfall 3 is most likely not on the cards. 

The Next Dark Souls

It’s safe to say that FromSoftware has birthed an entire genre with Dark Souls, and the entire trilogy remains one of the best experiences of recent memory. The developer has already moved on to bigger experiences with the likes of Elden Ring, but there’s undoubtedly a void for a new Dark Souls game. Between this and the fact that the trilogy brought a definitive end to the endless cycle of fire, a new game coming out feels like a distant dream that probably won’t come true.

Prototype 3

Radical Entertainment’s Prototype was a really great open-world game that provided a really satisfying power fantasy as you mow down entire squadrons of enemies in moments unnoticed, and those elements were taken to the next level with Prototype 2. Radical Entertainment was slowly devolved into a support studio for Activision’s bigger franchises before it was closed sometime in 2014, leaving the dreams of any potential Prototype 3 dead in the dust.

He noted that after Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the team wanted to do something different. “Rockstar San Diego was working on a James Bond-style game. [Former Rockstar North president] Leslie Benzies was keen to do something along those lines. We did a demo doing some spy stuff in San Andreas. I think there was a hang glider and a car turning into a submarine or something.”

The project impressed the San Diego and New York studios enough to start working on it. However, development for Grand Theft Auto 4 was also starting. “The idea was that the team in North would roughly split down the middle. Half of us would work on the next Grand Theft Auto (4) and the other half on Agent,” says Obbe.

Internally known as Jimmy (the Scottish version of James), it was more linear than Grand Theft Auto, with locations like a French Mediterranean city, a Swiss ski resort, Cairo, and a massive space shootout with lasers. It was “Classic James Bond. The vibe was very cool.” The team worked on it for over a year, but it wasn’t “progressing as well as we’d hoped.”

“It was inevitable that eventually, the whole company would have to get behind Grand Theft Auto 5. We tried to cut the game down in an attempt the get the bulk of it done before the inevitable call from New York would come. We cut out an entire level (I think Cairo) and maybe even the space section.”

Eventually, Jimmy was deemed “too much of a distraction” and thus ditched. Obbe believes another company within Rockstar took over development, but it never saw completion. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to hear about what could have been.

Rockstar Games is currently working on the next Grand Theft Auto, which will receive its first trailer in early December. It could launch before April 2025, based on Take-Two’s projections.

Everwild

Everwild is the latest game in development from Rare, one of the most prestigious studios around the globe. Announced way back in 2019, Everwild will see players taking control of Eternals on a quest to save the flora and fauna of the game’s magnificent world. We don’t know what the gameplay will look like, but Rare has said that it wants to explore peaceful interactions with the game’s world which is definitely one of the more exciting parts of the game. Everwild‘s development has been far from smooth, as after a prolonged period of silence – rumors have indicated that it restarted development last year. Furthermore, it’s been claimed that the team is still figuring things out, so it doesn’t seem likely that the game would reappear anytime this year. That said, one can surely hope for the best.

Rockstar had announced Agent in E3 2009, and it was supposed to be an open-world action-adventure game following the story of a spy. No gameplay footage was ever shown of this PS3 exclusive title, and anticipation for it slowly waned as no signs of life or activity were ever shown by Rockstar which of course, ultimately led to the canning of the project.

Rockstar is reportedly working on a rumored GTA: The Trilogy Definitive Edition, a game that has been recently rated in Korea, almost confirming its existence. Rumors of GTA 6 are running rampant as of now, but Rockstar hasn’t commented anything about the game in an official capacity.

In June 2009, at Sony’s E3 conference, something new and exciting was announced. A fresh new IP from industry legends Rockstar. Agent- a game set during the Cold War in the late 70s, with a focus on political intrigue, tactical espionage, and assassinations. Announced as a PS3 exclusive, Agent was being billed as the next big thing from the masterminds behind Grand Theft Auto, as the the Housers brothers’ next big idea.

It goes without saying that people were excited to see what it was all about, and how it would bolster the PS3’s library. All of us waited for bated breath to not just get our hands on the game, but even to get our first real look at the game itself, because at that time, all we had was a name and a premise. So we waited- and waited. And we’re waiting still.

It’s been over a decade now, and by now, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that Agent, sadly enough, is never going to be anything more than an idea. But how is it that this next big Rockstar property, announced as a rare third party exclusive to one system, that the entire industry was so excited for, turned into something that would go on to never see the light of day? This was a game that Rockstar seemed really excited about when they first announced it, and when we first heard about its premise, so were we- so why did we never get to see it become an actual game? What the hell happened to Agent?

When Rockstar and Sony first announced Agent as a new PS3-exclusive IP, not only did they describe it as “genre-defining”, but also as a game that would “set the bar” for the industry as a whole. The word around town was that Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, were grooming Agent to be the next big thing, as the next GTA, with Sam and Dan Houser personally overseeing the game’s development.

Back then, in fact, it very much looked like it was all hands on deck for Agent, with Rockstar stating quite confidently that the game might be out as early as 2010, which was just a year away when the game was first unveiled. Given that, it would stand to reason that development for the title had been progressing nicely.

Work on Agent first started all the way back in 2003 (or thereabouts), and though it was put on hold indefinitely at the time, considering the fact that Rockstar began teasing the project around 2007, it wouldn’t be a leap to assume that production resumed around that time. And with two or three years of development under their belt, that Rockstar were confident of a 2010 release date when the game was first announced doesn’t seem that far-fetched.

Obviously, something went wrong behind-the-scenes, because after two years of absolute radio silence from all parties concerned, at E3 2011, then-SCEA chief Jack Tretton cast doubt over any progress Rockstar may have made over Agent, or if it would be a PS3 exclusive anymore. Even then, though, at worst we assumed that the game had suffered a delay, and that it would still eventually come out.

But as time went on, updates on Agent grew rarer and rarer. Back when the PS4 was revealed in 2013 and there was still no sign of Agent releasing on the PS3, many assumed that the game had shifted to the next-gen console- but it was just that. An assumption. All we heard or saw of the game over the years were leaks of concept art from the profiles of artists who’d been working on the game, showing various environments both indoors and outdoors.

As far as official word from the developers and publishers themselves was concerned, there was nothing but cagey non-answers on that front. In 2013, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick gave the good old “we have nothing to share” quote, and that was really that last we hard anything about the game from all parties concerned.

Until not too long ago, there was still hope, however faint, that something might still come out of Rockstar that would resemble the game they had announced all the way back in 2009. The Agent trademark was renewed by Rockstar in 2013, then in 2014, and then once again in 2016. Given all those renewals, there were some who still held out hope that Rockstar would perhaps eventually get back to working on the game. But then last year in November, the Agent trademark was officially abandoned, driving the final nail in the game-that-never-was’ coffin.

So yes, as heart-breaking as it might be, I think we’ve all come to accept by now that Agent is never going to happen. It feels strange to feel sadness about the cancellation (such as it is) of a game that never even got off the ground, that we never even saw in action for even a single second. But the lure of a big, new IP by Rockstar, and the inherently fascinating nature of its premise combined to make it a truly mouth-watering experience.

In the absence of any official word from Rockstar or Take-Two (or even Sony), all we can do is speculate about why Agent never saw the light of day, but there are some speculations to be made for sure. Given the timeframe of Agent’s announcement (and as such, its development) and what was originally intended as its launch date for 2010, it might not be a stretch to assume that work on the game clashed with Red Dead Redemption, which also came out in 2010. And Red Dead Redemption had, after all, an infamously gruelling crunch period, especially in the final legs of its development, so it’s entirely possible that Rockstar pulled in people from other projects (i.e., Agent) to finish world on the game.

But what about after Red Dead Redemption’s launch? Well, not log after Red Dead came out, Grand Theft Auto 5 became the centre of attention at Rockstar. It launched just three years after RDR, and it was an even bigger production- significantly so. Connect the dots, and the assumption one would draw is that after Red Dead was shipped, it was all hands on deck for GTA 5.

Agent is little more than a concept now. We all but know that it’s never going to be released, and even though that foolish optimist in all of us keeps on hoping that Rockstar hasn’t given up on this title, we’ve all come to accept that that is indeed foolish optimism. Rockstar is dedicated to Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption almost entirely – hell, even a new Bully game looks unlikely – so perhaps it is time, finally, to let the Agent dream die.

Remember Agent? Surely you remember Agent. It was announced nine years ago, at E3 2009. Sony took the stage to confirm that while PlayStation may have lost Grand Theft Auto’s (timed) exclusivity, Rockstar would be working with them to create Agent, a new GTA-caliber franchise that would be coming exclusively to PlayStation 3.

We’re now near the end of the PlayStation 4’s life, and the game hasn’t yet emerged. Even as other long delayed games such as The Last Guardian, and even Duke Nukem Forever have released in the intervening years, Agent itself has remained mysteriously absent. We’ve heard a bit about the game here and there, and seen some abandoned concepts. But officially, all has been mum on this front.

Now, we have received what may be the closest thing to an official cancellation we will get for Agent. Apparently, Take Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar, has abandoned the Agent trademark, which implies that they intend to do nothing with the brand commercially going forward.

Either this means that Agent isn’t happening (something every person in the world knew, or should have known, by 2011), or that it is, but it will have a different name now.

Never let the dream die, folks!

Quantum Break 2

We know that Remedy Entertainment’s project codenamed P7 will be showcased at E3 2018. That’s a multiplatform project though – what about rumours of Quantum Break 2? Is it possible that P7 is actually Quantum Break 2 and we’ll see it appear? Well, no. The IP belongs to Microsoft and it’s unlikely to ever come to other platforms, let-alone be the same multiplatform project that Remedy is currently working on. While a sequel isn’t out of the question, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing it this year.