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!

Blizzard Entertainment caused quite the stir today when it announced the cancellation of Project Titan, it’s MMORPG that was hyped to be the successor to World of Warcraft. Several analysts have weighed in with their own take on the news, according to Games Industry International.

Independent analyst Billy Pidgeon was optimistic about the cancellation, stating that it’s better than releasing a sub-par product and that the same years of work could be learned from.

“Development costs for Titan may have amounted to tens of millions, perhaps $50 million or more. This is not an unusual event, however. Blizzard has cancelled several games in various stages of development in the past. Costs for unreleased games can be significant, but launching substandard games can harm the reputation of a successful publisher such as Blizzard. Expenses for development can be considered R&D, and benefits can include invaluable training, IP and technology that can be applied to other games.”

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter also believes that Project Titan’s development costs total more than $50 million. However, he believes that taking into account an estimated 100 to 200 people drawing an annual salary of $100,000 each, this actually amounts to a “sunk cost” of $70 million and $140 million. “It’s pretty sad that it took so long to figure out how bad the game was. I expect them to go back to the drawing board.”

What are your thoughts on Project Titan’s cancellation? Let us know in the comments.

Remember Blizzard’s Project Titan? An MMORPG that was pegged to be the successor to Warcraft which was eventually delayed and it’s team members re-assigned to other projects? We no longer have to wonder when it will be out as the developer revealed to investors in a recent financial call that the project has been cancelled.

Speaking to Polygon, co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime said that while the goal was to create “the most ambitious thing that you could possibly imagine,” it just “didn’t come together.”

“We didn’t find the fun. We didn’t find the passion. We talked about how we put it through a reevaluation period, and actually, what we reevaluated is whether that’s the game we really wanted to be making. The answer is no.”

SVP of franchise and story development Chris Metzen further stated that, “The discipline of knowing when to quit is important. We were losing perspective and getting lost in the weeds a little. We had to allow ourselves to take that step back and reassess why the hell we were doing that thing in the first place.”

As of now, it doesn’t make sense for Blizzard to focus on another MMORPG when it has World of Warcraft and more importantly, it doesn’t want to be identified as a company that simply creates MMOs. Thoughts on the cancellation? Let us know below.

Until recently though, the MMO market has been pretty limited in the sense of what platforms they could run on. Basically, the only option that was available was the PC. Most games weren’t particularly demanding, but that didn’t change the fact that they simply were not being made for consoles. What new MMO titles are now turning into are almost unrecognizable from where they started and regardless of what platform you choose to play on these days, chances are there’s going to be something for you.

Note: This list was updated on November 30th, 2013. The title was changed to better reflect the content. This list consists of MMO only games as well.

Tom Clancy’s The Division

This game is getting quite a bit of press since it was shown at E3 this year and with good reason. This persistent open world has PvP and cooperative modes which will give gamers plenty of options as they play. There still isn’t too much known about the game but what we do know is it’s a cover-based shooter that doesn’t seem to be following the formula of any MMO title available now. The best part is that this puppy will be hitting the PS4, PC and Xbox One.

This semi-realistic, near-future shooter is something altogether new to the online arena. Ubisoft is looking to mesh fast-paced action and tactical combat in a world that’s continually being affected by other real players.

Unfortunately it doesn’t look like we’re going to be seeing any cross-platform play from this title, but judging from how well it was received upon it’s reveal, The Division is certainly not going to have any lack of players regardless of what next-gen console you’re looking into getting. The title is still ways off from release, and is currently being scheduled for release sometime towards the end of 2014. Be patient, it looks like a good one.

In a recent investor’s conference call, Blizzard head Mike Morhaime said that it would be a long while since the studio is looking at any “new direction for the Titan. He did note that it is “unlikely to be a subscription-based MMORPG” and that the studio is upholding a “commitment to quality” by shifting resources to other more high-priority projects like World of Warcraft, Blizzard All-Stars and the upcoming Hearthstone, a free-to-play iPad title.

Till then, one will have to take comfort that they won’t be playing as pelts in the game with NPCs attempting to collect you.

One user asked if there was any hope for Warcraft 4. Surprisingly, the employee replied that, “You know, I think there was some talk of that going around, and I don’t think they would be opposed to the idea, but I think they want to focus on new titles right now to gain more exposure.”

Of course, aside from Diablo 3 and World of Warcraft, there hasn’t been much by way of “new” to come out of Blizzard Entertainment in a while. Project Titan, the company’s next MMORPG, has already reportedly been restarted with 70 employees from the formerly 100-strong team being shifted to other projects. More details will emerge soon hopefully – perhaps at E3 2013?

The developer has also reduced the 100 developer strong team by 70 positions, and reallocated members to other work. The core team will begin work on the new Titan.

Blizzard issued a statement saying, “We’ve always had a highly iterative development process, and the unannounced MMO is no exception. We’ve come to a point where we need to make some large design and technology changes to the game.

“We’re using this opportunity to shift some of our resources to assist with other projects while the core team adapts our technology and tools to accommodate these new changes. Note that we haven’t announced any dates for the MMO.”

For now, players will have to be content with World of Warcraft. However, one can’t help but speculate as to what kind of impact Titan would’ve had if it were released while next gen consoles are on the horizon.