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00:08Welcome to Mojo Plays, and it's becoming increasingly clear that publishers either
00:12don't know what gamers really want, or are purposely ignoring them, because these games
00:17had every chance to be certified bangers had they made it to release.
00:30Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
00:34about our latest videos.
00:38Super Mario Spikers Mario and friends have dabbled in nearly every sport under the sun,
00:48even competing in the Olympics a few times, but there is one sport that has been almost
00:53completely overlooked by the mustachioed plumber, volleyball.
00:57While volleyball does appear in Mario Sports Mix, there were originally plans for a Mario
01:02Striker-style game utilizing the beach favorite pastime.
01:05The pitch was originally greenlit by Nintendo, but after demoing the game, decided to cancel
01:11the project.
01:12Their reasoning was the game was deemed too violent, as it featured WWE-style finishing
01:17moves that had characters routinely beating down or even stomping on rival players.
01:22While this likely could have easily been toned down, Nintendo overreacted and cancelled the
01:28game outright instead.
01:37Pirates of the Caribbean, Armada of the Damned.
01:40Captain Sterling, you see.
01:42I, I knows him.
01:44Served under him.
01:45True.
01:46Was a gunner.
01:47On the Nemesis.
01:51Ah, got your attention now, eh?
01:53Pirates of the Caribbean became a runaway success at the box office for Disney, so naturally, a video game adaptation
01:59wasn't far behind.
02:01With no sign of Jack Sparrow on the horizon, players would have been given a ship and a
02:05crew and an open world in which they could explore both land and sea, filled with supernatural
02:10elements and even full-skill naval battles.
02:13The scope of the project was ambitious and borrowed heavily from the Assassin's Creed series,
02:17who would ironically take to the seas a few years later after Armada of the Damned's
02:22cancellation.
02:23Players were even given the choice of what type of pirate they wanted to be through their
02:26choices.
02:27Honorable, or feared.
02:29Disney ended up cancelling the game during some restructuring, and would-be pirates would
02:33have to wait for Black Flag to properly take to the seas.
02:36Arrgh!
02:37Arrgh!
02:38What in the bloody hell are you?
02:40You!
02:41Arrgh!
02:42You have come to punish us!
02:44American McGee's Alice Asylum.
02:46American McGee's Alice series has always been something of a cult favorite, but despite the
02:51creator's best efforts, his planned trilogy is likely never going to see its conclusion.
02:56After putting together a detailed proposal and pitch, complete with artwork, storyboards,
03:01concepts, and a full script, EA passed on the planned third game, claiming a bunch of corporate
03:06jargon that essentially the game wouldn't be profitable for them to invest in, while also
03:10refusing to even sell the license back to American McGee, claiming that Alice is still
03:15a valued property in their portfolio.
03:17Asylum was planned to answer many of the burning questions left open by the previous entries,
03:21while also tying up the numerous plot threads left dangling by the end of Madness Returns.
03:26But, EA is gonna EA, and refuses to give in to fan outcry for a finale to the cult series.
03:32Mega Man Universe.
03:39Player creation games may be all the rage these days, but back during the initial days of Little
03:44Big Planet and Mario Maker, they were still only starting out, and another beloved franchise almost
03:49had his chance as well. Mega Man Universe would have allowed players to design their own levels,
03:54bosses, and power-ups based around Mega Man assets, edit existing levels, and share them online
03:59for other creators to play. Basically, it was Mega Man Maker. However, Mega Man Universe took
04:05things a step further, and allowed players to completely customize not only their levels,
04:09but also the Blue Bomber himself. Players would have been able to swap parts and interchangeable
04:14chips to give Mega Man different powers. There was also DLC planned with other Capcom properties,
04:19such as Street Fighter and Ghosts and Goblins. But, after the departure of Kenji Inafune from Capcom,
04:25the game was ultimately cancelled due to various circumstances.
04:35Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Patriots.
04:39Ropes are set. Won't you leave?
04:42Come on down the head. Take him out.
04:44Engage.
04:45The Rainbow Six series hasn't seen a new single-player entry since Rainbow Six Vegas 2 in 2008.
04:51However, players got a glimpse of what the next entry in the Tactical Shooter series could have
04:56been, and it showed quite a lot of promise. The title would have seen players encountering a populist
05:01militia group known as the True Patriots, and confronting them through the streets of New York,
05:06as the group waged war on Wall Street. The story would have given players a more emotionally charged
05:10narrative than previous entries, and the moral choices associated with the tactics used to put an
05:15end to the group. The gameplay footage looks solid and reminiscent of the Series 24 with its politically
05:20charged narrative and blistering intensity. The game was ultimately cancelled after most of the
05:25creative team was let go, and given Siege's success, we'll likely never get another single-player
05:30Rainbow Six game again.
05:43Alien's Crucible
05:44Alien games typically fall into a few select categories. Shooter, horror, or strategy. But
05:50Obsidian almost let players explore the Alien universe in a new way with a wholly unique approach.
05:55a player choice driven RPG. Taking heavy inspiration from the Mass Effect series,
06:00players and their squad would be forced to survive a xenomorph infestation in their space colony.
06:05Each squad member would have their own strengths and weaknesses as well as specific skills and
06:10attributes that would make them invaluable in operating and escaping the facility. The most
06:14interesting aspect of the game would have come from the moral choices involved should someone
06:18become infected by a face hugger and they need to decide their fate. The game was ultimately
06:23cancelled despite being nearly complete in favor of Alien Isolation, so it's not all bad, but it
06:29certainly would have been one of the most intriguingly unique approaches to the Alien Universe.
06:33Third, Adam Jensen, Deus Ex.
06:36Not gonna go all wonky on this now, Hansa, are ya?
06:40What if I do, McCready? I guarantee you'll never see it coming.
06:44The original Deus Ex game is one of the most influential titles of all time and while that
06:48was always going to be difficult to compete with, Eidos Montreal crafted two solid adventures
06:53for newcomer Adam Jensen in his own prequel series to the original Deus Ex. However, both
06:58titles were marred by controversy, particularly the most recent entry, Mankind Divided, which
07:04publisher Square Enix notoriously interfered with. However, even with all the behind-the-scenes
07:09turmoil, fans were still anxiously awaiting the final entry in Jensen's story, only for
07:13Square Enix to sell the Deus Ex IP to Embracer, who almost immediately cancelled any potential
07:19conclusion. Story details were at least revealed by series writer Mark Searcy, in which Jensen's
07:23destiny was never to put an end to the Illuminati, but to cause the events of the original Deus
07:28Ex. Such a shame, fans will never get to experience these events firsthand.
07:33Agent Jensen! Am I gonna have a problem with you?
07:38No, sir. No reason to assume you would.
07:41Project Sabbath. The rather decisive ending of Rocksteady's Batman Arkham Knight, in which
07:46Bruce initiates the Nightfall Protocol after his identity is revealed, was a satisfying
07:51conclusion to the series while also leaving the potential for a continuation. While Rocksteady
07:56moved on to Suicide Squad, WB Montreal, the developers of the criminally underrated Batman
08:01Arkham Origins, started on what could have been the perfect follow-up to the Arkham Trilogy.
08:05Fast forwarding years later, and Damian Wayne has taken up the mantle of Batman into Gotham
08:10heavily influenced by the Batman Beyond run of the Caped Crusader. Familiar villains would have
08:15returned, including a resurrected Poison Ivy alongside villains new to the franchise. Project
08:21Sabbath would have also utilized the Nemesis system, while giving players a futuristic, neon-soaked
08:25Gotham overrun by criminals to explore. The title was unfortunately cancelled, and we got
08:31Gotham Knights instead. What did we do to deserve this?
08:35Star Wars 1313.
08:47I'm starting to think you brought me along just to do your dirty work.
08:50This one still stings, especially given the current state of Star Wars under Disney. In development
08:56prior to Disney's acquisition of the license, Star Wars 1313 would have given us the origin
09:01story of the most famous bounty hunter in the galaxy, Boba Fett, as he made a name for
09:06himself deep in the undercity of Coruscant on level 1313. Players would have had access to
09:12the myriad of bounty hunting gadgets familiar to the trade, and pursued numerous bounties throughout
09:16the lower levels, slowly building Boba's reputation amongst the criminal underworld.
09:21Star Wars 1313 even had creator George Lucas' involvement tweaking the story and offering the developers
09:27additional Star Wars content to use within the game. The game's debut trailer was an unprecedented hit
09:33with fans, featuring fast-paced cover-based shooting and Uncharted-style climbing along with
09:38a cinematic presentation that rivaled the films. So, naturally, Disney killed it, and then later
09:43the entire franchise.
09:58Earthblade. One of the most recent cancellations on our list, Earthblade was developer Extremely
10:03OK Games' follow-up to their smash indie hit Celeste. While not much is known about the actual game
10:08besides its gorgeous fantasy art style and likely pitch-perfect platforming, the game would have had
10:13an open-world Metroidvania-style exploration gameplay and likely a deeply personal and emotional story
10:19similar to Celeste's involving exploring the remnants of a ruined Earth reclaimed by nature.
10:24Despite great fan anticipation, numerous behind-the-scenes issues eventually led to the developer
10:29announcing Earthblade's cancellation in January 2025, but promising to continue developing games,
10:35just one on a smaller scale than Earthblade.
10:38Dead Space 4.
10:39Does anyone read us out here?
10:51Oh god.
10:58EA strikes again, this time cancelling the continuation of the Dead Space series, after their heavy-handed
11:04involvement forcing a more action-style approach to the game's combat, in addition to co-op and the
11:08numerous microtransactions. Completely pivoted the direction of the third entry and turned off a lot
11:14of fans of the series. However, the devs still had plans for a fourth game to complete Isaac's journey,
11:19with the idea for the fourth entry focusing on survival-style gameplay, as players scavenged to
11:24survive the Brethren Moons and the infestation of Necromorphs. The gameplay would have been more open-ended,
11:30allowing players to continue the story at their own discretion, rather than the linear nature of
11:35the previous titles. But EA, unable to take any accountability for Dead Space 3's failure,
11:40cancelled plans for a fourth game. Not only that, but they even cancelled the planned Dead Space 2
11:46remake after the original failed to meet expectations.
11:49I quit trying to make sense of it all back on the Isshimura.
11:55Come on, this can't be real! Wait, what are we supposed to do now?
11:59Sleeping Dogs 2
12:01So what'd they get you on?
12:02Nothing that'll stick.
12:04Ha! Well, don't let them pin any extra shit on you.
12:07Square Enix joins our list again, this time killing what could have been the only true challenger to GTA.
12:12Open-world sandbox games were a dime a dozen after the success of the GTA trilogy,
12:17but one game managed to step out of that series' shadow with its unique setting,
12:22engaging characters, parkour-inspired traversal, and brutal,
12:25impactful combat with immensely satisfying environmental finishers.
12:29Naturally, despite strong reviews and player reception, and selling a million copies at launch,
12:34Square Enix said the game failed to meet expectations as usual, likely expecting GTA numbers.
12:41The developer United Front Games was shut down almost immediately,
12:44but would later detail their plans for an ambitious sequel that would have featured a new city,
12:49possible co-op, and even elements that would have tracked the crimes you committed,
12:53making some areas of the game more difficult due to police presence.
12:57Seems like nothing is ever good enough for Square Enix anymore.
13:01Sorry to hear that, Sifu.
13:02So was I.
13:05This collection meant a lot to me.
13:09Sometimes you just have to let things go.
13:12Days Gone 2
13:13Okay.
13:14Yeah, shut up!
13:15Shut up!
13:17This ain't no eulogy!
13:19Days Gone got a raw deal from Sony, and there's very little to argue that fact.
13:24Despite porting and updating the game numerous times, and 9 million copies sold,
13:29Sony refused to allow developer Ben Studio to begin work on a sequel.
13:33Days Gone released to mid-reviews due to several bugs and glitches, but with all those kinks ironed out,
13:39the community fell in love with this open-world zombie apocalypse filled with motorcycles and
13:44roaming hordes of zombies.
13:46For whatever reason, Ben Studio wasn't given the green light to begin on a sequel,
13:50despite having numerous ideas on how to evolve the series, including co-op,
13:54deeper motorcycle and character customization, new areas, and even base building and survival mechanics.
14:01Unfortunately, it seems unlikely these ideas or the franchise will ever see a proper sequel,
14:06as both Ben Studio and Sony have moved on from the property.
14:10I thought you weren't going to do a speech.
14:11Yeah, I screwed up.
14:13Uh, what the hell was it?
14:15You know, I was alright for an outlaw biker.
14:19Titanfall 3
14:21I'm a long way from becoming a pilot.
14:25But when that day comes,
14:29I hope I can live up to the honor.
14:32Oh look, it's EA again.
14:35What a surprise.
14:36EA purposely sabotaged the Titanfall series,
14:39launching the highly acclaimed sequel smack in the middle of their own Battlefield 1
14:43and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, splitting the potential player base.
14:47Despite all these handicaps, Titanfall 2 managed to develop an extremely loyal fanbase,
14:52and the critical reception of the game made a third entry seem inevitable.
14:56Plans for a third Titanfall game looked to give players everything they could have wanted,
15:00incorporating elements for multiplayer such as more organic boss battles, allowing players to confront
15:05these enemies either in Titans or on foot, and a less linear story. Instead focusing on branching paths
15:11that depending on their choices would have led to one of four different endings. There were even already
15:16plans for additional content via DLC. Sadly, Titanfall 3 was scrapped only 10 months into development,
15:23and many of the ideas were pivoted into Apex Legends.
15:27Protocol 3. Protect the pilot.
15:30B.T. What are you doing?
15:33Trust me.
15:34B.T.
15:39Gotham by Gaslight.
15:41The unexpected success of Rocksteady's Batman Arkham Asylum made them the more or less de facto developer of
15:47Batman video games, but there was almost one more before the Arkhamverse dominated everything Batman.
15:53Based on the one-shot comic series of the same name, Gotham by Gaslight would have seen a Victorian
15:58Batman contending with Jack the Ripper terrorizing the streets of London while also crossing paths
16:03with 19th century versions of other familiar characters like the Joker and Commissioner Gordon.
16:09Although cancelled early in development, some test footage does exist, and the Victorian
16:13architecture could have given players a world unlike anything else in Batman's history to explore,
16:18as well as unique gameplay features such as a dedicated slow-mo button and steampunk-style
16:23gadgets for Batman to use. Sadly, a myriad of rights issues gave Gotham by Gaslight no fighting chance.
16:30Project Ragtag.
16:31Another entry, another stupid EA decision. After parting ways with Naughty Dog, Amy Hennick joined
16:37Visceral Games to work on a single-player game in the Star Wars universe. The game would have followed
16:42a group of would-be scoundrels attempting to pull off the biggest heist the galaxy had ever seen,
16:47along with a little classic familiar drama sprinkled in for good measure. Sticking to her strengths,
16:52Amy Hennick pitched the game as a cinematic third-person linear action-adventure shooter
16:57in the same vein as the Uncharted series. However, the writing was on the wall early on in development,
17:02as EA continuously moved developers and resources to Battlefront, their current moneymaker,
17:08alongside issues with the restrictive Frostbite engine being ill-equipped to handle a third-person
17:13style game. While some claim the project was too ambitious in scope, it's more likely EA wanted
17:18to prioritize live service games they could over-monetize. Silent Hills.
17:29Silent Hills will forever be one of the most frustrating game cancellations in the entire
17:33industry. Initially revealed in August 2014 as PT, or a playable teaser, fans soon discovered it was
17:40secretly a demo for the in-development Silent Hills game starring Norman Reedus and directed by Hideo
17:46Kojima and Guillermo del Toro. Fans immediately went crazy, pouring over the demo for hidden secrets and
17:52messages, while behind the scenes, Konami and Kojima were in turmoil. In April 2015, Konami split with
17:59the Metal Gear Solid creator and promptly cancelled all his future projects including Silent Hills,
18:04despite the game having already been in development for almost three years, even going so far as to
18:10delete PT from the marketplace, leaving the only way to even play the demo was to keep it installed on
18:15your hard drive at all times. The move was rightfully seen as extremely petty on Konami's part.
18:44The original Prey for the then brand new Xbox 360 was a standout title with its unique approach to combat,
18:51world design and especially the trippy portal bending mechanics. A sequel was announced and
18:56quietly went dark for years before finally resurfacing in 2011 with an impressive debut trailer showcasing
19:03an entirely new approach to the series. Instead of reprising their role as Tommy from the original,
19:08players would instead become an amnesiac intergalactic bounty hunter human who was lost in space after his
19:14flight crashed into the sphere in the first game. This new approach to gameplay featuring a myriad of gadgets,
19:20new traversal options and a Star Wars galaxy mount of alien species to interact with,
19:25Prey 2 solidified its place on gamers' radar in a big way. Unfortunately, publisher Bethesda pushed
19:31unrealistic deadlines and milestones on the developer, eventually leading to both parting ways and Prey 2
19:37being cancelled entirely.
19:48Scalebound.
19:49Hardly seems like a fair fight, just one of you against all of us.
19:59It's no secret that Xbox has been hurting for exclusives since the Xbox One generation.
20:04So why then, would they cancel the one project that had even the slightest potential to become a system
20:10seller? Scalebound from Platinum Games was by far the Xbox One's most anticipated title with each new
20:15trailer only furthering the hype for fans. The idea of teaming up with your own fully customizable dragon
20:21companion and battling enemies with your dragon at your side, with your own dragon-like powers and
20:27dynamic swordplay, or taking to the skies on the back of your dragon checked off so many boxes of
20:32every fantasy fan's ultimate RPG that scalebound seemed like a surefire hit. The brilliant character
20:38designs, especially the dragons, and vibrantly expansive world popped off the screen, but sadly balancing all
20:45the elements, including online multiplayer, proved to be too ambitious for the team, and Microsoft
20:50ultimately shelved Scalebound for good.
21:04Prince of Persia Redemption.
21:14Long before the recent resurgence in the license, the Prince of Persia was stuck in limbo outside of
21:19some DLC cosmetic packs in other Ubisoft properties. That didn't have to be the case, however, had a
21:26pitch in the mid-2000s been picked up by Ubisoft. Footage of Prince of Persia Redemption was leaked in
21:312012 and featured a wildly ambitious new direction for the Prince. The pre-rendered concept footage
21:37showcased the Prince's trademark acrobatic abilities and rewind mechanics alongside new powers such as a
21:43dash and an arm that would allow him to grip onto surfaces. Filled with cinematic camera angles and new
21:48multi-enemy combat, the new approach to Prince of Persia was clearly influenced by Ubisoft's other
21:53parkour series, Assassin's Creed, and the epic scale of the Uncharted games. As long-time Prince of Persia fans,
21:59it's hard not to imagine what could have been instead of our beloved Prince being trapped in the sands of
22:05time.
22:13What cancel game would you want to play if given the chance? Share your dream picks in the comments.
22:19Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips for MojoPlays, and be sure to subscribe and
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