There are a lot of great gaming IP’s out there. Some of them get the chances they deserve to shine, others just kind of fall by the wayside. Here’s a look at six incredible games that we’ll probabally never see again, but we can keep our fingers crossed either way.
6. Mass Effect
This once-beloved franchise has seen some murky waters recently, resulting in EA refusing to greenlight another title in the series. Does that mean it’s gone forever? Forever ever? Maybe, maybe not, but maybe long enough for people to forget about the problems, and massive ridicule, that Mass Effect: Andromeda received. Some deserved, some not so much, but at the end of the day if a franchise is falling off and under performing, they can only keep it on life support for so long. It’s unclear exactly what went wrong here in the grand scheme of things, but you’ve got to feel for the developers who poured their heart into it when things just don’t come together as planned.
5. Scalebound
While this title may have never seen the light of day, would-be fans are still holding on with hope. Microsoft cancelled this Platinum Games title in January of 2017, the same year it was supposed to be released. The concept had been around for over a decade before it was cancelled, however the company had opted to work on Bayonetta first. If Bayonetta was any indication, Scalebound would have been an incredibly fun game, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
4. Driveclub
Driveclub had all the promise in the world to be a new contender in the world of racing sims, but things just didn’t come together. They missed the launch of the PS4 by a mile, and were hit with all sorts of technical issues upon launch. Despite all that, it was still a really solid game and went on to sell around 2 million copies, but that wasn’t good enough for Sony. Rather than give them a shot at a sequel to iron out the kinks and build upon their first effort, they shut down the studio instead, and that’s that for Driveclub.
3. Fable
What other series has had so many ups and downs? Fable drew heat for failing to live up to the incredible expectations set by Molyneux, but despite that it was still a beloved franchise and a hallmark of the Xbox… Until Fable Legends was cancelled by Microsoft and Lionhead Studios were disbanded. The future isn’t looking good for the Fable franchise, but you never know, maybe they’ll be given new life and an opportunity to return to their roots, with more than a card game.
2. RIGS: Mechanized Combat League
Sony launched their VR headset with a lot of titles to choose from, but RIGS was definitely one of the most fleshed out and the one that you could really imagine emerging with a competitive scene around it. The studio behind it had a lot of plans to really take it to the next level, until they were suddenly shut down, which not only was a surprising blow from Sony to this game and studio in particular, but also to their future in VR. It seemed like a lack in faith in the new direction they’ve been aiming towards. If you want to play a competitive shooter with potential to be a popular eSport on VR, you don’t have a lot to choose from, and it makes you wonder why Sony would kill this one.
1. Deus Ex
Deus Ex games are highly praised and loved, with Human Revolution offering a great reboot. Years later, the more recent Mankind Divided didn’t quite hit all the same notes. The team working on the franchise has been given other tasks, and what could have been a publisher-defining franchise seems like it may unfortunately fall by the wayside instead. One misstep, especially when it allegedly had a lot to do with budget issues and mismanagement from Square Enix, seems to have unfortunately been enough to put this one on hold, at least for now.