Making video games isn’t an easy career. It can be stressful, unforgiving, and brutal. It’s not a path that just anyone can take. A fantastic video game takes passion, love for the industry, and a fundamental understanding of what makes an experience fun and engaging. All of these things come together to create a great video game.
As a result of these trials, a lot of developers go through some challenges when trying to create games. Anyone who knows anything about the industry knows of numerous games that were canceled before they ever saw the light of day. Whether it be because of time constraints, lack of resources, or an inconsistent vision, those events happen.
However, there are games that manage to pull through despite the issues they face in development. These lucky few are shining beacons to other developers that hard work can be worth it to see your new release on the Steam shop or at retail stores. While a game being released doesn’t necessarily mean it will be good, the fact that it can overcome the challenges of development hell is impressive to say the least.
Believe it or not, some of the best video games ever created were almost thrown into the garbage (as well as some that weren’t so good). Nonetheless, we’re taking a look at 25 video games that were almost canceled. Keep in mind that this list isn’t exclusive to games that people love; we’ll be looking at some others that people wish were canceled anyway.
25 Bayonetta 2
After Platinum Games created a respectable action game with Bayonetta, the game didn’t garner enough support for them to get proper help from Microsoft or Sony to greenlight a sequel. While the project was nearly scrapped, Nintendo came in to save the day. Allowing Platinum Games the proper support to keep the franchise going, Bayonetta 2 became an exclusive on the Wii U, and was later ported to the Nintendo Switch. Bayonetta would later be a DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS.
24 Star Fox 2
Star Fox 2 is a bizarre entry for this list. The game was completed and ready to be released on the SNES following the success of Star Fox, but was canceled at the last minute. However, Nintendo was determined to bring this game to the masses and included it as an exclusive title with the SNES Classic. No one on the planet ever thought that something like this could happen, but it turned out to be a hit among the community.
23 No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky has been a bit of a controversial game, between the hype and the lackluster release. One of the signs that it wouldn’t be a great game was all the delays that it suffered. However, the game was nearly canceled instead of just delayed. Hello Games suffered a flood that destroyed a lot of their equipment and halted their development significantly. It was then that Sean Murray nearly decided to cancel time, but chose to continue and finish it.
22 Duke Nukem Forever
The long-awaited sequel and revival of the Duke Nukem franchise almost never came out. With a lot of issues behind the scenes, it was all but confirmed that Duke Nukem Forever would never release, especially due to being delayed for several years. However, the game eventually hit store shelves, much to the disappointment of fans and newcomers. The game was easily the worst in the series, practically putting the final nail in the coffin for the character. The humor and drab color palette turned many people away.
21 Mighty No. 9
When it was announced that the creator of the Mega Man series was working on a new game through Kickstarter, a serious amount of people threw money at him to get the proper resurrection of the gameplay that captivated them all those years ago. However, Mighty No. 9 suffered some major delays, to the point where everyone expected it to be canceled. That said, the game did eventually release, but ended up being an example of how a Kickstarter project could go wrong.
20 The Last Guardian
Team Ico creates some of the most magical games, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to development struggles. After announcing a game titled The Last Guardian, it would be years and multiple console generations before it would finally release. With it being delayed to two different PlayStations, there was talk of it nearly being canceled. However, Team Ico pulled through and used the capable hardware of the PS4 to properly deliver on their vision. It’s not their best game, but it was still a great time.
19 The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings
CD Projekt is famous for The Witcher series of video games. However, there was a chance that it could’ve ended with the first game. There were some economic problems when their console port of the first game was canceled. They still chose to press on with The Witcher 2, but a dip in the economy coupled with their lacking revenue caused them to nearly go out of business. However, they simply cut elements from the game and moved forward with its release.
18 Grand Theft Auto
It’s crazy to imagine a world where Grand Theft Auto was never released. However, that possibility was almost a reality. When the game was being developed, there was an inconsistent direction between the developers, which led some to nearly pull the plug on it. However, the developers eventually got their act together and settled on one uniform take for the game. Grand Theft Auto was released to critical acclaim and it spawned one of the most beloved series in gaming history.
17 Call Of Duty: Zombies
After five Call of Duty games, the standard shooting formula started to get tiring even for the developers. That’s why, for Call of Duty: World at War, some of the developers experimented with the formula to create the famous Nazi Zombies mode. When it was first seen, some of the higher-ups were outraged that so much time was spent on it, and they nearly forced it to be canceled. After seeing how much fun the developers were having, though, they let it happen and allowed it in the final release.
16 Super Smash Bros
Masahiro Sakurai is one of the most creative developers in gaming history. After creating the Kirby franchise, he decided to work on HAL Laboratory’s new project, which he imagined as a fighting game. In order to give it a proper, realized feel, he inserted Nintendo characters like Mario and Pikachu without permission. Once this was completed, he sent it straight to Nintendo to see what they thought. There was a big chance the game could’ve been shut down right then and there, but the Big N approved it, spawning one of their biggest franchises to date.
15 FRU
FRU was easily one of the most interesting games on the Kinect. Made in just a few days, the game was a platformer where your own body was used as a means of affecting how the character moved. At the time of its development, Microsoft decided to remove the Kinect from the packaging of the Xbox One, meaning that FRU would have a much smaller audience. The team almost gave up on the project, but decided to press on and release it anyway.
14 Battlefield 1
When Battlefield 1 was pitched to EA, there was a lot of pushback at the start. During that time, most fps games were going more towards the future rather than the past. It wasn’t until the developers could prove that a World War was a direction that would appease that EA would eventually approve it. Needless to say, there was a much more positive reaction to the game as opposed to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. It was a smart decision from EA.
13 Fez
Fez is a game notorious for causing a lot of strain on its lead developer. After long hours, crazy work schedules, and an atmosphere that was destructive on his well-being, he nearly scrapped the project altogether. However, some more developers came and offered a helping hand to ensure that the game would see its proper release on digital stores across the internet. Unfortunately, the process took a toll on the man in charge, and we never got to see what Fez 2 would’ve been.
12 Fallout
Fallout is one of the biggest games that Bethesda ever created and one of their biggest current franchises. However, when it was first pitched, there was a chance that it never would’ve been released. For its time, the game was considered extremely depressing as well as a serious risk. Despite the hesitation with its creation, it was released, which spawned a franchise that would stand with the likes of The Elder Scrolls and even the prestigious The Legend of Zelda.
11 Final Fantasy Type-0
Final Fantasy: Type-0 was a respectable spin-off in the Final Fantasy series. However, there was risk of it never being released. The game’s director, Hajime Tabata, was working on more than one project at the time. Dedicated to creating the best games possible, he found it quite strenuous to work on them both simultaneously. He had to step away from Type-0 for quite some time, but returned to it with a more focused viewpoint. It was a bit downgraded, but Final Fantasy Type-0 development continued and finished.
10 Pokémon Red And Blue
Creating the Pokémon franchise was a massive undertaking that many people don’t realize. Developing Pokémon Red and Blue took a toll on not only the developers, but the computers as well. It took several years for those games to be completed, but the developers were constantly set back by the computers constantly breaking and overheating during the project. If those machines weren’t fixed later down the road, then the games likely never would’ve come out and millions of fans would’ve never been made.
9 GoldenEye 007
Goldeneye 007 became one of the most impressive and important fps games of its time. Owners of a Nintendo 64 look back on this release fondly as they played locally with their friends. You might be shocked to know that the game almost didn’t come out. There weren’t a lot of people working on the game at the time, and the majority of them had little experience with development. Because of this, there were constant challenges that nearly caused the game to be canceled. Thankfully, the veteran developers came through.
8 Final Fantasy
Any self-respecting fan of Final Fantasy will be able to describe how this game came to be. The director of the project decided that he was going to give game development one last try to be successful. That’s where he came up with the “Final” in Final Fantasy. Luckily, the game turned out to be a hit and spawned one of the biggest JRPG franchises in history. It wasn’t long after that sequels to the game were created, making it a franchise that didn’t understand the meaning of the word “final.”
7 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds quickly became one of the best Zelda games on the 3DS, reviving the formula of A Link to the Past and thrusting in plenty of new features to keep it afloat. However, there was a chance that it never would’ve released. Part of this was because, after Spirit Tracks, Miyamoto had the idea of Link traveling through walls. While he tried to get the project in motion, most of the team had to move on to other projects to bolster the Wii U’s lineup.
6 Harvest Moon
Being a pioneer in game design isn’t necessarily a good thing. The minds behind Harvest Moon struggled a lot during the development process. Essentially creating an entirely new genre, they had to decide what worked and what didn’t. Because of this, there were constant challenges during development that nearly led to the project’s cancellation. On top of that, numerous obstacles happened with the company as well, including running out of money. The creator of the series was determined to finish the project, though, and Harvest Moon became a hit.
