Do you hear it? The leaks, the rumors, the tantalizing teasers? It’s the unmistakable whirlwind of buzz and excitement that precedes E3 (a/k/a gaming’s annual extravaganza) with each passing year. And 2018 is no different.
In the Sony camp, the PlayStation giant has whittled its guest list down to just four titles: Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II, and Marvel’s Spider-Man. They’re the undisputed heavyweights of Sony’s AAA exclusives – ditto for Days Gone, which recently locked down a February 2019 release date after much anticipation.
Aside from Sony Bend’s apocalyptic title, over the years we’ve witnessed scores of megaton-sized announcements and crowd-pleasing moments capable of sending the entire industry into a collective tailspin, be it Final Fantasy VII‘s upcoming remake or Miyamoto wielding the Master Sword. However, there have been instances when an E3 title has slipped off the radar entirely.
And so, after recounting the biggest surprises in E3 history and those announcements that came bearing a truckload of potential, only to flop soon after release, we now turn our attention to those E3 titles that never saw the warm light of day.
Essential Reading:
- Sony’s Biggest E3 Flops
- The Biggest E3 Surprises in Sony History
- E3 2018 Announcements Wishlist and Predictions: 27 Things We Want to See
canceled e3 games
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E3: The Vaporware Chronicles
Let's crack open the E3 vaults and look back on those titles announced at gaming's biggest showcase that are now completely MIA.
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Scalebound
We begin with a recent heartbreak for fans of PlatinumGames and Hideki Kamiya (Resident Evil, Bayonetta), whose fantasy RPG Scalebound became one of the most-anticipated Xbox exclusives, only to be scrapped mid-way through development.
It was a swift and tragic end to such a promising, AAA blockbuster, but, sadly, I guess we'll never get to see a mix-up between Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma.
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Fez 2
Six years ago, outspoken developer Phil Fish flipped expectations on their head with Fez, a mind-boggling indie title capable of redefining what it means to be a platformer.
The sheer genius of Fez captured the imagination of gamers all across the community, and it's fair to say that, just like Super Meat Boy, Phil Fish's opus was one of the first indie titles to make waves in an industry dominated by big-budget blockbusters.
So when Phil Fish threw his hands up, canceled Fez 2, and walked away from the gaming industry, fans were understandably disappointed. And suddenly, the sequel was rendered into vaporware.
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BioShock Vita
Ken Levine, BioShock, and the PlayStation Vita. That sentence alone would've been enough to drive sales of Sony's ill-fated handheld, but the landmark collaboration wasn't to be.
Not only is Irrational Games no more, but BioShock Vita, a portable experience with elements of Final Fantasy Tactics, spent almost four years teetering on the verge of development, meaning its cancellation was less of a surprise and more of a "oh, well."
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Agent
Surely Rockstar's Agent specializes in the secret service, because we haven’t heard sight nor sound of the elusive project since 2007, when the studio behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption announced its new IP as a PlayStation exclusive. It was a huge coup for Sony, given it was still struggling to match the runaway success of Microsoft and its own Xbox 360 at the time. But more than 10 years later, and we still don’t know much about Rockstar's Agent – save for the fact that publisher Take-Two is adamant that the game is not cancelled.
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Contra
Konami's E3 pressers were infamous for their stunted delivery and cringe-worthy moments, but there were still a few diamonds peppered in the rough – namely HD versions of Metal Gear, Zone of the Enders, and Silent Hill, as well as a 30-second teaser for Contra.
Yes, the classic action franchise looked to be making a return back in 2011, but the ongoing radio silence has led many to conclude that Konami wound up making a Contra pachinko machine instead. Oh, what could have been.
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Project Milo
Before it become known as Microsoft's Kinect, Project Natal stoked curiosity among developers with its motion controls and Star Trek-esque voice commands. Hey, back in 2009, the sky was the limit as far as Microsoft's peripheral was concerned.
And then there was Peter Molyneux. The renown Fable developer hoped to launch Project Milo as a Kinect title circa 2009, but Microsoft's gradual abandonment of the device, not to mention Molyneux's departure from the company in 2012, means Milo is just another victim of E3 vaporware.
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Prey 2
Okay, this one doesn't exactly fit the bill, given Arkane Studios hit the reset button to deliver Prey, a horror-infused experience set on Talos I.
Prey 2, on the other hand, flickered into life at Human Head Studio, and was introduced to the masses during E3 2011. Three years later, and Bethesda decided to cancel the project entirely, passing over the baton to Arkane.
And although the dev team produced a cracking space thriller, Prey fans will always wonder what could have been.
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Star Wars 1313
2013 marked a defining moment in the history of Star Wars, as it was during this time when Disney acquired Lucasfilm and all its assets as part of a record $4 billion acquisition.
And while the movie franchise continues to reap big rewards, the company's video game output has largely been limited to multiplayer-focused blockbusters. But that wasn't always the case.
Long before the closure of Visceral Games, LucasArts had another title in active development. Its name? Star Wars 1313, and it was all about Boba Fett's formative years as a lawless bounty hunter scouring the galaxy for loot and mercenaries.
A promising demo was enough to send Star Wars fans into a tizzy, but the project quickly fell off the radar once LucasArts ceased production in 2013. And EA's decision to shutter Visceral means 1313 is essentially a goner.
