Times where the Love Interest decides that Love Cannot Overcome in Video Games.
- Cyberpunk 2077: All four romance options have at least one ending where they will leave V due to diverging life goals. Each has at least one ending where they do stay together though.
- Judy will leave in the "Path of Glory" and "The Devil" ending, because she's desperate to leave Night City and all of the bad memories it brought her behind. She happily joins V and the Aldecaldos to live her life on the road in "The Star" ending.
- Panam will also leave in the "Path of Glory" or "The Devil" ending, because she's responsible for leading the Aldecaldos now and can't stay in Night City with V, because that would leave the clan vulnerable. Since "The Star" ending involves V tagging along with the Aldecaldos, she's more than happy to remain in a relationship with V.
- Kerry will break up with V in "The Star" ending, because he can't leave Night City behind due to his ambition, and because, after V presses him on, because he's afraid of losing V so far from home. He will remain in a committed relationship with V if he stays in Night City in "Path of Glory" or "The Devil" ending.
- River will break up with V in "The Star" ending, because he feels like he has a duty to Night City and can't just leave. He also feels like he has to support his sister and her kids. He remains with V in the "Path of Glory" and "The Devil" endings.
- Dragon Age:
- Dragon Age: Origins: A rather tragic case with your companion Zevran and his old partner and lover, Taliesin. Taliesin shows up near the end of the game and tries to convince Zevran to help him kill you so he can return to the Antivan Crows. If your Relationship Values with Zevran are high enough, his lingering feelings for Taliesin aren't enough to convince him to turn on you. Conversely, if you're romancing Zevran but your Relationship Values are too low, then it's his feelings for you that cannot overcome his feelings for Taliesin.
- Dragon Age II: By the end of the game, Anders' love for Hawke is not enough to prevent his eroding sanity, nor rising mage freedom extremism, nor prevent him using you to blow up the Chantry. Conversely, the player may decide that their love for Anders cannot overcome his betrayal, and opt to execute him, or at least break up with him.
- Dragon Age: Inquisition: Oh dear. It should be called "Love Cannot Overcome: The Game."
- Blackwall: After his true identity and past as a war criminal are revealed, the player may decide they can't look past his deception and/or horrific past actions, and opt not to forgive him or take him back. Blackwall himself doesn't expect you to forgive him, either. He comes publicly forward fully expecting you to reject and dump him, and is deeply surprised if you don't.
- Cassandra: If she is named Divine, her staunch morals prevent her from remaining lovers with the Inquisitor since Divines must be celibate, and she breaks up with you.
- Cullen: If you convince him to go back to taking lyrium (a highly addictive Fantastic Drug that gives Templars their magic-negating powers at the cost of eventually eroding their sanity) for the sake of his duty, he decides that fraternizing with you would also constitute distracting him from his "duty," and coolly breaks things off.
- Iron Bull: If you convince him to sacrifice his Chargers to remain loyal to the Qunari, Love Cannot Overcome Qunari "re-education."
- Sera: Not if you're an elf who is "too elfy," it can't.
- Solas: Falling in love with a female Lavellan does not prevent him from breaking up with her or pushing her away to carry out his plan of restoring the world of the ancient elves (that he accidentally destroyed) at the cost of reshaping the current world. Even if female Lavellan agrees with his plan, Solas doesn't want you to see what he'll become.
- Considering all of the above examples, Josephine comes off as a rather delightful subversion. She tries to break up with the Inquisitor because her parents have gotten her engaged to someone else (not realising that she's spoken for), and insists that they cannot be seen to be together until she's spent years formally breaking up the engagement in a diplomatic manner. You can immediately prove that love really does conquer all by fighting her fiance for her hand and making a grand, public declaration of love to her.
- Fallen London is, at its core, an irreparably flawed love story between a giant crab and the sun that can only evolve into a cosmic epic by killing it.
- Near the end of The Last of Us Part II, Ellie settles down on a farm with her girlfriend Dina and their baby son. However, when Ellie still can't let go of her desire to get revenge for Joel's death and leaves to hunt down his killer, Dina leaves Ellie (which she had threatened to do before Ellie's departure) and takes the baby with her. Ellie returns to an empty house and not so much as a goodbye note from Dina.
- In Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, this is how Tia eventually bows out, giving her spot in the party to her rival, Selan.
