History WhatCouldHaveBeen / VideoGamesNToS

** ''[[VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed]]'': Darth Vader's apprentice was to use Starkiller only as a call sign, and was supposed to have an actual Darth title, but this was dropped when the official suggestions were [[UnfortunateNames Darth Icky or Darth Insanius]].

*** The first iteration of ''[=RE3.5=]'' is the game that would [[DivorcedInstallment later become]] ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'', with far more action-packed gameplay and mechanics that were a far cry from what was expected of the series, and a story based on unraveling various mysteries behind protagonist Tony Redgrave and his twin brother Vergil. Its development included several trips to Spain to study the local architecture as inspiration for the game's environments. This version was deemed too much of a departure from the SurvivalHorror genre and not cut out to be a ''Resident Evil'' title, but those trips to Spain would be put to use for the final version of the game.

* ''{{VideoGame/Solatorobo}}'' went through a multitude of changes throughout the ten years it took developing the game. It was originally going to be a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/TailConcert'', before becoming the PSA game ''Mamoru-Kun'', before finally starting development as ''Solatorobo'' starting in 2007. All of the different prototypes and plot elements can all be read and seen in a (fan-translated) trivia document as well as ''nine volumes worth of artbooks'' each split into three different sets ("Bluesky", "Daybreak", and "Starlet").

** Perpetual Entertainment was working on a much different version of the game before development was taken over by Cryptic Studios and the game design was overhauled. Planned features included a focus on bridge simulator gameplay, and playable races such as the Gorn and the Borg.

** Hats and helmets were intended as universal attachments for player models to give slightly more variety (and allowing for them to be shot off of a character's head), working they way they did in ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye|1997}}''. They were scrapped in favor of giving characters permanently-modeled headgear because the more varied shapes of ''Perfect Dark''[='=]s head models and the way that they attached to the models (based on the body's neck level rather than directly attached to the model's head) meant that one-size-fits all hats didn't actually fit much of anything, with even the one pre-release screenshot showing a separate hat on a character model having it clip into his head.

* ''VideoGame/PopfulMail'' was very nearly [[DolledUpInstallment dolled-up]] for international release as ''Sister VideoGame/{{Sonic|TheHedgehog}}''.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmQvUtx9jXc&app=desktop A prototype]] of ''Puyo Puyo Fever''[[note]] assumed to be the same proto Sega showcased at Tokyo Game Show 2003 through a tournament held to promote the game's release due to the footage matching up with this proto [[/note]] from September 9, 2003 contained many interesting differences, The biggest of which being early versions of the game's music, as well as the fact that it ran on a [[{{UsefulNotes/Dreamcast}} NAOMI]] cartridge as opposed to the final's GD-ROM.

** ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' didn't go through any massive gameplay-style shifts mid-development like the first ''Quake'', but it did get shoehorned into being a ''Quake'' game. Originally, the massively-different story and aesthetics were supposed to go along with it being an entirely different game, sharing only its basic gameplay style of a ''Doom''-like run-and-gun shooter, and several possible names for the game were floated around, including "Strogg" (which ended up being the name of the enemy faction) and "Lock and Load"; however, whenever the team settled on a name, it was found to be either unsatisfactory or unavailable due to existing trademarks, and ultimately the game was [[DolledUpInstallment branded as]] a second ''Quake''. Ironically, it's since gone on to completely define the singleplayer part of the ''Quake'' franchise, getting [[VideoGame/QuakeIV another singleplayer followup]] and [[VideoGame/EnemyTerritoryQuakeWars a prequel]] in the ten years after its release, whereas talk of elder gods and alternate dimensions and whatnot from the first ''Quake'' has mostly been restricted to Ranger's backstory in the multiplayer games.

** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'' was going to have every item box be its own storage instead of being linked with each other, which meant players that placed specific items in one box would have to go back to that particular box to get the item back. Also, the original game was meant to have an auto-aim feature to make combat easier, but possibly due to lack of time to implement it the game released with manual-only aiming, though auto-aim was restored in the Director's Cut version. The [=GameCube=] [=REmake=] brings back the manual-only aim and unlinked item boxes as a part of Real Survival mode.
** [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 The second]] and [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 fourth games]] went through a number of iterations (respectively known as ''Resident Evil 1.5'' and ''3.5'' to fans and Capcom) before the developers settled on the final versions of each game.

*** The first iteration of ''[=RE3.5=]'' is the game that would [[DivorcedInstallment later become]] ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'', with far more action-packed gameplay and mechanics that were a far cry from what was expected of the series, and a story based on unraveling various mysteries behind protagonist Tony Redgrave and his twin brother Vergil. Its development included several trips to Spain to study architecture as inspiration for the game's environments. This version was deemed too much of a departure from the SurvivalHorror genre and not cut out to be a ''Resident Evil'' title, but those trips to Spain would be put to use for the final version of the game.

*** ''VideoGame/XWingAlliance'': Planned ships that didn't made the final cut were the Starviper from ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire'' and a modified Strike Cruiser. Also, a multiplayer function would have allowed one player to fly the ship and a second one control the turret (for freighter ships). The odd bit is that the turret function is programmed into the game, but [[DummiedOut none of the ships are flagged for being flyable with a gunner]]. It is unknown why this is the case, since re-enabling the function causes no issues.

*** [[BigBad Gill]] was originally planned to wield [[LightEmUp light]] and [[CastingAShadow darkness]], but Capcom had decided to have him use [[PlayingWithFire fire]] and [[AnIcePerson ice]] instead as it would be a much more better demonstration of their new CPS-III arcade hardware.

*** In the case of Abel and Rufus, their original designs were ''very'' different, especially the latter: Abel was originally a judo practitioner with a [[WeakButSkilled "the weak can beat the strong"]] gimmick. He was also a teenager and [[DudeLooksLikeALady could be mistaken for a]] [[http://images.wikia.com/streetfighter/images/3/37/Abel_girl.jpg girl]]. As for Rufus, instead of being a middle-aged, obese white guy who taught himself kung-fu, he was originally a ''young, thin (yet muscular) [[RaceLift black]]'' male who combined his kung-fu skills with breakdancing, calling it [[DanceBattler "breakung-fu"]]. [[http://fightingstreet.com/folders/artworkfolder/artworkpics/sf_art/sfiv_art/SF_IV_Concept_Art/SFIV_PC_Concept_Art_Various_12.jpg He was]] [[http://fast1.onesite.com/capcom-unity.com/user/trueststrike/66e0b707c8289b768867ec9bad21c9fd.jpg?v=154007 originally named]] [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Rufus-design1.jpg "King Cobra"]] and had a rivalry with Ken, although it most likely wouldn't have been PlayedForLaughs as it is with the version of him that made it into the game. All in all, he was redesigned, because the developers wanted an absurd, over-the-top design that would "freak people out". What's left of Cobra in the final release of ''Street Fighter IV'' is his gi, which is Ken's 1st [[DownloadableContent DLC]] costume.

*** [[VideoGame/{{Halo}} Master Chief]] and [[VideoGame/GearsOfWar Marcus Fenix]] were considered for the UsefulNotes/XBox360 edition, but bad timing led to them being unavailable for use.

*** [[VideoGame/{{Uncharted}} Nathan Drake]] was considered as a potential [[GuestFighter guest character]] for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 version, but [[VideoGame/{{Infamous}} Cole [=McGrath=]]] was chosen instead because his abilities fit a fighting game better.

* The Atari game ''Name This Game And Win $10.000 was going to have a contest to give the game a name. The winner would get ten thousand dollars. The company went bankrupt before the contest could be held.

* ''VideoGame/NiGHTSJourneyOfDreams'' was originally going to be called ''Air [=NiGHTS=]'', and was going to use a motion controller for the Saturn. Then the project was moved to the Dreamcast, but never got past the prototype stage. Then it was going to be for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/XBox360, until [[ExecutiveMeddling it was switched to]] the Wii, ''without'' any extension on development time or budget.

** Every level has a slice of cheese hidden somewhere, which can't be collected and serves no purpose. It's rumored that collecting them would have unlocked something, though some of the devs claim they were put there [[TrollingCreator just to drive completionists wild]], an interpretation helped by the fact that several of the slices are in locations that the player can't physically reach.

** Work was started on a third game after ''Zero''[='=]s release, ''Perfect Dark Core'', though progress was only made for a year before the team for the project was cut down to three people and it got canned. Even then, the info known about the project indicates that by that point it wasn't even a ''Perfect Dark'' game anymore, as it involved a male protagonist fighting HumongousMecha.

** Every level has a slice of cheese hidden somewhere, which can't be collected and serves no purpose. Some of the devs claim they were put there [[TrollingCreator just to drive completionists wild]], but it's still rumored that collecting them would have unlocked something.

** According to a ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' article, Nintendo had proposed renaming the series ''[[CompletelyDifferentTitle Red & Black]]'' for its Japanese localization due to concerns that a direct translation would sound bland and unappealing. The final Japanese release has the same name as the international version, although the colors red and black were still heavily featured in its marketing.

* ''VideoGame/PopfulMail'' avoided being [[DolledUpInstallment dolled-up]] for international release as ''Sister VideoGame/{{Sonic|TheHedgehog}}''.

** Multiplayer was originally envisioned to have human characters (Chell and Mel, another female) but Valve felt that it was a bit too gruesome to constantly watch a human falling into acid, get crushed, etc. over and over again, so they changed the characters to robots, which would make deaths more hilarious since robots don't feel pain and are reassembled to justify respawning.
** The reveal of [[spoiler: Caroline becoming [=GLaDOS=]]] was originally going to have an audio only scene of the transformation with [[spoiler: Caroline]] trying to refuse Cave Johnson's decision. Apparently, Cave Johnson's [[Creator/JKSimmons voice actor]] refused to read his lines for the scene because it sounded too disturbing. The lines were DummiedOut and can only be accessed through the game's files.

** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2'' ends with an image of [[spoiler:a mysterious witch watching the hero in a crystal ball]]. WordOfGod has that she was the one responsible for [[spoiler:[[http://jordanmechner.com/blog/2013/04/pop-shadow-and-flame giving Jafar his powers, killing the Prince's family, and sacking the Prince's kingdom]].]] However, the sequel it foreshadowed never came to pass. ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia3D'' had a standalone story, and ever since then the series has stuck to new continuities.

** The game was initially supposed to have six individual personality spheres instead of Wheatley following you around and helping the player in the early game. Over time, [=GLaDOS=] would grow more suspicious and jealous of you spending time with the spheres, culminating in [[FoeYay her leaving out a candlelit dinner for you at the start of one test (frozen over, because you left it so long).]] Valve decided that this would be too confusing, and they scrapped these characters and replaced them with Wheatley. [[spoiler:Some of the scrapped spheres still appear in the final battle, however, like the Space Sphere, Adventure Sphere and Fact Sphere, and are a vital part of defeating Wheatley]]. Another of the scrapped spheres, the Paranoia Sphere, resurfaced in ''[[VideoGame/PokerNight2]].''

** ''VideoGame/Rayman2'' was going to be a 2D platformer for the [=PS1=] and Saturn, but when Ubisoft saw that 3D platformers like ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' were wowing everyone at E3, they reworked it into a 3D platformer, and it remains to this very day one of the greatest 3D platformers ever created. While it came out on the [=PS1=] as intended, this was only after also releasing on the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, PC, and the Saturn's successor, the Dreamcast. Certain versions of the game have the first level of the original 2D game as an EasterEgg after completing the main game. The kicker? [[DevelopmentGag It only exists in the [=PS1=] version]].

* ''Parasol Stars'', a spin-off to ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'' was going to have a port to the Commodore 64 developed by Ocean Gaming, but unfortunately someone stole the developer's computer just before the game was due... well, officially. The publisher had contracted an external programmer to develop the game since they didn't want to work on it in-house and it was going to be one of the last games published to the system. The problem was that his wife was TheAlcoholic and he confronted her on this [[YourCheatingHeart and sleeping with her ex-husband]]. In a drunken rage, she destroyed his computer, his notes [[NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup and even the back-ups he made of his work]]. Upon learning what happened, Ocean chose simply to cancel the game and, in a show of solidarity to the programmer due to his marriage problems, came up with the official story about a thief stealing the computer the game was on.

* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'' was planned to use a [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsRendering voxel]]-based graphics engine. However due to severe performance issues a change was made to a conventional 3D engine using prerendered backgrounds.

* ''[[VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams]]'' was originally going to be called ''Air [=NiGHTS=]'', and was going to use a motion controller for the Saturn. Then the project was moved to the Dreamcast, but never got past the prototype stage. Then it was going to be for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/XBox360, until [[ExecutiveMeddling it was switched to]] the Wii, ''without'' any extension on development time or budget.

*** [[https://tcrf.net/Super_Street_Fighter_II_Turbo_(Arcade)%22.22The_League_Battle.22 Remnants have been discovered]] for a League mode in ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo''. Similar to ''Super Street Fighter II''[='=]s tournament mode, the game would have pit players fighting each other in a Round Robin system.

*** Menat went through several potential iterations before the concept of an Egyptian fortune teller was chosen. One idea was that she'd be Rita, an Italian schoolgirl delinquent [[Occidental Otaku with a passion for manga and cosplay]]. Other ideas included her as a magician who could create birds made of Soul Power, a rhythmic gymnast, an Egyptian stick fighter and a cutsey redheaded "pizza assassin" in the vein of [[Videogame/{{Darkstalkers}} B.B. Hood]].

*** Ken was originally planned to use thrown projectiles ([[FlechetteStorm darts]] in this case) as his WeaponOfChoice, like [[VideoGame/{{Persona}} Yukino]], [[VideoGame/{{Persona 2}} Jun, and Baofu]] before him, instead of the [[BladeOnAStick spear]] he would end up using.

** Croteam began designing what became this game in 1996, where it was first titled "In the Flesh", running on a proprietary engine then called "S-Cape 1" because the team didn't have the money to license the ''Doom'' engine. As per its inspiration, it would have taken place in hellish areas, and props designed to decorate the levels included sofas and tables. Around 1998, the game was re-tooled into ''Serious Sam: The First Encounter''.

** Egypt was supposed to only be the tip of the iceberg for ''The First Encounter'', with the full game supposed to go as far as Sam actually making it to Sirius to confront Mental, visiting various element-themed planets along the way; time and budget constraints forced them to axe all the content after the climax of the Egypt chapter, and ''The Second Encounter'' would go in a different direction story-wise (with Sam's ship crashing back down to Earth after five minutes and forcing him to [[MissionPackSequel do the same thing as before]] in various other periods of Earth's history). ''Sam 2'' would follow some of the original plan, with Sam traversing various planets making his way to Sirius and a final confrontation with Mental.
** Before the announcement of ''Serious Sam 3: BFE'', Croteam had been working on a shooter named ''[[https://serioussam.fandom.com/wiki/T.E.O.R T.E.O.R.]]'' for the now-defunct publishing company Gamecock. It would have been a more realistic shooter, possibly in the vein of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', set somewhere in the modern Middle East. ''BFE'' still has some elements of ''T.E.O.R.'' in its code: unused idle animations for three weapons that would have appeared in the game, and a fourth being referred to in the animations for the assault rifle.
** Croteam was also approached by Creator/IdSoftware to help develop what would become ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''[='=]s [[VideoGame/Doom2016 2016 reboot]], though very little came of this before they split ways and the whole project was rebooted under Creator/{{Bethesda}}. The Canned Cain multiplayer character and Khnum enemy are remnants of that, [[{{Expy}} highly resembling]] the Doomguy and Baron of Hell because they were supposed to ''be'' the Doomguy and Baron of Hell.

** Perpetual Entertainment was working on a much different version of the game before development was taken over by Cryptic Studios and the game design was overhauled.

** The game was originally going to include a feature that let users take self-portraits with the Game Boy Camera and paste them over the faces of character models in the game's multiplayer mode. This was scrapped; the original official explanation was that the N64 couldn't handle such a processor-intensive feature, but it was later admitted that it was because, due to the UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} massacre just a year before the game's release, the idea of putting the heads of fellow students and teachers on in-game characters and then shooting them to death [[TooSoon wasn't exactly respectful at the time]].

* ''NBA Live 13'', a planned reboot of the series, was cancelled by [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]].

** Back in 2009, there was talk of a possible third expansion and another patch for the game, but everything went down the drain when Hasbro (owner of the D&D license) sued Atari (the game's publisher). By the time the dispute was settled everybody had moved on to other games.

** Several projects were announced and went unreleased: ''The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot'', ''Oddworld: Squeek's Oddysee'', ''Oddworld: Munch's Exoddus'', online RTS ''Oddworld: The Hand of Odd'', ''Oddworld: Slave Circus'', ''Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath 2'', ''[=SligStorm=]'', and ''Stranger Arena''.

* While ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' was still in the planning stages, EA had contingencies in case they couldn't secure the ''Franchise/StarWars'' license. If they couldn't get ''Star Wars'', EA would have then went on to make a ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' MMO along with a ''[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Silmarillion]]'' MMO. There were even plans for ''Literature/AGameOfThrones'' MMO.

** A third game in the series, ''Perfect Dark Core'', was planned and entered development around 2007, but was cancelled in 2008 before even making it past the prototype stage. Even by then the idea had shifted so wildly it wasn't even a ''Perfect Dark'' game anymore, centering around a male protagonist fighting HumongousMecha.

* ''Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned'', by Propaganda Games / Disney Interactive Studios, was a cancelled action-adventure role-playing game in an open world with land and sea combat, set before ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl The Curse of the Black Pearl]]''.

* ''Project Goliath'' was an attempted pitch to Junction Point, owned by Disney. It would have been the studio's first IP with original characters, a gorilla named Tarek and a girl named Ky in a ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter''-style 3D platformer where they battle cyborg monsters led by an alien MadScientist in an attempt to escape his island. With some inspiration from ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', the game was meant to focus on themes like family, where Ky ran away from her family due to not getting along and the alien BigBad was revealed to be a TragicVillain, he was the LastOfHisKind and creating an army of cyborgs to take revenge on [[GreaterScopeVillain the aliens who wiped out his people and his family]]. Due to the success of ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', Junction Point was put to make the sequel right away. Sadly, the sequel wasn't the hit they hoped for and, despite Junction Point's willingness to keep working, was shut down. Though the studio was closed, the team could always pitch to another studio or just keep it as something for work experience. Unfortunately, even this couldn't happen, as one of the artists, a college student, was revealed to have plagiarized much of the art for the game. Thus the designers couldn't even keep the game in their résumés.
* Project H.A.M.M.E.R. (or its apparent working title "Machinex") was a game teased by Nintendo Software Technology in Redmond Washington for several years. The game was being developed for the Wii, about a hammer wielding android named "M-09" who smashes his way through an army of robots led by a terrorist organization, the same that originally created him. Notably dark for a Nintendo game, it met a plethora of problems, from arguments between Western and Eastern developers, to the gameplay not being fun, to the poor decision of spending most of its budget on CGI cutscenes. Many who worked on the game have little nice things to say, criticizing the plot, dialogue and the main character, who one developer described "part man, part machine, all mediocre". There was a redesign to make it a cuter, more casual game called "Wii Crush", but the gameplay still didn't improve enough. The game ultimately ended production and is the reason NST no longer makes large scale games.
* ''Propeller Arena: Aviation Battle Championship''/''Propeller Head Online'' by [=Sega AM2=], for the [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]]. It was a World War II airplane combat game with multiplayer deathmatch, and a SpiritualSuccessor to Wing Arms. The game was actually fully completed and was just about to release when the tragic [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001]] caused the game to be swiftly canceled. [[TooSoon It didn't help that the game contained a stage where the planes did battle in a city that resembled modern day New York.]] The game wasn't lost however, for a bootable disk image of it later got leaked onto the internet and it can be played in its entirety on both an emulator and an actual Dreamcast console by burning the image to a CD.

* ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy'' ended in the middle of a ''cutscene''. A planned sequel was never announced due to a lawsuit suggesting the concept was stolen. Midway won but, by then, it was in great financial trouble, ultimately going into bankruptcy and the current liquidation. It looks like ''Psi-Ops 2'' is never going to see the light of day. Also, the game was going to have a [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] port, titled ''[=ESPionage=]'', that was cancelled.

** ''Rayman 4'' as it was originally conceived was to be another platformer like its predecessors, on the Wii. There was even a trailer advertising it as such. In it, Rayman dons various costumes as he fights his way through hoardes of vicious rabbit-like monsters. The rumour is that Nintendo gave the development team a pack for mini-game programming, and the game was changed entirely. As you may have sussed, the vicious rabbit-like monsters were Rabbids, and ''Rayman 4'' became ''Rayman Raving Rabbids'', a launch title for the Wii, consisting of humourous mini-games, and one of the most popular Wii games of all time.

** The UK's official Nintendo magazine actually ran a review for the Game Boy Color port of the original ''Resident Evil'', as it was canned so close to release that it was by all accounts actually finished. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilGaiden'' was launched as a replacement, and the ''[=RE1=]'' port languished in oblivion until [[http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/GameBoy/Resident+Evil+GBC/news.asp?c=37656 a prototype was finally discovered and ROM-dumped in 2012.]] ''Gaiden''[='=]s ending showed that Leon was the parasite B.O.W., which implied that the real Leon was either missing or dead. Naturally, the game is considered non-canon for various reasons, one of them being Leon appearing to be alive and well in future games.

** Similar to the canned GBC port of the first game, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' did have an incomplete port made on the Game Boy Advance, which was done as a concept demo by a third party who wanted approval by Capcom to fully develop the game. The demo looked nearly identical to the Playstation version in the graphics department with the only difference being the low framerate. Capcom didn't approve of the project, thus it was canned.

* ''Literature/{{Ringworld}}'': The adventure games ''Ringworld: Revenge of the Patriarch'' and ''Return to Ringworld'' were to be followed by a third game, ''Ringworld: Within ARM's Reach''.

* ''Robotech: Crystal Dreams'' for the ''UsefulNotes/Nintendo64'', a space fighter simulator with a tie-in comic by Creator/AntarcticPress, which would have been localized in Japan as ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Another Dimension''.

* Back in 2004, there was supposed to be a sequel to the popular PC game ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxHitTheRoad'', titled simply ''Sam & Max: Freelance Police!!''. However, Creator/LucasArts cancelled the game, stating that there wasn't a market for its kind of game. This would lead to the creation of Creator/TelltaleGames, who made the episodic ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' games, and the would-be game would be referenced as probably one of the ultimate {{Noodle Incident}}s.
* ''VideoGame/SabreMan'': ''Mire Mare'' was going to be the next game. It was alluded to in the last three games.

* ''VideoGame/ShadowRealms'' was originally going to be a 4 versus 1 multiplayer action RPG by Creator/BioWare Austin.

* ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'':
** In several gaming magazines, it was mentioned that the story for ''Shenmue'' would be spanning a total of ''25'' games, one for each year Ryo would have spent on his [[YouKilledMyFather quest for revenge]]. ''Yowza''. This was condensed down into 25 chapters, with each game having multiple chapters (for instance, the first game was chapter 1, the second game had 3-5 or so, the 2nd chapter being in an unshown part of the games). This was still a lot more than what was fit into the two games that saw release.
** It was also going to be a UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn game at first; Ryo has a Saturn in his house as a ShoutOut to this, despite the game being set [[AnachronismStew about a decade before the Saturn existed]].
** It was also originally going to be a game set in the ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' universe, with Akira Yuki as the main character.
** A ''Shenmue Online'' MMORPG was planned, but the game appears to have been cancelled, with no mention of it even as a third mainline game was able to be created almost two decades later.

* Creator/{{Sierra}}:
** Plans to continue with VGA remakes of previous titles, including ''VideoGame/KingsQuest [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIIRomancingTheThrone II]] & [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman III]], were cancelled when sales of their released remakes did not meet expectations.
** ''King's Quest'' fans feel ''VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity'' turned out to be radically different from original designs. The main character would have been a statue that had come to life rather than a village tanner, some characters (such as the swamp witch) had much larger or entirely different roles, and the game world was a lot lighter and cheerier, matching the rest of the series more than the darker final product. And one can only imagine what could have happened if the game had stayed as a lighthearted point and click adventure like the rest of the series rather than the DarkerAndEdgier hack and slash RPG it ended up as.
** A proposed version of ''Mask of Eternity'' by Davidson and Associates was going to be a more non-violent version of the game.
** When ''Mask of Eternity'' was being developed, Roberta Williams discussed concepts for ''King's Quest IX'', including being a multiplayer or MMO adventure; the project was not further developed. Ideas included Connor starring in the series; King Graham would be older and unable to go on further adventures, and Alexander would be busy as king of the Green Isles. Connor would meet Rosella, forming an eventual love triangle between Connor, Rosella and Edgar. In-game, Connor and Rosella could swap items, helping each other in solving puzzles and fighting monsters together.
** Along with ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarryMagnaCumLaude'', Vivendi Games planned to release more InNameOnly console action titles. ''King's Quest'' would be a console action game with King Graham wielding a huge sword, wearing armor, and doing flips. ''Space Quest'' by Escape Factory was to be an UsefulNotes/XBox/[[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] action platformer.
** Another ''King's Quest'' was being developed by Silicon Knights on the Unreal Engine.
** Creator/TelltaleGames was going to release an episodic ''King's Quest'' series.
** ''Space Quest 7'' was planned to be 3D with a multiplayer mode. The project was put on hold, restarted, then cancelled.
** ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'': Cancelled games include the 3D ''Leisure Suit Larry 8: Lust in Space'', ''Leisure Suit Larry: Pocket Party'' for the UsefulNotes/NGage by TKO-Software, and ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarryMagnaCumLaude'' sequel ''Leisure Suit Larry: Cocoa Butter'' for PC, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] and UsefulNotes/XBox.
** ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'':
*** Multiplayer was planned for the game, then planned as a downloadable add-on. A PlayableEpilogue expansion would have focused on the Hero's choice of marriage as King of Silmaria and the character Punny Bones, with additional quests and a new storyline.
*** Originally the game was planned to use a [[UsefulNotes/GraphicsRendering voxel]]-based graphics engine. However due to severe performance issues a change was made to a conventional 3D engine using prerendered backgrounds.

** ''VideoGame/SilentHills'', a hotly anticipated sequel run by a dream team of Creator/HideoKojima and Creator/GuillermoDelToro, was cancelled following Kojima's departure from Creator/{{Konami}}. This is one of the biggest What Ifs in video games to date, thanks to the massive amount of hype surrounding the project.
* Maxis Software (creator of ''VideoGame/SimCity'') has had a few. First, prior to 1998, ''[=SimCity 3000=]'' was to be in [[http://www.gamespot.com/features/maxis/sc3k3d2.html full 3D]]. Then, when Creator/ElectronicArts acquired them, they put an end to developing non-Sim products (this included employee personal projects, a sports brand, and much more). Finally, even after the acquisition, two other games, ''[=SimMars=]'' and ''[=SimsVille=]'' were scrapped.
* ''[=SimCity=]'' was going to be released on the NES, though with the pending release of the SNES development of the port was moved to that console instead.

** ''[=MySims Social=]'' was to be another social game similar to ''The Sims Social'' and ''[=SimCity Social=]''.

* For ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'' franchise, there was a Smurfs educational game called ''Smurf Play & Learn'' advertised by Coleco that would have been released for the UsefulNotes/ColecoVision, as well as ''Smurfette's Birthday'' and ''Papa Smurf's Treasure Hunt'', none of which were ever worked on.

* There was going to be a ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' platformer for the Game Boy Color. A "Coming Soon" section in a Nintendo Power magazine depicted a screenshot from it. The game even got an ESRB rating, but the project was canned because Nintendo knew that there were more kids with Game Boys than teens or adults, and they feared that children would be getting their hands on it. It has been said that Matt Stone and Trey Parker keep a cartridge of this game though.

* A follow-up to ''VideoGame/SpiderManWebOfShadows'' called ''Spider-Man Classic'' was planned, with players able to control Spidey or Comicbook/{{Wolverine}} as they battled against villains like Comicbook/{{Carnage}} and Mysterio. The project was cancelled when Shaba Games went bankrupt.

* ''[[http://www.unseen64.net/2011/08/02/spongebob-gravjet-blast-cancelled-xbox-360-live-arcade/ SpongeBob Gravjet Blast]]'' was a Nicktoons racing game that was going to be released on the Xbox Live Arcade. The game was an ''VideoGame/FZero'' / ''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}}'' clone that featured Nicktoons characters like WesternAnimation/{{SpongeBob|SquarePants}}, [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Ren and Stimpy]], [[WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot Jenny Wakeman]], and WesternAnimation/FanboyAndChumChum. The game was cancelled due to budget constraints.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYqEoT7TuYI Ladies and gentlemen]], ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}: Oblivion Lost'', circa 2001. It didn't have the Chernobyl setting until a year later. There was other stuff that endured, and got implemented in development as far as 2006, but got cut in the released game, like vehicles (likely cut due to the overpresence of anomalies) and the ability for allied [=NPCs=] to ''[[ArtificialBrilliance beat the game by themselves]]''. For curious fans, GSC Game World [[http://clanbase.ggl.com/news.php?nid=311993 has released the 2004 beta build for free download]].
* ''Seed'', by Runestone Game Development, was a cel-shaded, "role play-centric" sci-fi MMO, set in a terraforming colony, focusing on cooperative projects, politics and crafting. It was cancelled in 2006 shortly after beta.

* ''VideoGame/StarFox'':
** ''VideoGame/StarFox2'' was one of the most famous instances of this, the game having been completed in 1995 only for a full release to be halted in favor of a fully-3D ContinuityReboot on the then-upcoming (and delayed until 1996) UsefulNotes/Nintendo64. A near-complete beta would be leaked online and receive a FanTranslation in 2004, with the unfinished version receiving such praise that the finished game would finally see an official release in 2017 with the SNES Classic.
** After the 3DS version of ''VideoGame/StarFox64'', co-developer Q-Games wanted to do another 3DS port, this time of [[VideoGame/StarFox1 the original Super Nintendo title]]. Although a demo was made, Nintendo never went through with it.
** ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' by Rare: Originally, this was going to be a game called ''VideoGame/DinosaurPlanet'' for the Nintendo 64. It would've featured a wholly original universe and played very similarly to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. It also would've likely been the most technologically advanced game on the N64, spanning a massive 512 megabit cartridge[[note]]which would've tied it with ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' and ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' for having the largest cartridge sizes of any Nintendo 64 game[[/note]] and containing a giant open world to explore. At some point during development, Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto noticed that the game's main character Sabre looked strikingly similar to ''VideoGame/StarFox'' hero Fox [=McCloud=]. It was also decided that the game would've ultimately been too ambitious for the N64's vastly outdated hardware. So, in early 2001, it was moved to the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube and reworked into a ''Star Fox'' title. The game was released in late 2002[[note]]Rare's last official game on a Nintendo system[[/note]], and while it garnered pretty good reviews and solid sales overall, most people agreed that it probably would've been much better if Rare and Nintendo had left it as a new IP rather than shoehorning the ''Star Fox'' license into it.

* ''[[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse Star Trek]]''
** A ''Franchise/StarTrek'' point & click adventure game entitled ''Secret of Vulcan Fury'' was in development by Interplay during the late 1990's, and would have featured the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Original Series]] crew portrayed by the original cast in an episodic story. Each episode would focus on a different character, with the overall story revolving around an ancient Vulcan superweapon known as "Fury". While slated for a 1998 release and several [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fno_rZAt-KQ trailers]] were released, the game would sadly end up being quietly cancelled. Several [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ey31YCsJ5E animation tests]] and environmental renders were later released, showing, among other things, plans to include a ''[[http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/File:Secrets_vulcan_fury_-_bowling_alley.jpg bowling alley]]'' on the USS Enterprise as an EasterEgg. Even later, lead designer Ken Allen released a never before seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds_XKnhjRfA WIP gameplay demo]] that showed part of Scotty's chapter of the game. [[note]]Scotty's lines in this segment were recycled from [[VideoGame/JudgmentRites a previous game]], and no new dialogue ended up being recorded by the cast before the game's cancellation.[[/note]]
** ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' was a game already completed for the NES, and was cancelled.
** ''Star Trek: The Next Generation: A World For All Seasons'' was going to be a ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' adventure game for the [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]].
** ''Voyager'' was going to be a ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' adventure game by Creator/LookingGlassStudios.
** ''Borg Assimilator'' was going to allow the player to play as the Borg and assimilate planets by constructing Borg structures.
** ''Infinite Space'' was going to be a 2011 browser-based game by Keen Games and Gameforge.

** Perpetual Entertainment was working on a different version of the game before development was taken over by Cryptic Studios and the game design was overhauled.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** ''Star Wars: Ewok Adventure'', also known as ''Revenge of the Jedi: Game I'', was an unreleased {{UsefulNotes/Atari2600}} game by Parker Brothers. Luckily, prototypes have been found.
** ''Star Wars: The New Emperor'' was going to be a game about C-3PO investigating a new Galactic Emperor. The game was being developed in 1998. As the game would have had live actors, it may have been planned as an FMV game.
** ''Proteus'' was the code name for a cancelled ''Star Wars'' console MMORPG being developed in 2003. ''Proteus'' was merged with ''Pangea'', a project planned for the [=PS3=] and Xbox 360. Both projects were eventually cancelled.
** A ''Star Wars'' fighting game by Robomodo, developed for the Xbox, ended up being cancelled in 2005.
** ''Star Wars: Attack Squadrons'' was a browser game that was canceled before leaving beta.
** ''[[VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront Star Wars: Battlefront III]]'': After Free Radical went bankrupt, concept art leaked showing [[http://kotaku.com/5132905/heres-star-wars-battlefront-iiis-sith-kenobi Sith Lord Obi-Wan Kenobi]]. Prototype footage of what would have been Free Radical's game has since surfaced. There were plans for between twenty to one hundred player multiplayer, and art assets were being worked on for ''Star Wars: Battlefront IV''. Another ''Star Wars: Battlefront III'' project was to be developed by Slant Six as a download-only title.
** ''[[VideoGame/{{Maul}} Star Wars: Darth Maul]]'' was going to have [[Characters/StarWarsDarthMaul Darth Maul]] as the PlayerCharacter, and then became a ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' tie-in known as ''Damage''. The game was later changed to be about a ''ComicBook/{{Legacy}}''-era clone or descendant of Darth Maul, teaming up with Darth Talon, and fighting Darth Krayt and the Sith army, in ''Battle of the Sith Lords'' for PC, [=PS3=], Xbox 360, and Wii U. The game was planned for a release in 2010, and cancelled in 2011.
** ''Star Wars: Death Star'' was a planned [=iOS=] game that was cancelled.
** ''Star Wars: First Assault'' was an FPS, focusing on multiplayer, developed on the Unreal Engine. The game was put on indefinite hold, and eventually cancelled, along with ''[[VideoGame/ThirteenThirteen Star Wars: 1313]]''.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed]]'': Darth Vader's apprentice was to use Starkiller only as a call sign, and was supposed to have an actual Darth title, but this was dropped when the official suggestions were [[UnfortunateNames Darth Icky or Darth Insanius]].
** ''Star Wars: Imperial Commando'' would have been a sequel to ''VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando'' focusing on an Imperial assault team.
** ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Star Wars: Jedi Knight]]'' would have continued with ''Star Wars: Jedi Knight III: Brink of Darkness'' and ''Jedi Master''.
** ''Star Wars: Jedi Outlaw'' was going to be a game set 500 years after the original trilogy, with the Jedi and Sith reaching peace and establishing "The Council", and a descendant of Luke Skywalker, acting as a sort of sheriff, being framed for murder.
** The ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games in general are rife with WhatCouldHaveBeen. The second game in particular is infamous for it, but both have some cut content:
*** The first ''KOTOR'' game had some cut material - most notably the star map on the volcanic planet of Sleheyron. The planet was cut early on in the production schedule, so most of the content relating to it was removed from the game files. The character of Yuthura Ban was given a backstory with the planet in reference to the cut material. There was also an alternate Dark Side ending for the PlayerCharacter if they were female that got cut.
*** Originally, ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' had an intricate and complex finale which resolved all the outstanding storylines and gave all the {{N|onPlayerCharacter}}PCs and their subplots decent closure. Thanks to [=LucasArts=] rushing the game out before Christmas, most of this stuff was cut and the game's ending doesn't entirely make much sense any more.
*** In addition to the material left out of the ending (such as the fact that "Darth Traya" could have been one of two different characters depending on certain choices), [=KotOR=] II was also supposed to include a planet of droids, where you would have found and talked with one of the Jedi Masters (who in the released game is found already dead on Korriban), and the HK-50 factory as a late-game solo mission for HK-47, where you would have had the option of either destroying the factory and all the droids outright, or convincing either the HK-50s or a new set of HK-51 droids to assist HK-47. Also, according to Avellone, Bao-Dur was supposed to die while helping HK-47 reach the factory, which explains his [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse complete absence]] (save for a pre-programmed recording in his remote) during the finale.
*** ''[=KotOR=] II'' also includes a LampshadeHanging regarding another what-could-have-been; with the right conditions met, Atton Rand breaks the fourth wall to comment that he was originally intended to be the protagonist of ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' before that character was named Jaden Korr instead.
*** ''Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic III'' had a developed concept and story before being cancelled. The player would follow Revan's journey to the Unknown Regions in search of the monstrous Ancient Sith from the Ancient Sith Empire, uncovering the influence each Sith had on the region. The game would also have introduced the female character Naresha.
*** Creator/BioWare expressed interest in developing more ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' single player games even after the relase of the MMORPG ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', but were denied by EA.
** ''Star Wars: Outpost'' would have been both a browser game and [=iOS/Android=] game, inspired by ''EVE Online'' and ''Settlers of Catan'', by a studio that was also working on an HD re-release of ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle''. It was similar to VideoGame/FarmVille, in that the player could run their own moisture farm, and players could ally with either the light or the dark side while fighting over resources.
** ''Star Wars: Rebel Warrior'' was going to be an action game featuring a Wookiee fighting the Empire.
** ''Star Wars: Rogue Leaders: Rogue Squadron Wii'' was going to be a Wii compilation by Factor 5, containing the first three ''Rogue Squadron'' games, and would have also included Mii lightsaber duels.
** ''Star Wars: Rogue Squadron: X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter'' was going to be an Xbox launch title. The game was planned to be an MMO about warring factions.
** ''Star Wars: Smuggler'', known as ''Star Wars: Scum And Villainy'', would have focused on a Han Solo style smuggler. The game was cancelled in 2005, and some of the concept art was used in ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''.
** ''Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing'' was going to have a sequel, known as Project Hermes, that was cancelled in 2002.
** ''Star Wars Trilogy'' was a game planned for the Xbox that was moved to the Wii, and cancelled in 2008. The game would have featured speeder bike races, lightsaber battles, and ship battles.
** ''Star Wars: Underworld'' would have been an open world RPG and tie-in to the planned live-action TV series. It became ''[[VideoGame/ThirteenThirteen Star Wars: 1313]]'' when Lucas suggested the bounty hunter protagonist be Boba Fett. It was shown at E3 2012, then canceled.
** ''Star Wars: Vernost'' was a game being developed by Hughes Training. It would have been about Rebel and Imperial ships fighting over the volcanic planet Vernost.
** ''VideoGame/XWingAlliance'': Planned ships that didn't made the final cut were the Starviper from ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire'' and a modified Strike Cruiser. Also, a multiplayer function would have allowed one player to fly the ship and a second one control the turret (for freighter ships). The odd bit is that the turret function is programmed into the game, but [[DummiedOut none of the ships are flagged for being flyable with a gunner]]. It is unknown why this is the case, since re-enabling the function causes no issues.
** The book ''[=Rogue Leaders: The Story Of LucasArts=]'' shows developed concept logos for several more projects, with little more known about them than the title, including ''Star Wars: Rise Of The Rebellion'', ''Star Wars: Rogue Jedi'', ''Star Wars: Rebel Jedi'', ''Star Wars: Jedi Rebel'', ''Star Wars: Episode VII: Shadows of the Sith'', ''Star Wars: Han Solo'', ''Star Wars: Rebel Agent'', ''Star Wars: Vader'', ''Star Wars: Rebel Fury'', ''Star Wars: Jedi Hunter'', and ''Star Wars: Dark Jedi''. It is unclear how many were titles of projects that were cancelled or were working titles for other projects.
** Creator/ChrisAvellone had a concept for a Star Wars RPG similar to the comic ''ComicBook/DarkTimes'', about a Sith hunting down Jedi during the Imperial era.
* ''VideoGame/{{Stonekeep}}'' was going to be called ''Brian's Dungeon'', with system requirements including a floppy disk drive, 640K ram, a 286 processor, and no required mouse or hard drive. ''Stonekeep 2: Godmaker'', cancelled in 2001, was being developed by Creator/BlackIsleStudios.

** A ''Streets of Rage 4'' was being developed for the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, but was instead released as ''Fighting Force'' on the PC, [=PlayStation=] and [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 N64]].
** ''Streets Of Rage 4'' was one of the games announced for the Dreamcast but was eventually cancelled because the president of Sega of America [[WhatAnIdiot had never heard of the franchise before and therefore, the fans wouldn't know what it was either]].
* Creator/{{Sunsoft}} had made a game called ''VideoGame/{{Sunman}}'' for the original NES that, sadly, never got released. Its gameplay mechanics seem to hint, though, that they had planned to make this as a ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' game, but Sunsoft couldn't keep the rights to the Man of Steel and had planned to make a game using the engine they had made with original characters.

** Several projects have been announced and delayed: ''The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot'', ''Oddworld: Squeek's Oddysee'', ''Oddworld: Munch's Exoddus'', online RTS ''Oddworld: The Hand of Odd'', ''Oddworld: Slave Circus'', ''Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath 2'', ''[=SligStorm=]'', and ''Stranger Arena'', though the developers have stated several will be completed.

** The game would have originally been released for the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem, then the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation (the final version is a Game Boy Color game). Towards the end of the game, Shantae would have received a blue version of her ordinary clothes (these were later made available to certain ''Half-Genie Hero'' donors as a DevelopmentGag).
** At some point, Risky Boots was going to be a pirate ghost, which would explain her unearthly appearance. In the final games, she's just a regular pirate [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation who happens to have blueish-gray skin]].

** The game was initially supposed to have six individual personality spheres instead of Wheatley following you around and helping the player in the early game. Valve decided that this would be too confusing, and they scrapped these characters and replaced them with Wheatley. [[spoiler:Some of the scrapped spheres still appear in the final battle, however, like the Space Sphere, Adventure Sphere and Fact Sphere, and are a vital part of defeating Wheatley]].

** Multiplayer was originally envisioned to have human characters (Chell + another female) but Valve felt that it was a bit too gruesome to constantly watch a human falling into acid, get crushed, etc. over and over again, so they changed the characters to robots, which would make deaths more hilarious since robots don't feel pain and are reassembled to justify respawning.