Video games are a big business these days, rivalling (and even eclipsing) the film and music industries. This isn’t just reflected in the billions of dollars video game publishers are collectively raking in, but also in the sheer number of new titles released every year. Yet despite literally hundreds of games being added to online stores and store shelves each month, there are still some that have notoriously failed to materialize for some time now.
That’s right: despite production costs often on par with a big budget blockbuster movie, many games have languished in development hell seemingly forever. Of these so-called “vaporware” games, those that tend to garner the most interest (and anguish) are long-delayed sequels to hit franchises. That’s hardly surprising-- fans eagerly await a new installment in their favorite series, whether they’re addicted to its core gameplay mechanics or simply craving narrative closure for more story-driven games. When the release date for a follow-up game keeps getting pushed back – or worse still, is never announced in the first place – it can be understandably frustrating for devotees of the franchise in question.
At the same time, at least vaporware sequels offer fans some hope (however faint) that they will be released at some point in the future. It’s far more heartbreaking when the news breaks that development on a sequel has officially been halted, making the chances of gamers ever getting their hands on the finished product even less likely.
With all this in mind, here’s a round-up of 10 Video Game Sequels Still Stuck In Development (And 10 That Have Officially Been Canceled).
Stuck In Development – Shenmue III
After the commercial failure of Shenmue II in the early 2000s, the outlook for this martial arts series looked dire. Not only did MMORPG Shenmue Online get canceled, but Sega put Shenmue III on the back-burner, as well. Although Shenmue’s dedicated fanbase were begging for the next chapter in Ryo Hazuki’s story, their pleas fell on deaf ears.
Enter: Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki, who licensed the rights to the franchise from Sega, and – off the back of a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign – began work on Shenmue III in 2015. So far, so good-- except the game still hasn’t been released. True, Shenmue III is officially set for release in August 2019, however it’s also been delayed at least once already.
Officially Canceled – Knights Of The Old Republic 3
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is widely regarded as one of the greatest Star Wars outings in any media. Set 4,000 years before the original big screen trilogy, Bioware’s RPG was set in a fully-realized world populated by compelling characters, and served up a devastating plot twist that gamers rave about even today.
If sequel The Sith Lords (overseen by Obsidian Entertainment) didn’t quite live up to the standard of its predecessor, it was still impressive enough to build anticipation levels for what came next. Then nothing came next. Yes, LucasArts scrapped Knights of the Old Republic III while development was in full swing, due to financial issues the developer was experiencing. Bioware later released the well-received Old Republic MMORPG, but fans eager for a proper, single-player conclusion to the series were disappointed all the same.
Stuck In Development – The Last Of Us Part II
The Last of Us was hailed as one of the greatest games ever made when it dropped in 2013, so Naughty Dog moving forward with plans for a sequel the following year was hardly surprising. What is surprising is that five years later, The Last of Us Part II doesn’t yet have a release date!
On the plus side, Naughty Dog clearly has a strong vision for the game – we know it revolves around protagonist Ellie’s post-apocalyptic exploits half a decade later – and the gameplay footage screened at industry conventions is truly breathtaking. Based on this, general consensus among fans and gaming press is that Part II will definitely see the light of day, with more optimistic insiders predicting a 2019 release.
Officially Canceled – Silent Hills
In 2012, Hideo Kojima – the visionary behind the Metal Gear games– teamed up with Academy Award-winning auteur Guillermo del Toro to co-direct a new entry in survival horror series Silent Hill. With Walking Dead star Norman Reedus also signed-on to portray the main protagonist via motion capture, Silent Hills boasted undeniable creative horsepower. Toss in a fiendishly well-executed surprise interactive teaser, and you’re left with easily the most hyped game in the franchise’s history.
A year later, that excitement floundered when developer Konami revealed that it had pulled the plug on Silent Hills. It turns out Kojima and his senior staffers began butting heads with Konami’s top brass, leading them to sever ties with the studio. With his partner in crime no longer on board, del Toro jumped ship as well, and Silent Hills was kaput.
Stuck In Development – Skull & Bones
Pirate-themed naval action game Skull & Bones promises to be a rip-roaring adventure on the digital high seas – if it ever gets released, that is! Inspired by the naval gameplay elements in Ubisoft Montreal’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, the publisher’s development team in Singapore has been working on Skull & Bones since 2017, if not earlier.
That didn’t help them to hit their scheduled 2018 release date, though. On the contrary, Ubisoft Singapore has since made it clear that gamers had to wait until at least 2019 to play Skull & Bones, with a 2020 distribution slot not out of the question, either. In theory, this should ensure that when the game does finally arrive, it’ll be a more polished, enjoyable experience – which is small consolation for those desperate to set sail sooner.
Officially Canceled – Fable Legends
Fantasy action-RPG franchise Fable has earned itself a devoted following over the course of its four main installments, so it’s fair to say excitement levels for Fable Legends were high. Promising a rollicking cooperative multiplayer jaunt through the virtual realm of Albion, Legends was primed to revitalize the increasingly tired franchise-- until Microsoft closed Lionhead Studios.
The moment that happened, Legends was officially terminated – literally, as both announcements were made in the same press release! This effectively put the entire Fable series on ice until January 2018, when Microsoft unveiled plans for another single-player game, Fable IV, by new developer Playground. Most gamers were thrilled by the renewed prospect of returning to Albion, but more than a few lamented that Legends and the team at Lionhead had both fallen by the wayside.
Stuck In Development – Watch Dogs 3
Watch Dogs 3 is yet another game on this list that’s drifting along without a concrete release date in place. Now, we’re not trying to suggest that Ubisoft Montreal’s latest hacktivist t isn’t being actively developed – on the contrary, all available evidence points to the game coming along nicely.
It’s just not coming along all that quickly. Watch Dogs 2 came out in 2016, and other than confirmation that a follow-up is definitely in the works, we’ve not really heard much else since. Ordinarily, this would be cause for concern, but since Watch Dogs isn’t exactly the studio’s biggest title, this may simply be a case of there being other games for them to promote right now. Feel free to file Watch Dogs 3 firmly under the “Gonna Happen (Someday)” heading.
Officially Canceled – Legacy Of Kain: Dead Sun
It’s bad enough missing out on a long-awaited sequel once, let alone twice – but that’s exactly what happened in the case of Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun! Intended to serve as the gothic fantasy series’ sixth chapter, Dead Sun was conceived as a story-driven single-player game ed by a robust multiplayer mode. Unfortunately, when development reached the three year mark, publisher Square Enix Europe canceled the project.
Efforts were then made to re-tool Dead Sun’s multiplayer component into a fully-fledged, standalone game called Nosgoth. The revamped sequel fared somewhat better than its predecessor – with open beta testing running from 2015 to 2016 – but ultimately suffered the same fate, when it was scuttled pre-release due to its lukewarm reception from fans and non-fans alike.
Stuck In Development – Beyond Good And Evil 2
If you look up “vaporware” in the dictionary, you’ll probably be greeted by the promotional poster for Beyond Good and Evil 2. This sequel to director Michel Ancel’s acclaimed 2003 original has been in the pipeline (officially or otherwise) for 12 years at this point. During this time, we’ve been treated to the odd screenshot or snippet of gameplay footage – basically, just enough to prevent us from forgetting how much we want to play this game. We’ve yet to receive word on when it will actually be released.
There’s a good reason for that: according to Ancel, despite its protracted production cycle, Beyond Good and Evil 2 was only at “Day Zero” of development as recently as 2017. If you’re keen to play a groundbreaking open world sci-fi title in the foreseeable future, look elsewhere!
Officially Canceled – The Wolf Among Us (Season 2)
It’s been a strong decade for video games adapted from comic book properties, and Telltale Games’ take on Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham’s Fables, The Wolf Among Us, is no exception. This graphic adventure game tasked players with solving a mystery equal to anything scripted by Willingham, while its visuals brilliantly mimicked Buckingham’s pen-and-ink art style.
Critics and gamers generally agreed that The Wolf Among Us was a respectable effort and – pending the removal of a few technical bugs that plagued the game engine – welcomed the news that Season 2 was slated for 2018. Sadly, all was not well at Telltale, and the game (already delayed until 2019) was finally knocked on the head when the studio met with financial ruin September.