Video games already based on currently existing properties have had a rough go of it throughout the medium's history. A few good ones have popped up here and there, but only within the past 12 or so years have games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Marvel's Spider-Man proven licensed games can stand toe to toe with the best original IPs.
Greater ones could already be in our hands had it not been for the ten games below suffering cancellations. While they all looked incredible, most of them probably had rational reasons for receiving the ax. With licensed games' renewed reputation, maybe some of these can receive a second chance in the future.
10 Dirty Harry
This adaptation of the classic cop film was set to come out in 2007 for the Xbox 360 and PS3. The third-person shooter was to follow the plot of the first film. Even more exciting, Clint Eastwood was going to reprise his role as the titular character. Sadly, budget issues and the developer merging into another company doomed the project. Now, all people have is the lambasted NES Dirty Harry game. Clint Eastwood is still
9 Aliens: Crucible
Obsidian Entertainment did a fantastic job bringing South Park to gaming as an RPG. Aliens: Crucible was to follow a group of people on a xenomorph-infested planted as they tried to escape. Permadeath was a mechanic, and players would have to choose what to do with a crew member if a face hugger attached itself to them. Apparently, the game did not show well to higher-ups, most of whom were skeptical about turning the franchise into an RPG. Fortunately, fans eventually got a magnificent Alien game with Alien: Isolation.
8 Indiana Jones
Around the same time as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed's announcement, a new Indiana Jones game was also shown off. The adventure was to use the same physics engine as the Star Wars title, which would eventually be utilized in games like Grand Theft Auto 4 and Red Dead Redemption.
Constant delays and internal problems within the studio drove the project to ruin by 2009, and remnants only exist as Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings for the PS2, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP.
7 The Avengers
While this game was set to come out in the same year as the first Avengers film in 2012, its story was completely different. The plot followed the team, which was larger than the ensemble from the film, stopping an alien invasion by the Skrulls. To set it apart from other superhero games, it had a first-person perspective. While development was going smoothly, dramatic financial problems at publisher THQ caused the project to be cancelled.
6 Island Of Dr. Moreau
Thankfully, this game did not appear to be based off the Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer film, but the H.G. Wells Novel from the late 19th century. It was a classic point and click adventure title, utilizing FMV cinematics, and was set to release on the original PlayStation and PC. Details around its cancellation are scarce, but developer Haiku Studios did not last much longer, closing down in 1997, a year after the game's development.
5 Dune Generations
Dune 2 is often credited as the forefather of the modern RTS, and Dune Generations was to take things a step further by being always online, a fairly novel idea in 2001 for any game that was not an MMORPG. Developer Cryo announced the game in 2001, but sadly filed for bankruptcy the next year, dooming the project with it. True to the name, players would have controlled one Dynasty as they vied for control of the world based on the Frank Hubert series.
4 Superman
The man of steel has never had a good time in gaming. The closest he got was the Superman Returns game on the PS2 and Xbox 360, which at least makes flight feel half decent. After this 2006 title, Factor 5 was put in charge of bringing the legendary character to games.
Unfortunately, publisher Brash Entertainment underwent bankruptcy, and took all the game's funding with it. Not long afterwards, Factor 5 essentially ceased operations, a tragedy for fans of the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron games.
3 100 Bullets
Perhaps one of the lesser known properties on the list, 100 Bullets is based on a comic book that asks the question; would you take vengeance if there were no strings attached? The basic premise involves a mysterious man named Agent Graves offering people a method to get even with those who wronged them, but the plot eventually goes far deeper into a massive conspiracy. The gameplay looked a lot like Dead To Rights, including an auto-aim mechanic. Unfortunately, Acclaim's closure also meant an end to the game's development in the early aughts.
2 Die Hard 64
Console first-person shooters first started gaining an identity of their own on the N64 thanks to games like Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark. Die Hard 64 might have also been a part of this group had it come out. The game went through many iterations even before the film's name was attached to it, and development eventually switched over to the GameCube, where Die Hard: Vendetta was released in 2002 to lackluster reviews.
1 Project Ragtag
After leaving Naughty Dog shortly into the development of Uncharted 4, Amy Hennig joined Visceral Games to work on a untitled Star Wars game. Simply codenamed Project Ragtag, few details exist regarding the game other than it being a third-person shooter and have the player switching between different characters. It was to feel like a heist movie set in the Star Wars universe. Disagreements between publisher EA and Visceral, along with problems adapting the Frostbite engine to a third-person perspective were seen as reasons for the cancellation.