Cancelled Superhero Games

Summary

Superhero games with rich storylines are often axed, like the Arkhamverse's Project Sabbath and Marvel's Black Panther.
Unique adaptations like Gotham By Gaslight and The Flash faced cancellations, disappointing fans.
DC projects like Superman: Blue Steel and Wonder Woman were shelved, showcasing the challenge of superhero game development.

Video games have become the ideal medium for superhero franchises to flourish, as they successfully balance comic book visuals, cinematic storytelling, and engaging gameplay to deliver experiences that rival movies. However, not every game reaches the release day due to cancellations for various reasons, which is always unfortunate.

From canceled sequels of beloved games to superheroes missing their long-awaited video game adaptations, many games based on comic book franchises have been axed. These projects promised exciting gameplay, innovative features, and unique stories — yet, for different reasons, they were shelved indefinitely.

10 Spider-Man Classic

Spider-Man And Wolverine Almost Shared A Game

Developer: Shaba Games
Cancellation Year: 2009

While the Marvel’s Spider-Man trilogy by Insomniac Games is already a classic, there are still those who loved Spider-Man: Web of Shadows thanks to its unique combat system and dark storyline. Fans loved it so much that a sequel codenamed Spider-Man Classic was in development before it was canceled due to the first game having disappointing sales.

Spider-Man wasn’t going to be alone, with Wolverine joining the game as his partner as they took on iconic Spider-Man villains like Mysterio and Carnage. It also likely would have had the same morality system as the first game, but most of the assets were redistributed to Beenox Entertainment and their development of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimension s.

9 Marvel Chaos

The Long-Lost Sequel To Marvel Nemesis

Developer: EA Chicago
Cancellation Year: 2007

Electronic Arts and Marvel were going to collaborate on a follow-up to Marvel Nemesis: Rise Of The Imperfects, but that game not only sold poorly but also did not get the greatest of reviews. The sequel, known only as Marvel Chaos, was going to focus more on familiar Marvel characters with brighter visuals and a less edgy storyline.

Characters that were dead or missing in Marvel Nemesis were going to be playable, such as Captain America and The Hulk. Unfortunately, when EA Chicago, who were known for Def Jam, was dissolved by their parent company, Marvel Chaos was shut down with only a few bits of prototype footage and images being all that fans have gotten.

8 Gotham By Gaslight

An Elseworld Game Could Have Been A Gothic Gem

Developer: Day 1 Studios
Cancellation Year: 2012

In a bold move, rather than adapting the Batman that most audiences know, Gotham By Gaslight was going to adapt the famous Elseworld graphic novel of the same name. It focuses on a Victorian-era version of Batman solving the murders of Jack the Ripper in Gotham City, mixing gothic and steampunk aesthetics to create a unique superhero story.

Day 1 Studios was going to bring Gotham By Gaslight to life, and it was going to be the next big Batman game after the success of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. Footage of a prototype can be found online, which featured Batman roaming the foggy streets of Gotham City and even having surprisingly advanced cape technology for its time, but the game never saw the light of day.

7 The Avengers

THQ Nearly Gave Fans A Secret Invasion Adaptation

Developer: THQ Australia
Cancellation Year: 2012

Long before Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics’ live-service game, Marvel’s Avengers, the idea of a game about the famous Marvel team bounced around for a long time. The most famous example is THQ’s The Avengers, which was initially set to release around the same time as the first Avengers movie in 2012, featuring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes going up against the Skrulls.

The Avengers was not only going to be written by famous Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis, but it was going to be a first-person adventure for up to four players to enjoy. It was around this time that THQ went financially bankrupt, leading to the company closing its doors and the game shutting down with it.

6 Batman: The Dark Knight

An Open-World Batman Game Before The Arkham Series

Developer: Pandemic Studios
Cancellation Year: 2008

In the 2000s, almost every blockbuster superhero film got a tie-in video game to get a little more money from those excited to see the movie or who loved watching it. Batman Begins was given a game, and it has become known as a surprising gem in the long line of Batman games. The Dark Knight was originally set to get a game as well, titled Batman: The Dark Knight, despite it being more of a crime drama than an action movie.

Fans were possibly set for an upgrade from Batman Begins with Batman: The Dark Knight, promising an open-world experience where players could run, glide, drive the Batmobile, and ride the Bat-Pod across Gotham City. Pandemic Studios planned to have the movie's cast reprise their roles, including Heath Ledger as the Joker, but the project was canceled due to deadline issues. The studio was ultimately shut down by EA in 2009.

5 The Flash

The Scarlet Speedster Was Shut Down Twice

First Developer: Brash Entertainment
First Cancellation Year: 2008
Second Developer: Warner Bros. Games Montréal
Second Cancellation Year: 2023

Twice now, The Flash was going to get video game adaptations. The first was canceled in 2008 and was going to feature Central City and Keystone City as a shared open world with Wally West as the main protagonist. There were going to be many villains, powers, and player choices to make it an ambitious superhero title until Brash Entertainment went out of business.

In 2023, Warner Bros. Games Montréal was set to introduce a new take on The Flash video game, coinciding with the release of The Flash movie of the DC Extended Universe, which underperformed at the box office. This led to the game's cancellation, and the developers were reassigned to assist Monolith Productions with the Wonder Woman game.

4 Blue Steel

Superman Is Long Overdue For A Modern Video Game

Developer: Factor 5
Cancellation Year: 2008

Fans have been asking for a Superman game in the style of the Batman: Arkham series for years, but it seems that they almost had one before it was canceled in 2008. Factor 5 was creating a Superman game codenamed Blue Steel that would take place in a massive Metropolis, with chapters set in Apokolips, The Fortress Of Solitude, Smallville, and Krypton.

The bits and pieces fans have seen have been compared to other open-world superhero titles such as Prototype and Marvel’s Spider-Man, with a city being an endless playground for action. One ex-developer even revealed concept art of some of the villains, including Darkseid, Livewire, Doomsday, and Brimstone.

3 Project Sabbath

The Arkhamverse Almost Went Full Batman Beyond

Developer: Warner Bros. Games Montréal
Cancellation Year: 2015

Before Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League became the next game in the Arkhamverse timeline, Rocksteady was going to leave the fourth Batman: Arkham game in the hands of Warner Bros. Games Montréal. Only known as Project Sabbath, the next chapter of the Batman: Arkham saga was going to be about an old Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian, as the new Caped Crusader.

8 DC Heroes Who Deserve the Batman Arkham Treatment

Batman's video game popularity exceeded all expectations thanks to Rocksteady's Arkham games, so which DC hero deserves that treatment next?

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By Jake Fillery

Voice actor Josh Keaton confirmed that he was cast as Damian Wayne and his version of Batman would have been inspired by Batman Beyond, with a red and black cyberpunk suit. It would have explored twists on villains as well, such as Black Mask’s daughter, an old Two-Face, and Gorilla Grodd. The game was scrapped in 2017, with most of the assets being repurposed for Gotham Knights as Rocksteady started working on Suicide Squad.

2 Black Panther

It Would Have Allowed Players To Choose Their Black Panther

Developer: Cliffhanger Games
Cancellation Year: 2025

The idea of a story-driven Black Panther game with open-world action-adventure gameplay seemed like the best idea since the character was earning billions of dollars at the box office. Cliffhanger Games spent two years making a game that would have allowed the player to choose who gets the moniker of Black Panther: T’Challa, Shuri, and others.

Sadly, like many other gaming companies in 2024 and 2025, Cliffhanger Games was shut down by Electronic Arts. Fans can still look forward to the Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra game featuring Captain America and Black Panther during World War 2, but the solo game being canceled is unfortunate. EA and Motive are also still working on an Iron Man game from the developers behind the Dead Space remake.

1 Wonder Woman

DC Continues To Mishandle The Amazonian Princess

Developer: Monolith Productions, Warner Bros. Games Montréal
Cancellation Year: 2025

Wonder Woman was announced with a cinematic trailer by Monolith Productions, and other than a few details revealed later, fans had heard nothing else about the game for over two years. All that was known was that it would feature the Nemesis System that Monolith created and patented with the Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor duology.

Fans were eager to see how it turned out, especially since the character deserved a game for a long time. Much to everyone’s dismay, Wonder Woman was canceled when Monolith Productions was dissolved. The details remain unclear, but it was confirmed through social media posts that renowned DC writer Gail Simone had worked on the project before its cancellation.