Video games have a unique benefit over film and TV in that, over the course of dozens of hours of gameplay, they can tell long stories. From 100+ hour-long JRPGs to more experimental narratives like Death Stranding, video games — especially those in long-running franchises — can string a story along for as long as it remains profitable.

However, not all game franchises always make it to the finish line, and sometimes a franchise has to end before it reaches its conclusion. Here are some games that never quite made it to their narrative finish line.

10 Beyond Good and Evil

Beyond Good and Evil, the 2003 cult hit action-adventure game, was a critical darling at its initial release, and a sequel for the game was announced as far back as 2008. The game’s mix of complex, nuanced storytelling and a vibrant sci-fi setting were guaranteed to find a foothold, and audiences were primed for more.

There have been intermittent updates ever since, including a cinematic trailer and numerous rumored changes in publishers, but now, nearly 20 years later, it is somewhat hard to believe that Beyond Good and Evil 2 will ever be anything but a distant dream.

9 Shenmue

The Shenmue franchise was a late-in-the-console-wars Sega title that began as a Virtua Fighters spin-off, before becoming its own entity with clearly lofty narrative ambitions. Protagonist Ryo’s quest for revenge began with Shenmue in 1999, continued with its sequel Shenmue II in 2001, and then, after an 18-year hiatus and a lucrative Kickstarter campaign, continued further with Shenmue III in 2019.

However, Shenmue III did not exactly bring a ton of new fans to the franchise, with disappointing sales and unremarkable reviews. Considering how long a road it took to go from the second to the third game, it seems unlikely that Ryo and Lan Di will ever get their final showdown.

8 Silent Hill(s)

The fan-favorite horror franchise Silent Hill has been languishing in gaming franchise limbo, and while the games’ stories were rarely connected in more than tangential ways, they occasionally linked up to each other.

Fans were excited when Hideo Kojima was announced to be developing a new installment in the series, called Silent Hills, and this excitement built to a fever pitch when P.T. (playable teaser) was released, promising some extremely cerebral thrills and chills. Of course, Kojima was fired from Konami, P.T. was taken off of the Playstation store, and Silent Hills disappeared into the thick fog of game development.

7 Titanfall

Developer Respawn’s mech-based FPS franchise Titanfall 2 had a critically lauded story mode that ended in a fairly open-ended manner, leaving a clear path to continued sci-fi mech action in a hypothetical Titanfall 3.

However, between Titanfall 2’s release in 2016 and today, Respawn released a little game called Apex Legends, which has been such a smash hit and had such a constant stream of new content since its release, that it appears it may be a while before Respawn has the time and manpower to develop a proper Titanfall 3. Apex Legends does take place in the same universe as Titanfall, and there are some references to factions and events from those games, but the connections are little more than fanservice at this time.

6 Zone of the Enders

Another Kojima-related franchise, and also another mech-related one, Zone of the Enders has not had a new release since 2012’s Zone of the Enders HD Collection.

The sci-fi action series was full of vibrant visuals and dynamic, angular mechs with a distinct style all its own, and a far-reaching narrative that could follow beyond 2003’s Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. Yet again, it seems that the Zone of the Enders property has been locked away in the Konami vault where no developers can reach it.

5 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (f.k.a. KOTOR), the fan-favorite Star Wars RPG and its equally lauded sequel, KOTOR II: The Sith Lords, gave players in the early 2000s a then-unprecedented experience in the Star Wars universe with a rich, textured narrative that went far deeper than any of the films.

While fans were hoping for a proper third entry (as the Star Wars franchise is fond of trilogies), plans for a rumored KOTOR III were scrapped in 2004. An MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic, tried to pick up the torch for the franchise, but not with the same polish and tone.

4 Half-Life

While last year’s VR title Half-Life: Alyx broke the seal on the popular FPS franchise for the first time in years, the main Half-Life series and the exploits of silent scientist Gordon Freeman haven’t been touched since 2007’s Half-Life 2: Episode 2.

Considering it took 13 years to get Half-Life: Alyx, Valve may not have any immediate plans to continue or conclude their massive sci-fi/horror narrative that’s now stretched for over 20 years since the first game’s initial release in 1998.

3 Viewtiful Joe

Capcom’s cinema-spoofing side-scrolling action franchise began with Viewtiful Joe in 2003, and its sequel Viewtiful Joe 2 in 2004. The game also spawned a DS spin-off and a party game-style brawler Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble, along with an animated series.

However, despite success and acclaim, the franchise hasn’t had a release in over 15 years. Developer Hideki Kamiya stated at PAX East 2020 that he would like to close the series out with a third installment, but there remain no concrete plans to give Joe his final bow.

2 Dino Crisis

Dino Crisis, Capcom’s survival horror/Jurassic action hybrid saw multiple high-profile releases from 1999 to 2003, though the games’ critical reception did dip as the franchise made more of a turn away from horror and toward blockbuster-style action.

Despite this setback, the franchise still has many ardent fans, who still hold out hope for a continuation of the Dino Crisis Series, Additionally, developers, such as Monster Hunter Online developer Tao Weishi and Capcom developer Shinji Mikami have voiced their interest in reviving Dino Crisis.

1 System Shock

System Shock and System Shock 2 are high-concept sci-fi RPGs that would go on to inspire both Bioshock and Deus Ex. The games have been lauded as high watermarks of emergent storytelling and immersive sim games, whose influence are still being felt in the industry today.

They also came out in 1994 and 1999, respectively, which is a long time ago. There were plans for a System Shock 3 to developed by Night Dive Studios in 2003, but the project was later canceled, and with it, seemingly any other plans for continuing the series.

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