Summary
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 daydue to cancellationsfor 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.
10Spider-Man Classic
Spider-Man And Wolverine Almost Shared A Game
While theMarvel’s Spider-Mantrilogy by Insomniac Games is already a classic, there are still those who lovedSpider-Man: Web of Shadowsthanks to its unique combat system and dark storyline. Fans loved it so much that a sequel codenamedSpider-Man Classicwas 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 theytook on iconic Spider-Man villainslike 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 ofSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.
9Marvel Chaos
The Long-Lost Sequel To Marvel Nemesis
Electronic Arts and Marvel were going to collaborate on a follow-up toMarvel 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 asMarvel Chaos, was going to focus more on familiar Marvel characters with brighter visuals and a less edgy storyline.
Characters that were dead or missing inMarvel Nemesiswere going to be playable,such as Captain Americaand The Hulk. Unfortunately, when EA Chicago, who were known forDef 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.
8Gotham By Gaslight
An Elseworld Game Could Have Been A Gothic Gem
In a bold move, rather than adapting the Batman that most audiences know,Gotham By Gaslightwas going toadapt the famous Elseworld graphic novelof 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 bringGotham By Gaslightto life, and it was going to be the next big Batman game after the success ofBatman: Arkham AsylumandBatman: 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.
7The Avengers
THQ Nearly Gave Fans A Secret Invasion Adaptation
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’sThe 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 Avengerswas 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.
6Batman: The Dark Knight
An Open-World Batman Game Before The Arkham Series
In the 2000s, almost every blockbuster superhero filmgot a tie-in video gameto 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, titledBatman: The Dark Knight, despite it being more of a crime drama than an action movie.
Fans were possibly set for an upgrade fromBatman BeginswithBatman: 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.
5The Flash
The Scarlet Speedster Was Shut Down Twice
Twice now,The Flashwas 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 onThe Flashvideo game, coinciding with the release ofThe Flashmovieof 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.
4Blue Steel
Superman Is Long Overdue For A Modern Video Game
Fans have been asking for a Superman game in the style of theBatman: Arkhamseries for years, but it seems that they almost had one before it was canceled in 2008. Factor 5 was creating a Superman game codenamedBlue Steelthat 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 andMarvel’s Spider-Man, with a city being an endless playground for action. Oneex-developer even revealed concept artof some of the villains, including Darkseid, Livewire, Doomsday, and Brimstone.
3Project Sabbath
The Arkhamverse Almost Went Full Batman Beyond
BeforeSuicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leaguebecame thenext game in the Arkhamverse timeline, Rocksteady was going to leave the fourthBatman: Arkhamgame in the hands of Warner Bros. Games Montréal. Only known asProject Sabbath, the next chapter of theBatman: Arkhamsaga was going to be about an old Bruce Wayne and his son, Damian, as the new Caped Crusader.
Voice actor Josh Keaton confirmed that he was cast as Damian Wayne and his version of Batman would have been inspired byBatman 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 forGotham Knightsas Rocksteady started working onSuicide Squad.
2Black Panther
It Would Have Allowed Players To Choose Their Black Panther
The idea of a story-drivenBlack Panthergame 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 theMarvel 1943: Rise of Hydragame featuring Captain America and Black Panther during World War 2, but the solo game being canceled is unfortunate. EA and Motive are also stillworking on an Iron Man gamefrom the developers behind theDead Spaceremake.
1Wonder Woman
DC Continues To Mishandle The Amazonian Princess
Wonder Womanwas 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 theMiddle-Earth: Shadow of Mordorduology.
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 Womanwas canceledwhen 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.
