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The video game industry is chock full of long development times and a lot of ideas that, despite their grandeur, are either ignored or added so late that the whole scope of the game shifts. The latter case has many well-known examples in the industry, with several legendary titles starting out as completely different projects before deciding to change their focus extensively.



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Most people would assume that games that change course halfway through development wouldn’t be the best games out there, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. After all, most people know that the following games are excellent in their own right, which shows how talented the developers behind these games really are at changing their approach without too much trouble.

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10 Donkey Kong

There was a time when Nintendo made an official popeye title. However, the company was unable to obtain a license for the same, forcing them to change their plans.

This led to the creation of Mario, Donkey Kong and Peach, all of whom made their appearance in the legendary release of Donkey Kong. It is one of the most important games in Nintendo’s library that paved the way for the success of the rest of their titles.

9 sleeping dogs

The Real crime series was labeled by many as nothing more than a way to emulate GTA‘s success. After True Crime: New York City was an outright failure, the series was eventually scrapped.

This meant that the next game in the series, True Crime: Hong Konghad to change quite a bit. It has rebranded itself as: sleeping dogs and put more emphasis on melee combat, which made for a great open-world experience that more fans should check out.


8 Final Fantasy 15

Final Fantasy 15 was ten years in development, so obviously the project has changed hands and focus several times in the process. The game initially started as Final Fantasy vs 13before it becomes a feature article of its own.

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The fact that Final Fantasy 15 was in talks to become a musical show, just how wild Nomura’s ideas for the game really were. After Hajime Tabita took over the reins, the project finally entered a period of stability until release.

7 Assassin’s Creed

The first Assassin’s Creed The title laid the foundation for a franchise that would become one of Ubisoft’s great series. What makes this game even more interesting is that the concept was initially for a completely different game.

Assassin’s Creed was intended as a prince of Persia game where players took on the role of bodyguard of the prince. However, after much internal debate, the new engine and its gameplay were reserved for a new IP address, and the rest is history.

6 Conker’s Bad Fur Day

Everyone remembers Conker’s Bad Fur Day like a bizarre platform game that was packed with adult jokes and themes. However, there was a time when this game was meant to be a classic platformer for kids called Twelve Stories: Conker 64.

Unfortunately, this game was very similar to its contemporaries, such as Banjo Kazooie and Super Mario 64. This led to the game undergoing a massive overhaul before turning into the foul-mouthed Conker’s Bad Fur Day that everyone loves.


5 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

One of the more underrated action games out there, too bad 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand was a commercial failure. The game was a definite improvement over Bulletproofwhere the involvement of 50 Cent is also very welcome.

The game initially started as a Covert-One title before changing the approach and name as well. The end result was a game with solid gameplay and co-op support that never took off.

4 The last of us

The last of us is one of the most legendary video games ever made. Naughty Dog knocked it out of the park with this great title, which had everything from emotional story beats to thrilling action gameplay.

It’s hard to believe that The last of us came about as the studio bounced around ideas for Jak & Daxter. With their ideas far removed from the core of this franchise, Naughty Dog decided to create a brand new IP to take a completely new direction… and the rest is history.

3 demise

The original mischief is one of the most groundbreaking FPS titles of all time. Many people consider this game and earthquake to be the reason why first-person shooters became so hugely popular on PC.

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What makes this success even more astonishing is that: demise risen from the ashes of a cancelled Aliens game! Since id Software failed to secure the rights, they decided to go with an original IP address that would become one of the most popular names in the video game industry.


2 Far cry

The first Far cry title was as much a technical marvel as it was a fun game. It was developed after a technical demo called X Isle: Dinosaur Island demonstrated the power of CryEngine.

This demo took place on a tropical island populated with dinosaurs. While the latter idea was rejected, the tropical environment remained intact for Far cry and made it one of the best FPS titles at the time.

1 overwatch

One of the most popular hero shooters of all time, most people can’t wait to see what Overwatch 2 has to offer. The first game was a masterpiece that added a lot of character to the multiplayer shooting action, resulting in a unique and engaging experience.

Before overwatch acclaimed development, Blizzard was actually working on an MMO called Titan that was also meant to be a class based shooting game. However, the game was quite unbalanced and was scrapped as the team decided to extensively fine-tune the mechanics for overwatch instead of.

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