You wouldn’t believe how many in-development games never see the light of day. Wildly-ambitious games are scrapped all the time for a number of reasons, from missed deadlines to overblown budgets to simply not being very good. Usually, they’re games that haven’t even been announced, but sometimes games are made, tested, shown off in trailers, and promoted before the plug is finally pulled. There’s usually a really, really good reason the games were scrapped, but from the outside it seems completely illogical, leading us to grow overly affectionate of these disasters.

These games end up becoming the stuff of legends – the mysteries of the game industry. We’ve gathered the ones we had the highest hopes for, and pour out a drink for the fallen games that will never see release.

Why we’re upset about its cancellation: The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 cancellation wound is still fresh, with the developers only confirming the game’s death a few days ago. Once we read the news we did what any sane adults would do in that situation: curl up into a ball and cry. And cry. And cry.

The shooter was a follow-up to the brilliant S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and while not too much was known about the sequel, we had every reason to believe it would drag us, kicking and screaming, into a radiation-filled, horrifying shooter experience unlike any other. The series’ bleak, post-apocalyptic landscapes made similar games look archaic in comparison, and the few images released for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 had us throwing wads of cash at our computer screen.

Why we think it was cancelled: We heard it had to do with getting the rights to the franchise… or it just sucked.

Why we’re upset about its cancellation: Whenever we talked to the developers of Jumpgate Evolution, they’d describe their space-based action MMORPG as a mix of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica in terms of combat. That, alone, had us excited to near-catastrophic levels, but what made things worse was that we actually played this one. Jumpgate has been on display at a number of E3s and PAXs, and going hands-on proved that the developer was right – the combat was fun as hell, and the environments were absurdly beautiful.

And then it got delayed. And then it got delayed again. And then there was a lawsuit, and then it got delayed, and then the developers said that the game was absolutely, totally not cancelled… and then the company experienced huge layoffs, and now… well, you know the rest. There’s a tiny, tiny chance the game is actually still in development, but we stopped holding our breaths a long time ago – we need to save our energy for when we sob into a Lean Cuisine over how cool it looked, and how we’ll never play it again.

Why we think it was cancelled: Most likely the lawsuit. Or the layoffs… or it just sucked.

Why we’re upset about its cancellation: Early trailers, videos, and impressions of Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned pointed a compass towards the Pirates of the Caribbean game we all wanted: a Fable rip-off. Seriously, how awesome does that sound? Sailing the high-seas, cutting up rival pirates, stopping in port for some ale and to buy a house or impregnate a wench (alright, Disney might have cut that), it sounded too good to be true!

And it was. Our affair with this mysterious Armada of the Damned game was brief – it felt like we only got to start getting excited when Disney announced it was “changing directions,” part of which meant stranding Armada of the Damned on an island in the ocean. We remember that night vividly, because we drank so heavily that we woke up stranded on a beach with Johnny Depp and a pile of empty rum bottles. The hangover wasn’t pretty.

Why we think it was cancelled: Disney’s new “direction” didn’t include huge single-player epics… or it just sucked.

Why we’re upset about its cancellation: Project Offset was more of a tech demo than an actual game, being developed by Offset Software and published by Intel (the hardware company) with the sole purpose of being as pretty as possible. And boy, was it pretty. Videos shown off had the player fighting both in first and third-person, battling medieval foes and giants with visuals that look better than anything else this generation. There were dragons, there were maidens, there were crossbows and giants – it looked like it had it all.

But apparently it didn’t, and the game was not meant to be. Offset Software eventually broke off from Intel to form Fractiv, so we’re holding out hope that there’s still something like the initial videos floating around somewhere, but we’re not going to get our hopes up.

Why we think it was cancelled: Because it was likely more a tech demo than a game… or it just sucked.

Why we’re upset about its cancellation: The 3DS Mega Man Legends 3 was one of the more anticipated games for Nintendo’s handheld, and according to everyone who played it (see: this one guy), it was actually quite fun. But, for some reason, Capcom eventually cut the cord on the title, killing gamers’ chances of playing the sequel. The exact reasoning for the cancellation has been an issue among gamers, as Capcom has actually pointed a finger at the Mega Man community. "The game was meant to show people how games are developed,” Capcom explained via Twitter, “unfortunately so few fans took part in the creation of the game. It was felt the project was not worthwhile. :-(”

Since its untimely demise, over a hundred thousand people have signed a petition asking development to resume, but Capcom has been steadfast in its commitment to you never, ever playing it.

Why we think it was cancelled: Because of you. No joke about it sucking, no joke about 3DS sales – it was 100% your fault. For shame.

Why we’re upset about its cancellation: Sometimes it feels as though publishers completely ignore fan outcry for a sequel to their favorite series (see: Kingdom Hearts). Other times it’s apparent that the publisher is simply scared to death of disappointing its fans. Star Wars: Battlefront 3 definitely falls into the second category. This generation, several developers have tried their hand at creating a new Battlefront game, and for some reason LucasArts has killed each and every one. Seriously, there are like, near-complete Battlefront games out there that you’ll never, ever play.

The most exciting-looking one was being developed by Free Radical, best known for the fantastic Time Splitters series (before fumbling horribly with Haze). Screens, concept art, and even videos showed an extremely ambitious game with an awesome, alternate-timeline plot that showed Obi Wan Kenobi falling to the dark side. Hell, we’re interested in this one for the story alone. Odds are we’ll eventually get a new Battlefront, but we’re pretty sure it won’t be this one.

Why we think it was cancelled: LucasArts’ fear of tarnishing the Star Wars name (HAHAHAHA)… or every single attempt has sucked.

Why we’re upset about its cancellation: One of the most interesting parts of StarCraft’s lore are the illusive ghosts – futuristic science-fiction psychic bad-ass special ops. At some point, someone at Blizzard thought it would be a great idea to take these Ghosts and make a game based around them for consoles. We completely agreed.

For years, we watched and waited with bated breath for this great concept to come to fruition. Screenshots showed off a cool-looking Metal Gear Solid-inspired third-person shooter with the ghosts, and we nearly lost ourselves in our excitement. Until it was, well… actually, Blizzard has never officially cancelled StarCraft Ghost. In fact, Blizzard's co-founder Frank Pearce commented as recently as 2008 that the game was “never officially cancelled,” and that it’s simply not currently the company’s focus. Right.

Why we think it was cancelled: Rumors have circulated that StarCraft Ghost never had a clear direction, and that because of it the gameplay never fully came together. We like to think that it was actually too good to release, and that Blizzard is just waiting for the perfect time to send the game out.

Or it sucked. Like, really, really sucked.

Yeah, we know, you disagree with us. We're wrong about one of the entries, or we forgot something, or we're stupid for not including your favorite game of all time. It's fine, we get it.

Don't just sit there shouting at the screen, though - comment below and let us know what you think of this Top 7.

And if you're not sad enough, check out the The Top 7... Worst things you can do to a gamer and the The Top 7... Worst jobs in the games industry.