Canceled Superman game called Blue Steel detailed by former developer

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

New details of a cancelled Superman game have been revealed by a developer from the project.

Just below, you can see the beginnings of a tweet thread from Savlatrix, a game systems developer that worked at Factor 5, a studio that was developing a Superman game known as "Blue Steel" around 2007. As the developer reveals, the game was ultimately canceled due to the 2008 economic crash, which would ultimately end up shuttering Factor 5 and also the publisher lined up to launch the Superman game itself.

In 2007/2008, I was lead designer on a Superman game that was never released - because the economy crashed hard. It killed our publisher, our studio (Factor 5), and the game.I have multiple unreleased games through my career, but THIS is the only one I mourn to this day...July 13, 2021

According to the developer, the canceled game was meant to release on the PS3 alongside the planned Bryan Singer Superman Returns films. Salvatrix goes on to talk about the emphasis that the canceled game would have placed upon crashing through destructible buildings, which they argue has never been fully realized in a game since this Blue Steel game was canceled.

The developer has also released a never-before-seen prototype of the Blue Steel game. Just below, you can check out a few minutes of early footage from the canceled game, which shows Superman flying around a cityscape area, as well as crashing through building and office blocks with an enemy in the heat of combat, just like the developer themselves previously highlighted.

This actually isn't the first time we've heard mention of a canceled Superman game from the PS3/Xbox 360 era. Just below, you can see a lengthy video from Did You Know Gaming? in which the project is described as "lofty." We'd highly recommend giving the full video a watch just below, for some added context surrounding developer Factor 5 during this period in time.

It's a real shame this Superman game never got to see the light of day. Salvatrix obviously still mourns the demise of Blue Steel to this day, 13 years later, partially because the game had such major potential at that point in time. As they mention, destructible environments like this absolutely weren't commonplace in video games of the PS3/Xbox 360 era, and were a major part of the pitch behind Blue Steel.

Even to this day, developers are still trying to figure out how to make a Superman game. One developer took a very good crack at it earlier this year in the form of an Unreal Engine 5 demo, which looked incredibly impressive for a demo running on a brand new engine only just released to the public. Until it eventually happens though, we'll just keep dreaming of that elusive Superman game.

If it's more Superman comic stories you're after, you can head over to our guide on the best Superman stories of all time for more.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.