It has been 6 years since Ryse: Son of Rome first launched as an exclusive launch title for the Xbox One, but a recently discovered early Prototype shows the game was originally going to be far different than how it is remembered now. These details showcase some of its development hell, as its development began as far back as 2006, and it was originally going to be a Kinect 1.0 title.

This came to light after a recent Xbox 360 devkit was picked up at an auction, and it showcases some of what developer Crytek had been working on way back when. This information passed from the auction to Prototype Preservation, a YouTuber who posted it online (as seen below). At this point in its development, Ryse: Son of Rome was called Codename: Kingdoms, but the Ancient Rome vibe and QTEs were already settled in.

Point of View hadn't been settled in at this point either, as the video showcases a first-person hack and slash perspective, but developer Crytek's Ryse: Son of Rome launched in the third person. It did feature a "Mass Battle test level," suggesting that the huge battles featured in the game were likely an early development idea. Minor details and early decisions aside, this was meant to be an "E3 Demo Level," but that clearly cannot be the case.

The graphics are incredibly rough, and entire areas are incomplete. The dialogue is even incomplete. What's clear is that this was a very early build of the game, and it is remarkable how much it evolved into the Ryse: Son of Rome that is out today. That's not to say the game was a critical and commercial success, however, as it received mixed reviews when it launched, and developer Crytek was not happy with its Xbox One sales.

And although Ryse: Son of Rome was initially designed to be the beginning of a new IP and not a one-off, things do not seem to have worked out as Crytek hoped. Although both Microsoft and Crytek have both been vague concerning Ryse 2, it seems some drama is what ultimately prevented a sequel.

Ryse: Son of Rome can be played on PC and Xbox One.