Microsoft throwing their hat into the ring of the console wars was no laughing matter. Sony and Sega had been relatively equal-sized competitors, but Microsoft, by raw currency alone, eclipsed both of them combined. Immediately, the Xbox was hotly anticipated by both gamers and anybody with a sense of business. Already hosting a lineup of games due to their successful Windows platform, they looked to hit the market from a fresh angle.

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But like any good boxing match, nobody throws a punch without opening themselves up to a few blows. Microsoft was financially prepared to absorb the blows from Sony's PlayStation, however not every blow game from that direction. Making console games is not an easy task and their own studios and developers, while absolutely succeeding on many fronts, failed on a few gaming projects that would have been revolutionary.

10 100 Bullets

100 Bullets Gameplay Screenshot Behind Cover

Human shields, automatic headshot meters, and serious moral quandaries about pulling the trigger; 100 Bullets was looking to do things that gamers would not come to expect for another decade. With a successful comic book to reinforce the story, fans could hardly wait.

But instead of becoming one of the best superhero video games of the decade, Acclaim outspent their budget and was not able to finish, leaving a hole in the heart of DC Comic fans looking to see some better representation on the Xbox.

9 Age Of Pirates: Captain Blood

Age Of Pirates Captain Blood Cancelled Gameplay Screenshot

Age of Pirates: Captain Blood was based on the novel Captain Blood: His Odyssey by Rafael Sabatini written in 1922. Gamers would not need to worry about boredom, the title was slated to be a hack-and-slash on par with the greatest titles of this generation.

Between the battles on the high seas and the combat on land, Microsoft felt the game was too much for the Xbox to handle. Sadly, when the world did to move to the next generation of consoles, this anticipated title wasn't brought along for the ride.

8 B.C.

BC Cancelled Xbox Game Screenshot

Lionhead Studios is not a stranger to getting their games pulled from consoles and delegated to PCs. Black & White was a god simulator that suffered this fate. The studio would finally breakthrough with the lauded Fable franchise after multiple other failures.

Developed by Lionhead's subsidiary, Intrepid Computer Entertainment, B.C. would be one of the unlucky ones. In spite of the hype about fighting dinosaurs and using the prehistoric world as a weapon against them, Microsoft decided they wanted more Fable and less of the other projects, so B.C. was left as a forgotten but fantastic action-adventure game.

7 Chrono Resurrection

Chrono Resurrection Cancelled Game Crono Screenshot

A group of Chrono Trigger fans had a vision; breathe new life into this cult-favorite franchise. They believed in bringing it back to life so much, they not only called the game Chrono Resurrection, they named their entire studio Resurrection Games.

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Fans loved the cast of characters and the setting, all the series needed was some new graphics and an ironed out plot. Just when the fanmade game was being finished up, Square Enix delivered a cease-and-desist letter for copyright infringement.

6 Fallout Extreme

Fallout Extreme Project Logo Cancelled Game

Eighteen years before Fallout 76 would butcher a game with graphical errors, predatory pay-to-play in-game systems, and a story that makes absolutely no sense, an underdog game tried to prevent this fate from coming to pass.

Using the fantastic lore and world of the Fallout franchise, the creative team thought that it would be fun to keep the RPG elements of the game while adding some squad-based multiplayer action. Produced on the Unreal engine, the sky was the limit. Unfortunately, Xbox, the exclusive console for the idea, opted against the idea, favoring another traditional Fallout game.

5 Rally Trophy

Rally Trophy In Game Racing Screenshot

The history of racing games is rich indeed, but it might not have been without one scrappy little title by the name of Rally Trophy. Many amazing kart games have been lost to history, but this particular game was destined to make history.

The game, canceled by the Xbox, moved to the PC. Of course, racing games really should be played with a controller, so the game's sales were moderate at best. But gaming historians actually credit Rally Trophy with innovating concepts in racing games that other titles with better luck would be able to borrow from.

4 Sonic Extreme

Sonic Extreme Cancelled Game Screenshot

Note to Sonic developers: Do not put "extreme" or any iteration of that word in the title. One game, called Sonic X-Treme, was scheduled for the Sega Dreamcast until it was pulled after a tumultuous run. This game, Sonic Extreme, was a totally different title for the Xbox but shared the same unfortunate result.

The game featured several different multiplayer modes, along with an open world campaign. Vision Scape Interactive apparently completed the project, submitted a request for permission to Sega, and Sega simply never responded.

3 StarCraft: Ghost

StarCraft Ghost Cancelled Game Screenshot

RTS gamers still fantasize about perfect games like StarCraft. StarCraft 2 was still a long way off, but Blizzard Entertainment thought it might be fun to give fans an inside perspective with a third-person shooter set in their space saga.

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With the mysterious ghost Nova taking the lead, players were enthusiastic about the concept. Artwork and updates flowed into the hands of the community until... it stopped suddenly. It wasn't until 2014, twelve years after the initial announcement, that an official confirmed the cancellation.

2 True Fantasy Live Online

True Fantasy Live Online In Game Screenshot With Party Members

Japanese developer Level-5 took a huge gamble when they decided to put their MMO on Microsoft's Xbox. With three other Japanese developers from their country, the decision excited gamers hungry for an authentic MMO to hit other consoles.

The gamble was a devastating loss. Xbox insisted that gamers be able to speak with each other over Xbox Live, an unbelievable task for a massively multiplayer online game. Despite nearly finishing the game and incorporating this technology, broken relationships got in the way and Microsoft and Level-5 would never work together again.

1 UFO: Aftershock

UFO Aftershock In Game Screenshot Squad Members

The team that worked on the XCOM games is a resilient bunch. UFO: Enemy Unknown was a hit, but a sequel from the franchise had been pulled from Sony's PlayStation already. Finally, a deal had been worked out for the competing Xbox for a new installation.

A different company produced the same result. After configuring the entire turn-based strategy game to be compatible with a controller, Xbox moved on. The game would be moved over to PC, but having been configured for a different set of controls, the game was not well received.

NEXT: 10 Canceled Xbox One Games You Forgot Existed