During the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and original Xbox generation in 2002, Blizzard was working on an all-format third-person shooter known as Starcraft: Ghost. The game experienced a bumpy development cycle and the GameCube version was cancelled in 2004. This followed with the project being completely axed in 2014, well after this particular generation.
Now, nearly two decades later, leaked footage of an early Xbox build has leaked online. While this might not be footage of Starcraft: Ghost running on the GameCube, we imagine it would have looked quite similar on Nintendo and Sony's platform if it had seen the light of day. While much of the leaked footage has already been taken down, there are still a few clips online (view this while you can):
As you can see, it's a pretty standard-looking third-person shooter. Still, it would have been a nice change of pace from Blizzard's main offerings at the time. Below are some additional screenshots of the Xbox version, supplied by the Twitter user who contacted Kotaku about the leak.
Is this a game you were anticipating back in the day? What do you think of the above footage and screenshots? Share your thoughts below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 25
i would have loved a starcraft game like this. it's a shame they cancelled it though
I'm surprised this didn't end up linking to a Beta64 video. In due time, I suppose...
They never should have cancelled this. SC is an incredibly deep, interesting franchise ripe for storytelling and ideas.
I remember being so excited for this game. From the looks of it it was pretty far along in development. A shame. But, I guess they wouldn't have cancelled it if they thought it was any good.
@wollywoo The main reason it was cancelled was because of the sudden success of World of Warcraft. At the time Blizzard wasn't as big as it is now and most of their resources were given to WoW.
A nice distraction from Blizzards recent woes. Convenient.
That walking animation. Haha The character model wouldn't have looked so nice on the playstation, that's for sure. Would have enjoyed this, but how about another try and a modern setting? Save from the recent disasters and do something good
I thought that person was bad at 3rdPS, but that ending, really?
Starcraft is the game I’ve played the most in my life. I remember whenever I heard about Starcraft: Ghost back in the day I was really excited, even though I had no consoles and only a PC, as at the time Blizzard could do no wrong. To me they used to be by far the best developer back then and I loved Starcraft, so this was really into my alley.
That said, looking at the footage, I can totally see why it was cancelled. It doesn’t look like anything special. It’s just a generic third person shooter and, in this video at least, there were no intriguing ideas. Also, in just 5 minutes or so of footage I already got really annoyed by the music that plays when a fight begins. I don’t think I could take a whole game with that hehe.
I think maybe that if they did Metroid Prime, but in the Starcraft universe and in third person, with an exploration focus and stealth mechanics (since you’re playing a ghost), it could be cool. But I don’t know if Blizzard has it in them to do a game like that, even back in their prime days.
Ahh, those days when Blizzard was still a reputable company producing excellent games...
Good cover art. Nova best waifu
All I can say is that this game would have been the only Blizzard game I could have played apart from The Death and Return of Superman and Rock N' Roll Racing.
This looks really good! Its a shame they cancelled it
I bought an Xbox for this. It never came. Then there was rumors that it was going to be on 360, so I bought one. Never came. This game was my white whale.
Before it was officially cancelled it was starting to become another Duke Nukem Forever where it was in development limbo. Well more that because of the internet people wouldn't accept it was never going to happen until Blizzard made an official statement because people need confirmation on everything seemingly.
My HALO edition xbox has this game on the back of the box as a upcoming title. Too bad...
Could you imagine a Zerg Rush like the zombie hoards in Days Gone in this? A lot of potential with the game, but this was also pre-WOW when Blizzard really took risks with their IPs.
I was actually looking forward to this game when it was announced. It's too bad it got the axe.
@mr_eman Actually this was not pre-WoW, the reason it was cancelled was because of the sudden success of WoW and not having enough staff for both games.
@UmbralChaos It was never going to be for the Xbox 360, another reason for the cancellation.
Totally forgot about this, used to read the occasional updates in Nintendo Power!
And they said that Zero Suit Samus was too racy.
This girl is swallowing her own leggings.
Starcraft is my favorite failed WH40k project. Ghost always seemed like it would be a lackluster SC tie-in that wouldn't actually do the series justice. I imagine something like Space Hulk: Deathwing in the SC universe could have been impactful at the time, but that would require much more effort than everything I saw of Ghost throughout the years.
@Tasuki ? When I say Pre-WoW, I'm not saying it started development before WoW started its development, simply that the game's inception occured before the release of WoW. They were a much different company before the success of WoW. They were riskier and more willing to experiment with different IPs back then.
Looked like it had potential. A pity that it got cancelled.
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