Missing in action... back for E3?

Game development isn't an exact science and there could be any number of reasons for a previously announced game to slip into darkness and not be heard from in years. Maybe it's been cancelled? Maybe it's being redesigned? Maybe it's just waiting for the right moment to re-emerge.

Agent

Do you remember Agent? Rockstar's PS3 exclusive 1970's espionage title? Announced back at E3 2009 things have been very quiet, and it's likely that Rockstar have been prioritising other projects with Agent put to the side. While there is the possibility that it's been cancelled, the concept itself sounds so good that we really doubt that Rockstar won't revisit it at some point and reboot development.

Rockstar typically don't make a big fuss about new titles at E3, but Agent has a history as it was first revealed at a Sony press conference 5 years ago. We doubt the time is here for Agent, but there's a small possibility it will appear.

Chances of appearing at E3: 5%

Beyond Good & Evil 2

Let's travel back all the way to 2003. Ubisoft launched three high-profile games for the holiday season - Beyond Good & Evil 2, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and XIII. All three games fared poorly at retail and were discounted shortly thereafter. All three games were lined up for sequels - to be become franchises moving forward, but only Sands of Time - the game that sold the most had sequels greenlit. But Beyond Good & Evil was well received and became something of a cult classic. Rumours of the sequel have been making the rounds for the last decade at perhaps E3 2014 marks the time when we'll finally see Jade again.

Interestingly enough Ubisoft showed a teaser of what clearly looked like a new Beyond Good & Evil way back at their UbiDays event in 2008. Never confirmed to be Beyond Good & Evil 2 one has to assume that particular project was cancelled at some point. An HD version of the original game was released in 2011, and we expected something to arrive soon thereafter. Michel Ancel has hinted that the new console generation would possibly breathe new life into the project, and we've been told (between the lines) that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is the next big project from Ubisoft Montpellier. Only question is whether E3 is the place to show it off.

Chance of appearing at E3: 70%

Rainbow 6: Patriots

Team Rainbow have been missing in action for a few years now since the game was announced in November 2011. Rumours claim the project has been rebooted several times since, so perhaps we shouldn't even be talking about Rainbow 6: Patriots, but rather just the next Rainbow 6 as much has likely changed since the initial reveal. With no new Ghost Recon or Splinter Cell currently in the pipeline (as far as we know) it would make sense for Ubisoft to try and get the new Rainbow 6 out next year. Sure there's The Division, a new Tom Clancy game, but that massively multiplayer open world game is very different from what you'd expect from a Rainbow 6 game.

Ubisoft typically put on quite good E3 press conferences. The last couple of years have wowed us with Watch Dogs and The Division respectively. This year we know we'll get Far Cry 4, Assassin's Creed: Unity, The Division and if we weren't as confident as we are in seeing Beyond Good & Evil 2 as well the number for Rainbow 6 would have been a little higher still.

Chances of appearing at E3: 45%

The Last Guardian

It's been a long journey with Team Ico's The Last Guardian. Seemingly obsessed with perfection the team under the leadership of Fumito Ueda struggled to get the technical side of the game to work. In development since 2007 and formally announced in 2009 The Last Guardian. It's been confirmed as an on going project multiple times and by now it's surely heading to PS4, with Ueda on merely as a consultant, going as far as saying his involvement with the creative side of things being complete.

It would likely get a standing ovation if it were to be re-announced for PS4 at the Sony press conference. And crowd pleasers are in high demand for E3 conferences. Furthermore there are lots of questions that need answers. Is it still the same game and concept or has it evolved in any way? Have the technical issues that plague the development been averted thanks to the superior hardware of PS4 or has the game design been altered in any way? Hopefully we'll know exactly what's up with The Last Guardian come June 9. Chances are good.

Chance of appearing at E3: 60%

Until Dawn

Supermassive Games' PlayStation Move horror game Until Dawn was first unveiled at Gamescom 2012. Designed for motions control the somewhat cheesy teen horror stylings of Until Dawn piqued our interest at the time, but there hasn't been much noise about the project since.

The latest rumours state that Until Dawn has been reworked for PlayStation 4 and Project Morpheus (Sony's own VR headset). It's a rumour that makes sense. First person horror would certainly be a great way to showcase the benefits of the headset. Then again Until Dawn could also just have been cancelled or it could be saved up for Gamescom where European developed exclusives are typically showcased.

Chances of appearing at E3: 35%

Prey 2

When publisher Bethesda broke ties with developer Human Head Studios and put Prey 2 on ice we were very disappointed. The concept showed such promise. A very different game than the first Prey, where Tommy was the prey in many respects and this time new main character Killian Samuels would be the hunter. A fascinating concept and what we saw of the alien world of Exodus really impressed us at the time.

There was a rumour last year that Arkane Studios (Dishonored) might be working on the game, but it's still just that... a rumour. Could be completely unfounded. Still we'd be extremely surprised to see Prey 2 resurface at this E3 - nothing we've heard points to a reveal. But we won't rule it out completely.

Chances of appearing at E3: 5%

Yoshi's Land

This one hasn't been in the dark for very long, then again it's been so quiet that it feels like it's been a long time already. First shown at in January 2013 during a Nintendo Direct Yoshi's Land by the same developers as Kirby's Epic Yarn (Good-Feel) looks to further the concept of knitted threads in video games.

While Nintendo haven't said anything about the game since it's reveal the Japanese giant rarely cancels projects that have been shown in public. We're not sure why Nintendo would want to hold back on showing the game at this year's show if all is well so chances are good we'll get to see Yoshi in yarn at the expo.

Chances of appearing at E3: 70%