History AbortedArc / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife: Opposing Force'' leaves our beloved Shephard in a state that begs for his eventual return, but his narrative has yet to be picked back up, even as the franchise restarted with the ''VideoGames/HalfLifeAlyx'' title in 2020.

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife: Opposing Force'' leaves our beloved Shephard in a state that suggests (read: "practically begs for") his eventual return, but his narrative has yet to be picked back up, and the chances of Valve ever doing so are looking pretty dim, even if they ''do'' ever release more ''Half-Life'' games.

*** On the Azure Moon route, while Dimitri seeks answers for the Tragedy of Duscur during Part 2, he learns that [[spoiler:his stepmother Patricia not only may have had a hand in what happened, but that she went missing instead of being killed like everyone in the Kingdom had previously assumed, and could potentially be still alive somewhere]]. After this discovery, this plotline never ends up being brought up again and the storyline ends instead [[spoiler:after the fall of the Adrestian Empire]].

* Franchise/FireEmblem:

** In VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses, due to the StoryBranching nature of the game, many plot points can end up either being dropped or given a payoff depending on the chosen route. That being said, 2 paths have clear aborted arcs of their own:

* The localization team of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', possibly assuming Ike/Elincia would happen in the sequel, ramped up the ShipTease for the two. There was indeed some basis for it in the original script, but Ike says that he's going to go back to being a simple mercenary at the end, which would effectively kill his chance at a marriage with a ruling queen. Yet many players were surprised when [[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn the sequel]] not only sank the ship, but treated them as if there was no possibly romantic subtext between the two in the first place.

* The whole matter with Dex that started in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. You find out he was one of the few who had set you up to be killed at the end of the first game. But he runs off to escape retribution with the Boss vowing to hunt him down by the end of the game. However [[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird the third game]] never even continued said storyline and he only gets a (rather humorous) mention in passing [[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV in the 4th game]]. You do somewhat get to kill him in ''Gat out of Hell'' but it feels moots since [[spoiler:he was killed when the Earth was destroyed and already in Hell being tortured]]. The justification Volition gave was that the arc depended on people having played the first game and the DLC of the second, neither of which are available on PC, and they didn't want that portion of their player base to feel left out of the loop-- which [[FridgeLogic didn't stop them]] from packing ''Saints Row IV'' with all kinds of other ContinuityPorn stretching all the way back to the original game. ''VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'' (which is set in Hell), however, does [[TheBusCameBack bring him back]] for the player to kill ([[spoiler:mainly due to him getting killed in the previous game when Zinyak blew the Earth up]]) as an AuthorsSavingThrow. Several times over, in fact!

** All games up through ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' shed some light into the backstory of Zero, hinting time and again [[spoiler:that he's originally a Robot created by Dr. Wily of the [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic previous series]], and that ''he'' (Zero) is the true cause of the Maverick uprisings]]. ''X5'' is supposed to be the GrandFinale of the X series, so this was naturally a given that the plot be somehow resolved in that game. And then, PostScriptSeason kicked in, and aside from a few [[ContinuityNod nods here and there]] this plot twist was never adhered to again, and the X series moved on to a different story direction. Ironically, [[FanonDiscontinuity even if fans disregard]] the [[PostScriptSeason post-script series]], ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' just made everything more confusing -- dark secrets were explored all right, but they were brand new ones, and Zero [[LaserGuidedAmnesia didn't even remember the old]].
** Similarly was Sigma's "partner" whom he mentions in ''VideoGame/MegaManX5''. He goes off on how it's an "old man" who used be X's partner but now hates him, knows enough about Zero to be his father, and created Sigma's toughest body yet. It seems like he's setting up an entire new arc involving perhaps a BigBadDuumvirate if not a new BigBad altogether (not to mention everything he says is reminiscent of [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Dr. Wily]]), but this partner is never so much as alluded to ever again. Again, this was the result of PostScriptSeason swing-kicking the game's narrative across the face.

*** And then, if you started playing after Wrath of the Lich King came out (but before Cataclysm), then you find out the King has been kidnapped...and wonder what the heck they're talking about since the King is right there in Stormwind.
** The human kingdom of Kul Tiras, a key player in ''Warcraft II'' and ''Warcraft III'', was not even shown on the map, despite the fact that a large number of [=NPCs=] are stated to have come from there (including the major human character Jaina Proudmoore). The island nation was absent from the game until its addition in ''Battle for Azeroth,'' a fair eight installments into the game's history. Gilneas was in a similar situation until ''Cataclysm'' was announced.

** The supposed alliance between the Blue Dragonflight and the Ethereum during the Nexus War in [=WotLK=].

*** Come Legion, every Ret Paladin is given Ashbringer as their Artifact weapon, acquiring it from a dying Tiron. The original plans are referenced with a hidden Artifact Skin that turns it into a new version of the corrupted Ashbringer, requiring players to find Nat Pagle's book, Nefarin's head and taking them to the prince in Dire Maul, bringing the arc back around full circle.
** Related to the above, rumors were spread during the Burning Crusade expansion that the aforementioned purification of Ashbringer would involve Turalyon and possibly Alleria Windrunner, and a mysterious smith in Outland hinted to be another son of Mograine. Nothing ever came of this, and Turalyon and Alleria were not seen from until ''Legion'', despite promises that all the members of the Sons of Lothar would be featured in The Burning Crusade.

* It has been [[http://www.chronocompendium.com/Term/Arbiter.html speculated]] that ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' was originally intended to contain a subplot going into greater detail about Serge's role as the Arbiter of the Frozen Flame. More generally, there are suspicions that ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' was intended to be significantly longer than it was, as many of its plot threads are concluded only in the form of a massive InfoDump right before the final battle that was added to the North American version of the game.
* In chapter one of ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'', Lenneth decides to commit a vampire's name to memory after hearing about it after performing soul transfer on Belenus. However, we don't actually ''meet'' this vampire.

** In June 2013, [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125213-Mass-Effect-Writer-Reveals-Discarded-Ending-Ideas Drew Karpyshyn]], the former lead writer for Mass Effect 1 & 2, confirmed this theory and elaborated a little bit on how the original Dark Energy ending for the trilogy would have played out. However, he also emphasizes that it was only one idea of many and they never developed it very far.
* The localization team of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'', possibly assuming Ike/Elincia would happen in the sequel, ramped up the ShipTease for the two. There was indeed some basis for it in the original script, but Ike says that he's going to go back to being a simple mercenary at the end, which would effectively kill his chance at a marriage with a ruling queen. Yet many players were surprised when the sequel not only sank the ship, but treated them as if there was no possibly romantic subtext between the two in the first place.

** ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars'' and ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun'' imply Kane is an alien - as the Scrin recognize him during their invasion (and he's not human), and he shows awareness and affinity to Alien technology like the Tacitus. However the fourth game abandons most of it. Turns out Kane is the biblical Cain and he really was doomed to walk the earth - the alien tech is just a means to an end to resolving that.

* In ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', [[spoiler: the recurring blackouts Ethan suffers after Jason's car accident that lead him to think he's the Origami Killer are no longer mentioned starting around the last quarter of the game. It was originally intended that the Killer's being present at Jason's accident formed a psychic link between him and Ethan that caused him to black out when the Killer committed his initial kidnapping, but this was dropped due to realism concerns]].
* ''VideoGame/TwoWorlds'' II Seems to suffer heavily from this. The story goes on nicely until [[spoiler:you finally make it out of the [[SwampsAreEvil Goddamn Swamp]], then you have to head out for the Big Bad's fortress only to end up being handed a TwistEnding the size of the castle you're infiltrating]]. It seems the game was originally planned to be significantly larger but the developers had to shorten it due to time and money constraints, so you get the feeling of having "skipped" a certain portion of the story when getting an ending which doesn't make much sense and feels extremely rushed.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has this occur to several subplots during the final stretch of the game, due to [[ChristmasRushed being rushed out to meet the 15th Anniversary of the series]]. The BigBad drops by, talks to the protagonists, flings the key to the final dungeon at them and leaves, leaving several subplots be dropped or left to [[GuideDangIt voiced-over subevents the player needs to find]].

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', along with its sequel, contains a hidden scene of Subject 16 desperately begging Desmond to find Eve, as in Eve the first woman, and implies that her bloodline will have some Messianic-level of importance in the future. This has never come up again. Not even when Subject 16 actually appeared in the next game for extended periods of time.

* The English prototype of ''VideoGame/EarthboundBeginnings'' that eventually was released in Japan in the CompilationRerelease "MOTHER 1+2" ends with two [[SequelHook Sequel Hooks]]: [[spoiler:Giygas/Giegue promises to the hero Ninten that they will meet again and in TheStinger, Ninten's father calls him to inform that "Something new has come up"]]. Neither ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' nor ''VideoGame/Mother3'' address this as they have different main characters and, in fact, aside from [[spoiler:Giygas' origin]], those two games are [[TwoPartTrilogy disjointed from the original]].

*** The chronological last event to happen in ''The Compilation of VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' (besides the "[[DistantFinale 500 Years Later" coda]] featuring the older Red XIII) is Genesis Rhapsodos recovering Weiss's corpse with some vaguely defined plan in mind. This was intended to foreshadow Genesis's involvement in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', which was to come out later and chronologically preceeded ''Dirge'', but failed to resolve (or even touch upon) what Genesis had been up to. The ending of the ''Compilation'' line - which was not unexpected, but built in - means it will never be resolved, although ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'''s FanonDisContinuity status means few care.

* 2012's ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburV'' did a 17-year TimeSkip meant to be a SoftReboot of the series that would introduce a new generation of fighters to the mix, and continue the story in a new status quo. Because the game underperformed, was hit with backlash over said story, setting and characters, went on a [[SequelGap long hiatus afterwards]], the man responsible for the time skip left less than two years after release, and the general consensus was that the series needed to [[RevisitingTheRoots return to the roots]] to survive, whatever plots ''V'' set up were promptly abandoned. ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' was indeed released in 2018, but it's a ContinuityReboot that completely undoes everything ''V'' tried to do, returning the series and status quo back to normal, leaving all lingering plots related to it unresolved.

-->'''Brook:''' [[LampshadeHanging What about my story?]]

** Aside from a DLC Mission in Pirate Warriors 3 using the title "Davy Back Fight", the Davy Back Fight arc is barely referenced at all in any of the three games. The only allusion it gets in one of the actual base games comes from 3, where the scene with Aokiji is used as an introduction to the Water 7 level.

* A rather odd example in the Creator/TomClancy-verse video game franchises: ''VideoGame/RainbowSix Vegas'' and ''VideoGame/{{HAWX}} 2'' gave hints that the conflicts in those games were being masterminded by some kind of ultra-powerful international organization hellbent on destroying the United States. ''VideoGame/SplinterCellConviction'' then revealed the existence of an AncientConspiracy called "Megiddo" that was bigger than nations, corrupted that game's BigBad, and convinced him to betray his country. But after ''Conviction's'' reveal, Creator/UbiSoft apparently decided to discard this plot device: ''VideoGame/GhostRecon Future Soldier'' (which took place in the same war as ''HAWX 2'') showed that the instigators of that conflict were an arms trafficking group called "Raven's Rock", and ''Splinter Cell Blacklist'' never mentioned Megiddo at all (though it may have brought the idea back vaguely, as the BigBad of that game mentions he is being backed by 12 nations in the ending). ''VideoGame/RainbowSixSiege'' and ''VideoGame/GhostReconWildlands'' are multiplayer shooters with [[ExcusePlot not much plot]], and ''VideoGame/TheDivision'' has a completely different story.

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', which arguably codified the series and ever game in the franchise thereon, dropped certain important plot points from ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'', such as the presence of an addictive drug that the cult was using to control key members of the town.

* A secret message from the original ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' had Kratos revealing he discovered a secret chamber containing the soul of [[spoiler: the god Ares he just defeated]]. Then he considers using it against Zeus. This is never addressed in the sequels and as of the third game, it will never be again since [[spoiler: Zeus and most of the gods are dead]].

* ''VideoGame/OnePiecePirateWarriors'':

-->'''Brook:''' [[LampshadedHanging What about my story?]]

* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'':
** A minor series-wide one started in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' involves the Armor of Altair, which was [[spoiler: forged from knowledge obtained from a Piece of Eden]]. You'd ''think'', possessing defensive abilities that quite possibly outperform modern body armor, that this would become a convenient HandWave for why Ezio and possibly later assassins [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration can shrug off gunfire as firearms become more and more advanced]], but it's [[spoiler: lost early on in VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood, never to be seen again]].
** Also in VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood, along with its sequel, contains a hidden scene of Subject 16 desperately begging Desmond to find Eve, as in Eve the first woman, and implies that her bloodline will have some Messianic-level of importance in the future. This has never come up again. Not even when Subject 16 actually appeared in the next game for extended periods of time.

* The comic tie-in for ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' wraps up the game's story (teams of [[PaletteSwap Pallette Swapped]] mercenaries fighting it out on behalf of two construction companies) in the first entry with some liberal [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Bridge Dropping]] and [[HandWave Hand Waving]], and then spends the rest of the time acting as though it (and the poor blue team) never existed.

* The whole matter with Dex that started in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. You find out he was one of the few who had set you up to be killed at the end of the first game. But he runs off to escape retribution with the Boss vowing to hunt him down by the end of the game. However [[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird the third game]] never even continued said storyline and he only gets a (rather humorous) mention in passing [[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV in the 4th game]]. You do somewhat get to kill him in ''Gat out of Hell'' but it feels moots since [[spoiler:he was killed when the Earth was destroyed and already in Hell being tortured]]. The justification Volition gave was that the arc depended on people having played the first game and the DLC of the second, neither of which are available on PC, and they didn't want that portion of their player base to feel left out of the loop-- which [[FridgeLogic didn't stop them]] from packing ''Saints Row IV'' with all kinds of other ContinuityPorn stretching all the way back to the original game.

* A minor series-wide one started in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' involves the Armor of Altair, which was [[spoiler: forged from knowledge obtained from a Piece of Eden]]. You'd ''think'', possessing defensive abilities that quite possibly outperform modern body armor, that this would become a convenient HandWave for why Ezio and possibly later assassins [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration can shrug off gunfire as firearms become more and more advanced]], but it's [[spoiler: lost early on in VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood, never to be seen again]].
** Also in VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood along with it's sequel, contains a hidden scene of Subject 16 desperately begging Desmond to find Eve, as in Eve the first woman, and implies that her bloodline will have some type Messianic level of importance in the future. 5 games later, this has never come up again. Not even when Subject 16 actually appeared in the next game for extended periods of time.

* All ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' games up through ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' shed some light into the backstory of Zero, hinting time and again [[spoiler:that he's originally a Robot created by Dr. Wily of the [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic previous series]], and that ''he'' (Zero) is the true cause of the Maverick uprisings]]. ''X5'' is supposed to be the GrandFinale of the X series, so this was naturally a given that the plot be somehow resolved in that game. And then, PostScriptSeason kicked in, and aside from a few [[ContinuityNod nods here and there]] this plot twist was never adhered to again, and the X series moved on to a different story direction. Ironically, [[FanonDiscontinuity even if fans disregard]] the [[PostScriptSeason post-script series]], ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' just made everything more confusing -- dark secrets were explored all right, but they were brand new ones, and Zero [[LaserGuidedAmnesia didn't even remember the old]].

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'':
** If you speak to the Thieves' Guild member Rune, he will tell you his backstory and the reason for his peculiar name and you can offer to keep your eyes open in order to help him discover his origins. And then... nothing. It's never brought up again in the Thieves' Guild questline and there is no quest having anything to do with Rune's backstory.
** There's Mjoll, a former adventurer trying to clean up the corruption in Riften. You never get a chance to help her deal with either the Thieves' Guild or Black-Briar family. This option was originally planned but was cut for time during development.
** It's mentioned when you talk to people in the College of Winterhold that the previous mage group before yours [[ChekhovMIA went missing.]] You can happen upon their bodies by chance, and pick up unique items of theirs, but you can't do anything for them, find out whether the deaths were connected, or bring anyone any closure. This is actually a glitch, as Phinis Gestor was supposed to offer you the quest, but never does.
** One quest has you tracking a man's wife who was kidnapped by bandits, but it turns out [[spoiler:she's taken over the band and enjoys her new life, so she asks you to lie about her fate to get rid of him]]. When you do, she says she owes you a debt and will see you again someday because she means to repay it. She doesn't; you two never meet again.
** In ''Dawnguard'', if you side with the vampires, it's a plot point that two of Harkon's top lieutenants are feuding, and both are plotting to overthrow Harkon. The end result of this is that each of them sends a guy to kill you during your first quest for Harkon. After this, the plot is never mentioned again, even after [[spoiler:you kill Harkon and take over as lord/lady of the castle. Presumably you keep around two guys who are trying to kill one another, and really want ''your'' job.]]
** One that was thankfully cut was that Mephala's quest would result in ''all'' of Jarl Balgruuf's children seeking him out and committing patricide. The scripts are completely finished and in game, but unused. It's probable that the testers felt this was an undignified end for the Jarl and would take away a major moral dilemma of the Civil War arc.
** The player can invoke this in-universe. Guards around Solitude will mention a huge upcoming wedding, being held in public with everyone allowed to attend, between the Emperor's cousin Vittoria Vici and Asgeir Snow-Shod, a native Nord. It's supposed to be the precursor to peace in the Civil War, everyone important is showing up, guests from far away are riding in, it's all Vittoria herself talks about... The quest is ''supposed'' to culminate in [[spoiler: the player joining the Dark Brotherhood and assassinating Vittoria in full view at the ceremony]]. But if you take the option of [[spoiler: destroying the Dark Brotherhood (or never meeting Aventus Aretino and starting the whole thing)]], nothing ever comes of it. You can actually end the Civil War, one way or another, and people will still be riding into attend and Vittoria will still be going on about it.

*** One loading screen tip highlights this plot thread by noting nobody has seen Turalyon or Alleria in years.

** Freya in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' appears this way as she and her relationship with Fratley was never explored. We'll never know what's his deal.

* The whole matter with Dex that started in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. You find out he was one of the few who had set you up to be killed at the end of the first game. But he runs off to escape retribution with the Boss vowing to hunt him down by the end of the game. However [[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird the third game]] never even continued said storyline and he only gets a (rather humorous) mention in passing [[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV in the 4th game]]. You do somewhat get to kill him in ''Gat out of Hell'' but it feels moots since [[spoiler:he was killed when the Earth was destroyed and already in Hell being tortured]]. The justification Volition gave was that the arc depended on people having played the first game and the DLC of the second, neither of which are available on PC, and they didn't want that portion of their player base to feel left out of the loop.

** Related to the above, rumors were spread during the Burning Crusade expansion that the aforementioned purification of Ashbringer would involve Turalyon and possibly Alleria Windrunner, and a mysterious smith in Outland hinted to be another son of Mograine. Nothing ever came of this, and Turalyon and Alleria have yet to be seen in game, despite promises that all the members of the Sons of Lothar would be featured in The Burning Crusade.

** The human kingdom of Kul Tiras, a key player in ''Warcraft II'' and ''Warcraft III'', is not even shown on the map, despite the fact that a large number of [=NPCs=] are stated to have come from there (including the major human character Jaina Proudmoore). Blizzard has openly admitted that there are presently no plans to formally add the island nation to the game, despite it being previously discussed at a [=BlizzCon=] panel. Gilneas was in a similar situation until ''Cataclysm'' was announced.

* In the second ''VideoGame/BlackMirror'' game, there is talk early in the game of a woman named Kerry who committed suicide in the small Maine town. You never hear of her again once you leave the town.