History AbortedArc / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/AnotherCode'': ''R - A Journey into Lost Memories'' dropped its secondary plot about what happened to Matt's father about two chapters from the end, in order to get the focus back on the main plot involving Ashley, with the intention of resolving the story in a spin-off title. The company went bankrupt before that could happen, leaving it as this. At least until the core creative team got back together for to remake both ''Another Code'' games in the form of ''[[VideoGameRemake Another Code: Recollection]]'', with its version of ''Journey into Lost Memories'' to wrapping up this plot thread.

* ''VideoGame/AnotherCode R'' dropped its secondary plot about what happened to Matt's father about two chapters from the end to get the focus back on the main plot involving Ashley. This was an odd case as the plan was for Matt to get a SpinOff game that would have resolved the situation, only for the company to go bankrupt before that could happen, making it this trope.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'''s plot revolved around [[ParadoxPerson Paradox Pokémon]], which are supposedly past/future versions of contemporary {{mons}} brought to the current day by TheProfessor's TimeMachine. At the end of the main story a SequelHook is set up with Arven pointing out that several aspects of their existence don't add up, such as the fact that there were sightings of them before the time machine was even built, with the only thing the player being told is that the legendary Terapagos may be somehow responsible. The mystery of Heath, the man who discovered them, is never elaborated on despite being the catalyst for a lot of character motivations including his descendant Briar, who was introduced as a researcher who [[TheyCalledMeMad wanted to vindicate him]]... but then proceeds to hyperfixate on Terapagos exclusively, [[FailedASpotCheck while ignoring the other mons from Heath's book]]. Despite the expansion introducing even more Paradox mons, nothing more is said about them and Terapagos is reduced to a LivingMacGuffin for the characters to chase [[AdvertisedExtra with its massive influence on the story going by the wayside]] and the full scope of its abilities left unclear.

** The Excuse Plot of ''D.I.Y.'' establishes that, due to his refusal to pay salaries, half of Wario's employees left him to work for a competitor named Diamond Software, which also drives a rift between 9-Volt (who left) and 18-Volt (who stayed). ''Game & Wario'' completely ignores this, as everyone is back to working with Wario, and 9-Volt and 18-Volt are friends again.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'''s plot revolved around [[ParadoxPerson Paradox Pokémon]], which are supposedly past/future versions of contemporary {{mons}} brought to the current day by TheProfessor's TimeMachine. At the end of the main story a SequelHook is set up with Arven pointing out that several aspects of their existence don't add up, such as the fact that there were sightings of them before the time machine was even built. It's heavily implied that these {{mon}}s never actually existed to begin with, and [[{{tulpa}} were created by the machine drawing from people's imaginations]] as a result of the MineralMacGuffin used to make it and the legendary Terapagos. The mystery of Heath, the man who discovered them, is never elaborated on despite being the catalyst for a lot of character motivations including his descendant Briar, who was introduced as a researcher who [[TheyCalledMeMad wanted to vindicate him]]... but then proceeds to hyperfixate on Terapagos exclusively, [[FailedASpotCheck while ignoring the other mons from Heath's book]]. Despite the expansion introducing even more Paradox mons, nothing more is said about them and Terapagos is reduced to a LivingMacGuffin for the characters to chase [[AdvertisedExtra with its massive influence on the story going by the wayside]].

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'''s plot revolved around [[ParadoxPerson Paradox Pokémon]], which are supposedly past/future versions of contemporary {{mons}} brought to the current day by TheProfessor's TimeMachine. At the end of the main story a SequelHook is set up with Arven pointing out that several aspects of their existence don't add up, such as the fact that there were sightings of them before the time machine was even built. It's heavily implied that these {{mon}}s never actually existed to begin with, and [[{{tulpa}} were created by the machine drawing from people's imaginations]] as a result of the MineralMacGuffin used to make it and the legendary Terapagos. The mystery of Heath, the man who discovered them, is never elaborated on despite being the catalyst for a lot of character motivations including his descendant Briar, who was introduced as a researcher who [[TheyCalledMeMad wanted to vindicate him]]... but then proceeds to hyperfixate on Terapagos exclusively, [[FailedASpotCheck while ignoring the other mons from Heath's book]]. Despite the expansion introducing even more Paradox mons, nothing more is said about them and Terapagos is reduced to a LivingMacGuffin for the characters to chase with its massive influence on the story going by the wayside.

We know next to nothing about how Terapagos works and thus cannot correctly understand how the story works

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'''s plot revolved around [[ParadoxPerson Paradox Pokémon]], which are supposedly past/future versions of contemporary {{mons}} brought to the current day by TheProfessor's TimeMachine. At the end of the main story a SequelHook is set up with Arven pointing out that several aspects of their existence don't add up, such as the fact that there were sightings of them before the time machine was even built. It's heavily implied that these {{mon}}s never actually existed to begin with, and [[{{tulpa}} were created by the machine drawing from people's imaginations]] as a result of the MineralMacGuffin used to make it and the legendary Terapagos. The mystery of Heath, the man who discovered them, is never elaborated on despite being the catalyst for a lot of character motivations including Briar, who was introduced as a researcher who wanted to prove Heath was truthful... but then proceeds to hyperfixate on Terapagos exclusively, [[FailedASpotCheck while ignoring the mons from Heath's book]]. Despite the expansion introducing even more Paradox mons, nothing more is said about them and Terapagos is reduced to a LivingMacGuffin for the characters to chase with its massive influence on the story going by the wayside.

* ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}:''

* ''VideoGame/SplinterCellDoubleAgent'' for the UsefulNotes/GameCube, UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 2}}, has a mission where you are tasked with either killing [[spoiler:Hamza]] for the JBA or sparing him for the NSA. If you spare him, you get a message which reads "Cancelled: Kill him or fake his death" which implies it's possible to make a middle-road decision to not lose trust with either faction. Ultimately faking his death in this version was never made possible as, unlike the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 3}} and UsefulNotes/XBox360 versions, the trust meter is a tug-of-war type affair where it's impossible to gain trust with one side without losing an equal amount from the other.

* What happens when you take about 30 arcs that never get resolved and stitch them together with a storyline that goes nowhere? ''VideoGame/TreasureHunterG'' on the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem. Awesome music and a unique battle system thankfully keep you from realizing it.

*** 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.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'': ''Fusion'' ends with Samus destroying the BSL Station where Metroids were being cloned to stop both the Metroids and X Parasites from threatening the galaxy, going on the run from the Galactic Federation and worrying they will brand her as a criminal for not following orders. This plot is completely dropped in the distant sequel ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', which has Samus following a distress signal with no mention of being on the run from the Federation.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'', the prospect of Kazuma Kiryu ever forming a relationship with Kaoru Sayama since the second entry in the series was completely dropped, as bigger the Yakuza series became with more and more sequels being produced it became clear they didn't want Kazuma to ever be tied down to one woman, even less with someone who committed herself to Law Enforcement as they made Kazuma a man who wouldn't ever distance himself completely from his Yakuza roots (despite some early attempts of at least trying to) no matter how much Kazuma stayed clear from the most reprehensible aspects of that life, it culminated in Kaoru completely disappearing from the series and Kazuma pretty much spelling he is Yakuza for life by the 5th game, and has been so all the way through the creation of Kazuma's successor as the series' protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, taking the helm.

* The first ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'' ended with a SequelHook where ComicBook/{{Galactus}} was revealed to be planning a strike against Earth. This was completely ignored in the sequel in favor of an adaptation of the ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' storyline, with Galactus' planned attack [[SecondHandStorytelling only mentioned in passing]].

* The platinum chip subplot turns into this if you decide to follow the NCR route in ''FalloutNewVegas'', as this chip has no use for them. Unlike the other routes where you have to use the chip to upgrade or Destroy the army of upgraded Securitrons. In fact, you can even choose to forget about Benny entirely, even when getting back at him was your motivation for hitting the strip in the first place.

* ''VideoGame/Metroid:''

* In ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', a subplot arises concerning a traitor among the Federation soldiers, killing the others to preserve the Bottle Ship's secrets. However, the subplot just sort of drops off, and by the end of the game all the likely suspects are dead with no confirmation as to who the traitor was. The potential clues the game drops our way make it fairly easy to deduce it was [[spoiler: James Pierce.]] Still, this is never addressed at any point, and there is no indication that Samus herself ever makes the connection.

** The Japanese manuals for the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 second]] and [[Sonic3AndKnuckles third]] games in the classic trilogy featured recurring mentions of ancient civilizations that used the power of the Chaos Emeralds. While this plotline was largely wrapped up in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', ''Sonic 3'' would establish that the Floating Island's civilization had ties to the rings, with the second half [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayStoryIntegration recreating]] the manual storyline of ''Sonic & Knuckles'' in-game during a locked-on game. ''VideoGame/KnucklesChaotix'', would use this plot point as the basis for its entire story, revolving around Dr. Eggman reverse-engineering the rings in hopes of using the Special Ring to summon the Master Emerald. Come ''Sonic Adventure'' and this connection would be entirely dropped, with the games largely enforcing GameplayStorySegregation for the rings ever since.

** In ''X4'', X worries about turning Maverick, and in the event that he does, he wants Zero to kill him personally. X was originally going to be the BigBad of the ''Zero'' series, but the idea did not come to fruition since both ExecutiveMeddling and he was SavedByTheFans. So instead, his EvilKnockoff is the main villain of the first ''Zero'' game.

** Garrosh Hellscream's character arc was one that was changed so significantly it may as well have been aborted. Garrosh was intended to be a hot head in ''Wrath of the Lich King'', which he then struggled with the reigns of leadership in ''Cataclysm''. However, ''Cataclysm'' was also where he began to grow into an appreciable character who fit well with the dichotomy of the Horde. Unfortunately, the writers flubbed Garrosh's writing by ''Mists of Pandaria''; making him unsympathetic with his positives being an InformedAbility. Once the developers realized their mistake, they gave up on making him a character the players were supposed to like or understand, turning him from "harsh but fair leader the people need" to "violent, xenophobic TyrantTakesTheHelm who needs to be deposed."

** Garrosh Hellscream's character arc was one that was changed so significantly it may as well have been aborted. Garrosh was intended to be a hot head struggling with the reigns of leadership and ultimately growing into an appreciable character who fit well with the dichotomy of the Horde. Unfortunately, the writers flubbed Garrosh's writing, making him unsympathetic with his positives being an InformedAbility. Once the developers realized their mistake, they gave up on making him a character the players were supposed to like or understand, turning him from "harsh but fair leader the people need" to "violent, xenophobic TyrantTakesTheHelm who needs to be deposed."

** ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]]'''s plot is kicked off due to the potential threat the Unversed could pose to the Princesses of Heart. Once the first three worlds of each route is completed, however, this plotline is completely forgotten as the characters' focus shift to their own personal goals. On a chronological scale, however, this is mainly to set up how the first game targeted the Princesses.

*** ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'' implied that the Princesses of Heart would become targets for the 13 Seekers of Darkness in their plan to forge the χ-Blade. In this game, however, only four of the princesses appear (and even then, it's a different batch of princesses dubbed the New Seven Hearts, with many from [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} new]] [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 worlds]] rather than the princesses from the first game), and their importance to the Seekers would instead be relegated to a backup plan.

*** ''Dream Drop Distance'' sets up the plotline that the 13 Seekers plan to use Sora as Xehanort's final vessel. This plot is briefly mentioned in ''III'' when Sora is looking for a way to find Roxas, only for Xemnas and Ansem the Seeker of Darkness to tell him he can give in to his darkness to bring Roxas back, but this shifts to a backup plan Xigbar brings up, to [[spoiler:recreate Xion to use as their final vessel]].

*** The game reintroduces the Black Box from ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX χ]]'', with both Maleficent and the 13 Seekers trying to find it. By the climax of the game, both parties abandon their search for it, the box serves no purpose to the game's plot, and it doesn't even make an appearance until the very end.
*** ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage A Fragmentary Passage]]'' ends with Sora heading to [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Olympus]] to train with Hercules to regain his strength. Once they meet with Herc in this game, he admits he doesn't have any advice to give Sora outside of drawing for strength within the heart, and once the world's story ends, Sora returns to Yen Sid with no further ideas on what to do.
*** As for abandoned arcs that weren't {{Sequel Hook}}s, the game initially sets up an important subplot based around a girl Ansem the Wise apparently experimented on. Once Ansem the Wise is rescued from Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, however, the plot is dropped completely, with the only time it's brought up being a brief mention by Saïx after his boss fight.

* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterTheLostFrontier'' gave Daxter a [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Eco-powered Evil Side]] just like his buddy Jak. It had interesting story potential since [[spoiler:the AlwaysChaoticEvil Dark Makers were Precursors [[TheCorruption corrupted]] by [[PsychoSerum Dark Eco]], and Daxter was revealed to be a Precursor in ''VideoGame/Jak3'']]. This went nowhere.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: A Realm Reborn'''s story concludes with Nanamao planning on making some sweeping changes to the governance of Ul'dah, being poisoned. The Crystal Braves have gone rogue on Alphinaud. The Scions are all wanted criminals and were framed for Regicide, the rest have bought time in a BolivinArmyEnding, and the only place that is safe for them is the formerly hermit state of Ishgard. Unfortunately, very little of this holds any actual weight on the plot of Heavensward, with Eorzea's political turmoils largely wrapped up in various interludes.