History Main / CutShort

* ''ComicBook/{{Swordquest}}'' was a series of pack-in comic books created by Creator/DCComics for Creator/{{Atari}}'s ''VideoGame/{{Swordquest}}'' adventure game series. UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 prevented the last game from being released, and only the first three issues exist.

* Creator/{{Atari}} announced a series of four games for its UsefulNotes/Atari2600 system collectively called ''VideoGame/{{Swordquest}}'', which offered real world prizes to the first players to solve the puzzles in the games/comic books that came with them (the books contained the clues to the puzzle, but you needed to beat the game to know which pages had ''real'' clues and which were just {{red herring}}s). Due to UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, only the first two games in the series received wide release; the third had a limited release and the fourth was never completed, though it would eventually appear in the compilation game ''Atari 50'.

* Namco's ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' franchise was also Cut Short after Episodes ''I'' and ''II'' fell short of sales expectations. Originally intended to be six games produced over a decade and spread out across the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 and what was to become the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, it was wrapped up after only three games, with the final one ending on a non-commital SequelHook just in case it somehow sold well enough to warrant an actual ''Episode IV''. [[DownerEnding It didn't]]. ''Episode II'' is derided as a FranchiseKiller, and for good measure (it was not a very good game), but it wasn't the only factor fans like to single out. With all of that said, the series would eventually get a SpiritualSuccessor in the form of the incredibly popular ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' series.

* ''Wrestling/LuchaUnderground'' was once seen as the hottest thing in wrestling, with its telenovela/mystical approach to a wrestling show earning acclaim from many. However, the drop in viewership and reception of Season 4 compared to the previous seasons, in large part due to the XPacHeat surrounding [[Wrestling./JackSwagger Jake Strong's]] push and subsequent championship win, put the chances of it continuing in jeopardy. Despite setting up Season 5 with a possible conspiracy revolving around Strong and a debuting Stu Bennett (aka [[Wrestling/WadeBarrett Wade "Bad News" Barrett]]) as well as Dario Cueto being BackFromTheDead, small viewership that only got lower, various lawsuits from wrestlers, along with majority of talent finding work elsewhere, have all but ensured that SequelHook would end up unresolved.

** The 2001 Ryder Cup, a biennial US vs Europe Golf Event, was cancelled. The tournament restarted in 2002 and was held on even numbered years until the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic caused it to be shifted back to odd numbered years. The Presidents Cup and the Solheim Cup were also rescheduled to take place in odd numbered years starting in 2003.
* While withdrawals are always a possibility in any heads-up individual events, it is fairly common in Doubles Tennis (especially Mixed Doubles) during a Major Event. One of the 4 contestants withdraws "due to injury" in the Semi or Final Round to concentrate on an individual major, resulting in the winning team never taking the court.
* As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of seasons in numerous sports - too many to list here - were finished earlier than planned; some leagues decided to declare the standings at the time final, others decided to use a points-per-game system for the standings, still others declared the season null and void.
* The American Basketball Association's (ABA) shambolic final 1975-76 season began with ten teams, many in financial trouble. The Baltimore Claws folded before the season started, the San Diego Sails suspended operations after 11 games, and the Utah Stars only made it 16 games before folding. At season's end the league merged with the NBA, but teams that wanted to join the NBA had to pay an entry fee, while teams who didn't received a generous buyout package. The Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and San Antonio Spurs joined the NBA, while the Kentucky Colonels, Spirits of St. Louis and Virginia Squires took the money and faded into history.

* A 2001 WCW storyline involving Wrestling/RicFlair and Wrestling/JeffJarrett being forced to kiss [[Wrestling/{{Goldust}} Dustin Rhodes]]' ass continued up to the second-to-last ''[[Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro Nitro]]'' (where they ended up [[ExactWords kissing a donkey]] supposedly owned by [[Wrestling/DustyRhodes Dusty]]) and was abandoned when the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]] buyout was announced, with Stamford booking the final ''Nitro'' (which dealt with the in-universe repercussions of the buyout).
* ''Wrestling/LuchaUnderground'' was once seen as the hottest thing in wrestling, with its telenovela/mystical approach to a wrestling show earning acclaim from many. However, the drop in viewership and reception of Season 4 compared to the previous seasons, in large part due to the XPacHeat surrounding Jake Strong's push and subsequent championship win, put the chances of it continuing in jeopardy. Despite setting up Season 5 with a possible conspiracy revolving around Strong and a debuting Stu Bennett (aka Wade "Bad News" Barrett") as well as Dario Cueto being BackFromTheDead, small viewership that only got lower, various lawsuits from wrestlers, along with majority of talent finding work elsewhere, have all but ensured that SequelHook would end up unresolved.
* WWE Magazine held a contest for what the fans believed the best US city to host an event was. Sadly, the contest came to a quick and abrupt stop when the magazine was cancelled a few issues later, which also prevented the final mystery slot for a fan selected city from being revealed.

Compare NoEnding, in which there is a deliberate decision to end a work abruptly, and LeftHanging, where while the series ends, many questions are left unanswered. If it doesn't deal with the major plot issues, a GeckoEnding will include this. See also OrphanedSeries and ConclusionInAnotherMedium. Compare TooGoodToLast.

* ''[[VideoGame/FZero F-Zero GP Legend]]'''s English dub from Creator/FourKidsEntertainment (which was surprisingly pretty accurate) only covered the first 15 episodes out of 51 due to the show's dwindling reception in its home country. That means viewers of that dub will never get to hear how that memetic final episode would sound like.

* When the first ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'' game, Abe's Oddysee, was released in 1997 it was said to be the first title in a "Quintology." A second game came out in 2001, but the series effectively ended after that — though some reboots have been released lately.

* [[ComicBook/VenomRemenderAndBunn Agent Venom's]] ongoing got cancelled right as it was beginning to resolve its overarching plot. However, some unresolved plots, such as Mania and the hellmarks, have been included in ''ComicBook/VenomMikeCosta'' and ''ComicBook/VenomDonnyCates'' series; and Rick Remender revealed what the Spawning arc would have entailed in 2020.

* [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]'s 1975 series had a tenth issue that went unpublished for years and ended on a cliffhanger revolving around the supposedly dead Justice League and the Joker intending to settle the score with his father, which obviously went unresolved due to the series being cancelled and the issue in question not being printed until 43 years after it was originally intended to be published.

* [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]'s 1975 series had a tenth issue that went unpublished for years and ended on a cliffhanger revolving around the supposedly dead Justice League and the Joker intending to settle the score with his father, which obviously went unresolved due to the series being cancelled and the issue in question not being printed until 43 years after it was originally intended.

* [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]'s 1975 series had a tenth issue that went unpublished for years and ended on a cliffhanger revolving around the supposedly dead Justice League and the Joker intending to settle the score with his father, which obviously went unresolved due to the series being cancelled and the issue in question not being originally published in the first place.

* The Tokyopop "original English-language manga" ''My Dead Girlfriend'' featured a guy trying to make it work with his girlfriend, despite the setback that she was now a ghost. The book recived praise from the likes of Joss Whedon and Jeph Loeb -- and also never got past the first volume.

* Phase 3 of the {{Music/Gorillaz}} storyline had been building up to a supernatural confrontation involving a 50-foot drummer and a demon-man living on an island made of plastic with a hostage. There was also a subplot involving a young female super soldier and her robotic doppelganger. Sadly, it was never completed, and a lot of fans are upset about it.

** Perhaps the biggest name was ''WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland'': while it was able to wrap up both its first and fourth seasons, the second came to an abrupt halt after five episodes, and the third did likewise after only ''one''.

* ''Webcomic/SixGunMage'': Chris Hazelton decided to end the comic after 10 year, citing dissatisfaction with the comic and wanting to move on to a different project alongside ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}: Hell High''. So he wrapped things up abruptly after the final showdown with recurring foe, The White Witch. Every other plot line not directly tied to her was left unresolved (with a couple of new mysteries thrown in at the end for variety[[note]]Specifically:
"What did Ravena Starling do to bring Savana back from the dead" and "What is the nature of the child that emerged from the White Witch's remains: Truly Kylie's daughter, a demon or something in between?"[[/note]]).

* All of the series available on Website/ShiftyLook were abruptly cancelled when Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment announced its closure in March of 2014. Some handled the transition better than others. The animated series based on ''VideoGame/{{Bravoman}}'' and ''WebAnimation/{{Mappy}}'' received proper endings due to theirs being planned out from the start; ''Webcomic/LegendOfTheValkyrie'' and the ''VideoGame/WonderMomo'' webcomic cut off ongoing arcs to scramble for a decent ending, while ''[[VideoGame/{{Klonoa}} Klonoa: Dream Traveler of Noctis Sol]]'' infamously was LeftHanging right before its climactic battle.

* There's an interesting case with the Argentine comic book ''ComicBook/ElEternauta''. The writer Héctor Germán Oesterheld joined the Montoneros, a terrorist organization, and became a fugitive of the military government (all this is real world stuff, not comic book plot). Yet he managed to continue writing the comic book (with an {{Anvilicious}} tone in support of the Montoneros) while being on the run, sending the scripts by mail to the artist Francisco Solano López, who made the weekly comic book and sent it to the publisher. The comic book ''is'' a finished work, but Oesterheld was captured and killed at some unknown point. To this day, it is not known if he really managed to finish the comic book before his capture, or if some other Montonero sent scripts in his name afterwards.

* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' was supposed to have a third entry, with Warren Spector stating that he already had ideas for its story, with the second game even having a post-credits scene depicting the many counterparts of Pete planning something. However, the [[VideoGame/EpicMickey2ThePowerOfTwo the second game's]] poor sales and mixed reception ([[CreatorKiller causing the closure of Junction Point Studios]]) prevented these plans from coming into fruition.

* ''ComicBook/Zatanna2010'': When the series was canceled in the lead-up to the Post-ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} DC Universe, Creator/PaulDini left the series and was replaced by other writers for the final issues. These issues did not follow the ongoing plot of the series, leaving several threads dangling, such as the entire Brother Night arc and Zatanna's predicted conflict with ComicBook/TheSpectre.

* ''Film/TheLastAirbender'': There were plans to make an entire trilogy, with each movie retelling the events of each of the three seasons of [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender the cartoon series that it is based on]]. There was even a [[TheStinger stinger]] at the end that showed [[spoiler: [[TheDragon Azula]], one of the shows most iconic villains.]] Unfortunately, since the film was a colossal failure both critically and financially, these plans would never end up coming into fruition.

* ''VideoGame/FreedomForce 2'' ends with the Jean Grey {{expy}} Alchemiss encountering an entity calling itself ''Energy X''. Unfortunately, there has been no confirmation one way or the other if we'll ever see a third game...
** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20140219143601/http://irrationalgames.com/new-featured/a-message-from-ken-levine-2/ We definitely won't now]].

* Both ''WebComic/FairyTaleRejects'' and its spinoff ''Freelance Good Guys'' ended mid-storyline due to the creator's health issues preventing her from drawing full comics. They have since been rebooted into the online literature series ''WebOriginal/LoomingGaia''.

* The five-year plan of ''Podcast/EightiesAllOver'' was to cover the entire decade in U.S.-released cinema month by month. However, creators/presenters Drew [=McWeeney=] and Scott Weinberg could not keep up the pace of weekly episode releases (regular episodes alternating with Patreon supporter bonus shows) and the April 1985 episode ended up being the last one. Because this decision was made after the episode aired, it ends with an OnTheNext for May 1985. This meant a lot of marquee movies of the decade (''Film/BackToTheFuture'', ''Film/TheGoonies'', ''Film/TheFly1986'', etc.) were never covered in full, even though previous episodes teased that they would be ''major'' discussions when their release months rolled along.

* Creator/{{Atari}} announced a series of four games for its UsefulNotes/Atari2600 system collectively called ''VideoGame/{{Swordquest}}'', which offered real world prizes to the first players to solve the puzzles in the games/comic books that came with them (the books contained the clues to the puzzle, but you needed to beat the game to know which pages had ''real'' clues and which were just {{red herring}}s). Due to UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, only the first two games in the series received wide release; the third had a limited release and the fourth was never completed.

The polar opposite of a GrandFinale: a series ends abruptly, without resolution of its basic premise, due to some unplanned event such as {{cancellation}}, [[SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon the 65/40-episode limit]] or [[DiedDuringProduction the creator dying before finishing]]. The story does not end, it simply stops ''in medias res'', possibly with a {{Cliffhanger}}. In a few lucky cases, TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised, but goes directly to DVD and Blu-ray. In even luckier cases the series will be able to WrapItUp with a miniseries, a movie, or a new season. More often than not, however, there is no final resolution.

Compare NoEnding, in which there is a deliberate decision to end a work abruptly, and LeftHanging, where while the series ends, many questions are left unanswered. If it doesn't deal with the major plot issues, a GeckoEnding will include this. See also OrphanedSeries and TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised (when a work is wrapped up in a different medium). Compare TooGoodToLast.

* ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'''s English dub only covered the first season before Creator/{{Geneon}} went under. The series was later rescued by Creator/SentaiFilmworks, who chose not to dub the remaining three seasons.