Cancelled Saints Row Spin-Off Revealed By Volition
By Sarah Fields 26 January 2016
Volition gives fans of the Saints Row series a treat, unveiling a beta build of a cancelled spin-off of the series for the PSP, entitled Saints Row Undercover.
The Saints Row series has generally been viewed as a major success, but not every title in the series has been so lucky. Volition staff have now revealed a scrapped spin-off Saints Row game for the PSP in a new video interview.
Initially, the developer had hoped to port the entirety of Saints Row 2 to the PSP, which was only available on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. However, the developers ultimately deemed this as not possible, so they chose to create an entirely new game instead, entitled Saints Row Undercover.
The cancelled game was fairly far into development, and the staffers discuss how the cancelled beta has a fully open world and limited character customization. However, Volition and the now-defunct THQ were ultimately responsible for killing the game. Volition Associate Video Editor Josh Stinson explains that Volition doesn’t develop mobile games, so it had an outside, unnamed studio work on the title. Unfortunately, the product didn’t meet Volition or THQ’s expectations, so it was scrapped.
Even the staff at Volition themselves had nearly forgotten about the existence of the game, and the development copy was nearly tossed out without realizing it. After a great deal of internal debate, the team decided that despite the game’s bugs and flaws, they knew the fans of the series would want to see it. A small amount of gameplay can be seen in the video below, but better yet, gamers can soon watch the beta game build being streamed over Twitch. While it’s highly unlikely that anything will become of the game, it’s an interesting glimpse into what could have potentially bridged the gap between Saints Row 2 and Saints Row: The Third.
The developers behind Saints Row often aren’t shy about showing off pieces of incomplete games. Saints Row: The Cooler, a Saints Row-inspired brawler for the Kinect was previously unveiled. In addition, the Volition crew went out of their way to not let the work on the Saints Row: The Third expansion pack that ultimately morphed into Saints Row IV go to waste. Rather than simply scrapping the expansion’s alternate story, the developers released the Enter the Dominatrix DLC to showcase what the original expansion would have been like, complete with campy storyboards and illustrations for cutscenes.
It’s unfortunate that Saints Row: Undercover never got its chance to shine, but it’s great that Volition is still taking the opportunity to show it to fans. Considering how many video games are cancelled well into development, it should be an interesting look into how developers can put months or even years into a game only to have it shelved for one reason or another.
Gamers can check out the stream showcasing Saints Row: Undercover on Volition’s Twitch channel on January 28th at 2PM PT, 5PM ET.
Ranters, what cancelled game would you love to see streamed like this one? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Saints Row Undercover is cancelled, originally intended for the PSP.
Source: YouTube
