Tragically Cancelled - Investigating StarCraft: Ghost

[@GVMERS]

Apologies for the re-upload, everyone! There were some copyright-related issues with the previous video so we had to make some adjustments. Our next video, in which we will cover the journey of an elite group of soldiers that have disappeared from the PlayStation platform, is still on schedule, however! :)

[@ChaosZero.]

The only franchise about a "group of elite soldiers" that I can think of for the PS2 is the SOCOM series. Or maybe Full Spectrum Warrior?

[@TevyaSmolka]

GVMERS that’s okay man we understand

[@Kiskaa-]

SOCOOOOMMMM

[@martinyLCWM]

Haze?

[@Kaiser499TV]

What was the copyright issue?

[@Caldera01]

"No, I am not Kerrigan. And if I had my own game, you'd know it!!" -Nova, Heroes of the Storm.

[@Godzillarex]

As a huge fan of Metal Gear and Splinter Cell, the cancellation of Ghost really hurt. The game had plenty of potential. Great video though!

[@seanbrazell6147]

My feelings exactly! ☆SIGH☆

[@brennanwn]

I know how you feel 😔

[@stevebean1234]

Same, But watching the gameplay which wasn’t public knowledge then, I’m glad they cancelled. It looked childish compared to MGS and Splinter Cell and didn’t capture Starcraft vibes either

[@VunderGuy]

"As a huge fan of Metal Gear and Splinter Cell" Contradictory statement if I ever heard one.

[@snacktime2497]

I remember being so goddamn hyped for this game. I can't tell if I love this channel for its investigations, or if I hate them for bringing up depressing memories of games that would never be.

[@Reds-Retros]

I still want this game so badly to this day. I was so devastated when this was cancelled...

[@edwarddaweed]

This hurts me both because the game looks like it had potential to be amazing and also because I love Metal Arms dearly and would have loved to see more games in a similar vein, made by Swingin' Ape. I want more of both the game and the studio and have ended up with neither :'(

[@Texelion]

Soooo you're telling me that Ghost was almost done, then cancelled because everyone was working on World of fucking Warcraft ? They kept Nova around because she has such a waifu potential.

[@KaiSoDaM]

The same thing is what epic did with Fortnite. WOW was the THING back in the day.

[@GldnClaw]

More money is made off of a single skin in Fortnite than entire games Epic makes. Wow was the Cash Cow that they've been milking for almost 20 years.

[@Irondrone4]

Poor Swingin' Ape. Metal Arms is one of my favorite games, and to see the devs just get thrown under the bus really made me sad.

[@Zebrazilla]

Blizzard in a nutshell.

[@gwelcome2]

Always had to side with Tosh in Wings of Liberty. Went through too much with that man to turn around and work with Nova lol

[@mammothmk3355]

darkproject08 Yep. Same here. ;)

[@coolguy02536]

Not to mention that's the canon choice.

[@mammothmk3355]

Canon choice? I think's it's more like an optional side story, since I didn't see Tosh ever mention again after the Terran Campaign iirc. :P

[@coolguy02536]

Exactly. The two multiple choice mission duo subplots were entirely unnecessary

[@TheVanillatech]

Absolutely. And yet I never even use ghosts or spectres in single player, except that single mission with Tosh.

[@Kullen64]

It’s sickening to watch footage of this game. Would have been a classic that people would have played until the end of time. Perhaps we would even get some sequels.

[@michaelm9519]

try having actually played it , it was amazing. You actually felt a part of this universe , especially the stealthy parts , I remember feeling that fear that you would only feel in like early resident evil games or dead space , not because of horror but because it felt like you were being hunted and could be easily killed if you f up. Maybe I was just young and overhyped but I felt more immersed in a demo than I ever did in wow.

[@TheAdarkerglow]

If you don't feel immersed in WoW, try playing it on an RP PVP server. You'll probably find some guy on the other side leveling at about the same rate, and there's your rival since you'll probably kill each other being a pvp server. Then the guild can be there to help out, so there's the cohorts. Make your own story out of it.

[@Usammityduzntafraidofanythin]

Might have ended up a decent halo clone with the multiplayer

[@daktaklakpak5059]

People would have loved this game. It was that era, that Console Gen.

[@RyllenKriel]

Remember when Blizzard backed fun and interesting titles and didn't bow to their Chinese government overlords? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

That's what happens when you're bought. Blizzard was no more when Activision bought them.

[@xucthclu]

when did they start bowing to China anyway? I'm guessing sometime around WoW coming out.

[@explosiver]

@@xucthclu Probably whenever Activision bought them, or when Tencent bought into Activision Blizzard. Idk which was first.

[@Razgriz_01]

So this is what happened to swinging ape studios. I always knew activision bought them out, but never knew they were making Starcraft Ghost. Metal Arms was a really fun game.

[@seethedincrimson]

blizzard bought them out. blizzard wasnt a part of activision back then

[@vaporwave2345]

I remember wanting to play this so bad... terrible loss. Also, what was the copyright issue that warranted a reupload?

[@drizzo4669]

As a character though, Nova is still somewhat popular. She lives on in Fanfiction, Deviant Art and Cosplay. A game taking advantage of current technology and engines would do well I think. Like a Sam Fisher for the next gen.

[@BigJim11791]

6:01 Hey that's John Bain, AKA Total Biscuit It was bittersweet to see him pop up in this video RIP big fella

[@StevenCasteelYT]

The UX graphic design in Ghost is beautiful. Love the padlock ghost ability animation at 10:19.

[@Deehvad]

Imagine how epic a Blizzard game like this would be with today's tech and resources. I would LOVE for them to make a Ghost game in the 2020s with full story, cinematics and so forth from a 1st person shooter/stealth perspective. *drool*

[@dledman]

They were, it was secretly started up back in 2017. But then Activision came in and shook things up. It's just been announced that it has indefinitely been cancelled to make way for Overwatch and Diablo 4 because they already have Modern Warfare coming out too.

[@seanbrazell6147]

The look of Metal Gear Revegence reminded me heavily of the look of this missed opportunity of a canceled game.

[@TehComs]

It warms my heart to know Swingin' Ape got to work on another game in a studio as prolific as Blizzard's. It curdles my blood to know it was cancelled because of World of Warcraft.

[@otakusenpai3737]

I want a 100 hour plus open world game in the Starcraft universe. Action-RPG like Witcher 3 or Borderlands 2, focused on a strong narrative with romance, interesting characters. Am I the only one that wants a game like this????

[@Usammityduzntafraidofanythin]

Well don't rely on blizzard to give it to you. They couldn't develop anything themselves, which is why thery contracted swinging ape and nihilistic in the first place. Their attitude is top down and domineering. Watch footage of them hovering over employees on their keyboards, actually pressing keys for them in some cases. That footage is supposed to make them look good. It's the same problem with gearbox software - randy pitchford and his chucklefucks at the top laughing it up and spitballing ideas while the interns down below have the whip cracked at them, working through the crunch time. All western studios are like this. Blizzard is no better. Watch the 'why RTS died' video. You'll have to rely on an indie developer selling to the mid-market or lower if you want something with passion in it.

[@sabbathjackal]

Yes. That would be dumb. Mabey you can get it with a warcraft game but starcraft has a much dumber story and overthinking it will kill it

[@Barrelrollz]

Thanks for making this video! I remember being a preteen StarCraft fan desperately craving more info about this game for years after its announcement. Seeing all my beloved tiny sprites up to scale and in 3D blew my mind. I practically had a shrine to the Game Informer magazine that made Starcraft: Ghost its cover story, and it will always be "the one that got away" for me in gaming.

[@darthfox45]

This channel gives Unseen64 a run for its money!

[@calebb7012]

I'm still mad this never got made. What they had in the alpha build that got leaked was great.

[@OhManItzMatt]

Metal Arms was such an amazing game, i miss it...

[@garfieif8187]

I remember as a kid, Slosh had that line about how there "might be a big nasty queen swarmer, but he could be wrong" Now I'm old enough to understand that it was just a cut boss. But as a kid, I took that to mean that I had to unlock it somehow. I played as far into Nuts of Steel mode as I could in an attempt to unlock that imaginary boss, but I couldn't make it past the trenches. I'll forever wonder what the swarmers were, who the zombiebot king was, what those things were that you released by shooting open a rock in level 3, etc.

[@joseibarracruz9218]

You know I would love the thought of a Starcraft: Marines a FPS shooter where players play a squad of Terran Marines to fight off Zergs in Last Stands and tight corridors of a Terran Battlecruisers. While facing Giant Ultralisk Starship Troopers style

[@Squiggles01]

If it offers modes where you can play as a Hydra and kill terrans. Perhaps they could even find a way to implement the protoss.

[@mikehearn4231]

I finally got to play this on my upgraded 128mb OG 1.0, this game feels and plays amazing, so sad they cancelled it! could have been a really amazing game!

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

For sure, it's not the fault of the Ghostbusters.

[@TevyaSmolka]

I love Starcraft and I was looking forward too Starcraft ghost

[@chasethegamerguy9630]

Since it’s Blizzard-Activision now maybe we can get a COD-ish FPS version of Starcraft. I’d love to play as a Terran marine in first person.

[@ArmouredProductions]

Hey, I remember Metal Arms Glitch in the System. I had it for PS2 growing up, fun little action game.

[@Ramdapanda]

Imagine Blizzard announcing a next gen StarCraft ghost at blizzcon. They would be swimming in all the cash being thrown on stage

[@rallyecars7449]

2005 version looks bloody amazing blizzard fucked up big not releasing it.

[@KevinCarlino]

I had the chance to play this as an attendee at BlizzCon 2005... Man this was a great game.

[@cvstlebeats]

Metal Arms was a great game - surprised i haven't heard more about it after all these years.

[@socialsuicide5734]

You mention a few times that "they felt it would be too dated." Maybe Blizzard needs to learn to find a good design and stick with it without 100,000 iterations. Hell, I look up this game every two years, more or less, to see if anything else has surfaced about it. Sadly, it seems dead and thankfully not forgotten.

[@JaydevRaol]

I was just watching a video from YongYea about this unfinished build of this game's leak and this came in recommend and even though I am subscribed to this channel from a long time I hadn't seen this video. And after seeing that footage of that leak build and this doc I really mourn the lost potential of this game.

[@MrShadowThief]

When people start saying "the old Blizzard who cared about its games was destroyed by Activision", I always like to remind them of what their beloved company did to Starcraft: Ghost and Blizzard North. (Not to mention directly insulting players but I think this one was actually deserved)

[@calebb7012]

I figured when they say "old blizzard" it's Blizzard North. I guess not everyone feels the same way we do?

[@kingck101]

damn it looks like a mix of ratchet and clank with the starcraft universe that would have been awesome

[@stephen133337]

This is a game I would love to see get kickstarted and redeveloped to fit modern consoles and pcs. People are still crazy about this, and if advertised now would do very well. Imagine a new Blizzard trailer popping up on your tv screen for Starcraft Ghost. Think the hype was real back then? More people play games now than ever.

[@petera.michaelsen4657]

If Blizzard plays it's cards well they could definitely do a great Star Craft shooter game, even after all the backlash Star Wars Battlefront II had, EA did a fantastic job with fixing it and releasing Jedi Fallen Order, i am sure a similar game based on the Starcraft universe would be a hit success, maybe just hire the great story writers from the past and a great game could still happen.

[@erikthegamer8727]

your voice had bass tone that feel relaxing

[@HydrusT]

I remember getting the Diablo 2 LOD chest and inside it had a booklet showcasing upcoming games from blizzard....World of warcraft in all its glory, and another game that I was looking forward to with the upmost anticipation...Starcraft: Ghost :(

[@TheNOBLEsechs]

There is a second shooter IP in the works at blizzard which still remains covered. Maybe they are taking the concept of ghosts multiplayer and turn it into a battlefield like fps with all the vehicles, outer space fights and expansive combat?

[@dledman]

Cancelled sadly.... to give extra development resources to Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2. I'd say Activision has had their hand in this because they already have the Call of Duty IP

[@ramblingryan7820]

What treat. Sc2 is in my top 5 games ever. I never saw this upload from you channel so I’m hyped to watch through this now

[@JordonMcClain]

I would love to see a video for the following cancelled first-person shooter game: "Investigating Coded Arms: Assault" :-D

[@centaurwa115]

Starcraft:Ghost could really be a game kinda like borderland or destiny. I'd definitely buy it over the two I mentioned. What a missed opportunity!

[@JBKNL]

Mind you... the thought of SC: Ghost is really awesome.. but it might have well turned out like C&C:Renegade. I hope they still make a SC fps. The Nova missions are fun. also that you can change gear etc. I'd love that in an FPS. Like in Hitman 2 i think when you could purchase and mod your weapons.

[@thorish933]

I bought the original Xbox in advance of the release of this game, it was the sole reason why I bought it. I was a PC gamer and hadn't bought a console since Genesis. I bought quite a few game for the system just waiting for Ghost. Then the unthinkable news of an Instant #1 seller being canceled happened, it was beyond shocking. I think I bought a few more niche games for Xbox, and then it's been sealed in an air tight container since. I wonder if all that in mint condition is worth anything. ;)

[@joabeMT]

I regret not playing this years back at Gen Con Indy when Blizzard had more of a presence there. Might have been the N64 build if I remember correctly.

[@grizzlywhisker]

I honestly never got around to playing Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3 for some reason, but I would really like to see them do something new with the Starcraft franchise, it doesn't even have to be a real time strategy game, it could be anything.

[@KevinDerousseau_Derodox]

Great video as always. Huge fan. Hopefully down the road you'll do a investigate vid on the America's Army games. Considering the first one was awesome and have gotten worse over time.

[@SaraSellers]

What music is being used for the credits? I like it a lot.

[@Elkayra8]

tough the ending of covert ops would make a great starting point if they ever decide to raise the game from the dead. we can always hope, as long as Pandora keep her stupid box closed.

[@somerandofilipino6957]

I always wanted to know what it would be like to be in the shoes of a sexy psionic supersoldier that could also turn invisible. Oh well, one can dream, can't they?

[@seethedincrimson]

read her book, then youll know

[@feartheoldblood]

Had this preordered with gamestop way back when.

[@Balc0ra]

Tho Ghost and Nova was first scrapped. Her story was told in several books in 2006 before She appeared in SC2. Well worth a reading if you can find them.

[@lucaspintospintos423]

What are those books name?

[@SomewhereInSerbia]

It can still be developed if they could employ Crytek engine, they can make it on literally existing platform. Crysis itself already has most of elements that Nova could employ. Albeit its just a theory. That will never happen.

[@stevenmoseng5906]

I knew it was going to get canceled when WoW came out. The first experience I had with wow - I picked the game up around thanksgiving in 2004. The next weekend I read at login on my server: Your place in the queue: 1100 and it was slowly ticking down. It did not get better for about 6 months when they split it into three.

[@PantsuMann]

Starcraft Ghost Nova is the tits. Loved the book and it made a character from a scrapped game become one of the most powerful psychics in the Starcraft universe.

[@Thabooka]

can you do the rise and fall of "Tribes" first online shooter I played had stupid big player counts for capture the flag - like 64 vs 64

[@ripoutyourprejudice]

Freaking youtube. Why does everyone have to re-edit something for some stupid copyright bot. Ugh.

[@willdixon2573]

Man, I remember waiting with bated breath for this game for years, haven't thought about it recently until I watched this.

[@TerraWare]

Hell i remember this game. I was in high school when I found out about it.

[@spacewargamer4181]

Hope that the idea could return someday, they said recently that they are making a lot of games.

[@sleepymushroom9403]

can anyone link me a video of the behind the scenes talk from this video about StarCraft ghost? I've been searching for it and can seem to find it.

[@blynch2117]

I was so stoked for this game when it was announced....*sigh* what could have been 🥺😢🥺😢

[@bizzzzzzle]

I remember hyping this to my friends back in middle school, they had an article in PC Gamer.

[@rickysmyth]

I saw this for pre order. I hope people got their money back. It's probably for the best it never got done if you think about it. If it were substandard then she wouldn't be as cool looking appearing in starcraft 2.

[@TheCDXX420]

Someone give my a TLDR summary of this video. I had to stop 2 minutes in because I couldn't handle the heartbreaking memories I have of this game. =(

[@R3volutionblu3s]

I'm pretty sure I still have a pre-order for this game..

[@Nutellafuerst]

still holding up hope for maybe not Ghost, but any realization of Starcraft in FPS form. recent recruitments vaguely fuel this.

[@nxstationgames8411]

Something about resident evil plz maybe canceled entries like re2 for gba or something anything

[@masonmiller39]

Resident evil 3.5 aka hook man

[@Gazulolima]

this was uploaded in some point in time no long ago

[@jdyen3434]

What's the song played at 15:01 until before the credits of the video start rolling?

[@Futil1ty]

I'm more curious what the song on the credits is...

[@poland-nosteamserver6378]

You didn't mention that Tosh and Nova ware a couple before mind wiping.

[@xmaverickhunterkx]

I remember reading about this game in Club Nintendo. Damn, I wanted it.

[@mingsky]

Hoping a starcraft ghost like your playing Call of duty Advance warfare. That type of graphics. Might be badass.

[@MrJcTTK]

A v tuber did an interview with an X Blizzard art designer and he talked about why Ghost was cancelled. was interviewed by Pippa

[@JustVic-92]

One of the saddest cancellations in video game history if you ask me. I still remember checking Blizzard's homepage every other day to see if there was any news on Ghost, especially looking forward to playing that "Capture the station"-mode with my buddies. Oh Blizzard, what have you done...

[@ItatsuMagnatsa]

Huge Ass Fan of StarCraft here! I wanted to Play StarCraft Ghost so Bad when I saw Pics of it on Google, and a Video or Two.

[@braxtonmontgomery1668]

Always makes me wonder how videogames, gamers lives, and the world as we know it would have changed if cancelled or pitched games weren't cancelled or would have been sucessful. No telling where videogames would have gone if the companies had no real world limits to creating them.

[@JohnVmc2]

Something about these game reminds me of Rogue Trooper.

[@AscendantStoic]

This was quite the loss, specially the interesting mechanics and the three way multiplayer would have been great fun.

[@The80sWolf_]

I remember I was hyped on this on gamecube.

[@MetaITurtle]

Is it just me or games from 1997-2003 had amazing music

[@musiclover01ization]

This was a good video. It would've been interesting to see this become a game.

[@zerozeroone4424]

We will never see this game in it's final form, RIP

[@penaxor]

So that's what became of the Metal Arms dev. I loved that game as a kid.

[@Ailurophile1984]

I will never forgive Blizzard nor stop absolutely reviling WoW for this bullshit. NEVER

[@PhsykoOmen]

do Bloodrayne 3 shroud

[@Cloud121D]

Still waiting on my GameCube copy I reserved back in 2003.

[@lordkrythic6246]

6:59 Yeah, she just opened that door with her foot. This game would have been incredible.

[@charlesdarwin4780]

After the cancellation of this game, and waiting 13 years for SC2 just to have a triple release to milk money, and the game was crap in comparison to the original. I never looked back at Blizzard from then on, and have yet to buy another one of their games.

[@tsukinotsubame17]

Nova is Blizzard's Baby Child , Her Own Game may Not Have been successfully Released but she still remains in Most Blizzard's Games becoz they love her so Much...

[@VGMR]

It was an absolute fucking crime this game wasn't released. I could think of many other games, especially Scalebound, that had great potential to become notable experiences on their platforms. This game was actually a genuine step forward into newer territory compared to the other games and would've been a great change. But now, Blizzard is currently so completely fucked beyond repair that they couldn't manage a simple game without exploiting people's finances with blatant underdeveloped bullshit. I would've played this game nonstop over whatever the fuck they're releasing now because unlike the majority of their "games" now THIS ONE ACTUALLY SEEMS MORE FUN! Goddamn it!

[@DanSutherland]

It really seems like there could have been 2 games come out of this, too bad they kept trying to endlessly append cool features to the first part of it. I wish the source code or some form of the game was released so something could've been made out if it, even if it officially died.

[@papishow]

I would still love to see this game on the next gen systems.

[@dledman]

Hah, and to think this project secretly started up again in 2017 but just has been announced that it will be cancelled a second time to make way for Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.... Thanks Activision

[@sanitater02]

You're telling me it also had multiplayer? Man... I am in tears because it also looked good even by then... Fuck man :(