TheWii U is avideo game console launched byNintendo in 2012. While Nintendo found success in its predecessor, theWii, in the 2000s, the Wii U was acommercial failure. Its concept and usage of theWii U GamePad confused consumers, and its hardware, while comparable to thePlayStation 3 andXbox 360, was significantly weaker than thePlayStation 4 andXbox One launched a year later. As a result, sales stalled, leading to a small userbase, and third party developers struggled with getting multiplatform games running on it. This, combined with the system's short lifespan, lead to several game cancellations, with some instead releasing versions of these cancelled games on the Wii U's successor, theNintendo Switch.[1][2] This list documents games that were announced for the Wii U at some point, but did not end up being released for it in any capacity.
There are currently34 games on this list.[a]
| Title(s) | Notes/Reasons | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aliens: Colonial Marines | Originally released on thePlayStation 3,Xbox 360, andWindows in February 2013, the Wii U version was cancelled two months later. While no official reason was given, the released versions were reviewedextremely poorly, and the status of the Wii U version's release had been an uncertainty for some period prior.[3] | Demiurge Studios | Sega |
| Ashes Cricket 2013 | Originally released on PC to scathing reviews, the game was shortly after pulled fromSteam, and planned console versions for Wii U,PlayStation 3, andXbox 360 were cancelled.[4][5] | Trickstar Games | 505 Games |
| The Avengers | Afirst-personbrawlervideo game set to be released in 2012 to coincide with the release of the2012 film of the same name was announced for many platforms, Wii U included. However,THQ's financial difficulties at the time led to multiple games being delayed or cancelled, and with this project being tied to the timing of the film's release, it was ultimately scrapped and not released on any platforms.[6][7][8] | Blue Tongue Entertainment | THQ |
| Bizerta: Silent Evil | Development on the game started onPlayStation Vita before realizing the hardware was not powerful enough to fulfill the game's vision. Development was moved to Wii U, and was reportedly in development for multiple years, but never released in any capacity.[9] | Edrox Interactive | |
| Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | After the game's successful 2015Kickstarter campaign, a Wii U version of the multiplatform game was planned. However, the game's development time outlasted the lifespan of the Wii U, and so it was cancelled in favor of aNintendo Switch version, which launched in June 2019, a week after thePlayStation 4,Xbox One, andWindows versions.[10] | ArtPlay, DICO | |
| C-Wars | While the game'sKickstarter stretch-goal for releases on Wii U,Nintendo 3DS,PlayStation Vita,Linux, andAndroid, only theWindows andmacOS versions ever released, in 2015.[11] | Onipunks Studio | Onipunks Studio |
| Crysis 3 | Originally released forPlayStation 3,Xbox 360, andWindows, developerCrytek had a version of the game up and running on the Wii U as well, but it was never released due to publisherElectronic Arts' loss of interest in publishing Wii U games, Crytek's lack of license to self-publish, andNintendo not stepping in to help.Crysis 3 Remastered would later be published by Crytek on theNintendo Switch in 2021.[12] | Crytek | Electronic Arts |
| Eternal Darkness 2 | In 2012,Kotaku reported thatEternal Darkness developerSilicon Knights had been working on a sequel in the years prior while concurrently developingX-Men: Destiny. However, development reportedly struggled, with much of the staff being inexperienced and not from the original development team. The limited work done on the title was described as being in rough shape, and after Silicon Knights' legal battles withEpic Games and subsequent closure, the title was cancelled.[13][14][15] | Silicon Knights | |
| Gunlord | In September 2013,Gunlord (2012) developer NG:Dev.Team attempted to raise €40,000 viaIndiegogo to crowdfund ports of the game to Nintendo 3DS andWii U. However, the campaign was prematurely cancelled later that month due to slow funding progress.[16][17] | NG:Dev.Team | NG:Dev.Team |
| Hex Heroes | Following a successfulKickstarter campaign,Hex Heroes was originally slated for release on Wii U, and was planned to utilize the Gamepad's functions. However, the game entereddevelopment hell, and was still unfinished at the time the Wii UeShop was shut down.[18][19] | Prismatic Games | |
| Hollow Knight | Originally announced in 2014 for a release the following year, the Wii U was one of many planned platforms for the game. A build of the game was up and running on the Wii U, though delays caused development to expand beyond its lifespan, and it was cancelled in favor of aNintendo Switch release in 2018 alongside other versions.[20] | Team Cherry | Team Cherry |
| Human Element | Starting development in 2012 and being announced atThe Game Awards in 2014, the game was an ambitiousfirst person shooter by Robert Bowling, who had previously worked onCall of Duty titles. Announced for the Wii U,PlayStation 4,Xbox One, and PC platforms, development was put on hiatus before being cancelled in early 2015 due to the closure of developer Robotoki.[21][22] | Robotoki | Robomodo |
| Hyper Light Drifter | Originally announced for Wii U,PlayStation 4,Xbox One,PlayStation Vita, and PC platforms, the Wii U and Vita versions were later cancelled due to the developers struggling to get it running on their respective hardware, and health issues that were also taking their toll. Other versions released in 2016, and a handheld version finally released on theNintendo Switch in 2018.[23][24] | Heart Machine | Heart Machine |
| Kerbal Space Program | Originally released for PC platforms in 2015, many home console ports were announced shortly thereafter, including the Wii U. While ports forPlayStation andXbox platforms released the following year, the Wii U version was cancelled in 2017 due to the end of the console's life cycle.[25] | Flying Tiger Entertainment | |
| Lobodestroyo | The game was successfully crowdfunded viaKickstarter in 2013, and was slated for release on Wii U. However, the game remains still in development as of 2025, long after the end of the Wii U's life cycle.[26] | Handed Games Studios | |
| Metro: Last Light | Originally announced for theXbox 360,PlayStation 3, and Wii U, the Wii U version was cancelled early on due to technical limitations with its hardware, and the development team being already pushed to their limits porting the PS3 version.[27] | 4A Games | Deep Silver |
| The Next Penelope | A 2015 release that mixed the gameplay ofRock n' Roll Racing with the story ofThe Odyssey. The Wii U version was in development for years, but issues arose in trying to relay itsHTML5 language to the Wii U, and was later cancelled outright upon Nintendo's announcement of the console's discontinuation.[28] | Aurelien Regard | |
| Pac-Man Museum | Originally announced for Wii U,Nintendo 3DS,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360 and PC platforms, the Wii U and 3DS versions were cancelled in 2014.[29] | Bandai Namco | Bandai Namco |
| Poi | Originally announced as a game in development for Wii U and PC, development spanned longer than the Wii U's lifecycle, leading that version to be cancelled in favor of 2017 releases on theNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4, andXbox One.[30] | PolyKid | PolyKid |
| Project CARS | Originally announced for the Wii U,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360, andWindows, when PS3 and 360 versions were cancelled in favor ofPlayStation 4 andXbox One versions, the development team began having trouble getting the game running on Wii U hardware. Notably, they could only get the frame rate up to 23frames per second, when their publisher demanded it hit 30 frames per second to be released. While potentially possible, it was deemed too difficult to achieve 30 fps within the development timeframe, and was cancelled.[31][32][33] | Slightly Mad Studios | Bandai Namco |
| Project Giant Robot | Announced byNintendo atE3 2014 alongsideProject Guard, the game involved players using theWii U GamePad to control a giant robot on the TV screen, including attacking with the joysticks and using themotion controls to maintain its center of balance. WhileGuard was used to createStar Fox Guard,Giant Robot was cancelled in 2017, as the game was strongly tied to Wii U hardware, and Nintendo began focusing on the then-upcomingNintendo Switch hardware instead.[34] | Nintendo | Nintendo |
| Putty Squad remake | A remake of the original 1992Putty Squad was announced for a variety of platforms, including Wii U. However, the Wii U version never released, though aNintendo Switch version released instead in 2017.[35][36][37] | System 3 | System 3 |
| Rive | Originally announced in 2014 for the Wii U,PlayStation 4, andWindows, the game's delay into 2016 led to the cancellation of the Wii U version in favor of aNintendo Switch release in 2017.[38] | Two Tribes | Two Tribes |
| Road Redemption | Originally in development for PC platforms,PlayStation 4,Xbox One, andWii U after a successfulKickstarter campaign in 2013, the game featured an extended development period, with particularly difficult development on the Wii U due to it being the weakest of the hardware being developed for. Despite assurances that it was still in development as of 2016, in the years following, they announced it had been cancelled in favor of aNintendo Switch version, where it released with other platforms across 2017 and 2018.[39][40] | Pixel Dash Studios | Tripwire Interactive |
| Sacrilegium | Originally announced as asurvival horror game coming to the Wii U,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360, and PC platforms, the game never released in any capacity.[41] | Reality Pump Studios | TopWare Interactive |
| Sadness | Announced in 2006 for the Wii, very little info or footage was released afterwards, and it was cancelled in 2010 when developerNibris went bankrupt. Developers HullBreach Studios and Cthulhi Games teamed up to buy the rights and restart development for theWii U in 2014, with a 2016 release target, but the game never materialized.[42][43][44] | Nibris | |
| Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn | A sequel toShaq Fu (1994) wascrowdfunded viaIndiegogo in 2014, with plans to release the finished game for PC,PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4,Xbox 360,Xbox One, andWii U. In 2018, it was announced that the PS3, 360, and Wii U versions had been cancelled, while the remaining versions were released later that year.[45] | Saber Interactive, Big Deez Productions | Mad Dog Games |
| Star Fox Armada | After successfullyrebootingMetroid (Metroid Prime) andDonkey Kong Country (Donkey Kong Country Returns), developerRetro Studios aimed to reboot theStar Fox series. They proposed a new entry involving characters with apuppet visual aesthetic and an emphasis on multiplayer, but it was not greenlit byNintendo.[46] | Retro Studios | Nintendo |
| UntitledStar Wars game (codenamedDamage internally) | A proposedStar Wars title for theWii that would have involved exploringDarth Maul'sorigin story and usingWii Remote'smotion control capability to simulate the use of alightsaber. Discussions betweenLucasArts andNintendo would have had Red Fly Studio, the company responsible for portingThe Force Unleashed to the Wii, developing the title. However, Nintendo declined to fund the game as a first party game development project. While it was briefly pursued for other platforms, LucasArts eventually lost faith in the project and cancelled it. Years later, the developers attempted to revive it for the Wii U, but this never materialized either.[47][48] | Red Fly Studio | LucasArts |
| Stardew Valley | A Wii U version of the multi-platform game was announced atE3 2016, but later cancelled in favor of aNintendo Switch version due to the dwindling Wii U userbase.[49] | ConcernedApe | |
| Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Phantoms | Originally announced asGhost Recon Online for the Wii U and PC platforms, the team halted worked on the Wii U game to focus on launching the PC version. While the team left the possibility open to returning to the Wii U version, the PC version was taken offline in December 2016, and the game was never revisited for Wii U.[50] | Ubisoft | Ubisoft |
| Wonder Flick R | A cross-platformJRPG announced foriOS,Android,Nintendo 3DS,Xbox One,PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4,PlayStation Vita, and Wii U. The game was intended to supportcross-saving, allowing the player to save progress on one platform and pick up where they left off on another. Gameplay also occurred on two separate screens, whether it be on dual screen platforms like Wii U and 3DS, or through other means likeremote play. While the mobile versions released in early 2014 in Japan, it suffered from a troubled launch and short lifespan, being shut down just a year later, leading to the cancellation of all console versions.[51][52] | Level-5 | Level-5 |
| Yooka-Laylee | After its successful 2015Kickstarter campaign, aWii U version of the multiplatform game was in development. However, by late 2016, developerPlaytonic Games announced that technical issues were preventing the game from launching on the platform. ANintendo Switch version was announced and released in late 2017 instead, six months after the other versions of the game.[53] | Playtonic Games | Team17 |
| Young Justice: Legacy | The game's publisher cancelled the Wii andWii U versions of the game, citing "quality issues" and "lack of interest at retail", though versions of the game still released in 2013 forNintendo 3DS,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360 andWindows.[54] | Little Orbit | Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |