Red Steel 2 (lost early version build of Nintendo Wii first-person shooter sequel; 2007)

Screenshot from the original version of the game.

Status: Lost

Red Steel 2 is an action, "hack and slash" first-person shooter that was developed by Ubisoft Paris and released on March 23rd, 2010 in North America. The game was a complete reboot of the Red Steel IP, abandoning the contemporary Japanese setting for a samurai/western theme, featuring a cel-shaded graphical style.

Development

Red Steel 2 was originally planned to be a direct sequel to the first game. This original version was in development around 2007, with a prototype build, and several levels being built on Red Steel 1's engine, Unreal Engine 2.5. The game would've shared the first game's modern Tokyo setting, with some screenshots showing levels featuring more abstract and fantastical settings that were planned for the game as well. The game was rumored to have support for online multiplayer as well.

Cancellation

The original version of Red Steel 2 was cancelled some time in October 2007, with issues of "quality control" being the reasoning by Ubisoft for Red Steel 2's ceasing of development. A re-hauled version of the project began development in 2008, when Nintendo was soon going to announce the Wii Motion Plus peripheral, with Ubisoft Paris brainstorming on how to use this technology for Red Steel, with this resulting with changing the direction of the intellectual property, developing a more unique art style, and choosing to use Ubisoft's in-house LyN Engine instead of Unreal Engine 2.5. In a 2010 interview, the creative director behind the rebooted Red Steel 2, Jason Vandenberghe points out the reasoning behind the changes during the game's development. Vandenberghe explains that the planned direction for Red Steel 2 was scrapped due to the desire to take advantage of the game's sword fighting mechanics due to the new Nintendo's Wii Motion Plus technology, with Ubisoft Paris believing that the realistic setting wouldn't fit with the planned increased focus on sword fighting.

Availability

While no build or any gameplay footage has been released to the public, there have been two leaks showcasing production material for Red Steel 2. The first, happening in March 5th, 2009, with Unseen64 uploading an article featuring concept art and screenshots of levels planned for the game. A second leak of information happened on November 2nd, 2013, when a NeoGAF user started a thread, featuring a bunch of additional production screenshots that were done by an environment artist at Ubisoft Paris, along with a slight description about the game. It is unknown if any build of the original vision of Red Steel 2 is known to still exist.

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