The gaming industry might be one of the biggest sectors around, but it's also cutthroat and ruthless. Without adequate funds, most companies simply cannot fund the lengthy development periods of most games and end up shutting their doors if a game that they relied on didn't meet sales expectations. There was a time when Square was a struggling company and the first Final Fantasy was a game that they'd thrown all their chips into, and this company probably wouldn't exist right now if this game wasn't a commercial success.
So, there are many notable instances of defunct studios that have developed great games as their final hurrah. The following games are the most notable in this regard, and it's a shame that the studios behind them didn't get the backing required to make more of an impact on the industry.
8 God Hand (Clover Studio)
It's a shame that God Hand was so unfairly received by critics when it launched. The beat-em-up features one of the best combat systems in gaming coupled with a goofy yet endearing story that never takes itself too seriously.
The game has become a cult classic, but it's a shame that God Hand didn't sell loads of copies from the get-go. It was the final nail in the coffin for a struggling studio that eventually had to shut down.
7 BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games)
BioShock Infinite is one of the greatest story-driven FPS titles of all time. Ken Levine really put in his all to craft an absolute masterpiece that fans still can't get enough of to this day.
It's a shame that Irrational Games shut down after developing the DLCs for this stellar title. With Levine's latest game apparently stuck in development hell, it's going to be a long while before this video game director comes into the limelight once again.
6 Thief: Deadly Shadows (Ion Storm)
Immersive sims are one of the greatest genres of gaming that many people love. However, these games are also pretty expensive to make and don't net a massive profit either.
The Thief series is notorious for ending the tenures of certain companies in the gaming industry. Thief: Deadly Shadows was a pretty great game (barring a few issues), but it wasn't enough to keep the legendary Ion Storm afloat.
5 Thief 2: The Metal Age (Looking Glass Studios)
Looking Glass Studios is another legendary developer of immersive sims. Poetically enough, their last developed title was also a Thief game and one that was critically acclaimed across the board.
Thief 2 took everything from the first game that made it great and expanded on these concepts while focusing more on the evolution of the steampunk setting as well. This made for a highly engaging game with excellent level design, but the royalties of this successful title were processed so slowly that Looking Glass had to shut down its doors.
4 The Saboteur (Pandemic Studios)
There aren't many people who have heard of The Saboteur, which is a shame in itself. This open-world title was an ambitious attempt to convey a dramatic story set in the throes of history during the German Invasion of France.
Joining a revolution and trying to liberate Paris makes for a great time, with the unique aesthetics of the game making these liberations even more engaging. It's a shame that Pandemic Studios folded despite this ingenious and underrated title.
3 Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 (Black Isle Studios)
Black Isle Studios were masters when it came to creating isometric RPGs. This let them branch out into more action-oriented games, with the Dark Alliance spinoffs being pretty great in their own right.
However, the studio closed down after the release of the second game. To make things worse, the Dark Alliance series was apparently graced by a modern title in the form of Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, only to fail miserably across the board.
2 Halo Wars (Ensemble Studios)
There were many people who thought that Halo Wars would be a failure from the get-go. After all, the very idea of an RTS spinoff for one of the most iconic FPS franchises around felt like a crude idea... but many people underestimated the potential of the Halo series.
While not groundbreaking by any means, Halo Wars was a fun RTS title with solid mechanics that fans had a great time with. So, it's rather puzzling and disheartening to find out that the studio behind this imaginative title doesn't exist anymore.
1 L.A. Noire (Team Bondi)
Team Bondi has the unique distinction on this list of having both their first and only game to be featured here. L.A. Noire used groundbreaking facial recognition technology to really make players feel like detectives, and it succeeded on many fronts when it came to the story and gameplay.
However, the open-world felt largely empty and unnecessary, with the game itself costing a bomb to make. So, it's a shame that Team Bondi folded after their first attempt at developing a video game, which was a spectacular effort in every way.