Xbox’s Canceled Project Ranger Was Meant To Challenge Uncharted

In 2013, Microsoft briefly showed off a teaser for a spy game codenamed Project Ranger, which was in development by Blue Tusk Studios–the studio that later rebranded itself as The Collective. Project Ranger was abandoned over a decade ago, but a new report has shed some light on what was meant to be Xbox’s answer to Uncharted.

Liam Robertson’s Did You Know Gaming channel has posted an in-depth look back at Project Ranger, which Microsoft and Black Tusk initially had high hopes for. Although the 30-second teaser took place in Shanghai, the report describes it as “Uncharted with spies,” and a third-person action shooter that would have featured missions set in cities all over the world.

The project was said to be influenced by the Mission: Impossible movies, with a touch of James Bond through the gadgets that the player’s character could use against his enemies. There was reportedly consideration towards giving the game some Kinect functionality, including the ability to use voice chat to get tips from the main character’s handler. However, those controls would have also been available without using Kinect.

Although the game sounds like a fun concept, the report indicates that it was “never on sure footing.” The project was ultimately canceled in 2014 when Microsoft purchased the rights for the Gears of War games and set The Collective to work exclusively on that franchise.

Microsoft’s Perfect Dark reboot would have explored similar territory, if it hadn’t been canceled earlier this year amid wider layoffs at the company. That title was being co-developed by The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics, but the former has since been shut down while the latter has experienced multiple layoff rounds as well. A potential deal with Take-Two to save the Perfect Dark reboot reportedly fell apart over questions about which company would own the IP.

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