There’s no denying the fact that the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was absolutely blooming during the 2000s. Audiences across the world couldn’t get enough of Captain Jack Sparrow and his Black Pearl as they flocked to theaters to see the infamous pirate go on his adventures.
You’ll be shocked to know that Disney was also trying its hand with a Pirates of the Caribbean game at some point. The game was supposed to be Elder Scrolls on the sea with characters that fans had fallen in love with. Unfortunately, the game was canceled for one of the worst reasons.
Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean game that never made it
During the peak of Pirates of the Caribbean popularity, Disney decided to capitalize on the hype with a full-blown game. It was called Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned and was supposed to be an RPG adventure set in the pirate universe developed by Propaganda Games.
As the game wasn’t supposed to rely on the source movies, Armada of the Damned would’ve taken place well before the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. It was planning to introduce players to James Sterling, a pirate captain who died on his first voyage but was resurrected.
It looked like the players would have the choice between becoming a “Legendary” or a “Dreaded” pirate, which would have reflected how the environment and NPCs reacted to players. It was being developed in a very Elder Scrolls fashion, where your choices determine your fate in the game.
One of the most exciting things about this game was supposed to be fulfilling the pirate dream, something that even Skull and Bones couldn’t do. Gamers could have adventured both on lands and sea, earning and spending loot wherever they wished.
That’s not all; there were also supposed to be combat mechanics similar to what we had seen in Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, where gamers would have been able to hijack other ships and fight the crew board. Sterling’s ship, the Nemesis, was also supposed to be customized, and player choices would determine the ship’s crew.
Why did Disney cancel its Pirates of the Caribbean game?
Unfortunately, Sterling’s adventures couldn’t get the spotlight they deserved. Back in 2010, Disney revealed its plans to cancel the game.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned was canceled due to a restructuring process by Propaganda Games, which ended up reducing the studio’s employees by 100. Apparently, Disney wanted to focus on finishing Tron: Evolution, which the studio was developing.
However, upon release, Tron: Evolution proved to be a massive bust, and due to its underperformance, Disney decided to completely shut down Propaganda Games in 2011.
Considering gamers’ love for Black Flag, Armada of the Damned would’ve been a massive hit because it was relying on the well-known Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Even if the game wasn’t using the franchise’s popular characters, it could have used various other elements from the franchise.
Propaganda Games was working on a truly one-of-a-kind pirate RPG experience, but its work never hit the shelves. It’s sad, but all we can hope is for Disney to realize the potential of this idea and partner up with another studio to give another shot to a Pirates of the Caribbean game.
With that said, do you think Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned would have been a smash hit? Let us know in the comments below.
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