Area 51 is a cancelled action / shooter game planned for Playstation 2 and Xbox that was in development by Midway Games West in 2000/2001. It was meant to be a direct successor to Atari’s 1995 light gun shooter which saw a re-release on PlayStation, PC and Saturn in the same year.
Sadly in 2003 Midway Games West closed down and only in 2005 Midway Studios Austin released a loose remake of the 1995 game and in 2007 another sequel called Blacksite: Area 51. We can assume that Area 51 2005 is a completely different project than the 2000 / 2001 one, as the development teams were different.
It’s interesting to notice that in 1998 / 1999 Midway Games West also worked on Area 51: Grey Dawn, an unreleased arcade brawler that could have been re-used as a base to create the concept for their cancelled Area 51 for Xbox and PS2. The only video preserved from the 2000 / 2001 project looks infact a mix between a shooter and a traditional beat ’em up. If you have more info on this lost game, please let us know!
Video:
What do you think about this unseen game? Give your vote!
Would you like to add more info, screens or videos to this page? Add a comment below!
- Plague of Darkness [XBOX/PS2 – Cancelled] - 15-02-2023
- TimeShift/Chronos [Beta – Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, PC] - 09-01-2023
- Zombies : The Awakening (Krysalide) [PC/XBOX/PS2 – Cancelled] - 22-12-2022
Damn, that was lame.
I think it should be noted that an Area 51 game was released by Midway on the Playstation 2 and Xbox.
i think i have a demo of this game
Is the demo of this version, or Blacksite: Area 51?
@Earthworm Jim:
I am pretty sure it is it’s own game, but judging from the protagonist’s look in the trailer, they may have modeled the Blacksite: Area 51 soldiers after him. But… I have also never played Blacksite past the demo so I wouldn’t know. Just saying my observations.
i played and have the full version. sorry it was released. got it from gamestop. http://www.gamestop.com/browse/search.aspx?N=0&Ntk=TitleKeyword&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntt=area%2051
@cameron rogers
The one that was released was not the same 100%. The graphics in the video above were nowhere close to the same as the main game. Also, the main character and gameplay looked different. If anything, it would be a prototype or a beta of the game. So it does deserve to have a page, just change the canceled to beta.
There had been a unrelated sequel named BlackSite: Area 51.
this game looked awesome
Area51 for original Xbox should have stayed in the closet !
It’s one of the worst Xbox games.. sub-par graphics, sub-par story, mediocre engine, bland textures, abysmail copy&paste levels and so on..
Blacksite was the 360 sequel and was much better !
Hi! I have a couple of screenshots for Area 51: Grey Dawn, from a 1998 magazine.
am i being crazy or are they using sound effects from doom as placeholders? @ 1:07