We all know the story about the Western Final Fantasy concept called "Project Fortress" developed by the Swedish studio Grin (known for Bionic Commando) back in 2008. Now it seems like Square Enix and Eidos Montreal may have had another Final Fantasy game under development at the same time, but that was also cancelled. The game was a Western themed RPG that took place entirely in outer space, and some anonymous sources claim that it looked very much like Mass Effect.
The report from Dark Pixel gaming claims this: "The biggest thing I go over in this video would have to be Project W. This is the biggest kept secret that Square Enix and Eidos have. After Purchasing Eidos and cancelling the Final Fantasy XII spin-off game Fortress (being developed by Grin), Square Enix decided to start pre-production on a Western Final Fantasy. Not just Western in the sense that it appeals to a Western audience, but in the sense that a Western company would be the one making it. A few other companies were brought on to help visualise the new universe like WETA, the geniuses behind the VFX in The Lord of The Rings. The project went along for a couple of years before Square Enix decided to pull the plug. This new Final Fantasy was going to take place mostly in Outer Space. Not quite the void of space that we imagine, though."
"This space was full of waves and clouds and shapes. It was an abstract yet beautiful take on a very different universe from our own. The game would centered around classic airships that could sail through the vastness of space. It reminded me a bit of Rogue Galaxy, in some ways. I hope they pick up the project again one day! It seems like it was really going to be something else. They had sunk millions and millions of dollars on the project, but, I guess the first Western Developed Final Fantasy will have to wait, but I'm sure it's coming at some point in the future! My guess is that Eidos Montreal will still be the company that develops it, though the ideas are likely to change a lot from what Project W was (since Square Enix canned it and all). This all parallels what happened to Grin in 2009 when they made the Final Fantasy XII spin-off game Fortress."
Would you have liked to see a game like this?