Shrapnel

Shrapnel is a cancelled Xbox and PC game by Zombie Studios. It was to be a team-based first-person shooter.

Plot
In the far future, humanity has colonised the planets of the solar system. The Solar Alliance is the force of these colonisers, both military and scientific. Venus, the last planet to be colonised, has to fight off the Solar Alliance's marines.

You would play as Samantha “Sam” Vijay, ex-solider of the Solar Alliance. You willingly exiled yourself to Venus to assist the rebels against the aggressors.

Development
Shrapnel started off as a Shrapnel: Urban Warfare 2025. When the publisher SouthPeak Interactive was sold in 2000, the game was put on hold.

Shrapnel was to be based on the comic book series of the same name.

In the early 2000s Zombie CEO Mark Long met with Nick Sagan, novelist and son of Carl Sagan. The vision of the project expanded to beyond games.

The mechs in the game were designed by Syd Mead, famed designer.

Cancellation
Shrapnel was cancelled around 2003/2004 for no known reason.

A comic book tie-in based on the plot of the game was released in 2009. A film adaptation of the comic was proposed but appears to be cancelled.

In 2009 a video game adaptation of the comic series was planned for current-gen consoles and PC. It is unknown how far in development before it got canned. Zombie Studios went defunct in 2015.

In 2022 the premise was again used for a blockchain FPS game. The plot is very different and Mark Long again heads the project.