FUEL

Name:	FUEL
Developer:	Firetoad Software
Systems:	Xbox, PC
Due date:	Fall 2002, then 2003, then Spring 2006,

FUEL is a cancelled Xbox and PC game from Firetoad Software.
It was to be a racing game in which you must do whatever it takes to win.

Development[edit]

The game started off as Everglade Rush.
At this stage the game was a racing game set in the swamplands.
You can find playable demos for download on the internet.

In mid-2001 Miday contact Firetoad Software with some troubling news.
Miday owned the Rush series, so the name had to be changed.
Thus the game was rechristened as FUEL.

The hovercraft concept was converted to also include ATVs; over 30 vehicles in total.
Over 30 distinct levels were considered, with over 15 of them being secret levels.

At E3 2003, the game was taken back to the drawing board.
Improvements were made at the expense of a delay: 2006.
The game reappeared in 2006 as a sandbox type of game with destructible terrain.

Cancellation[edit]

In February 2007 the game was officially cancelled.
Firetoad blamed Microsoft for phasing out the original Xbox with the new Xbox 360.
Then they blamed their publisher DreamCatcher for making them redo many things.

In 2009 Codemasters released a game called FUEL. The games are pretty damn similar.
Firetoad themselves weren't bothered; all they wanted was credit for inspiration.

Timeline:

March 19th, 1999: first reveal of Everglade Rush
June 3rd, 1999: Everglade Rush officially announced
October 20th, 1999: Everglade Rush public demo released
May 6th, 2000: NSD Entertainment officially changed its name to Firetoad Software
August 15th, 2000: Telefirm gives Firetoad a pre-production budget
July 31, 2001: Midway contacts Firetoad. Game name is changed to FUEL.
October 11th, 2001: FUEL gets DreamCatchers as a publisher. Fall 2002 release date
April 12th, 2002: FUEL is approved for Xbox
October 15th, 2003: FUEL is reworked on, delaying it
September 1st, 2004: FUEL gets its own website
March 14th, 2005: FUEL is playable at the University of Calgary
August 10th, 2005: Firetoad does a deal with Telefirm
January 17th, 2006: new FUEL trailer is released
February 12, 2007: FUEL is official cancelled