Fortress

Fortress is a canceled fantasy action RPG. Originally conceptualized as an original IP, the game became a spinoff of the Final Fantasy series when Square Enix became interested in the project and its Nordic-inspired artstyle. The game would have been primarily set in a large fortress in the world of Ivalice several years after the end of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, revolving around the attempts of the Sea King Loemund to conquer the land. The story followed Basch fon Ronsenburg and his allies as they battled Loemund's forces, which were sea monsters with visual designs inspired by Viking warriors, and would have reunited the cast of Final Fantasy XII in the final battle. Despite Square Enix's claims that they would periodically pay the developers, GRIN received no payment at all, forcing them to close all of their offices except for the main one in Stockholm after a few months in order to continue self-financing development. After GRIN released Terminator: Salvation, Wanted: Weapons of Fate, and Bionic Commando to middling reviews and sales, Square Enix demanded that all of the game's assets be faxed to them and changed their minds about liking the Nordic style of the game, insisting that the art direction be overhauled to make it look more like Final Fantasy XII. When Square Enix admitted in August 2009 that they would not pay GRIN, the studio's founders considered suing, but could not as they had run out of money. With Fortress still in their hands, Square Enix transferred development to another, undisclosed studio, but this iteration of the project was also canceled for reasons unknown.