Before it was reimagined as a tactical shooter spin-off, Rainbow Six Quarantine was a zero-gravity exploration game. Pioneer, as it was known then, was about overcoming realistic problems on a simulated space station.

During development, Pioneer director Alex Hutchinson had just finished Far Cry 4 and was eager to repurpose its unpredictable interactions. 'We were trying to build on the learning of how people engage with the system,' he said. 'It was a non-violent, player-driven, zero-G space exploration game. [It's a world where you can navigate smaller, more detailed environments in true 3D space.

Ultimately, Ubisoft decided not to develop Pioneer. However, some of its elements became part of Journey to the Savage Planet, a rather excellent indie game that Hutchinson produced with Typhoon Studios.

"[With] 'Pioneer,' we went pretty far, and I think we went pretty good. I think we got pretty far [with Pioneer], and I think we got pretty good." And in the end, the studio went in a different direction. It's one of those lost projects, unfortunately."

Most were lost; some may remember Pioneer from their cameo appearance in Watch Dogs 2. In one mission, DedSec broke into Ubisoft's San Francisco division and leaked a trailer, which was actual footage of a demo Hutchinson and his team had produced.

"I was like, 'Guys, let me do it,' but no," Hutchinson said.

"At least they died with honor.

Kotaku reported tensions between Hutchinson and other staff members, and in late 2016 Ubisoft replaced the project leader of Pioneer. By the time the game appeared in Watch Dogs 2, its future was already in question, and it eventually became Rainbow Six Quarantine, abandoning its non-violent premise.

Last week, "Rainbow Six Quarantine" was delayed until next year. After a multi-year reboot of the project, what's a few more months to go?