Here's Why the Dirty Harry Video Game Was Never Released

Although Dirty Harry had a popular run of Hollywood movies, the iconic hardboiled cop portrayed by Clint Eastwood never quite got his video game career off the ground.

Over the years Warner Bros. and Eastwood's own company, Malpaso Productions, made numerous attempts to reinvigorate interest in the character through video games, but each one fell flat.

For years the full story has remained untold, but now Unseen64 and Did You Know Gaming have laid bare the complete history of the ill-fated Dirty Harry game. The video, which you can watch above, looks at the conception of the idea, names the many studios involved with the project and their contributions, details the gameplay, and reveals why it ultimately was cancelled. It's a fascinating watch.

Rumblings of a Dirty Harry video game first came up in 2004, when it was reported that Warner Bros. had been actively recruiting developers to "make pitches for a Dirty Harry game."

Warner Bros. officially announced the game a year later, but didn't attach a developer to the project. Eastwood was cited as being heavily involved with the game.

"This will be an opportunity to satisfy the many requests over the years to continue the Dirty Harry legacy, only now in the video game medium," said Eastwood. "Creating Dirty Harry video games will also introduce this memorable film character to new generations on a medium they appreciate."

Alas, it was not meant to be.