Polygon has revealed that Armature Studio - the development team comprised of ex-Retro folk who worked on Metroid Prime and are currently working on the recently announced Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - had been working on a first-person Mega Man shooter.

Codenamed Maverick Hunter, the project had been given the green light by Mega Man's creator and development began in 2010. The project however was canceled before the public ever had the opportunity to see it, with sources stating it " was deemed a significant gamble."

Mega Man's foray into the first-person shooter genre looked, at least on paper, like a formula for success. One of a handful of collaborations with Western developers kicked off by Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune, the Mega Man first-person shooter was in development at Austin-based Armature Studio, the promising developer founded by Metroid Prime's creators. The new Mega Man would have been redesigned by the concept artist responsible for adapting Iron Man's armor for Marvel's successful film franchise. Thematically, the game would have built upon the mythology of Mega Man X, a series that was a darker, more mature spin-off of the cuter, classic Mega Man franchise.

The game would have stayed true to core Mega Man X gameplay concepts, re-imagining his X-Buster arm cannon, his dash and his ability to appropriate the special powers of his fallen enemies. Platforming elements, including X's wall jump, and classic Mega Man X characters would have been re-imagined in new ways.

According to various sources inside Capcom, the project was prototyped and playable, though it seems the gamble was just too much for Capcom.

Head over to Polygon for the full story including several in-game screenshots and videos showing off the now-defunct first-person Mega Man.