Dante’s Inferno came out in 2010 and carved out a dedicated fanbase with its visceral hack-and-slash combat and twisted journey through the nine circles of Hell. EA and Visceral Games clearly had bigger plans for the franchise, but a sequel never materialized. For 15 years, fans have wondered what happened to the promised continuation of Dante’s journey. Now, thanks to an extensive investigation by IGN, we finally have answers, and the story of what could have been is absolutely wild.
The Lost Documents Surface
IGN managed to track down internal EA documents that had been locked away for over a decade. We’re talking concept art, cutscene storyboards, screenshots of early level designs, and most impressively, a complete 240-page script written by Joshua Rubin, who co-wrote Assassin’s Creed 2. This wasn’t just some vague idea that got thrown around in a meeting. Dante’s Inferno 2: Purgatorio was a fully developed story that was ready to become a game before it got cancelled.
The original Dante’s Inferno was loosely based on the first part of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, where the poet travels through Hell. The natural next step would be Purgatory, then Paradise, setting up a complete trilogy. EA clearly had that vision, but the first game’s sales, while respectable, didn’t meet the publisher’s blockbuster expectations. Plans for the sequel were quietly shelved, and the detailed story treatment sat in a drawer gathering dust.
Climbing Mount Purgatory
The entire campaign of Purgatorio would have taken place on Mount Purgatory, which the developers described as the inverse of Hell. Instead of descending through nine circles, you’d be climbing nine terraces based on the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust, with a massive gate at the base and the Garden of Eden at the summit.
The game opens with Dante on a beach at the foot of the mountain, where he encounters Cato, a giant Roman senator embedded into the cliffside who serves as the guardian of Purgatory. Dante tries to enter with the newly arrived souls, including Francesco (Beatrice’s brother from the first game), but Cato senses the darkness of Hell still clinging to him and refuses entry. When they fight, a red snake bursts from Cato’s mouth, splitting his face in half. The beach itself splits open, revealing hellfire beneath.
That’s when Lucifer’s voice echoes across the landscape: “So it begins.” Dante’s escape from Hell at the end of the first game inadvertently allowed Lucifer to invade Purgatory, launching a full-scale war between Heaven and Hell. And it’s all Dante’s fault.
Heaven and Hell Go to War
The story takes an interesting turn when angels enter the picture. St. Lucia, Dante’s guardian angel from the first game’s DLC, appears and explains that while God foresaw this invasion, the archangel Michael did not. Taking no chances, Michael decides to permanently close the Gates of Heaven that connect Eden to Paradise. This drastic measure would keep out Lucifer and his demons, but it would also trap worthy souls like Beatrice in Purgatory forever.
Dante’s new mission becomes clear: find Beatrice and bring her to the Garden of Eden before the gates shut for good. To help him navigate Mount Purgatory, Lucia summons Virgil, the Roman poet who guided Dante through Hell in the first game. Virgil is temporarily freed from Limbo with the promise that if they succeed, he’ll be allowed into Heaven.
But there’s a problem. To enter Mount Purgatory, Dante must get past the Vicar of Saint Peter, described as a massive angel with five wings that he uses as legs like a giant spider. When Dante and Virgil are denied entry along with the souls, a boss battle erupts. Despite Virgil’s protests, Dante kills the Vicar, guaranteeing that every angel in Purgatory now considers them enemies. So Dante isn’t just fighting demons anymore. He’s at war with both sides.
Vision Caves and Personal Demons
Each of the nine terraces would have featured its own challenges, puzzles, enemies, and something called Vision Caves. These sequences were designed as playable cutscenes where Dante relives episodes from his past in which he committed one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Scriptwriter Joshua Rubin described them as immersive theater experiences inspired by productions like Sleep No More, where you move through memories like a ghost.
In spirit form, Dante watches key moments from his life in Florence with Beatrice, witnessing how pride, envy, wrath, and the other sins shaped their relationship. At the end of each vision, Dante fights grotesque personifications of those sins, literally defeating his inner demons. Unlike Hell where people are punished, Purgatory is about redemption. The souls there suffer willingly in hopes of earning their way to Paradise. Dante must undergo the same process.
The Ending Changes Everything
According to the documents, the game would have ended on a massive cliffhanger. After battling through Mount Purgatory and confronting both demonic and angelic forces, Dante fails to reach Beatrice before the Gates of Heaven close. He collapses in defeat, watching helplessly as she’s trapped.
But then something unexpected happens. Golden light illuminates the deepest parts of Hell visible from Purgatory. The spirit of St. Lucia descends from Heaven and tells Dante something that recontextualizes everything: “Don’t fear, Dante. Even this is part of God’s plan.” The credits roll, leaving players with that bombshell revelation to think about until the third game.
Paradiso Would Have Torn Down Heaven
IGN also obtained documents outlining the third game, Dante’s Inferno 3: Paradiso, and this is where things get really ambitious. The revelation that everything was God’s plan wasn’t just a twist for shock value. It had major implications for the final chapter.
According to Joshua Rubin’s notes, God’s actual plan was to destroy the entire Christian afterlife as it existed. The system of judgment, punishment, and redemption administered by Michael and the angels had become corrupted, overly bureaucratic, and unfair. God wanted it all torn down and replaced with a new order based purely on love. The only way to accomplish that was to send a mortal man to fight his way through the entire system, exposing its flaws.
Paradiso would have brought the war between Heaven and Hell to Earth, specifically medieval Florence. Dante, joined by his daughter who was born while he was away on crusades and left behind in Italy, would have invaded Paradise itself with an army of humans and angels. The goal: fight Lucifer one final time and save Beatrice, but also fundamentally reshape the nature of the afterlife.
It’s an incredibly ambitious concept that would have blended Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy with John Milton’s Paradise Lost, presenting Lucifer not as purely evil but as morally complex. For a hack-and-slash action game, that’s some serious philosophical depth.
Why the Sequel Got Cancelled
The unfortunate reality is that Dante’s Inferno didn’t sell like God of War, which was clearly its inspiration. The first game moved respectable numbers and developed a cult following, but EA was looking for a massive franchise that could compete with Sony’s flagship series. When those blockbuster numbers didn’t materialize, the publisher cut their losses.
Visceral Games was also busy with other projects. They were deep into the Dead Space franchise, which was performing well critically and commercially. Resources that might have gone to Dante’s Inferno 2 were redirected to Dead Space 3 instead. By the time that game shipped in 2013, the window for a Dante’s Inferno sequel had closed.
It’s the classic EA story. If a game isn’t an immediate runaway success, it gets abandoned in favor of safer bets or new experiments. The gaming industry is littered with promising franchises that never got the sequels they deserved because they were merely successful instead of wildly profitable.
The Influence Lives On
While the Dante franchise ended up in limbo, the developers who worked on it went on to other projects. According to the IGN article, lessons learned during Purgatorio’s development influenced Dead Space 3, Uncharted 3, and even God of War 2018. One former Visceral employee noted that the team was moving away from the heavy God of War influence of the first game and drawing inspiration from Uncharted 2 instead, replacing cutscenes and quick-time events with scripted gameplay sequences where players maintained full control.
That design philosophy became standard in action-adventure games throughout the 2010s. So while we never got to play Dante’s Purgatorio, its DNA exists in franchises that did make it to market. Joshua Rubin reflected on this bittersweet reality, noting that it often takes an entire game for a team to gel and figure out how to work together. The second game is where things really come to life, which makes cancelled sequels especially painful.
FAQs
What is Dante’s Purgatorio?
Dante’s Purgatorio (officially titled Dante’s Inferno 2: Purgatorio) was the cancelled sequel to EA’s 2010 action game Dante’s Inferno. It would have followed Dante climbing Mount Purgatory through nine terraces based on the Seven Deadly Sins while caught in a war between Heaven and Hell.
Why was Dante’s Inferno 2 cancelled?
The sequel was cancelled because the first game didn’t meet EA’s blockbuster sales expectations. While Dante’s Inferno sold respectably and gained a cult following, EA was looking for a massive franchise to compete with God of War. Visceral Games also shifted focus to the Dead Space series.
How do we know what Purgatorio would have been like?
IGN obtained internal EA documents including concept art, cutscene storyboards, early level screenshots, and a complete 240-page script written by Joshua Rubin, who co-wrote Assassin’s Creed 2. These materials outline every stage, boss battle, and plot point planned for the game.
Was a third game also planned?
Yes, documents reveal that Dante’s Inferno 3: Paradiso was planned as the trilogy’s conclusion. It would have taken place partially in medieval Florence and featured Dante invading Paradise itself to fight Lucifer while revealing that God’s plan was to destroy and rebuild the entire afterlife system based on love rather than judgment.
Who wrote the script for the cancelled sequel?
Joshua Rubin, who co-wrote Assassin’s Creed 2, penned the 240-page script for Purgatorio. He envisioned Vision Caves as playable cutscenes inspired by immersive theater, where Dante would relive memories of committing the Seven Deadly Sins.
What was the main plot of Purgatorio?
After escaping Hell, Dante inadvertently allows Lucifer to invade Purgatory, sparking a war between Heaven and Hell. Guided by Virgil and St. Lucia, Dante must climb Mount Purgatory to reach Beatrice before the archangel Michael permanently closes the Gates of Heaven. Along the way, he battles both demons and angels while confronting his own sins.
When did the original Dante’s Inferno come out?
Dante’s Inferno was released by Visceral Games and EA in February 2010 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PSP. The game celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2025, which prompted IGN’s investigation into the cancelled sequel.
Did the cancelled game influence other titles?
Yes, according to developers interviewed by IGN, work on Purgatorio influenced design decisions in Dead Space 3, Uncharted 3, and God of War 2018. The team was moving toward scripted gameplay sequences with full player control rather than cutscenes and quick-time events, a philosophy that became standard in action-adventure games.
Conclusion
The revelation of what Dante’s Purgatorio would have been is both exciting and heartbreaking. This wasn’t just a vague concept or wishful thinking from fans. A complete story was written, levels were designed, and a clear vision existed for an entire trilogy that would have taken players through Hell, Purgatory, and ultimately Paradise itself. The ambition on display, particularly the plan to have God orchestrate the destruction of Heaven to rebuild it based on love, shows that Visceral Games was trying to create something genuinely meaningful within the framework of a hack-and-slash game. We’ll never get to play these sequels, but at least now we know what we’re missing. And maybe, just maybe, some publisher will look at the renewed interest and consider giving this franchise another shot. Stranger things have happened in the gaming industry.