We know that SEGA is working on a new Golden Ax as part of a big plan aimed at bringing many of its historic brands back on stage. Perhaps this is why the Japanese company decided to block Golden Axe Returnsan amateur project developed by ZVitor.
The author himself made it known by publishing an email sent to him by Game Jolt, the service that hosted the fan-made game and which received a DMCA from SEGA's lawyers requiring it to immediately stop production of Golden Ax Returns. Game Jolt has therefore immediately made all files relating to the game private which are therefore no longer accessible to the public but only to its creator.
ZVitor had conceived Golden Ax Returns as a direct sequel to Golden Axe III set shortly before the events of Golden Axe The Revenge of Death Adder. In addition to gameplay and a graphic style that would have largely followed the setting of the original SEGA classics, the cast of playable characters would have seen the return of beloved favorites such as Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thderhead as well as other characters still taken from Golden Ax III, Golden Ax The Revenge of Death Adder and Golden Axe The Duel.
Now, however, Golden Ax Returns seems destined to never become reality, and all we have left are video gameplays available on Youtube that show us what ZVitor's interesting project was like.