Top 10 Worst Apologies From Video Game Companies
Top 10 Worst Apologies from Video Game Companies
The 10 WORST Video Game PC Ports
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 worst apologies from video game companies. For this list, we’ll be looking at the goofiest, funniest, and most insincere apologies made by video game companies. Which of these do you consider the worst? Let us know in the comments below!
#10: Freeloaders
PR is a very important thing, and that all goes out the window when you call your fanbase a group of ass-hat freeloaders. Back in August of 2019, Respawn Entertainment faced some controversy for its monetized Iron Crown event, which was steeped in loot box mechanics. To apologize and perhaps remedy the situation, Respawn took to Reddit and interacted with its fanbase directly. The results were hilariously disastrous. The thread soon devolved into rude and unprofessional name-calling, with one developer in particular calling the fans “dicks”, “ass-hats”, and “freeloaders”. Respawn’s CEO then offered an apology for the apology, stating, “Some of our folks crossed a line.”
#9: Missing Bases
Top 10 Notable Pokemon Missing From Sword Shield
In August of 2017, shortly before “Fortnite” truly blew up with its Battle Royale mode, Epic Games found themselves the targets of some seriously pissed off players. When said players logged in for the day, they found that the bases they had spent dozens of hours constructing were mysteriously gone. A new patch had removed the bases, and Epic forgot to tell the players about it. To apologize, Epic simply took to Twitter and stated, “We messed up” before linking to their website that would provide further clarity. Players were obviously not happy with the halfhearted recognition of a major goof, forcing Epic to release a further, much better apology that seemed to go over well.
#8: Our Game Sucks
Top 10 Hated Video Game Companies Fans Used To Love
There have been few gaming disappointments as egregious as “Cyberpunk 2077”. This utter disaster of a launch is historic and will be remembered for years to come, signaling the collapse of Projekt Red’s reputation and serving as yet another instance of unmet expectations. The company’s co-founder, Marcin Iwiński, released a public apology acknowledging that their game stunk and that it was virtually unplayable on eighth generation hardware. The apology amounted to little more than “Yeah, we messed up”, and while Iwiński explained how the game launched in such a sorry state, players didn’t really care. He also re-confirmed the company’s “commitment to quality”, which was enormously ironic given the existence of the apology video itself.
#7: THQ Nordic Does an AMA on 8chan
Top 10 Worst Video Game Marketing Fails
Why the heck a major gaming company would host an AMA on 8chan is beyond anyone’s comprehension. The site is an even more controversial version of 4chan, known for hosting all sorts of depraved, immoral, and illegal content. The AMA went exactly how people suspected, complete with inappropriate questions and lots of lewd drawings. As the outlandish thread drew more and more public attention, THQ Nordic’s marketing director formally apologized for the event, stating, “I personally agreed to this AMA without doing my proper due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site.” People still weren’t happy, questioning why a company’s marketing director couldn’t conduct a simple Google search.
#6: Insensitive Pride Month Challenge
How this event went ahead is anyone's guess. NetherRealm Studios added a Pride Month celebration to “Injustice 2 Mobile” that required players to fight the canonically bisexual Poison Ivy in exchange for in-game currency. As if that wasn’t tone deaf enough, NetherRealm proudly stated that Poison Ivy had been beaten 175,000 times since the event’s inception. The resulting controversy forced the company to apologize, writing, “Real life violence against the LGBTQIA+ community and women within that community in particular is all too common and we should actively engage in efforts to end LGBTQIA+ violence, not normalize it.” The apology had a good sentiment behind it, but people couldn't believe it had to be said in the first place.
#5: Lack of Communication
The launch of “Fallout 76” was an event that NO ONE will ever forget due to its insane amount of bugs and technical problems. Bethesda didn’t seem to care, as they were radio silent in the midst of the clamor. The bizarre silence only made things worse, forcing Bethesda to finally acknowledge the game in a Reddit post, writing, “We’re sorry and understand this was not the right approach.” To further apologize, they offered a free copy of “Fallout Classic Collection” to everyone who logged into “Fallout 76”. But the players still weren’t happy. For one thing, the “Classic Collection” wasn’t available on consoles, so ticked off console players were out of luck. Furthermore, many PC players claimed to already own the games, rendering the offer completely useless.
#4: 100 Hour Weeks
Top 10 Times Video Game Companies Broke Their Promises
While “Red Dead Redemption 2” was universally acclaimed, it was released in the midst of some heated controversy. Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser was conducting an interview with Vulture when he claimed, “We were working 100 hour weeks”. As the games industry is known for its extreme crunch culture, this statement was met with wide condemnation. Houser publicly clarified that he was only talking about himself and the three other writers, not everyone at the company. But not everyone was having it, considering that Rockstar had previously been condemned as a toxic workplace that practiced crunch and punished those who didn’t abide by the long hours and overtime.
#3: Pride & Accomplishment
These three words have been burned into the memories of gamers everywhere. Back in 2017, EA was public enemy number one for the monetization mechanics they were employing in “Star Wars Battlefront II”. Many fan-favorite characters were locked behind paywalls, and while they could be unlocked with in-game currency, players found that it would take 40 hours of gameplay to unlock a single character. EA infamously responded, “The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes.” The statement was met with swift action, accumulating over 250,000 downvotes and becoming the most downvoted post in the site’s history.
#2: Sexist Culture
Back in 2018, Riot Games, the company best known for “League of Legends” and “Valorant”, was slammed with a series of accusations claiming that it harbored both a “bro culture” and a sexist environment. This included a lack of female employees, rampant sexism in everyday conversation, and even jokes made towards sexual harassment. Riot apologized in a public letter titled “Our First Steps Forward”, writing, “We’re sorry that Riot hasn’t always been — or wasn’t — the place we promised you. And we’re sorry it took so long for us to hear you.” In other words - we’re sorry we ignored you and did nothing about the constant complaints.
#1: The Ubisoft Investigation
10 Worst Video Game Remakes That Should Never Have Been Made
Ubisoft has earned a lot of negative attention for its cut and paste games throughout the years, but their controversy extended into humane concerns in 2020. Numerous allegations were made against the company claiming a problematic workplace culture that was rife with sexual misconduct. The company is currently facing legal proceedings in regards to the accusations of harassment. Despite promises of adjustment and an investigation, one inside source told Le Télégramme that “nothing has changed.” Even worse, fresh harassment claims have targeted Ubisoft since the originals were made public. Ubisoft disagrees, stating that “profound changes...have taken place at every level of the company.”