Top 10 Biggest Gaming Controversies of 2020
Top 10 Video Game Controversies 2020
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Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 video game controversies of 2020. For this list, we’re looking at the biggest scandals that came from the game industry in 2020. Let us know in the comments which one you were most outraged by.
#10: Pay to Stream Games
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A creative director working for Google Stadia, Alex Hutchinson, received immense backlash when he posted a tweet saying popular streamers ought to pay for the right to stream games, and that game streams violated the copyright of the publishers. Hutchinson’s tweet was so controversial that Google executives had to publicly disagree with him. In fairness, this is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect from Stadia, which not only charges customers a monthly subscription fee but also charges them for purchasing games on the streaming platform. Suffice it to say, publishers know streamers are actually providing a large amount of free and effective advertising, and streaming doesn’t harm game sales at all.
#9: Pre-Order Mayhem
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The hotly anticipated releases of next-gen consoles were finally upon us in late 2020, but it wasn’t easy to get one on launch day. Thanks to the events of 2020 drastically reducing production of the new consoles, there were far fewer units available to pre-order. But the process was still a mess regardless, with websites crashing, transactions failing, and even orders getting canceled just days before release. It started with the disastrous PS5 pre-order system, which Xbox made plenty of jokes about before they fell victim to the exact same issues days later. Lots of people won’t be able to get a new console until early 2021 at least because of all the chaos.
#8: The “Schindler’s List” of Video Games
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The most controversial release of the year was easily “The Last of Us Part II”, but things going on in the real world were just as toxic as anything that happened in-game – including the critical response. When actor Jeff Cannata took to Twitter to say “The Last of Us Part II” is the “Schindler’s List” of video games, the backlash was extraordinary. This was both from people who hated what Naughty Dog did with the franchise and people who thought it was ridiculous to compare the game, or any game for that matter, to “Schindler’s List” in the first place. Cannata was mocked far and wide for this bad and bizarre take.
#7: Delays
The lockdown has meant huge numbers of developers are working from home, which has contributed to the myriad delays we’ve seen throughout 2020 – but many are asking for companies to just not name specific release dates until they’re sure they can reach it. This year, “Cyberpunk 2077” (Twenty Seventy-Seven) has been delayed at least three times, with a release slated for December 10th. “The Last of Us Part II” was also delayed until an enormous leak forced Naughty Dog to bring the release forward, while Ubisoft has announced significant delays for flagship franchises; namely “Far Cry 6” and “Rainbow Six Quarantine.” It’s definitely a frustrating time to be a gamer.
#6: “Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad” (2020)
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The Black Lives Matter movement has gained significant traction in 2020, with protests taking place in major cities around the world. This was why Ubisoft didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting away with what it pulled in the “Elite Squad” trailer. The game is about a clandestine terrorist sect named Umbra, manipulating global politics from the shadows. The problem was their logo just so happened to be the raised fist associated heavily with Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights movement. Ubisoft was forced to apologize and remove the tone-deaf image from the final game.
#5: Epic vs. Apple
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In the summer of 2020, Epic Games brought a lawsuit against Apple to try and prevent Apple from placing a 30% cut on microtransactions bought in “Fortnite” on iOS, after they previously bypassed the rules and got themselves blocked from the App Store. Judges presiding over the case warned that console platforms do exactly the same thing, meaning this lawsuit could have serious, anti-consumer repercussions across the industry. To make matters even worse, Apple has also filed a lawsuit against Epic for breach of contract, and Epic has taken similar action against Google. All this has done is stopped mobile gamers from playing “Fortnite.”
#4: Underpaid Employees
Developers at Activision-Blizzard have repeatedly suffered at the company, from mass lay-offs in 2019 to a dispute over salaries in 2020. Bobby Kotick remains one of the most overpaid CEOs in the world, and after he wrote himself a paycheck for $40 million employees began questioning their low wages; despite the fact business was booming, some devs were being paid so little they were forced to skip meals to pay rent. They decided to rebel by anonymously sharing their salaries with one another on a spreadsheet when an internal study into pay didn’t grant a decent pay rise, revealing just how underpaid and undervalued they really were.
#3: GameStop is Essential Retail
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In late March the United States entered a national lockdown, with only essential retail allowed to stay open. But people were pretty surprised when GameStop declared itself essential, claiming that its products were beneficial to those working from home. While it’s true video games have been vital for helping people endure the times, you definitely don’t need to go all the way to GameStop to get one. GameStop managed to fight backlash just long enough to see the releases of “Doom Eternal” and “Animal Crossing”, forcing its staff to work during a virus outbreak all the while.
#2: CD Projekt Red Crunch
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Despite being one of the most popular studios in the industry, CD Projekt Red yet again came under fire for its toxic crunch culture. This was in stark contrast to promises made by company bosses a few years ago that there wouldn’t be mandatory crunch during the development of “Cyberpunk 2077”. With frequent delays, the so-called “death march” has been continuing since at least June of 2019 according to one anonymous developer. And when one of the CEOs claimed the crunch “wasn’t that bad” in October, he was quickly forced to apologize. Despite this, people who criticize CDPR’s crunch have repeatedly had death threats directed at them, making the whole situation a nightmare.
#1: Ubisoft Harassment Scandal
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The #MeToo movement has finally reached the video games industry, with female employees blowing the whistle on the internal sexism and harassment endemic to Ubisoft. Numerous high-level directors at Ubisoft studios globally had incredibly serious allegations levied at them. According to whistle-blowers, complaints were made internally with HR for years, but the men in question were too powerful within the company and never faced repercussions. Thanks to victims publicly speaking out, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has promised to make sweeping changes at the company. But only time will tell if Ubisoft’s culture changes for the better.
