Top 10 Video Games That Were Killed by Controversy
10 Video Games That Were Killed by Controversy
Top 10 Most Controversial Kids Video Games Ever
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re taking a look at the Top 10 Video Games That Were Killed by Controversy! For this list, we’re looking at games that were overshadowed by controversy, whether that was by their own doing or due to an outside force. Basically, it’s almost impossible to talk about any of these titles without mentioning the controversy surrounding them. Did you get to play any of these titles? Share with us in the comments below!
#10: “Anthem” (2019)
Why Anthem Got Shut Down
Honestly, it is REALLY hard to talk about “Anthem” in a positive light unless you’re someone who genuinely, thoroughly enjoyed what little the game had to offer. As if the mediocre gameplay and boring combat wasn’t enough, the development of “Anthem” was its final nail in the coffin. There were reports of mismanagement, constant changes in direction and focus, and a lot of crunch time, causing the game to not even enter full development until eighteen months before launch day. Despite efforts to try and improve the game through an update called “Anthem NEXT”, the update was eventually cancelled, making “Anthem” yet another broken, sixty-dollar promise and disappointing what few fans the game had.
#9: “Star Wars Battlefront II” (2017)
Top 20 Best Star Wars Video Games
Don’t worry - we’re not about to have EA take up the majority of this list. However, “Star Wars Battlefront II” is more than deserving to be here on account of its original release state. After the beta was made available for those who pre-ordered, players quickly figured out that one could simply buy lootboxes in order to unlock powerful Star cards for Heroes and Villains. As one would expect, this blew up to Alderaan levels, and EA became public enemy number one. While “Battlefront II” has certainly improved with an expanded roster of characters, new maps, and a reworked progression system and economy, it’s hard to forget what happened.
#8: “Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled” (2019)
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Review | Did Activision Ruin CTR?
We can recognize the dedicated community behind “Crash Team Racing” and its 2019 remake, but one thing we can all agree on was how “Nitro-Fueled” died so quickly. Online play was one of the game’s biggest selling points, yet it could barely manage to keep things stable with lobbies constantly getting destroyed mid-game and an economy that was unrewarding and grindy as hell. While “Nitro-Fueled” would last eight seasons worth of additional content in less than a year’s time, it wasn’t uncommon to match up with players you already raced with a day or two prior. Clearly, no one was willing to tolerate the unstable connectivity, and with an obnoxious “live service” model taking priority over improving online modes, the game quickly died.
#7: “Dead Cells” (2018)
The Best Video Game Story of 2018 - Red Dead Redemption 2
To clarify, “Dead Cells” was never shrouded in controversy by its own doing. Developer Motion Twin actually made an exhilarating roguelike centered on frenetic combat, platforming, and speedrunning. Unfortunately, the game was overshadowed by an outside force. A reviewer at IGN named Filip Miucin had been caught plagiarizing his review of “Dead Cells” and was found to have plagiarized several other reviews years prior. This controversy became so widely discussed within the gaming community that “Dead Cells” became synonymous with it. Thankfully, “Dead Cells” would find its own dedicated fanbase, but those ingrained with games news and media can’t help thinking of Miucin’s trial whenever it's brought up.
#6: “The Sinking City” (2019)
10 Creepy Lovecraftian Video Games That Will Give You Nightmares
For an open world game that didn’t receive the same amount of attention as bigger titles, a lot of drama has surrounded “The Sinking City”, specifically between developer Frogwares and publisher Nacon (formerly BigBen Interactive). In August 2020, Frogwares posted an extensive and detailed open letter to their community, explaining why “The Sinking City” was being widely delisted. Turns out Nacon had failed to pay Frogwares on time on several occasions, violated IP rights, and conducted themselves unprofessionally. This feud between the two companies would bring some awareness to “The Sinking City”, yet it’s hard to not remind ourselves of the conflict that occurred.
#5: “Fallout 76” (2018)
5 Key Differences Between the Fallout Series and Games
Like a handful of other live services, “Fallout 76” has seen some form of redemption, but even with its new updates, it’s impossible to not picture all the headlines that generated post-launch. You know the ones we’re talking about - game-breaking bugs, nylon bags, moldy power helmets, a pay-to-win economy, weak anti-cheat software, that “Fallout 1st” subscription for private servers, and of course, the thousands of bugs and glitches that made the game almost unplayable. Controversy after controversy, “Fallout 76” had managed to taint the franchise’s reputation so much that it began to affect the public’s perception of Bethesda as a business. All of a sudden, “Battlefront II” didn’t look half-bad.
#4: “Friday the 13th: The Game” (2017)
Top 10 Best Games to Buy on Black Friday 2017
Regardless of its lack of polish and abundant technical problems, “Friday the 13th” proved to be a massive hit among the gaming community, so much so that developer Illfonic began work on additional updates. Upon finishing the Virtual Cabin, players learned that an update based on “Jason X” was incoming, and it looked amazing! Unfortunately, the game’s life was cut short due to a legal battle between franchise creators Sean S. Cunningham and Victor Miller. Because of this, Illfonic was forced to cease any and all work on the game with the exception of general maintenance, and with no end to the lawsuit in sight, they decided to cancel all upcoming DLC. Who could’ve guessed the one thing to kill Jason would be a legal dispute?
#3: “Cyberpunk 2077” (2020)
Top 10 Cyberpunk Video Games
Whether you loved or hated “Cyberpunk 2077”, there’s no way to ignore the controversy that surrounds it to this day. At launch, the game was found to be incredibly unstable on base PS4 and Xbox One consoles, meaning you’d have to have a powerful PC, a PS5, or Xbox Series X/S in order to properly enjoy the game. While stability and performance has improved since launch, it doesn’t excuse the fact that CD Projekt had tried working the review process in their favor by focusing primarily on PC codes, sending codes out for console only two days before launch. “Cyberpunk 2077” practically became overshadowed by the outrage towards it, and in the process, CD Projekt burned all of its goodwill.
#2: “Too Human” (2008)
Top10 Best Video Games of 2018 So Far
“Too Human” wasn’t anything to set the world on fire, but it's decent in its storytelling and the janky-ness of it makes combat somewhat of a challenge. However, whenever we think of “Too Human”, we think of all of those copies that had to be destroyed when it originally launched in 2008. At that time, developer Silicon Knights was caught using an unlicensed version of the Unreal Engine for “Too Human” as well as a few other titles. Even though the game would be re-released on Xbox One in 2019, “Too Human” is forever known as “that one kid who got expelled”.
#1: “Silent Hills” (Cancelled)
10 Exciting Things To Know About Silent Hill's Future
While controversies would plague the games we’ve seen on this list today, they were all able to launch and have SOME kind of lifespan. The same cannot be said for “Silent Hills”. As director Hideo Kojima was finishing up development on “Metal Gear Solid V”, he found himself butting heads with upper management at Konami. When Kojima left the company, Konami attempted to expunge Kojima’s name from MGS V and even outright cancelled “Silent Hills”. The famed “P.T.” demo was also pulled immediately from the PlayStation Store. In other words, a game literally died because of controversy.
