It’s unfortunate, but in the world of video games things are rarely ever simple. As gaming becomes more mainstream, it’s become an industry that makes billions of dollars and employs thousands of people. At that scale, something is bound to make waves that will upset people one way or another.
In the past, it was simply about people from outside the world of gaming looking in and not necessarily liking what they see, but that hasn’t been true in years. These days, when there’s outrage and controversy, it usually comes from something a publisher has done to upset their fanbase. Sometimes these so-called outrage moments turn out to be nothing, but they can also cause major problems and cost millions of dollars.
10 The "Hot Coffee" Incident Was Controversial Even By GTA Standards
The infamous "hot coffee" incident started when someone found a deleted scene hidden in the data files of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which showed the main character engaging in uncensored adult activities with one of his girlfriends. Of course, modders found a way to put the scene back into the PC version of the game, and that's when things really got wild.
Despite having to specifically mod the game to see the content, the ESRB changed the rating of the game from Mature to Adults Only, a serious blow for any game as most major retailers won't carry games rated AO. In addition, many people failed to recognize the fact that the scene in question was only possible when the game was hacked and wasn't viewable under normal circumstances. But Rockstar republished the game with the content completely removed (mod or not), and managed to get their game back in mature hands where it belonged.
9 Kingdoms of Amalur's Publisher Actually Borrowed Money From The Government To Make Their Games
38 Studios was a video game company formed by former baseball player Curt Schilling. Originally, it was meant to create an MMO referred to as "Project Copernicus." But while they waited on that, 38 Studios acquired a separate project with the help of Big Huge Games.
Meanwhile, Schilling had started 38 Studios with the help of a $75 million loan from Rhode Island, which put him under immense pressure to pay the loan back as soon as possible. When Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning performed decently but not amazing, it placed additional pressure on the studio to make money they couldn’t make. With Project Copernicus years off, 38 Studios filed for bankruptcy just three months after launching Reckoning
8 Grand Theft Auto V Had A Torture Scene That Players Were Forced To Participate In
Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most beloved games of all time— not to mention the most profitable— and these days the biggest controversy about it is the opinion that it’s continued popularity is keeping people from getting GTA VI, which is definitely going to be Rockstar's biggest game yet.
But when the game dropped, everything wasn’t as clear cut. The game had a scene in it which allowed one of the main characters to participate in torture. Worse yet, players couldn’t actually opt out of it, meaning players had to participate to continue playing. Nearly every major reviewer dinged the game for this, noting the tone-deafness of the mission.
7 Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) Had The Most Downvoted Reddit Post Of All Time
Star Wars Battlefront II— the 2017 release, not to be confused with the game of the same title that came out in 2005— was poised to be a major deal when it launched, with Star Wars fans more in love with the series than ever at the time. But then the game’s beta revealed that Electronic Arts was relying on loot boxes to give players an advantage in multiplayer mode, meaning the game was literally "pay to win."
EA’s attempt to explain themselves on Reddit resulted in the most down-voted post of all time, and it didn’t stop there. It forced other countries to examine the role of loot boxes in video games and determine if they conflicted with a given nation's laws concerning gambling. In the end, EA removed the system to try and create a better, more fan-friendly experience and manages to be more fun than the sequel films.
6 Mass Effect 3 Rendered All The Players' Choices In Previous Games Irrelevant
Mass Effect 3 is an example of hyping up fans’ expectations too much. BioWare promised that the players’ choices would matter throughout the entire Mass Effect trilogy. So despite an overall critically-acclaimed third entry, the fans took issue with the fact that their choices actually didn’t matter much in the end.
The fans raged at BioWare until the company created an entirely new DLC to make the game’s endings actually palatable, and still fans talk more about theories the games than the actual ending. This is one of many reasons why Dragon Age is better.
5 No Man's Sky Caused Fans To Be Furious When They Couldn't Play With One Another
No Man’s Sky is the victim of its company trying to make it out to be more than it was. It’s meant to be a game where players can explore a procedurally generated sci-fi universe. But at launch the game was missing numerous features, not the least of which being that players couldn’t actually explore this world with their friends.
The game was such a disappointment that it went from being constantly featured by Sony in their press conferences to not even being mentioned by them at all. The game has improved considerably over time via patches and has come much closer to realizing the game's original promises, but it's still struggling to overcome the initial wave of bad publicity and to bring back those who have already dismissed it as a disappointment.
4 Cyberpunk 2077 Was The Biggest Disappointment Of The Last Generation
Perhaps no game was as big of a disappointment for the last generation as Cyberpunk 2077. A game announced before the eighth generation of consoles had even come out, it took until 2020 for the game to actually release. And when it did, it still felt rushed and unfinished even after such a long development cycle.
Aside from not even delivering on the promises it showed off in a previous video that supposedly demonstrated an hour of gameplay, there were plenty of other issues as well. It crashed so frequently, most online stores offered refunds. And Sony was so annoyed by having to offer refunds they took the game off the store for a time— only putting it back on there in June, a full seven months after the game released.
3 Watch Dogs Caused Fans To Re-Examine How They Looked At Game Trailer Footage
When Watch Dogs made its first appearance at E3 in 2012, it was the most gorgeous looking game at the show in a walk. It caused people to assume it was a next-gen title, but no next-gen system was announced at that conference. And even the following year, Watch Dogs couldn’t make launch day, and would have to delay itself into May of the next year.
When it released though, controversy exploded around Ubisoft, as the game’s graphics didn’t come close to matching up on even on the most powerful platforms available. This game was one of the first to make players realize that some gameplay footage could be shown at a conference and yet not resemble what they would eventually buy. That said, Watch Dogs 2 is at least still good for those looking for solid open-world experiences.
2 Resident Evil 5 Had Racist Undertones In Both Its Promotional Material & The Game Itself
Resident Evil 5 ran into problems from the moment it appeared at E3 in 2007. The franchise's setting shifted to Africa for the first time ever, with characters Chris Redfield and Sheva moving into a location known as Kijuju.
The initial trailer caused an extremely negative reaction among some viewers, as it showed a white protagonist killing off a ton of black characters. The trailer, as well as the game, pulled on a lot of hoary stereotypes of “savage” black people needing a white savior to save them, and an Africa not at all accurate to the actual Africa that citizens of the continent are familiar with.
1 Diablo Immortal Enraged A Collection Of Fans That Were Looking For A New Diablo On Their Computers — Not Their Phones
At Blizzard’s annual BlizzCon in 2018, fan expectations for new titles were running high. Unfortunately, what they got was Diablo Immortal, a mobile title. Fans showed their dissatisfaction online and in-person, leading one of the attendants to literally ask if this was some sort of late April Fool’s joke.
Another asked if the game would be on PC, and when Blizzard answered in the negative, they were immediately booed. This led to the game’s lead designer to ask, “Do you guys not have phones?”, which might be one of the most unintentionally funny moments in gaming history. It’s not that Diablo Immortal couldn't be a decent game, it’s just that the last place for a mobile announcement is around the most passionate fans of a given franchise who are assuming something much more significant.