Developing video games is an expensive endeavor, with costs often necessitating a genuine effort that can sometimes compromise creative freedom. Despite these safeguards, most games achieve a reasonable level of success, and even early missteps like Cyberpunk 2077 or No Man's Sky can eventually find redemption through ongoing developer support. However, history is also marked by significant exceptions: major games that failed to connect with their intended audience or never lived up to their developers' visions, leaving them as enduring disappointments.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (2023)

Publisher and former developer Daedalic Entertainment aimed high with The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, but the game ultimately failed to impress. It was widely criticized for its numerous shortcomings, lack of personality, and buggy state, resulting in underwhelming sales and a critical reception to match. This significant failure prompted Daedalic to shift its focus entirely to publishing, abandoning game development after a history of successful graphic adventure titles like the Deponia series.

Babylon's Fall (2022)

PlatinumGames, known for acclaimed titles such as NieR: Automata, experienced a significant setback with Babylon's Fall, an action-RPG developed for Square Enix. The game's inclusion of numerous microtransactions deterred many players from the outset. Bland visuals and sluggish combat further compounded issues, a stark contrast to the lively action fans expected from the studio behind Bayonetta. Despite months of effort to cultivate a player base following its troubled launch, including promotional giveaways, the game was eventually shut down shortly before its one-year anniversary and is no longer available for purchase.

Babylon’s Fall - four characters in front of a giant tower

Immortals of Aveum (2023)

Despite positive previews, Immortals of Aveum failed to meet expectations upon its release. Players and critics felt the game did not sufficiently differentiate itself from titles like Call of Duty, even with its replacement of traditional firearms with spellcasting. Electronic Arts invested over $100 million in its development, but the unmet sales expectations led Ascendant Studios to lay off nearly half its staff weeks after launch. The game's challenging release window, competing against major hits like Baldur's Gate 3 and Starfield, likely exacerbated its shortcomings.

An Immortals of Aveum screenshot shows the player using both of their hands to generate a magical blue attack

Too Human (2008)

Silicon Knights and Microsoft learned a difficult lesson with Too Human, intended to be the first in a series blending Norse mythology with science fiction. Microsoft's significant investment in the game's Xbox release followed a lengthy development. However, a lawsuit filed by Silicon Knights against Epic Games revealed that thousands of lines of Unreal Engine 3 code had been directly incorporated into Too Human. A judge ordered Silicon Knights to pay Epic millions in damages and to destroy all unsold physical copies and remove the game from digital storefronts. This legal ruling also affected the critical failure X-Men: Destiny, released in 2011.

Artwork cropped from the cover of Too Human on Xbox 360 shows closeup of glowering man's face

The Callisto Protocol (2022)

Directed by Glen Schofield, co-creator of Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol was envisioned as a sci-fi horror experience. Publisher Krafton reportedly invested millions into its development at Striking Distance Studios. However, the game failed to capture its intended audience, largely due to linear gameplay that did not match its impressive visual fidelity. Schofield departed the studio shortly after release, and while the team explored other avenues for the game's world, The Callisto Protocol's disappointing launch marked an unfortunate end for a project that showed significant promise from a developer with a history of acclaimed releases.

Jacob Lee holds a stun baton in his hands and walks through a series of frozen mutant bodies amid a blizzard in a still from The Callisto Protocol

Forspoken (2023)

Developed by Luminous Productions for Square Enix, Forspoken was intended to be a flagship title for the PlayStation 5 and a justification for the development of the Luminous Engine. Initially revealed as Project Athia, it promised expansive, photorealistic worlds traversable at high speeds with dazzling spell effects. However, early promotional material featuring character dialogue became a meme, leading some players to approach the final release with reluctance. The game's character interactions, technical issues including muddy visuals, and poor sales ultimately led Square Enix to disband the development team and transition future projects to more familiar engines like Unreal Engine and Unity.

A wide shot of Forspoken main character Frey wearing a cloak and hunched over in a bright scene

Anthem (2019)

BioWare, once seen as a studio incapable of failure, faced scrutiny following Anthem. After the mixed reception of Mass Effect Andromeda, players questioned the studio's direction. Anthem, a live-service game revealed with high expectations at E3 2018, diverged from BioWare's tradition of strong single-player adventures and bore little resemblance to the promised experience. Despite a planned roadmap for updates, Electronic Arts canceled it, and the game's servers were eventually shut down, sealing its fate.

Javelins gathering in front of a stormy sky in Anthem

Marvel's Avengers (2021)

Crystal Dynamics, a studio with a history of acclaimed titles, saw its Marvel's Avengers game receive a lukewarm reception at launch. The game featured microtransactions for cosmetics and battle passes alongside its upfront price. Limited and buggy endgame content, partly due to COVID-19's impact on development, further marred the experience. The title resulted in significant financial losses for Square Enix, contributing to its decision to sell Crystal Dynamics to Embracer Group in 2022. The game was subsequently removed from digital stores, requiring physical disc ownership for access.

Marvel’s Avengers team line-up, including Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, and Black Widow, standing on the Golden Gate Bridge

Redfall (2023)

Arkane Austin's Redfall, introduced in 2021 with the appealing concept of vampire-slaying heroes, failed to meet the high expectations set by the studio's previous work on Prey and Dishonored. Several red flags emerged during development, including the confirmation of a 30 frames per second cap on Xbox Series X and the requirement for a persistent online connection for all gameplay. Upon release, the title was plagued by crashes, awkward controls, and poor AI. Following a disastrous launch and an apology, Microsoft shut down Arkane Austin in 2024.

artwork from Redfall of Devinder, Jacob, Layla, and Remi standing over a vampire as it crawls toward the camera

E.T. (1982)

Widely regarded as the flop that nearly collapsed the console industry, Atari's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial suffered from a rushed development cycle. After securing the film license for $23 million, Atari tasked a single developer with creating the game in just five weeks. Howard Scott Warshaw's effort resulted in a game with frustrating controls and obscure objectives, disappointing children who expected a simple plug-and-play experience. The industry at the time was oversaturated with uninspired, low-quality games, and E.T. became a prime example. Atari produced millions of cartridges that failed to sell, leading to the infamous burial of unsold copies in a New Mexico desert. Excavated years later, some of these cartridges resurfaced on eBay.

E.T. floats in a pit in the video game of the same name