The Most Infamous Gaming Apologies
When it comes to big game releases, fan expectations can be a dangerous thing. For most AAA games, fans often track the entire process of the game's development, following from the first announcement to the final release. Over this period, expectations and hype are built through various trailers, promises, and gameplay that is slowly drip fed to eager fans. However, this can become a big problem when the final product doesn't meet the expectations of fans. When this happens, more often than not, fans turn against the projects that they once supported. In reaction to this, gaming developers need to find a way to mediate the situation. For this situation, the company needs a gaming apology.
Although gaming apologies have always been around, nowadays it feels like many companies are apologizing for subpar releases and strange decisions surrounding the direction of characters. Some fans are going so far as calling this an era of gaming where companies are "asking for forgiveness," rather than fixing and polishing new releases. However, a lazy release isn't the only thing that developers and publishers have apologized for. Some companies have also made some controversial decisions that didn't sit well with fans. Whether due to controversy or lazy business practices, here are some of the most infamous gaming apologies that will stick in the minds of fans for years to come.
Cyberpunk 2077
First up is one of the most infamous gaming apologies in recent memory. All the way back in 2012, developers CD Projekt Red announced that it would be creating an expansive game based on the "Cyberpunk" tabletop RPG series. From day one, fans were already excited to see the new project come to fruition. As more gameplay was slowly revealed over the next few years, this new game seemed like a promising immersive RPG experience. CD Projekt Red was even able to hire Keanu Reeves to play one of the game's primary characters, sending hype for the game into the stratosphere. After eight years of waiting and a few delays, "Cyberpunk 2077" was finally released. Sadly, the response to the game wasn't exactly what CD Projekt Red was hoping for.
Rather than receiving the in-depth cyberpunk RPG they were promised, fans received a glitchy mess that could barely run on the older console generation. Not only that, but it was missing a ton of promised features. Soon after the game was released, CD Projekt Red was quick to apologize, releasing a lengthy statement on Twitter detailing the mistakes made with the release. In this post, the company apologized for not being upfront about the game's poor optimization on last-gen hardware, as well as for the crashes and bugs that plagued most players on release. While many were disappointed at first with the release and apology, CD Projekt Red continued to update and patch "Cyberpunk 2077," ultimately making the game a much better experience over time.
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 14, 2020
Payday 3
While a new game like "Cyberpunk 2077" can generate a fair amount of disappointment on release, a followup to a beloved game can be even more devastating for fans. This is exactly what happened when "Payday 3" launched in 2023. After waiting seven long years since its announcement and around 10 years after the release of the previous entry, players were finally able to get their hands on the new game. However, many of these patient fans quickly learned that getting their hands on the game didn't necessarily mean they were going to be playing it.
When the game launched, many players found themselves unable to even enter a match, thanks to a slew of connectivity errors and bugs. Even players who were granted early access to the game found themselves unable to play. This infuriated the fanbase and absolutely ruined the launch, especially considering the fact that even those who could get into a match were disappointed by a lack of content and polish.
Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren posting an apology on Twitter, saying, "We are so sorry that the infrastructure didn't hold up as expected, and although it's impossible to prepare for every scenario – we should be able to do better." For some, this apology was too little, too late. In early 2024, Tobias Sjögren was ousted from his position at Starbreeze, a move that coincided with a company memo announcing intentions to strengthen Starbreeze through new leadership.
We are so sorry that the infrastructure didn't hold up as expected, and although it's impossible to prepare for every scenario – we should be able to do better. We work tirelessly until we have restored all services and our players can get back to heisting again without issues!
— Tobias Sjögren (@tobiassjogren) September 22, 2023
Lord of the Rings: Gollum
"The Lord of the Rings" is one of the most storied and respected fantasy franchises of all time. With books packed full of lore and a beloved movie series, "Lord of the Rings" is something that many fans take extremely seriously. This means that whenever a new "LOTR" game starts to show itself, fans will be quick to scrutinize it in every conceivable way. Thus was sadly the case for "Lord of the Rings: Gollum," a character-driven stealth game following the titular character after the events of "The Hobbit." The game was intended to give characters complex moral choices that impact the story and change the outcome of the game. In practice, it wasn't quite as impressive.
Firstly, many thought that the gameplay of "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum" was incredibly boring and repetitive. Much of the gameplay is spent sitting around waiting for enemies to path to an advantageous location, or awkwardly platforming around the map. The choice system was hilariously simple, leading to the creation of several memes about the worst game of 2023.
A few words from the " The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ " team pic.twitter.com/adPamy5EjO
— The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (@GollumGame) May 26, 2023
Developer Daedalic Entertainment released an apology that stated, "We would like to apologize for the underwhelming experience ... we deeply regret and acknowledge that the game did not meet the expectations set for ourselves and our dedicated community." This apology was not enough for fans, however. It was also full of errors and strange wording, leading many to accuse the company of using AI to generate it. Eventually, although the team set out to fix the game's technical problems, "Gollum" is a fundamentally broken game that's already relegated to the bargain bins.
Fallout 76
Reception for "Fallout 4" didn't quite reach the heights of previous entries, but Bethesda soldiered on with a new release that mixed up the usual "Fallout" formula. "Fallout 76" was a game that allowed players to forge their own path in the nuclear wastelands. For many, the idea of a "Fallout" MMO was an absolute dream come true. However, as is the case with many of these underwhelming titles, the lofty expectations for this game led to an extremely disappointing launch.
"Fallout 76" has been an extremely divisive game since its launch in 2018. On release, many players found the game to be bizarrely devoid of life. With no human NPCs on release, the virtual wasteland was missing the fun local color of other "Fallout" games, feeling too much like an actual wasteland for players to enjoy. On top of this, bugs and server issues made the game even harder to get into. Even the game's pre-order bonuses disappointed, with players receiving a cheap nylon bag in place of the sturdy duffel bag they were promised with the collector's edition. After the abysmal launch, Bethesda got to work fixing many of the problems that the community had with the game. Although the game is a much better experience in the present, Bethesda boss Todd Howard admitted in 2021, "When that game launched, you know, the litany of issues we had, and we let a lot of people down ... there was very little we didn't screw up, honestly."
Overwatch 2
When Blizzard announced that "Overwatch 2" was in development, player excitement started building to critical levels. This hype shot through the roof when it was announced that "Overwatch 2" would include a PVE campaign mode with RPG elements to accompany the usual competitive gameplay. This new mode alone made "Overwatch 2" appear to be an entirely new game that iterated upon what came before in exciting ways.
Upon release, however, "Overwatch 2" felt more akin to an update, with many referring to it derisively as "Overwatch 1.5." While many parts of the competitive mode of the game were changed, including reducing team size from 6 to 5, very little information was released on the promised PVE mode for the game. This mode was delayed over and over again, until Blizzard finally announced in early 2024 that it had been canceled. In an apology to fans, director Aaron Keller wrote, "We were trying to do too many things at once and we lost focus. The team built some really great things, including hero talents, new enemy units and early versions of missions, but we were never able to bring together all of the elements needed to ship a polished, cohesive experience." This latest cut led to many fans arguing that "Overwatch 2" does not deserve the "2" in its title. For most, this will become a gaming apology that will continue to sting for quite some time.
Redfall
"Redfall" is a co-op shooter pitting a group of zany characters against a legion of vampires. Early trailers seemed promising, especially following Arkane Studios' other lauded games. On release, rather than becoming a successful new IP, "Redfall" became Arkane Studios' worst-reviewed game of all time.
Many players found the gameplay of "Redfall" to be uninspired and boring, not to mention filled with performance issues and weird visual bugs. Its bare-bones looter-shooter mechanics failed to attract even the most devoted fans of the genre. As many would expect, this led to a quick apology from Microsoft, this one coming from the head of Xbox Gaming, Phil Spencer. In his apology, Spencer said, "There's nothing that's more difficult for me than disappointing the Xbox community ... I'm upset with myself ... We under-delivered on that and for that I apologize. It's not what I expect, not what I want."
In May 2024, developer Arkane Austin was closed and all future updates and DLC for "Redfall" were canceled. A planned PS5 release of the game will also never see the light of day.
Injustice 2 Mobile
"Injustice 2" is a fighting game created by the developers of "Mortal Kombat" that pits iconic DC superheroes and villains against each other. Being a sequel to a beloved game, this entry could have easily been a disaster for fans of the original. However, on release, many regarded the second game as a clean upgrade to the first. In this case, the dev didn't apologize over glitches or other issues with the rollout of the game. With "Injustice 2 Mobile," NetherRealm was forced to apologize for another, more controversial reason.
In the "Injustice 2" mobile game, NetherRealm decided to feature a special event to celebrate Pride Month in 2021. During this event, players could earn special Pride-themed rewards for taking down a major enemy 500,000 times. While this normally wouldn't be too divisive, the enemy players had to fight was Poison Ivy, a canonically bisexual character. Many fans of the game saw this as the game unintentionally promoting violence against members of the LGBTQIA+ community, leading to outrage from the player base. The company was quick to rectify its mistake, running a promotional giveaway in-game and releasing an apology: "We recognize associating our latest Global Challenge with Pride was insensitive and inappropriate. Real-life violence acts 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."
— Injustice 2 Mobile (@Injustice2Go) June 4, 2021
THQ Nordic
Rather than releasing a disappointing game or controversial content, THQ Nordic — the company behind games like "Biomutant" – unexpectedly had to apologize for not properly researching a website unconnected to the company. seems to have one of the strangest. Back in 2019, the company announced that it would be hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the infamous site 8chan. For those of you who aren't familiar with the site — like the employees at THQ who agreed to this — this may seem like a harmless endeavor. However, people who know 8chan's reputation were shocked to hear the company would be hosting an AMA there.
Essentially, 8chan sets out to be a less-restricted alternative to 4chan. This means that basically anything can be posted there, which has led to some very not-okay things becoming commonplace on the board. When THQ Nordic discovered this, it quickly issued an apology. Company marketing director Philipp Brock explained, "I personally agreed to this AMA without doing my proper due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site." Brock added, "I am terribly sorry for the short-sightedness of my decision ... This was not about being edgy, this blew up and I very much regret to have done it in the first place."
Star Wars Battlefront 2
As many gamers already know, the original "Star Wars Battlefront 2" from Pandemic Studios was one of the most-loved "Star Wars" games ever. When EA announced that it would be making a modern followup to the classic series, many fans were rightfully skeptical. Years after the original series, the reboot of "Star Wars Battlefront" received a lukewarm reception. However, this didn't stop fans from being cautiously optimistic when a sequel was announced. Sharing the title with the beloved original meant that the modern "Star Wars Battlefront 2" had some big shoes to fill.
Although many found the gameplay of the modern "Star Wars Battlefront 2" to be decent, the game's real problems came from the microtransactions that were littered throughout the game. "Star Wars Battlefront 2" has made a stunning transformation since then, but the game required a ton of grinding or spending real-world money to enjoy it at release. Fans of the game calculated that unlocking all of its paywalled content would take either six years of playing two hours every day, or else $2,000. This led to DICE's then-GM, Oskar Gabrielson, apologizing to fans in an official EA Games blog post: "We've heard the concerns about potentially giving players unfair advantages...This was never our intention. Sorry we didn't get this right."
Final Fantasy 14
As is often the case with MMO launches, the launch of "Final Fantasy 14" ran into a litany of technical issues. Although it may be shocking to hear, "FF14" wasn't always the highly polished MMO that it is today. On release, players were affected by extremely long load times, limited character creation options, map design, grind-heavy leveling, and other issues that completely hindered their enjoyment of the game.
In fact, the launch and release of this game was so bad that after release, producer Naoki Yoshida posted a lengthy and sincere apology on one of the game's forums (via Kotaku). "I would like to take the time to personally apologize once again to all those players who have been affected by the extended World login and character creation restrictions," he wrote. "I also understand that apologies will not help you get logged in, so I would like to give you an update on the situation at hand and the various measures we are currently employing to alleviate the situation."
For many, this was an acceptable apology, leading to a renewed faith in the MMO. Square Enix made good on this promise, too: After a massive overhaul, "Final Fantasy 14" became an entirely new better received game.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy
Grove Street Games was handed the nerve-wracking task of tasked with remastering three of the most iconic "Grand Theft Auto" entries for modern consoles. While the idea of the "GTA Trilogy" and modern ports of "GTA III," "Vice City," and "San Andreas" seemed like a dream come true — it was. Reviews of the collection slammed the ports as lazy, calling out the new versions' washed-out and ugly character models, hilariously strange new glitches, and truly game-breaking technical issues. Some went so far as to say that the "GTA Trilogy" collection ruined some of the most beloved games of their childhood.
After the awful reception, Rockstar apologized for the sorry state of the trilogy collection. In an official post on its website, Rockstar Games stated, "Firstly, we want to sincerely apologize to everyone who has encountered issues playing these games. The 'Grand Theft Auto' series — and the games that make up this iconic trilogy — are as special to us as we know they are to fans around the world." Sadly, this apology was too little too late, and the still sits at a 1.0 user score on Metacritic.