These would-be gaming giants crashed harder than a buggy day-one release. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks the most spectacular AAA failures that burned through massive budgets only to sink upon release.
00:00did you get him really why don't you just mail me the bullet welcome to watchmojo and today we're
00:09going over the top 10 AAA games with massive budgets and high ambitions that ended up crashing
00:15and burning after they were released number 10 Skull and Bones Ubisoft spent over a decade trying to
00:34perfect their pirate game but instead of finding treasure they walked the plank Skull and Bones was
00:40first announced in 2017 promising tactical naval combat inspired by the success of Assassin's
00:46Creed 4 Black Flag however development was a mess with multiple delays leadership changes and a
00:52reported budget that ballooned past 120 million dollars when it finally launched in 2024 it
00:58lacked the depth of other pirate games missing compelling land-based activities and meaningful
01:03exploration critics panned the repetitive gameplay and lack of content making it clear that this
01:12ship had sailed long before release Ubisoft may have called it a live service quadruple-a title
01:18but the player base quickly abandoned ship number nine fuse
01:25insomniac games built a reputation for excellence with franchises like Ratchet and Clank and Spider-Man
01:36but even the greats have missteps originally revealed as Overstrike a vibrant and stylish co-op
01:42shooter fuse was later rebranded with a more generic art style and tone what was once an exciting
01:48personality field adventure became a forgettable by the numbers third person shooter
01:52the humor and charm from the original reveal were drained out leaving behind an uninspired experience
02:04with weak AI bland level design and an overall lack of identity it failed to resonate with players or
02:10critics insomniac learned from this mistake bouncing back with stronger titles but fuse remains one of
02:15their biggest flops number eight aliens colonial marines
02:23how do you mess up one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises of all time just ask gearbox software
02:35aliens colonial marines was hyped as a faithful sequel to aliens but instead it became a cautionary tale
02:41the final game looked nothing like its trailers with downgraded graphics braindead xenomorphs and a
02:47laughable campaign even worse it was later discovered that a single typo in the game's code had broken
02:52enemy AI making the aliens far less threatening
02:55the real horror story gearbox allegedly diverted funds from this project to finish borderlands 2
03:04much like how duke nukem forever suffered from a chaotic development cycle if there's one thing colonial
03:09marines taught us it's to never take a game demo at face value
03:13number seven battlefield 2042
03:21ea and dice promised a futuristic evolution of their legendary shooter franchise but instead
03:34they delivered battlefield 2042 a game that felt stuck in development hell fans were
03:39hyped for the return of large-scale battles but on release they were met with broken physics missing
03:45features and balance issues the lack of a single-player campaign was a huge disappointment
03:50and the controversial specialist system further alienated longtime players
03:54bugs ran rampant with vehicles randomly launching into the sky and hit detection failing at crucial moments
04:05ea attempted to fix the game post launch but by then much of the community had already moved on
04:11for a game called 2042 it felt like a relic of the past
04:15number six brink
04:21brink was supposed to revolutionize multiplayer shooters with its parkour inspired movement system
04:33and deep team-based gameplay instead it became a lesson in over promising and under delivering the game
04:39launched in an unfinished state plagued by poor ai inconsistent hit detection and the lack of meaningful
04:45content while its smart movement system allowed players to vault over obstacles and slide into cover it was
04:50ultimately overshadowed by balance issues and repetitive objectives
04:54the matchmaking was another disaster often leaving players in lopsided matches or empty lobbies
05:04splash damage had a great concept but the execution was a different story brink faded into obscurity so
05:10quickly that even the developers probably forgot about it
05:23number five crackdown three today you throw grenade tomorrow you'll be throwing cars microsoft's long-awaited crackdown 3 was supposed to showcase the power of cloud computing with fully destructible environments
05:39what we ended up getting was a painfully generic open world game that lacked innovation
05:44after multiple delays and a troubled development cycle the game finally launched in 2019 but the destruction mechanics were significantly downgraded
05:52the campaign felt uninspired featuring dull missions and a repetitive loop of taking down enemy strongholds
05:58even the presence of terry cruz couldn't save it from feeling outdated especially in a market filled with far better open world gains the multiplayer mode wrecking zone failed to deliver on its promises making crackdown 3 one of the most disappointing exclusives of the xbox one era
06:17number four suicide squad kill the justice league
06:24rocksteady the studio behind the legendary batman arkham series was expected to deliver another hit with suicide squad kill the justice league but what fans got was a generic live service looter shooter that clashed with everything people loved about their previous games
06:33gone were the carefully crafted combat weapons based with L
06:56The live service elements such as battle passes and loot systems only made things worse.
07:03Fans were especially frustrated with how the game treated the Justice League, turning beloved
07:07heroes into lifeless bosses to shoot at.
07:09After years of waiting, what should have been a narrative-driven masterpiece became a soulless
07:14cash grab.
07:21Number 3 – Anthem
07:28When BioWare announced Anthem, expectations were sky-high.
07:32The team behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age was crafting an ambitious shared-world sci-fi
07:36RPG.
07:37Unfortunately, what we got was a lifeless looter shooter plagued by repetitive missions, a lack
07:42of meaningful content, and an identity crisis.
07:45The game's flight mechanics were praised, but everything else felt unfinished.
07:55The story was lackluster, the endgame was non-existent, and the technical issues made it feel like
08:00an early access title rather than a major release.
08:03EA eventually abandoned its plans for an Anthem next overhaul, sealing its fate.
08:08Player's reputation took a massive hit, and Anthem became one of the most infamous gaming
08:12flops of all time.
08:20Number 2 – Babylon's Fall
08:26It's rare to see a major publisher release a game so bad that it shuts down in less than
08:31a year.
08:32Babylon's Fall managed that dubious achievement.
08:35Developed by Platinum Games and published by Square Enix, the game was a disaster from
08:40day one.
08:41It had lifeless visuals, uninspired combat, and a baffling life service model that made
08:46players grind endlessly for meaningless rewards.
08:54The reception was so bad that Square Enix ended support just months after launch, with servers
09:00shutting down in early 2023.
09:02Considering Platinum Games' track record with fast-paced action titles, Babylon's Fall
09:06was an embarrassing misstep that no one saw coming or remembered after it was gone.
09:15Number 1 – Concord
09:27With a massive budget and 8 years in development, Sony's Concord should have been a game-changer.
09:32Instead, it landed with all the excitement of a mandatory work meeting.
09:36Firewalk Studios tried to break into the live service shooter market, but the result felt
09:41like a bargain bin Overwatch, without the personality.
09:44Critics noted that while the gunplay was serviceable, the uninspired character designs made it hard to
09:49connect with the game.
09:55Combine that with a premium price tag in a market dominated by free-to-play hits, and it's
10:00no surprise player engagement barely cracked 700 on Steam.
10:04Just two weeks later, Sony pulled the plug, making Concord one of the most expensive and
10:09short-lived flops in gaming history.
10:12Were there any other failing big-budget AAA games that you feel should have made our list?
10:20Let us know in the comments!
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