The Biggest Fails in Gaming of 2023
This year has been a roller coaster for the games industry. From massive layoffs to industry-changing games being released. This year was no doubt an eventful one for gaming. Here’s my personal top gaming fails of the year in no particular order!
Modern Warfare 3’s Campaign
From the joke at the game awards that stirred developers sideways and fans laughing in agreement. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaign was universally panned for its short amount of content. With a mediocre campaign that lasts only 5 hours, to the copy-and-paste multiplayer from Modern Warfare 2. Modern Warfare 3’s release has been a mess. Yet the Wicked Good Gaming Call of Duty circle of life shall continue, pictured below!
The Industry Laid Off Over 10,000 People This Year
The games industry had a lot of big releases this year! However with the gaming bubble from COVID, restructures, and buyouts, there has been a massive number of layoffs. Over 10,00 people have been laid off in 2023. With a majority of those layoffs in the online services sector. Unity laid off some of the most people along with Embraer Group which owns a large majority of the gaming market, Epic, Amazon, and ByteDance a Chinese gaming and media company. You can see a full rundown of what exactly happened over at videogamelayoffs.com.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
In comparison to all the huge releases this year, this one had to be one of the biggest flops! The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game was released to a universal pan. From the odd AI, strange movement, weird fonts, and graphics that look like a college student’s project. Gollum is one of the ugliest fails in gaming this year. Wicked Good Gaming’s favorite gaming critic Video Game Dunkey shares his thoughts in his video below!
The Mortal Kombat 1 Switch Port
Mortal Kombat 1 has been met with a lot of praise, at least on most platforms. The Switch port has not been so successful. I’m not sure whether this is a case of the developer being lazy, and dropping so much quality in the visuals to get it to run. But the age of the Switch’s hardware is definitely a factor here. Some finishers don’t even work as intended and have a black screen to make up for it. As seen in the video below.
Multiverses Going Offline
I’ve never seen a game get “unreleased” before. Usually, once an open beta is out and you’ve paid for it, you can play it until release. But Multiverses was taken offline in March this year. Multiverses is a platform fighter similar to Smash Brothers. But with Warner Brother’s properties. A re-release is planned for sometime in 2024. Hopefully, the second launch will do much better for them.
The Day Before
Speaking of “unreleases” The Day Before possibly has the quickest launch and closure of a game and its studio ever. In a matter of days, the game launched a buggy mess, and the studio, “FNTASTIC” closed. In what many have said is a rug-pull scam. A quick cash out for the studio to cash in over hype. Steam has been issuing refunds, and lawsuits seem to be in development.
The Game Awards 30-Second Speeches
In what seems to be in disrespect to the developers. The Game Awards only allowed 30-second speeches for each winner. Developers who put their heart and soul into many great games this year did not get to say everything they wanted to say. Where in the name “Awards” did not seem to shine true as most of the time was spent on ads and promotions for upcoming games. The Awards part seemed like an afterthought this year. No offense to Geoff Keighley, I know he has to pay the bills for the show. But maybe put more time into the “Award” segments of the ceremony.
A Tumultuous Year for Games Comes to an End
This year has had some major ups and downs for the industry. From major releases to major layoffs. Here’s to 2024 to hopefully bring something great! Happy New Year from Wicked Good Gaming!
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