Top 10 Bad Games That Were Recalled Or Delisted

Developer PlatinumGames is one of the biggest names in the action genre. But that doesn’t make the studio infallible and “Babylon’s Fall” stands as the biggest example. Despite being an action RPG, Platinum’s bread and butter, the Square Enix-published release didn’t have much going for it. Combat was dull, progression was confusing, and basically no one wanted any of the live service elements. At launch, it sold very poorly and only reached about 1,200 players on Steam. Things didn’t look up as time went on, and the decision was made to delist the game from digital stores only 6 months after release. Servers also shut down in February of 2023, making all physical copies useless.

Silicon Knights released some solid games in its time, but “Too Human” certainly wasn’t one of them. The blend of sci-fi and Norse myth could’ve been interesting, though most felt the controls, graphics, and long load times didn’t do it justice. However, a lawsuit is what led to its recall. The developer sued Epic Games in 2007 over a breach of contract and lack of support concerning Epic’s Unreal Engine 3, which was used for “Too Human.” Epic countersued for copyright infringement, winning in 2012. That meant every unsold copy of “Too Human” was recalled and destroyed, as was the case for the studio’s other game, “X-Men: Destiny”. Silicon Knights then had to cancel several games using the engine before filing for bankruptcy in 2014.

The early days of the Battle Royale trend saw many studios try to get in on the action. After an early access period, Xaviant’s “The Culling” released in late 2017, and did fairly well despite the crowded market. However, the studio released a sequel less than a year later. Competition was even more stiff, and Xaviant was criticized for clearly modeling the follow-up after “PUBG.” Players also felt it was unfinished and rushed in order to capitalize on the fad. It lasted a mere 8 days before Xaviant delisted it, shut down servers, and refunded all purchases. It then went back to the first game, making it free-to-play, but by then it was too late. And servers for that game were shut down in 2020.

“Kakuto Chojin” began as a tech demo to show off the original Xbox’s power. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way. Although it did have strong graphics for the time, that didn’t make it any fun to play. Its simplistic gameplay and story didn’t leave much of an impression, especially when there were so many other great fighting games to choose from. It was recalled in early 2003 due to the theme song of the main character, Asad, featuring verses of the Quran. Not only was that religiously offensive, but Microsoft had actually consulted with an Arabic-speaking employee, who spoke out against its release. Yet, it was released all the same. Amidst protests from the Saudi Arabian government, Microsoft recalled all unsold copies around the globe.

While the majority of content within “The Walking Dead” does well, the same can’t be said of Overkill’s brief foray into the franchise. The FPS tried to focus on cooperative multiplayer, but was panned almost immediately upon release for numerous reasons. These ranged from bland, repetitive gameplay to technical issues to unbalanced difficulty. Due to its reception, creator Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment ended its contract with publisher Starbreeze. It was only ever released on PC, and was removed from Steam in early 2019 just a few months after launch. Console versions had been planned and were even shipped to retailers. But with this decision, they were canceled and recalled.

Sega’s “Fantasia” adaptation may look and sound great, but that’s really all it has going for it. It was made by a small development team that wasn’t as comfortable making console games. Not only that, but it was rushed in order to release during the Holiday season. Unsurprisingly, it was roasted by critics for repetitive mechanics, poor controls, and frustrating level design. Among the other people who hated it was Roy E. Disney, Walt’s own nephew, who had promised his Uncle that no adaptations of the groundbreaking 1940 film would be made. Turns out, the license was given to Sega by mistake. And so, Disney halted all sales and recalled the somewhat 5,000 unsold copies to be destroyed.

We’ve seen plenty of horrible sports cash-in games throughout the years, but “Ashes Cricket 2013” is on another level. Developed by Trickstar Games and published by 505 Games, it received a very brief launch on Steam in November of 2013. It was a genuine broken mess, with every player experiencing a myriad of bugs. This led to it being removed from the site in just 4 days and refunds issued to all players. Additionally, the planned releases for the seventh generation of consoles were canceled in response to the mountain of negative reception. 505 even put out a public statement, apologizing for disappointing fans.

The “Afro Samurai” manga branched out in several directions, including an anime series and a couple of video games. While the original game adaptation got mixed reviews, its episodic sequel didn’t even get to finish telling its story. “Revenge of Kuma” was lambasted by everyone who played it for pretty much every reason you can think of. Gameplay was nothing original, and far worse than what came before it. Bugs were frequent and unignorable, audio levels were all over the place, and its plot was completely forgettable. The reception led to the second and third volumes being canceled and the game being removed from digital stores two months after release. Those who purchased it were given refunds and the IP has stayed quiet ever since.

With as over-the-top as the movie series is, a “Fast & Furious” game featuring some of the original cast may have seemed like a great idea on paper. What fan wouldn’t want to race through such bombastic set pieces? But “Crossroads” failed to drum up much excitement when it was announced, which was a sign of things to come. It was a completely shallow experience in every way, from its racing gameplay to its story to the cast’s voice acting. While reviews were very poor, the game wasn’t removed from digital stores until April of 2022. Bandai Namco didn’t give a reasoning behind the removal. But that doesn’t usually happen to games people like.

The creators of this PC adventure game ripped off several other games, and yet the final product was still an abysmal mess. “Limbo of the Lost” follows real-life sea captain Benjamin Briggs as he navigates Limbo. Its visuals are extremely poor, as is its voice acting, and it’s incredibly boring from both a gameplay and story perspective. What led to its death a month after its US release date was the fact that it copied assets and locations from other games, including “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” and “World of Warcraft.” Developer Majestic Studios blamed “external sources” for the copyright infringement. Regardless, “Limbo of the Lost” was removed from all storefronts and is better off staying forgotten.