Top 10 Biggest Gaming Controversies of The Year

The “Far Cry” series has typically been set in exotic locations, with the last two numbered entries in the series taking place in the Rook Islands and Kyrat, respectively. However, Ubisoft decided to bring the series to Montana for “Far Cry 5,” and some were none too happy about it. People immediately criticized the game’s themes and satire concerning the far-right and extreme religious ideologies, with some going so far as to call it a “white genocide simulator.” While Ubisoft didn’t intend to release the game in such a hot and tightly-wound political climate, it’s a good time for some social commentary, even if some groups may not like it.

“PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” was one of the biggest games of 2017, as gamers flocked to its meticulously-paced action, ease of entry, and tension-filled gameplay. It was only a matter of time before someone else came along with a similar idea, and that someone else was Epic Games. Bluehole, the company behind “PUBG,” considered “Fortnite Battle Royale” a direct copy of their game, saying, “We are concerned that Fortnite may be replicating the experience for which PUBG is known” and considered taking “further action.” Yes, further action against the company whose engine they were using. Smart. “Battle Royale” then went on to be a massive hit for Epic. Thanks for all the free publicity!

Our current political climate has been a real pain in the neck for the gaming industry, hasn’t it? Bethesda decided to reference current political events in “Wolfenstein II’s” advertising campaign, complete with the slogan, “Make America Nazi-Free Again,” a direct parody of Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” Of course, this was immediately condemned by the alt-right, who were upset at the game targeting Nazis, and Trump supporters, as they believed that the game was unjustly comparing them to the hate-filled group. In response, Bethesda’s marketing team basically said, “Get over it.” Now that’s how you respond to silly controversy!

As if the “Mass Effect” fan base wasn’t pissed enough after the debacle that was “Mass Effect 3.” Before “Andromeda’s” official release, EA released the first ten hours on EA Access and Origin Access. It was a bad idea. Players immediately noticed that the game’s facial animations were a little…off. Many complained about their lack of expressions, the soulless eyes, and the plastic-looking faces, and they became a source of countless jokes and memes. And then the death threats started, because it wouldn’t be a gaming controversy without some death threats! And to think, this was just the appetizer for the EA controversy main course…

The “Modern Warfare Remastered” controversy has spanned not one, but two years! In 2017, Activision re-released the original’s Variety Map Pack for $15…$5 more than it cost in 2008. Yes, you received some supply drops as well, but gamers weren’t very happy that a) the pack cost $5 more, and b) that Activision was releasing the DLC as DLC rather than incorporating it into the game like most remasters. If that wasn’t all, the game’s standalone release date had an exclusivity deal with Sony, meaning the PS4 got the standalone version one month before Xbox and PC. It’s a shame that one of the greatest multiplayer games ever is receiving this treatment…

“Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor” was one of 2014’s greatest games, so it’s a shame that its successor was plagued in so much controversy. It all started when WB Games announced that they were introducing microtransactions to the game, stating, “Through the market, players can purchase loot chests, war chests, XP boosts, and bundles.” Gamers were outraged that they had decided to implement loot boxes in a single player experience, and a huge debate soon followed concerning the ethics of loot boxes and gambling in video games. The ESRB even came forward, stating that loot boxes are not considered gambling because you earn a reward no matter what. People weren’t too happy about that, either.

“Grand Theft Auto V” is among the most modded games on the market. The possibilities are basically endless, and modders take great enjoyment in taking Rockstar’s playground and molding it with their imaginations. That all changed when Take-Two filed a cease-and-desist against OpenIV, the program used for modding, stating it “allows third parties to defeat security features of its software and modify that software in violation of Take-Two’s rights.” This rightfully upset the game’s passionate community, as it meant that modding for the game was officially dead. Luckily, nothing came of the legal threats, and OpenIV was reinstated, but it sure sparked a hell of a week.

Here’s a tip: don’t piss off Zelda fanboys, because they will go ballistic. Jim Sterling has a history of being a bit of a contrarian, and that was on full display in his “Breath of the Wild” review. While many publications were giving it perfect scores, Sterling gave it a 7/10, mostly due to some wonky gameplay mechanics, like weapon durability, and the game’s technical issues. To make matters worse, this caused the game’s Metacritic score to drop from 98 to 97! The horror! Rather than hearing his opinion and respectfully disagreeing, Sterling received a ton of backlash, and his site suffered a DDoS attack. Did you expect anything less?

PewDiePie has ventured away from gaming as of late, but this controversy proved that he can still cause quite the splash within the gaming community when he wants to. While streaming “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” PewDiePie dropped a racial slur, complete with a hard R, when his teammate was killed. While some rushed to his defense, saying things like, “It’s just a joke, lighten up!” and, “It was said in the heat of the moment,” others were not too happy, especially considering his recent history with allegations of racism and antisemitism. He really hasn’t had a very good year, has he?

Honestly, where do we even start with this one? First, there was the outrage towards the loot box system which was discovered during the beta. Then there was the realization that it would take roughly 40 hours of grinding to unlock heroes like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Then, of course, there was the Reddit damage control disaster which resulted in EA’s comment about “pride and accomplishment” becoming the most downvoted comment in Reddit history. Then it was the fact that EA tried to trick us by lowering the cost of heroes while at the same time lowering the campaign rewards. THEN, finally, there was the disabling of microtransactions until a “further date,” which has alleviated literally no one’s concerns. What a mess.