Top 30 Biggest Video Game Glitches

“F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin” (2009)

Alma Wade, the ultra powerful psychic little girl of the “F.E.A.R.” series, is already pretty creepy. But this glitch from the second game made her even more so. Mostly encountered during the swimming pool section, this bug made Alma appear, floating around, and she would never go away. It was bad enough whenever she’d show up intentionally. But having her hang around, hovering in and out of your vision, was all the more upsetting.

“Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” (2023)

Insomniac’s “Spider-Man 2” was a great open world experience, but it still had a strange, common bug that plagued players. Some experienced a glitch when switching suits that turned their hero into a small white cube. This didn’t seem to affect gameplay. You could still web-swing around NYC and use all your Spidey moves to bring justice to criminals everywhere. And thankfully, restarting the game solved the issue. Still, a tiny box pummeling bad guys is a whacky thing to see in a game.

“Detroit: Become Human” (2018)

“Detroit: Become Human” took itself fairly seriously, with its story chronicling an Android uprising. But it could be hard to stay in the moment if you experienced this bug. In some occasional cutscenes, players would find that certain characters had turned invisible, save for their eyeballs, which were simply left floating in mid-air. Other characters would still interact with them in the same manner as if nothing had happened, which could definitely be unnerving. It’s hard to get the piercing stare of disembodied eyes out of your head.

“Mafia II” (2010)

Family is important in this 1940s crime thriller. The plot follows your character taking on criminal work to pay off his father’s debts. In a key cutscene that sees him visiting his mother, however, it made some players second-guess their familial commitments. Particularly found in the Mac version of the game, this bug would replace the mother’s face with a much more leathery looking visage. Her skin is certainly disturbing, but her beady black eyes don’t help either. Suddenly, the call of death and danger didn’t seem so bad…

“FIFA 14” (2013)

There are plenty of bugs and glitches to be found throughout the “FIFA” series. And this one in “FIFA 14” is undeniably hilarious. It seemingly happened after pressing a certain string of buttons whenever the ball was out of play. And if done properly, every single player’s hands would turn gigantic. There’s nothing quite like playing through a match with everyone mimicking the Foo Fighters’ “Everlong” music video. Though, we’d imagine this would make it a bit harder to score in real life with the goalie’s hands being the size of boulders.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach” (2021)

Like many before it, “Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach” has you sneaking around a bunch of animatronic animal nightmares to make it to safety. However, this glitch could make things a lot harder on you. Accomplished through sequence-breaking, this bug caused Monty the alligator, specifically the one operating the spotlight inside the atrium, to multiply. And if you were then seen by a security bot, there’s nothing in the world that could save you from the group of duplicates, which would come stampeding after you. Intimidating, for sure, but undeniably entertaining.

“Mount & Blade: Warband” (2010)

Like many action RPGs, “Mount & Blade: Warband” has players face plenty of imposing, deadly challenges. But…what do you do against a giant face in the sky? Pray? Yes, a persistent bug in the game could swap the sky’s texture for that of someone’s face, stretching it across as far as the eye could see. You could ignore it, or try reloading your game. But it certainly left an impression, being both utterly creepy and hysterical at the same time.

“Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” (2020)

Before the White Cube, Miles Morales’ solo game featured an even more ridiculous bug. If you went into the menu, selected a new suit and held the cancel button at the same time, it’s possible it would change Miles into Peter’s opening suit from the 2018 game. Only, their character models aren’t exactly the same and Miles would be left with a severe lack of chin. This caused everyone to refer to this model as “Spooder-Man,” named for the classic meme drawing. We imagine it would be hard for his villains to take him seriously, looking like that.

“Madden NFL 15” (2014)

In one of the solo challenges for “Madden NFL 15,” players discovered an incredible glitch that EA even embraced. When playing as the Cleveland Browns, it turned the normally six foot, two Christian Kirksey into a one foot tall, Tiny Titan. This in no way impeded your ability to do the challenge, so it was fantastic fun completing it as the miniscule player. Seeing the positivity around it, EA promoted the bug when it was found. It also released a promotional video with the actual Christian Kirksey, casting him as his one foot tall self.

“Hitman 2” (2018)

In the “Hitman” series, you can make pretty much everything a weapon to dispose of your target. And while a briefcase certainly can be a weapon, the ones in “Hitman 2” came with an unintended feature. Whenever players threw it at someone, it would home in on them, albeit slowly, until it met their target and took their life. Players loved the comical nature of getting a kill like this, making the bug extremely popular. They liked it so much, in fact, that when developer IO Interactive removed it, there was an uproar of fans wanting it to return. It was then brought back, with the homing ability kept as a feature.

“Call of Duty: Ghosts” (2013)

This popular shooting franchise has a disturbingly hilarious secret. Equip a rocket launcher with a riot shield as your secondary weapon, then crouch and constantly aim down your sights, to create what looks like some sort of entity piercing through someone’s skull. … Just … What is that thing? It looks like it’s trying desperately to escape this poor guy, feel free to comment on what that might be…

“Assassin’s Creed Unity” (2014)

The glitch that spawned a thousand nightmares for players and Ubisoft alike. Upon its release, “Assassin’s Creed Unity” was plagued with so many bugs and glitches that it affected the public’s trust in the series. Yet this infamous bug stands out as the poster child for the broken mess the game was. If you ever need a reason to not fall asleep, just remember that “he” is always watching you.

“Duck Hunt” (1985)

Apparently the programmers thought no one would ever get as far as level 100 in their game. Because in the ultimate form of torment, when you get to this level (Shows dog laughing without a duck appearing)… Ok Hang on, where was the duck? (Shows the Duck flying like a supersonic jet) Oh you can’t be serious! You know if video game Olympics were a real thing, this may be a red flag to test the duck for doping.

“Battlefield 3” (2011)

During the beta for Battlefield 3, there was a random glitch where a soldier may end up with no limbs and a long neck. This poor guy apparently can’t seem to crawl properly and for some reason shoots his gun with his ass, cause … he can. He scores bonus points when he grows so big he covers the subway … or … at least we think that’s him.

“FIFA 12” (2011)

“FIFA 12” features a rare moment of over-excitement that can happen where you score a goal, in which the striker starts making out with the goalkeeper from the other team. … Whoa watch that hand there guys. It’s great that professional sports these days are more accepting of LGBTQ players, but having lovers on opposite teams playing against each other? Is there a franchise rule against that? They probably should be traded onto the same team.

“Super Mario 64” (1996)

This is a popular exploit used by speedrunners to access areas of the castle previously inaccessible without obtaining a certain number of stars. Best performed in a corner, this glitch allows Mario to build up enough jump momentum to pass through solid walls, or travel incredibly long distances, Superman style. Glitch or not, the guys who do these jumps are freaking wizards.

“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)

This creepy glitch is strangely relevant to the story, as the intro of New Vegas starts with the player getting shot in the head, and having a doctor reconstruct the player’s brain. But upon awakening, you get the idea that he didn’t get the reconstruction quite right. Oh and if that wasn’t creepy enough, look what he does next. (Goes up to the player’s crotch) Whoa there. What are you doing? Do you know what website we’re on here?

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015)

You can summon Roach, Geralt of Rivia’s horse, from just about anywhere in “The Witcher 3.” The only problem is that sometimes, your steed will have some trouble getting to you, especially if there’s rough terrain or a house in her way. This has led to a ton of glitches, well documented by the player base. Roach may get stuck standing on her hind legs, or simply stuck in the side of a landscape. In the most famous instances, Roach would get stuck on the roof of a building, leading to the most popular meme surrounding the game, which was even referenced by Netflix in its marketing for the show.

“World of Warcraft” (2004-)

On September 13th 2005, the introduction of the Zul’Gurub raid created a server-wide pandemic. The raid’s end boss: Hakkar the Soulflayer, would cast a spell called “Corrupted Blood” which caused players to slowly drain health for a few seconds. However the spell also spread to any NPC’s or pets, and dismissing pets would cause the debuff to remain indefinitely. As a result; the spell spread like a plague across multiple servers that Blizzard was forced to do a hard reset. The incident even drew the attention of real like epidemiologists to study how humans would react in a viral outbreak. Whoa!

“Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag” (2013)

Now here’s a glitch that seems like it came from biblical scriptures. During Edward Kenway’s travels on shore, he may return to his ship only to find it missing and the water around where it should be has parted revealing a deep hole in the ocean, plus your crew members are stuck above the hole, hovering in the air. And then things get really strange. (show crew members floating into the sky) Oh and to top it all off. (show ship rising)

“The Sims 3” (2009)

Now for something more relaxing, peaceful and OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING? A weird glitch that happens usually with newborn or infant Sims. We understand that their mothers will still love them. But how on earth does one give birth to something like that? Are those claws or fingers? We can’t quite figure it out.

“Grand Theft Auto IV” (2008)

A game this big a detailed is bound to come with a few kinks, like the suicidal cops glitch. However, the one we’re going with is a glitch that’s not only humorous, but fun. Grab a car and drive to this swing set located at Firefly Projects in Broker. Then slowly drive up to it and then keep accelerating until … PULL!

“NHL 13” (2012)

Now this could get us to sign up for NHL Game center. Alas, the only place to really see “the Hercules Check” is in NHL 13. The glitch occurs whenever you check another player into the open bench door while a line change is occurring. What makes this Glitch even more awesome is that EA Sports released a video supposedly endorsing the glitch and acting like it was always meant to be there.

“Red Dead Redemption” (2010)

We’ve given this entry to what one might imagine a modern gangsta would ride around in if he were around in the old Wild West. Check out those Pimpin Hydraulics’ on that wooden chassis partna!!! Of course since it's still a glitch, trying to actually drive one will result in.. (Shows the wagon flipping on its roof) hmm…

“Skate 3” (2010)

It was impossible to narrow down a single glitch from Skate 3, as the game’s unusual physics in Freeskate mode allows for some pretty hilarious moments, like trying to use the force to grab your board, or deciding to spontaneously visit the sewer by jumping through the sidewalk. Sadly, these glitches have often been cited as more entertaining than the game itself. Bummer.

“The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” (2011)

Skyrim also has a lot of bugs to choose from, and we’re highlighting three, the first happens at random when a dragon pulls a Powdered Toastman and ends up flying backwards, and the 2nd happens whenever you do the Ice Form Shout to an enemy on a Cliffside. And the third appears to be the fantasy equivalent of ET’s flying bike. Ever seen a horse turn into a flying pinball?

“Pokémon Red and Blue” (1998)

A popular exploited glitch that has since become legend, the bugged Pokémon with a name that stands for “Missing Number” appears by first talking to the man in Viridian City who teaches you how to catch Pokémon. Then, fly to Cinnabar Island and surf along the east coastline until the seemingly pixelated Pokémon appears. Confronting this glitch has 2 effects: it duplicates the sixth item in your inventory, but it also causes the Hall of Fame to crash. Side note: Considering his infamy, why hasn’t Missingno become a legitimate Pokémon yet?

“Heavy Rain” (2010)

In the final act of the game (oh spoiler alert) when you find out who the killer was, a rare glitch can appear in what is supposed to be a very emotional scene, turning it into comedic gold. Just Watch! It’s even better when towards the end: Ethan picks up Shaun and carries him, while still shouting his name. Amazingly the glitch still remains in the PS4 re-master.

“Goldeneye 007” (1997)

This is a glitch that happens whenever the cartridge in the N64 is tilted; causing NPC’s to spin erratically and we DO NOT recommend trying to replicate it. But what makes this glitch memorable is what happened when you put the footage on the internet: a little song called “Promise” by Hirose Kohmi is used as background music. The result is this amazing meme and inspired people to dance in erratic poses done completely in freeze-frame editing.

“Super Mario Bros.” (1985)

Mario might just have the most famous glitch of all as it’s practically notorious with gaming itself. You can perform this glitch by clipping through the wall at the end of World 1-2 as shown here, and then traveling down the nearest pipe. This takes you to world negative 1, which is essentially world 2-2 but with one difference, once you get in the pipe, you’ll go back to the start. Meaning: You are doomed to DIE here.

What are some of your favorite video game glitches? Share them with us in the comments below!