10 "Next Big Thing" Video Games That Completely Flopped

by Josh Brown

1. Lawbreakers

LawBreakers game
Boss Key Productions

Despite making the same mistakes that Battleborn did, Lawbreakers ranks much higher on the list because of just how arrogant its developers Boss Key Productions were in the run up to its release.

Spearheaded by Cliff Bleszinski, the director best known for the original Gears of War trilogy, the studio was certain that Lawbreakers was going to be the next big gaming phenomenon.

Claiming that the look and feel of the multiplayer shooter appealed more to fans of Tarantino, unlike Overwatch, which allegedly courted only anime fans, with every new interview Cliffy B seemed to make Lawbreakers about himself, rather than how the game actually played.

Again, despite repeating the line that Lawbreakers wasn't trying to compete with any other shooters, audiences didn't have space for another hero-based first-person shooter once Overwatch hit shelves.

Consequently, Lawbreakers came nowhere near close to matching the developer's astronomical goals, and at time of writing, enjoys less than 100 concurrent players at any given time.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.