10 Awesome Video Games Betrayed By Terrible Marketing

By the mid-2010s, the Halo series was known for having some of the most epic and emotionally impactful video game trailers of the 21st century. (Just look at Halo 3’s “Finish the Fight” presentation).

In keeping with that tradition, the “Hunt the Truth” marketing campaign—which included podcasts, teasers, posters, etc.—of Halo 5: Guardians centered around the intentionally shocking reveal that newly playable protagonist Jameson Locke will need to hunt down and face-off against series hero Master Chief (whose loyalties and ethics may’ve changed after Halo 4).

Naturally, that got fans feeling quite passionately—positively or negatively—about what they could expect. The problem was that the title didn’t focus on that conflict as much as they anticipated.

In fact, Master Chief is never truly branded as a traitor or villain, and he and Locke’s hyped-up antagonism is settled within one cutscene (after which Locke and Chief become allies). A lot of the lore established within the marketing—especially the podcasts—is mostly or entirely unacknowledged during the actual journey, too.

Consequently, Halo 5: Guardians was doomed to disappoint from the jump, with players automatically feeling upset about it what wasn’t rather than potentially appreciative of what it was.