10 Biggest Scams In Gaming History

3. Dungeon Keeper (2014)

THE DAY BEFORE
EA

Dungeon Keeper was a brilliant strategy title, allowing players to micromanage minions, personalise their own torture chamber, and summon hellhounds to urinate on enemies.

Since it was only available on Windows and MS-DOS, the underrated gem was never as popular as it should've been. So, when EA announced a mobile remake was in the works, it looked like Dungeon Keeper would get the appreciation it deserved.

Unfortunately, Dungeon Keeper 2014 focused so much on micro-transactions, it was obvious the creators cared more about money than capturing the spirit of the original. Due to the ridiculous waiting times and heavy reliance on in-app purchases, the European Commission had to step in, saying this manipulative system violated consumer protection.

Not only that, this so-called reimagining barely resembled the source material. The intimidating characters had been babyfied and the gameplay focused more on tower defence. In fact, Dungeon Keeper 2014 felt more like a Clash of the Clans clone than Dungeon Keeper

Rather than taking this criticism onboard, EA sneakily filtered out bad reviews, giving the illusion this dreck wasn't as god-awful as it was.

Although this incarnation of Dungeon Keeper was closed down in 2022, it's a miracle it wasn't canned sooner.

 
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James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows