10 Biggest Video Game Financial Disasters This Generation

10. Hitman 1 & 2

The Hitman franchise just can't catch a break. Despite releasing two of the best stealth games of the entire generation so far, sales figures for both have been incredibly disappointing, for reasons that seem entirely out of the developer's control. The first title's episodic focus both helped and hindered, resulting in sales figures which were initially soft. Launch numbers were down over 90% on the last physical release, Absolution, selling only around 200,000 copies across its first few weeks, but over time as more content was released, recognition was gained.

The second game, however, has no one issue to really point to. After splitting with original publisher Square Enix and moving to WB, the messaging for the sequel was all over the place. A lot of people didn't even know Hitman 2 was going to release as a full game as opposed to episodic instalments, while the marketing in the run up to release was muted at best.

Throw in a ridiculously crowded November launch date, which put it in direct competition with Fallout 76, Spyro Reignited, Pokemon: Let's Go as well as the residual power of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty Black Ops IV, and it's easy to see how the sequel was suffocated.