10 Most Controversial Video Game Marketing Campaigns Of All Time

4. Dante's Inferno Sparks A Christian Protest

Dante's Inferno
EA

The entirety of EA's "Sin to Win" marketing campaign for Dante's Inferno was an absolute disaster, but things really got out of hand when they staged a fake Christian protest against EA and the game itself.

Obviously, anything surrounding religion is an instantly touchy subject, and the misguided media stunt was criticised for being a blatant attempt to ruffle some feathers.

However, although it was clearly designed to push peoples' buttons, EA got more than they bargained for when the fake protest actually inspired a real Christian protest in response, which added even more negative coverage to the title.

That was a disaster, but EA's next "Sin to Win" campaign was just as bad, asking players to take pictures of "lusty acts" in order to win a "sinful night with two hot girls, a limo service and a [...] chest full of booty".

They just couldn't help themselves, and rode out the whole "Sin to Win" gimmick right up until the game's launch.

Contributor

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.