10 Times Publishers Sabotaged Their Own Video Games

1. Homogenising All Their Franchises - Ubisoft

Again, it's a real shame what's become of Ubisoft over the last console generation. The Tom Clancy brand just isn't what it was - with only one Splinter Cell title releasing over the last nine years - while all their other games have melted into one uniform, open-world template. Things just aren't what they used to be.

Yes, Ubi has found success. Rainbow Six Siege may not be like the older Rainbow titles, but it's probably the most compelling multiplayer shooter of the last five years. Likewise, Assassin's Creed has also been revitalised by shifting the franchise from the action-adventure genre to something more akin to an RPG. They're not for everyone - and perhaps not even for those who enjoyed both those series' older titles - but they are their own thing.

The same cannot be said of most other Ubisoft titles. Ghost Recon - once one of the most compelling tactical shooters on the market - is now just a bland Division clone with nothing unique to offer. Games like Watch Dogs, Far Cry, The Division and Ghost Recon all typify the formula the publisher has ostensibly inflicted on most of its offerings, in that they're all open world, feature similar mechanics, and are all hit with the same bugs and criticisms year in, year out.

What happened to franchise identity? All these games are just the same thing repackaged, designed to cash in on whatever trends are generating the most cash at a given moment. Ubi only has itself to blame.