10 Times Video Games Didn't Care What You Think

Sometimes huge creative risks, sometimes just bullheaded marketing.

by Jess McDonell
the last of us 2 joel
Naughty Dog

We do a lot of lists covering all the times developers and publishers packed in extra treats, secrets, and nods for fans of their games.

More often than not, creators want to make players happy.

Then again, games are a product of a whole team of people with a specific vision, so sometimes that’s completely at odds with what gamers wanted to see. Or sometimes the vision is the same, but the execution is a mess and said game creators don’t or can’t fix it in a reasonable length of time.

That about sums up our list today which runs through all the times it felt like games were basically giving us the middle finger.

Whether by including a controversial plot device, misleading advertising, or insidious business practices.

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Contributor
Contributor

Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.