10 Upcoming Video Games Being Sent Out To Die
Saints Row is just around the corner, but you'd barely know it.
Video game development is an absurdly tricky business, far more than most of us ever realise, because even if a game is brilliantly crafted and well received by critics, if it's not given sufficient support by the publisher it can still end up flopping hard.
We're seen countless examples over the years of games, whether good or bad, being kicked out the door with the clear indication that the publisher was basically sending them off to their demise.
Perhaps the publisher has decided to release the game on a stacked release date, maybe they're putting it out while it appears blatantly unfinished, or they're simply not giving it the marketing support you'd expect.
While some of these games are likely to received mixed-at-best reviews and fail to make a dent as a result, others actually have a chance of going over superbly well with critics, yet considering how little chatter and hype some of them have on social media, you'd barely know it.
It's always nice to be surprised by an unexpected smash hit, but it's looking like these 10 games are being sent out with few expectations of major success...
10. Skull & Bones
Ubisoft's pirate-themed action-adventure game Skull and Bones was announced at E3 2017 with an originally planned release in late 2018, yet following numerous delays, word went suspiciously quiet on the project, which actually began development way back in 2013.
In late 2020, the studio finally confirmed that Skull and Bones had been retooled with a "new vision," hence the lengthy delays, and after years of many players assuming it had become vaporware, its release date was finally announced earlier this month.
Almost an entire decade after development started, Skull and Bones will release on November 8 of this year - a troubling release date for two reasons.
For starters, this is a mere day before God of War: Ragnarok comes out - a hugely anticipated game that will suck all the oxygen out of the room and leave little for Skull and Bones.
Then there's the fact that Ubisoft has no choice but to release the game due to a contractual agreement with the Singapore government, who provided subsidies to the publisher on the condition that the title release within a set period. Yikes.
Given the many extensive reports of the game's disastrous production, it's clear that Ubisoft just wants to be rid of this thing with all the grace and enthusiasm of someone passing a kidney stone.