10 Video Game Franchises Ruined By Studio Takeovers

Mercenaries - while providing all the happy go lucky shooting thrills you could want - wasn't a ground-breaking series, that's worth saying off the bat. But it was good, and when combined with other games created by Pandemic Studios like Destroy All Humans, there was a real sense of promise that came with it.

Then EA acquired the studio at the beginning of 2008. Things seemed to be going okay, with the release of Mercenaries 2 and The Saboteur. But behind the scenes, things were getting dire real fast.

A month after getting access to the studio, EA shut the Brisbane branch down, before continually thinning its ranks by firing those who worked there. In November, they closed the studio, firing all but thirty-five people, who would then be tasked with finishing the Saboteur.

Despite the fact that EA appear to have no intentions of adding another game to the series, the company has still renewed their ownership over the game's website - potentially to avoid a disgruntled ex-worker gaining rights to it and making more people aware of how their studio was ground into dust.