10 Video Game Franchises Ruined By Studio Takeovers
4. Dungeon Keeper
Dungeon Keeper wasn't made to blow any minds, but it's also undeniable that it was a fun strategy game, followed by a slightly-less-fun (but still good) sequel.
EA had owned the company that created this franchise - Bullfrog Productions - since 1994, and appeared to mostly play nice with them and leave them to their own devices. Then Dungeon Keeper 2 didn't sell as well as expected, and everything got a bit wild.
Bullfrog ceased working on Dungeon Keeper 3 and later its Designer Series after these were shutdown by EA, instead joining the ranks by being merged into EA UK, leading to the unofficial end of the studio.
To pour a little salt in the wound, the first Dungeon Keeper would be remade, but with - you guessed it - so many microtransactions that even people who didn't mind them were a little put off.
The most painful part about this is that Dungeon Keeper by all means suited a mobile release, just not one that was filled to the brim with adverts and insistence that you fork out a constant stream of real world money to play it.