10 Video Games Probably Made Out Of Spite

Rockstar's 2003 stealth-horror game Manhunt was released to enormous controversy due to its high level of graphic violence, which a year later led to a a moral panic being incited by the British press, suggesting that the killer of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah may have been "trained" by the game.

This naturally only led to Manhunt becoming a more sought-after item worldwide, and despite Rockstar's understandable frustration at their grisly game being linked to real-life killing, they pretty much seemed to double down for the sequel. Controversy creates cash, after all.

Within two days of Manhunt 2 being announced, before any gameplay footage had been released, campaigners began calling for the game to be banned, and the situation only became more heated as its release neared.

Many ratings boards around the world refused to classify Manhunt 2 due to its extreme violence, deemed to be far in excess of the original Manhunt, such that it was only released in some territories with brutal executions blurred out and the point-scoring system removed.

Though reviews were ultimately wildly mixed, it's clear that Rockstar saw the hysterical reaction to the original game and decided to one-up things for the sequel, no matter the enormous hassle it caused them.