10 Video Games That Were Dead On Arrival
9. Crash Team Rumble
Rather than have Crash Bandicoot 4 developer Toys for Bob hard at work on the next mainline Crash game, Activision instead made them develop a multiplayer party game spin-off nobody asked for - Crash Team Rumble.
This competitive 4v4 "strategic platformer" reeked of cynical live service slop from the moment it was revealed, all the more so as Activision was actually selling it for a retail price rather than releasing it free-to-play.
With so many quality free-to-play party games on the market, throwing down actual cash for one that looked this unremarkable was an unsurprisingly tough sell, and so Crash Team Rumble bombed at retail. Reviews weren't awful by any means, but they did criticise the lack of launch content and repetitive gameplay loop - both huge downers for a game that, again, isn't free-to-play.
Even Crash's loyal fans couldn't be compelled to part with their money, as Crash Team Rumble ended up with less PS5 players during release week than - wait for it - the PS Plus release of a Peppa Pig game. Ouch.
Less than nine months after launch, Toys for Bob ended support for the game, though to their credit the servers do still remain live at the time of press.