10 Video Games You Hated Before You Even Played Them
5. Star Wars Battlefront II
The development and release of Star Wars Battlefront II was nothing short of a rollercoaster for fans.
After the previous game was criticised for its lack of launch content, EA promised that the sequel would rectify this issue by including a cinematic single-player campaign and releasing all downloadable content through free updates.
Pre-release, it really seemed like EA was determined to shake off their prior stink as the "Worst Company in America," that they had learned a lesson in humility and, you know, actually giving players an experience worth their hard-earned cash.
But that all came crumbling down shortly before Battlefront II's release, when players who took part in the game's beta test criticised its aggressive loot box monetisation, which heavily incentivised them to spend real money to unlock items and special characters which could otherwise take up to 40 hours a pop.
Though EA promised to remedy this before release, press reviews noted that little had changed since the beta, sparking the embers of global outrage from fans who felt they were being utterly disrespected by the publisher.
The backlash was so intense that EA ended up temporarily disabling microtransactions a day before the game's release in the hope of stemming the tide of righteous indignation, but for many the damage had very much been done.
Though Battlefront II still sold incredibly well, EA's share price dipped by 2.5% on its release date, and the company lost an eye-watering $3 billion in stock value within two weeks of its launch, while numerous authorities around the world investigated its predatory "gambling" practises.
Ultimately Battlefront II is in much better shape today, but the dark pall cast over its release was so intense that many never even bothered trying it.