10 Ways Video Games Keep Pissing Off Fans

8. Bandwagoning

This one is a little more esoteric but once I crack into it I think you’ll see where I’m coming from.

It’s undeniable that video games are first and foremost made for profit, whether we want that to be the case or not. As a result, publishers generally aren’t too keen on taking a gamble on anything that might not prove to be commercially successful. Especially larger publishers.

The stories about publisher hesitation over things like Aloy being fronted as a female protagonist for Horizon or the industry assertion that CRPGs were dead right before Baldur’s Gate 3 took 2023 by storm are perfect examples.

While those devs got their vision made, many more aren’t so lucky, unless they opt for something more tried and true.

Enter what I’m short-handing as ‘bandwagoning’, publishers that see games going gangbusters financially and decide to essentially clone, copy, or reskin them. Instead of spending their time and money making something unique and innovative, they try to make their own Fortnite, GTA Online, or Call of Duty. As Larian put it after the success of BG3, “I hope [Baldur’s Gate 3] kicks the doors open,” Smith says. “If you look at the indie space, RPGs never went away. People can go to a publisher and say, ‘Well, look what it !*$% did for them.”

Fingers crossed that actually happens.