10 Worst Video Game Marketing Campaigns Ever
4. Put Out A Hit On Your Friends (With Insulting Descriptors) - Hitman: Absolution
When a video game property revolves around an assassin, promoters have to be extra careful if they wish to market it in a creative way.
Sadly, IO Interactive didn't think about then when releasing the Hitman: Absolution teaser, which depicted our titular assassin showering a group of latex-garbed nuns with bullets. The trailer was criticised for its misogynistic and sexual connotations, forcing the game's director, Tore Blystad, to apologise.
Although Blystad insisted his work was never meant to offend anyone, Absolution created a greater controversy the very same year! Two weeks after the Hitman sequel was released, IO Interactive released an app, allowing users to figuratively hire Agent 47 to assassinate their Facebook friends.
Not only was this a stupid idea, it was unnecessarily mean-spirited. The app encouraged cyber-bullying, since customers could identify their target by selecting pre-programmed phrases, like "his eye bags," "bad tattoos," or "his tiny penis".
Recognising the psychological harm the app could cause, IO Interactive agreed to remove the feature from the App Store the same day it launched. Even though Hitman: Absolution did well commercially and critically, its impossible to think of without remembering how abominably it was advertised.