18 Most WTF Gaming Industry Moments Of 2017

5. Everyone Hates GameStop (Again)

Granted, it's not exactly shocking that another story emerged trashing widely-reviled U.S. game retailer GameStop, but the controversies surrounding the company this year were especially infuriating.

Last February, GameStop's infamous "Circle of Life" program was brought to light by former employees, a strict quota system which encouraged workers to upsell pre-owned games and pre-orders, prioritising them over simply selling new games.

The quotas were said to be so harsh that many employees would just lie about the stock of new games in order to prevent their individual Circle of Life score being affected and consequently their own job security.

GameStop did eventually overhaul the system, but that wasn't the end of their PR woes last year. One of their animated adverts for Assassin's Creed: Origins featured a pop-up complete with the text, "Sorry. The Bonus Mission Is Blocked. Unless you pre-order Assassin’s Creed Origins."

Considering how pre-order bonuses are already a contentious aspect of gaming culture, GameStop being so brazen and shameless about gating content got them in well-justified hot water.