Jump to content

List of controversial video games

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of video games considered controversial. The list includes games that have earned controversies for violence, sexual content, racism, and review bombing from fans. Some of the video games on this list have been banned or regionally censored.

Video game series

[edit]
Release dates Series title Platform Primary developer/publisher Reason(s)
1984–2009 Punch-Out!! Arcades, NES, SNES, Wii Nintendo, Next Level Games (2009 version) Numerous instances of ethnic stereotyping, mainly of the opponent boxers that the player fights.[1][2][3]
1992–present Mortal Kombat Arcade, PC, Consoles, Mobile devices, Stadia, Nintendo Switch Midway (later Warner Bros. Interactive) Blood, violence and gore. First fighter to introduce "Fatalities" to finish off opponents.[4][5][6][7][8][9] When released for home console formats, it became the first "big budget" game to raise the issue of violence in the medium. Possible catalyst to the implementation of a rating system such as ESRB.
1996–present Pokémon Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Wii, WiiWare, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Nintendo Switch Nintendo, Game Freak Jynx, one of the series' titular creatures, came under heavy backlash following a 2000 article by Carole Boston Weatherford that accused its design of perpetrating blackface imagery.[10] The resulting controversy forced a drastic redesign of Jynx, changing its skin from black to purple and shrinking its eyes and mouth. The series was also attacked by fundamentalist Christian groups, who argued that it promoted Satanic themes. In response, the Vatican broadcast its public approval of Pokémon in April 2000, claiming that the game was based on "intense ties of friendship", and lacked "any harmful moral side effects."[11]
1997–present Grand Theft Auto Android, Amazon Fire TV, Dreamcast, Fire OS, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, iOS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, PSP, Shield Portable, Shield Tablet, Shield Android TV, Windows Phone, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X Rockstar Games (formerly DMA Design, now Rockstar North) (Take-Two Interactive) Sexual themes, drug use, racism, nudity, foul and sexually explicit language, drunk driving, violence (against civilians, law enforcement members and military personnel). Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was originally rated "Mature" in the U.S., but was reviewed and re-rated "Adults Only" after controversy surrounding a fanmade Hot Coffee mod which unlocked a hidden sex scene (which was in the game's code, but left out of the final version). It was again re-rated "Mature" after Rockstar Games removed this scene from the game's code.[12] In Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, one mission features full frontal male nudity, while in Grand Theft Auto V, one mission sees the character Trevor Philips torturing another character in several different ways, including waterboarding, pulling out teeth, and administering electrical shocks to the nipples. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars featured a drug-dealing mini-game.
1997–present Postal PC, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PS4 Running with Scissors/Various Violence and anti-law, most of which is committed against both civilians and government authorities, as well as racism, sexual themes, drug use, language, and animal cruelty.[7] Postal 2 was banned in New Zealand and Australia.[13] In Germany, Postal and Postal 2 were added to The List of Media Harmful to Young People as adult only.
2003–2007 Manhunt PS2, PC, Xbox, Wii, PlayStation Portable Rockstar Games (Rockstar North) (Take-Two Interactive) Excessive violence and gore. Manhunt gained significant controversy after it was alleged that the game inspired a teenager to commit a murder. Banned in Australia.[citation needed] Manhunt 2 has been labeled as possibly the most violent video game ever made and is infamous for being one of only four video games to have received an "Adults Only" rating due to violence. Further controversy surrounds the Wii version, due to the fact that it actually simulates the violence through motion control, causing it to be dubbed a "murder simulator".[5][7][14]
2007–present Mass Effect PS3, Xbox 360, PC, BlackBerry 10, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One BioWare/Microsoft Game Studios (later Electronic Arts)

Falsely accused by evangelical blogger Kevin McCullough of containing "rape and sodomy", which later led to the removal of McCullough's blog entry on Townhall.com. The game was featured on the Fox News Channel following the controversy,[15] with host Martha MacCallum, which included the headline "full graphic sex".[16] The game was briefly banned in Singapore due to the controversy.[17]

While critically acclaimed overall, the ending of Mass Effect 3 was highly criticized as, among other issues, rendered all the decisions players had made in the trilogy, carried over through save files, moot, in contrast to marketing material BioWare had put forth for the game.[18] Due to a large reaction from the player base, BioWare released free downloadable content that provided a more cinematic ending sequence that addressed some of these concerns.[19]

Other controversies included the release of Mass Effect 3: From Ashes as day-one paid DLC;[20] public outrage over the alleged link between the series' in-game combat violence to the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which was eventually debunked;[21][22] and the portrayal and representation of women as well as sexual minorities.[23][24][25][26][27][28]

2011–present Gal Gun Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, PC Inti-Creates The Gal Gun series has been criticized by western critics due to allowing players to sexually exploit teenage girls. Inti-Creates was forced by Microsoft to censor the Xbox 360 version due to players being able to look up the girls' skirts, while the PlayStation 3 version remained completely uncensored.[29] The sequel, Gal Gun: Double Peace, which was released internationally, was banned in New Zealand for the same reason.[30]
2018–2021 Super Seducer PC Red Dahlia Interactive Super Seducer was billed as "the world's most realistic seduction simulator". The player is taught by a pickup artist how to pick up women by going through multiple choice questions accompanied by video clips. The game came under fire by a number of video game critics; one described it as the "world's sleaziest game",[31] and another criticized the game for "normalizing rape culture"[32] Prior to its release, the game had its crowdfunding campaign suspended by Kickstarter. According to its press release, this was due to "inappropriate content, including but not limited to offensive or pornographic material", and "spamming or abusive behavior, offering rewards in violation of Kickstarter's rules."[33][34] During release, the developer came under fire for ordering a DMCA takedown request against a YouTuber after he made a video critiquing the game.[35][36] Its release on PlayStation 4 was pulled by Sony shortly before it was due for release.[37] The original and second installments were blocked from release by Nintendo over explicit contents in 2021.[38] Despite releasing the first two installments, the third installment was pulled from Steam;[39] despite this, they allowed them to remain on their store.[40]

1970s–1980s

[edit]
Release date Title Platform Developer/Publisher Reason(s)
1973 Gotcha Arcade Atari Controversial due to the controls being perceived as pink rubber bulges that were meant to represent breasts and were squeezed in order to control the action.[41]
1976 Death Race Exidy The object of the game is to run over stickmen "gremlins", who then scream and are replaced by tombstones, which for the time was seen as overtly violent.[4][42]
1982 Custer's Revenge Atari 2600 American Multiple Industries The game depicts a crudely rendered General Custer dodging arrows to reach a naked Native American woman tied to a post with the goal of sexually penetrating her to earn points. The game was protested as being racist, sexist, and promoting sexual violence.[4][5][6][43][44]
1984 Raid over Moscow Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, Plus/4, ZX Spectrum Access Software The game's premise, based on stopping a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the United States by bombing Soviet military bases, led to significant political controversy in Cold War Europe, being added to the BPjM index in West Germany, restricting sales to adults only, and was deemed by the East German Stasi to be one of several games of "a particularly militaristic and inhumane nature".[45] In Finland, the distribution of the game was questioned by an MP of the Finnish People's Democratic League, leading to diplomatic protests from the Soviet Union.[46]
1985 International Karate Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Commodore 16, MS-DOS, MSX, ZX Spectrum System 3 Data East USA sued Epyx, the publisher of the game in the United States (under the name of World Karate Championship) due to similarities between International Karate and Data East's Karate Champ. Although the suit was dismissed,[47] Data East was successful in obtaining an injunction to prevent further sales of World Karate Championship, which was subsequently appealed and reversed.[48][49]
1986 177 [ja] NEC PC-8801 dB-SOFT A bishoujo game revolving around rape, it ignited a public furor that reached the National Diet of Japan.[50]
1986 Arkanoid Arcade Taito Due to its resemblance to Super Breakout, the game instigated a lawsuit by Atari, Inc.[51]
1986 Chiller Arcade, NES Exidy The game features scenes of torture chambers, graphic violence, and gore, which caused many arcade owners to avoid purchasing it in order to maintain a family-friendly image.[52]
1986 Twister ZX Spectrum System 3 Originally titled Twister: Mother of Harlots but was renamed after a controversy regarding the title and sexualized promotion with skimpily dressed dancers at the PCM Show, an industry event.[53][54][55][56][57][58][59]
1987 Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior Acorn Electron, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum Palace Software The cover art of the game, which featured bikini-clad Maria Whittaker, a model who was then associated with The Sun tabloid's Page Three topless photo shoots, and Michael Van Wijk, who was only wearing a loincloth, provoked outrage in the United Kingdom. Electron User magazine received letters from readers and religious bodies, who called the image "offensive and particularly insulting to women" and an "ugly pornographic advertisement".[60] Barbarian's violent content also sparked significant controversy and was restricted to adults only in Germany by the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien because of it.[61]
1987 The Great Giana Sisters Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, C64, MSX2 Rainbow Arts, U.S. Gold Nintendo had objected to its close resemblance to Super Mario Bros.[62][63][64] Later games in the series such as Giana Sisters DS and Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams were officially released on Nintendo systems.
1987 Katakis Amiga Factor 5 Activision Europe, who held the rights to R-Type, objected to the game's obvious similarity.[65]
1988 The Race Against Time Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum Codemasters The original packaging had an image of American athlete Jesse Owens on its front cover. However, after the game had been released, Owens' estate objected. Codemasters had neglected to obtain permission from the family to use Owens' likeness, and they declined to grant permission retroactively. Therefore, Codemasters was forced to recall all of the copies of the game that had already been produced, and to change promotional materials. The company replaced the image of Owens with one of Carl Lewis, who had offered the use of his likeness for free.[66]
1989 Super Monaco GP Arcade, Sega Genesis, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Gear, Master System, ZX Spectrum Sega Phillip Morris sued Sega (and some other video game companies, including Namco and Atari Games on behalf of their Final Lap game) because the arcade version of the game contains advertisements that resemble those for Marlboro cigarettes.[67][68]

1990s

[edit]
Release date Title Platform Developer/Publisher Reason(s)
1991 J.B. Harold Murder Club TurboGrafx-16 NEC Sexual themes, including a reference to an unsolved rape.[69]
1992 Wolfenstein 3D DOS, SNES, 3DO, Atari Jaguar, Game Boy Advance, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iOS, Android id Software Violence, gore, Nazi symbolism, and the inclusion of Adolf Hitler as the final boss (this was particularly problematic to German distributors, who banned the sale of the game outright).[70]
1992 Night Trap Sega CD Digital Pictures, Sega Violence, child abuse and sexual themes.[4][5][7]
1992 Freedom! Apple II MECC Freedom! was modelled similarly to MECC's previous The Oregon Trail to be used as an educational software game to teach students about escaping as a slave along the Underground Railroad; the game was developed with an African-American consultant as to utilize language patterns of the time period, and intended to be used with in-class curriculum to augment the game. However, in practical use, most students played the game without guidance, leading to parents to demand the game be pulled due to perceived insensitivities the game took towards the plight of the slaves. MECC tried to work with concerned groups to address faults in the game, but ultimately pulled the game instead.[71]
1993 Fighter's History Arcade, SNES Data East Capcom sued Data East in the United States and Japan on grounds of copyright infringements pertaining to Street Fighter II property. The U.S. case was ruled in favor of Data East (which argued Karate Champ was the true originator of the competitive fighting game genre), as the "copied" elements were excluded from copyright,[72] similar to Apple's graphical user interface lawsuit against Microsoft.
1993 Doom PC, Atari Jaguar, SNES, 32X, 3DO, Sega Saturn, PS1, GBA, Xbox 360, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One id Software First-person violence, gore, and satanic themes.[4][6][7][8] Was once blamed for the Columbine High School massacre.
1995 Phantasmagoria Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, Sega Saturn Sierra On-Line The game's at-the-time relatively uncommon horror themes, featuring violence and sexual content (including a rape scene), sparked significant controversy. US computer retailer CompUSA announced that they would not stock the game.[73] The game was outright refused classification in Australia by the Office of Film and Literature Classification in September 1995.[74]
1996 SimCopter PC Maxis A programmer named Jacques Servin introduced unauthorized "himbo" characters into the game, who would appear on certain dates and kiss.[75]
1996 Duke Nukem 3D PC, Sega Saturn, PS1, PS3, PS Vita, PS4, Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android, iOS 3D Realms Violence, sexual themes, nudity [76][77]
1996 Tomb Raider PC, Sega Saturn, PS1 Eidos An unauthorized software patch nicknamed "Nude Raider" was created by fans, which allowed players to play as a naked Lara Croft.[78]
1996 Battlecruiser 3000AD PC 3000 AD The developers of this game claimed that neural networks could be used by the player to command objects and characters within the game to perform certain tasks using an AI feature, however, such a concept was nearly impossible for the technology standard of the mid-1990s and various players of the game claimed such a feature was not actually possible (which would be false advertising) and as a result of this controversy, years of heated debates about this validity of the topic took place in online forums, with over 70,000 documented entries taking one side of the debate or the other.[79]
1997 Carmageddon PC, Mac, N64, iOS, PS1 SCi, Interplay Entertainment Violence against pedestrians[80] and animals.
1997 Formula 1 97 PC, PS1 Psygnosis The game was withdrawn from shops six weeks after its release due to legal proceedings with the FIA (Formula One's governing body), which objected to the use of the FIA logo on the game's packaging. It was re-released without the logo, but the FIA were left unsatisfied. The FIA lost a court case however, and the game continued to be sold without the logo.[81]
1998 Thrill Kill PS1 Virgin Interactive After Electronic Arts acquired the assets of Virgin Interactive in mid-1998, it quickly cancelled the release of Thrill Kill (which was due to be released in time for the holiday season) due to objections over the game's high level of violent content.[citation needed]
1999 Kingpin: Life of Crime PC Interplay Entertainment Excessive violence, especially in light of the then-recent Columbine High School massacre which took place before the game's release.[82] Developer Xatrix implemented a "safe" mode which tones down the game's gore and bleeps out profanities in an effort to appease watchdog and parent groups.

2000s

[edit]
Release date Title Platform Developer/Publisher Reason(s)
2000 Dance Dance Revolution Solo Arcade Konami In 2002, a local arcade in San Diego, California removed a Solo 2000 machine after members of the local "Youth Advocacy Coalition" complained that the background movies of selected songs contained images that could promote drug and alcohol abuse, such as a scantily clad nurse, pills in "I'm Alive", and alcoholic drinks appearing in "Club Tropicana". The machine was replaced by a mix which did not contain the imagery.[83]
2000 Daikatana PC Ion Storm A highly controversial advertisement regarding John Romero's involvement with the game, which caused an equally highly publicized outrage; the game was also criticized for its perceived "low quality" and "outdated graphics".[84]
2000 Soldier of Fortune PC, Dreamcast, PS2 Raven Software, Activision In 2000, after receiving a complaint from a member of the public about the explicit content of the game, the British Columbia Film Classification Office investigated and decided the violence, gore and acts of torture were not suitable for persons under 18 years of age. In a controversial decision, the game was labeled an "adult motion picture" and was rated as a pornographic film. In Germany, the game was placed on the Index List of the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons.
2000 Perfect Dark N64, Xbox 360, Xbox One (Rare Replay) Rare, Nintendo, Microsoft Studios (now Xbox Game Studios) While the game itself was largely met with critical acclaim, some felt that it was inappropriate for Nintendo to be producing, as they had already established a lengthy reputation for being a family-friendly video game company at the time.[85]
2001 Conker's Bad Fur Day N64, Xbox One (Rare Replay) Rare, Nintendo, Microsoft Studios (now Xbox Game Studios) While the game was critically acclaimed, some felt that it was inappropriate for Nintendo to be producing the game, due to its adult humour.[86]
2001 Tear Ring Saga PS1 Tirnanog The game, whose development was spearheaded by Shouzou Kaga, the creator of the Fire Emblem series, was subject to legal actions both during and after development by Nintendo, which owned the Fire Emblem intellectual property (partly due to the game being released for a competitor console). However, Nintendo was ultimately unable to stop the development or the sales of the game. Initially titled Emblem Saga during development, the game's name and other features were later changed to remove all direct references to Fire Emblem.[87]
2002 Ethnic Cleansing PC Resistance Records The game is played through the lens of a neo-Nazi white supremacist whose mission is to kill and eradicate various racial, religious, and sexuality-based minority groups. The Anti-Defamation League have had congressional hearings over the game in the hopes that it is made illegal to possess or sell in the United States.[88]
2002 Kaboom! Browser fabolous999 Players control a suicide bomber, the aim of the game being to kill as many people as possible.[89]
2002 State of Emergency PC, PS2, Xbox Rockstar Games (Take-Two Interactive), VIS Entertainment Contains graphic gun violence, including political assassinations and coup d'états. Additionally, the game caused controversy in Washington due to the game's similarities to the World Trade Organization riots in Seattle.[90]
2002 Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal Xbox Dream Publishing, Microsoft Game Studios The theme song for the Middle Eastern character Asad had Quran verses chanted in the background.[91][92] Kakuto Chojin is a fighting game and this song played in the background of Asad's stage, where Asad and other characters fight each other.[93][92] Senior geopolitical strategist Kate Edwards consulted with an Arabic speaker within Microsoft.[91] The Arabic speaker asked for Kakuto Chojin not to be released because the game's "incredible insult to Islam".[91] The game was released in North America anyway because the publisher though that the verses would not be noticed.[91] When the verses in the song were indeed noticed, Microsoft was pressured into destroying un-shipped units of Kakuto Chojin and recalling the game to remove the Quran verses from the song.[94] While this amended version of Kakuto Chojin was released, many uncensored copies still inadvertently made it to retailers in places where this kind of content is particularly sensitive.[94] One of those places was Saudi Arabia, a country where Islam is the state religion.[95] Kakuto Chojin made headline news and the Saudi Arabian government formally protested to Microsoft, forcing the full recall of the game worldwide.[91]
2003 Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball Xbox Tecmo Many critics have commented that the game's use of female bodies is often ridiculous at best, and some have found it offensive.[96]
2003 Whiplash PlayStation 2, Xbox Crystal Dynamics The game generated some controversy over the depiction of animal cruelty, mainly by the RSPCA.[citation needed]
2003 Laden VS USA Panyu Gaming Electronic Co. The game was based on the September 11 attacks and the packaging used a 9/11 photograph; two American stores banned the sale of the game outright and numerous American retailers refused to stock the game due to its perceived insensitivity.[97][98]
2004 The Sims 2 PC Electronic Arts A player-made mod allowed for the blur effect that appears when a character is nude to be removed. However, the nude Sims are featureless.[99]
2004 JFK Reloaded PC Traffic Games The player is given the role of Lee Harvey Oswald as he assassinates U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The game was criticized for its controversial content matter in recreating the assassination, and was condemned by a spokesman for Senator Ted Kennedy as "despicable".[100]
2004 The Guy Game PC, PlayStation 2 Topheavy Studios/Gathering of Developers An adult trivia game that treated winners to full motion videos of young women in bikinis. One of the women that was part of the footage was unaware that she would be appearing in the game, nor was said woman old enough to participate when the video was filmed. In the subsequent lawsuit against Topheavy, Gathering of Developers, Microsoft, and Sony, an injunction banned further sales of the game. Topheavy however, released an edited version (removing footage of the woman in question) that added new footage, and was later published as an interactive DVD title.[101]
2004 The Punisher PC, PS2, Xbox Volition Interrogation, torture, intense gun fights, drugs, and indiscriminate killing. Originally merited an "Adults Only" rating before being edited on appeal.[102][103][104][105]
2005 Super Columbine Massacre RPG! PC Danny Ledonne The game simulates the events of the Columbine High School massacre, having the player take on the roles of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and reenacting the massacre.[106][107][108][109]
2005 Gun PC, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Xbox 360 Activision The game's offensive depictions of American Indians prompted the Association for American Indian Development to call a boycott against the game.[110]
2006 Bully PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, Wii, iOS, Android, Shield Android TV, Shield Tablet, Shield Portable Rockstar Games (Rockstar Vancouver) (Take-Two Interactive) Based upon its title, it was perceived that Bully glorified bullying. The fact that the main character, Jimmy, could also kiss another boy was a matter of controversy.[111] Classification boards generally restricted Bully to a teenage audience: the US-based Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) classified the game with a T rating,[112] the British Board of Film Classification gave it a 15 rating, the Australian Classification Board rated it M,[113] and the New Zealand OFLC restricted it to persons 13 years of age and over. In 2007, Yahoo! Games listed it as one of the top ten controversial games of all time.[114]
2006 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Xbox 360, PC, PS3 Bethesda Softworks Re-rated to "Mature" by the ESRB after a third-party mod revealed a naked topless corpse hidden in the game's data files. While the corpse did not warrant a re-rating of the game in and of itself, upon review, the ESRB noted that the game contained much more explicit violence than had been submitted to them in the original rating submission.[115]
2006 Hitman: Blood Money PC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3 IO Interactive Excessive violence and assassinations; a magazine ad featured sexualized and violent imagery of a (fictional) dead woman in lingerie.[116]
2006 Mind Quiz Nintendo DS, PSP Ubisoft Recalled in the United Kingdom due to use of the word "spastic", which is considered highly offensive in said country.[117]
2006 Left Behind: Eternal Forces PC Left Behind Games Accusations that the game promoted religious "convert or kill" violence, sexism and racism.[118][119][120] Some reviewers denied that the game contained any truly controversial gameplay,[121] but instead took issue with the game's clumsy controls, in-game advertising and lackluster AI.[122] Ars Technica called it "a relatively harmless and well-done piece of propaganda".[123]
2006 Resistance: Fall of Man PS3 Insomniac Games The Church of England objected to the game's use of Manchester Cathedral's interior as a backdrop during a gun battle, and called for the game to be withdrawn, or for the cathedral to at least be removed from the game.[124]
2006 RapeLay PC Illusion Soft Rape is a core part of the gameplay, as the player takes on the role of a chikan who stalks - and subsequently assaults - a mother and her two underage daughters. Three years after its initial release, significant controversy was raised in the UK Parliament and elsewhere, and Equality Now eventually pressured its distributor to withdraw distribution of it in Japan.[125]
2006 Rule of Rose PS2 Punchline The Mayor of Rome called for the game to be banned from Italy, saying children "have the right to be shielded from violence".[126] The then European Union justice and security commissioner wrote an open letter condemning the game for "obscene cruelty and brutality". An Italian magazine, Panorama, claimed that in order to win the game, players must bury a girl alive, which the game's European publisher disputed.[127] On the UK release day, the publisher announced that Rule of Rose would not be published in the UK, despite the game being approved for release by the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) and Video Standards Council regulatory bodies.[128]
2007 BioShock Xbox 360, PC, PS3, iOS 2K Games An article in The Patriot Ledger, the local paper of developer Irrational Games,[129] argued that the game is "testing the limits of the ultra-violent gaming genre with a strategy that enables players to kill characters resembling young girls."[130] The game presents an ethical choice to players, whether to kill 'Little Sisters' for extra abilities or save them and receive less. President of 2K Boston Ken Levine defended the game as a piece of art, stating "we want to deal with challenging moral issues and if you want to do that, you have to go to some dark places".[131] Jack Thompson took issue with advertisements for the game appearing during WWE SmackDown's airtime, writing to the Federal Trade Commission and stating that M-rated games should not be advertised when large numbers of under-17s are watching.[132]
2007 Mario Party 8 Wii Nintendo Use of the phrase "Turn the train spastic! Make this ticket tragic!" by the character Kamek caused controversy in the United Kingdom, where the word spastic is considered offensive (which is the same issue that Mind Quiz raised). This led to a recall of the game; it was later re-released with the word changed to erratic.[133]
2008 Spore PC Maxis Spore's use and implementation of SecuROM digital rights management, including the game's activation policies, was subject to widespread criticism and lawsuits; the game was listed as the most pirated game of 2008.[134][135][136][137][138]
2008 Muslim Massacre PC Eric 'Sigvatr' Vaughn The game's contents and subject have been the subject of strong negative response; a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain said "The makers of this 'game' and the ISPs (Internet service providers) who are hosting it should be quite ashamed of themselves. Anti-Muslim prejudice is already on the increase and needs to be challenged and not reinforced through tasteless and offensive stunts like this."[139]
2008 Invaders! Douglas Edric Stanley An art game exhibited at the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig. It represents the September 11 attacks in the style of Space Invaders. Players move their bodies to move the cannon, and use arm movements to fire.[140] Like the original Space Invaders, death (game over) is inevitable.[141] Many people considered it tasteless and inappropriate, and Taito threatened legal action for unauthorized use of Space Invaders content.[142] The creator later pulled the game.[142]
2008 Silent Hill: Homecoming PS3, PC, Xbox 360 Double Helix Games The game was initially banned and a rating refused in Australia and Germany for extreme violence and disturbing images, which included graphic sexuality, nudity, copious blood sprays, decapitations, partially dismembered corpses, and numerous scenes of attacks, fights, torture and death.[143] The Australian version was subsequently released with the MA15+ rating and censored graphics, while the Japanese release was cancelled altogether.[citation needed]
2008 LittleBigPlanet PS3 Media Molecule Lyrics from a licensed song, "Tapha Niang", were removed due to fears that Muslims would be offended, on the basis that it allegedly contained words from the Quran. This led to controversy about the removal itself.[144]
2008 Too Human Xbox 360 Silicon Knights, Microsoft The game was revealed to being developed using a stolen version of Unreal Engine 3, following a successful counter-suit by Epic Games (makers of the Unreal Engine), Silicon Knights having initially sued Epic Games for "breach of contract".[145][146] In November 2012, the counter-suit was ruled in favor of Epic Games, forcing Silicon Knights to recall and destroy all copies of the game, as well as another Unreal Engine-developed game, X-Men: Destiny, as well as cancelling other titles that had been planned to use the engine.[147][148]
2008 Limbo of the Lost PC Majestic Studios The game's use of plagiarized assets from other games and movies prompted publishers, Tri Synergy, to stop publishing the game.[149]
2009 MadWorld Wii PlatinumGames, Sega On August 19, 2008, Sega announced that MadWorld would not be released in Germany.[150] Despite the fact that Australia is also known for strict video game classification, the game was released there unedited, with an MA15+ rating for "strong bloody violence and strong coarse language".[151][152]

In a preview, Eurogamer commented: "It's difficult to understand why there's so much controversy surrounding MadWorld when the violence is so very Tom and Jerry... It really is hard to be offended... because it's just so ridiculous."[153]

On March 10, the National Institute on Media and the Family issued a press release expressing its disappointment in Nintendo for allowing MadWorld to be released on the Wii.[154]

2009 Resident Evil 5 PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Shield Android TV, Shield Portable, Shield Tablet, Nintendo Switch Capcom The game came under controversy for a pre-release trailer that contains scenes of racism,[155] according to Newsweek journalist N'Gai Croal in an April 2008 interview. He also stated that organizations and retailers would object to the game, and that it would cause controversy upon release.[155]
2009 Saw PS3, Xbox 360, PC Konami Several news publishings stated that the game's only purpose was to torture and kill people in violent ways with no sense of restraint or morality whatsoever. Some editorials called it "depraved and inhumane", and stated that "Konami should be ashamed".[156] It was also listed in the "Top ten most controversial games of 2009".[157]
2009 Left 4 Dead 2 Xbox 360, PC (Steam) Valve The cover art in the UK had to be altered due to a potentially offensive hand gesture being depicted.[158] The game was initially banned in Australia for its excessive violence and gore, but the uncensored version was later rated R18+ in 2014.[159] The game's New Orleans setting so soon after Hurricane Katrina was considered "a bad call".[160]
2009 Fat Princess PlayStation 3
PlayStation Portable
Titan Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment Critics argued that the game concept and title were hostile to women.[161]
2009 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Infinity Ward, Activision An optional mission in the game entitled "No Russian" has the player assume control of an undercover Central Intelligence Agency operative, joining a group of Russian nationalist terrorists who perpetrate an airport massacre. The player is given the option to skip it at any point,[162][163] and a message before the campaign also warns players of the disturbing material. The game was discussed briefly in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom after the issue was brought to the attention of MP Keith Vaz, a longtime opponent of violence in video games, with fellow Labour Party politician Tom Watson arguing that the level was "no worse than scenes in many films and books" and criticising Vaz for "collaborating with the Daily Mail to create moral panic over the use of video games".[164] The mission was made optional before release[165] and removed from the game entirely.[166] Some countries have removed the mission in their versions of the game.

Activision later removed the Favela multiplayer map from Modern Warfare 2 following complaints from Muslim gamers, which shows picture frames on the second floor bathroom of one building within Favela. When viewed through a scoped weapon, the frames contain a quote from Muhammad that translates to "Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty", according to Islam Today. One of the paintings is located directly above a toilet.[167]

2010s

[edit]
Release date Title Platform Developer/Publisher Reason(s)
2010 Medal of Honor PS3, Xbox 360, PC Danger Close Games, Electronic Arts (EA Digital Illusions CE) The multiplayer mode created controversy when it was revealed that players could play as the Taliban.[168] The developers responded by stating that the reality of the game necessitated it, but due to pressure from various military officials and veterans organizations, the word "Taliban" was subsequently removed from the multiplayer part of the game in which players would directly play as the Taliban, instead replaced with the term "Opposing Force." However, even in light of this change, the game is still not to be sold on military bases. The AAFES Commander Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella said, "Out of respect to those touched by the ongoing, real-life events presented as a game, Exchanges will not be carrying this product." He continued, "I expect the military families who are authorized to shop the Exchange are aware, and understanding, of the decision not to carry this particular offering."[169][170]
2010 Six Days in Fallujah PS3, Xbox 360, PC Atomic Games, Highwire Games A game to have been set during the Second Battle of Fallujah, Six Days was met with criticism by war veterans from the United Kingdom, as well as from a British pressure group, Stop the War Coalition.[171] The game was subsequently cancelled in 2010 by its original developers Atomic Games. In 2021, a new studio Highwire Games announced they were reviving the game, but had spoken to over 100 veterans of the battle to make sure it is an accurate depiction of the events.[172]
2010 (start of development) School Shooter: North American Tour 2012 PC Checkerboarded Studios An uncompleted mod for Half-Life 2 hosted by Mod DB, School Shooter was condemned in the mainstream media and within industry publications for making a violent video game where the protagonist is a school shooter who kills defenseless targets.[173][174][175] In response to the controversy, Mod DB pulled the game from its website.[176]
2011 Bulletstorm PS3, Xbox 360, PC Electronic Arts Fox News Channel called out the title as the "Worst Video Game in the World" due to the extreme amount of violence; claims made in the original article were dispelled by video game journalists, including Rock Paper Shotgun, but Fox News continues to assert that the game is too violent.[177]
2011 Portal 2 PS3, Xbox 360, PC Valve CBS News has deemed the game offensive to adopted children, because the character Wheatley insults the protagonist by saying "Fatty fatty no parents". The daughter of the parents who reported this is, in fact, adopted.[178]
2011 Call of Juarez: The Cartel PS3, Xbox 360, PC Ubisoft Residents of Ciudad Juárez and Mexico protested the announcement of the game, believing it to highlight the Juárez Cartel, who are believed to be responsible for over 3,000 homicides in the city in 2010.[179]
2011 We Dare PS3, Wii Ubisoft Milan The "adult party game" received a 12 rating by PEGI, and a PG rating by the ACB, implying that the game is suitable for children, despite Ubisoft intending it be played by adults and requesting an M rating from the ACB.[180] This drew criticism for both rating boards considering the questionable content in the trailer for the game. Consequently, Ubisoft shelved plans for a North American[181] and UK release (despite it eventually releasing in the UK), while also blocking the trailer from being viewed on YouTube.
2011 Dead Island PS3, Xbox 360, PC Deep Silver After a development build of the game was released on Steam by mistake, it was revealed that the skill 'Gender Wars' (which the character Purna uses) was called 'FeministWhorePurna' within the game's code. Developer Deep Silver apologised, and released a patch for the game to replace the offensive name.[182]
2011 (start of development) Star Citizen PC Cloud Imperium Games A crowdfunded game, Star Citizen has attracted criticism for the constant, frequent delays of the game's release deadlines, while continuing to raise additional funds,[183][184] with the developers facing legal actions from Derek Smart[185] and Crytek,[186] as well as taking similar legal actions against critics of the development and funding practices associated with the game.[187][188]
2012 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive PS3, Xbox 360, PC (Steam) Valve In 2016, the game came under fire on the grounds of several players using third-party betting through the use of skin gambling, wherein players sell in-game cosmetics for real currency. This led to concerns of potential underage players participating in "skin gambling", which may lead to future gambling addictions, as well as the potential of match fixing within the game's competitive scene (see iBUYPOWER and NetcodeGuides.com match fixing scandal). Valve has since ordered a cease and desist against many Counter-Strike gambling websites.[189][190] The game also was denounced by consumer rights' organization Facua, who asked that ETA symbology would be removed prior to the game's release, alleging sensibility and respect to the memory of the victims and their relatives.[191] The game allows to emulate terrorists denominated "Separatists", who are depicted wearing white hoods and black berets, such as the ones worn by ETA during their communicates.[192]
2012 Street Fighter X Tekken PS3, Xbox 360, PC, iOS, PlayStation Vita Capcom, Dimps It was revealed that the game's downloadable characters were already on the disc in a ready-to-unlock form, leading to heavy criticism.[193][194]
2012 Persona 4 Arena PS3, Xbox 360 Atlus, Arc System Works The PlayStation 3 version of the game includes a regional lockout, allowing the game to be played only if the game's region matches the console region, despite the fact that PlayStation 3 games are normally region-free, leading to a massive fan outrage.[195][196] The game's sequel, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax however, is region-free.[197]
2013 Payday 2 PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch Overkill Software Payday 2, while having featured a large array of downloadable content, had been claimed by its developers would never include microtransactions. However, a major game update released in October 2015 included rewards that required the player to use real-world money to purchase keys to unlock, and with rewards that may not be usable if the player did not buy certain pieces of downloadable content. Fans of the game reacted negatively to the change.[198] In May 2016, Overkill was able to acquire full rights to the Payday series, and among other announcements relating to the series, announced they would remove the microtransactions from Payday 2.[199]
2013 Tomb Raider PS3, Xbox 360, PC Crystal Dynamics During an interview with Kotaku, executive producer Ron Rosenberg stated that one scene in the game depicts Lara Croft about to be sexually assaulted by a scavenger. She is forced to fight back and kill him in self-defense. Prior to the game's release, this quickly led to controversy concerning the possible "attempted rape" sequence. Studio manager Darrell Gallagher later denied this, stating that one of "the character defining moments for Lara in the game, which has incorrectly been referred to as an 'attempted rape' scene is the content we showed", where "Lara is forced to kill another human for the first time. In this particular selection, while there is a threatening undertone in the sequence and surrounding drama, it never goes any further than the scenes that we have already shown publicly. Sexual assault of any kind is categorically not a theme that we cover in this game."[200][201]
2013 Saints Row IV Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC Volition Despite changes in the Australian Classification Board to adopt rules to use the R18+ rating for video games in January 2013, Saints Row IV was the first video game under these new rules to be denied classification, due to the presence of drug use and an in-game alien anal probe weapon.[202] Volition eliminated these elements from the game to obtain a MA15+ rating by removing the mission these elements were used in,[203] thus rendering the game's co-operative mode incompatible with versions from other countries.[204]
2013 The Stanley Parable PC Galactic Cafe An in-game instructional video called "Choice" contained an image of a white man lighting a black child on fire.[205]
2014 South Park: The Stick of Truth Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC Obsidian Entertainment,
South Park Digital Studios
The game was censored (by Ubisoft's decision) in Europe and Australia due to its depiction of an anal probing by aliens, and the player-character performing an abortion. In their place, the game displays either a still image of a statue holding its face in its hand, or a crying koala, with an explicit description of events depicted in the scene. The German version was specifically censored due to the use of Nazi- and Hitler-related imagery, including swastikas and Nazi salutes, which are prohibited under German law, outside of the context of "art or science, research or teaching".[206] The PC version remains completely uncut in Europe.[207]
2015 Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number PC Dennaton Games The sequel, like the first Hotline Miami, incorporates a large amount of violence as the player sets to kill off agents of the local mafia, but a preview build for the sequel includes a scene that is set up wherein the player's character then appears to rape a female antagonist, though this is later presented in the context of being part of a staged movie scene. Journalists felt that even though the game made it clear of the scene's setup, the inclusion of this scene went too far in taste levels.[208] Despite some changes and assurances made by the developer, the scene in the game caused the Australian Classification Board to refuse to classify the game, effectively preventing legal sale of the title in that country.[209]
2015 Hatred PC Destructive Creations A game about a suicidal mass murderer, in which the primary mechanic is about shooting innocent civilians in the murderer's fit of rage. The CEO behind Hatred has been accused of having neo-Nazi and anti-Islamic affiliations, due to liking some pages on Facebook related to such beliefs.[210] The title has been highly controversial, and when the developers attempted to place it on the Steam Greenlight service, it was pulled by Valve due to the game's content; however, it has been brought back onto Greenlight by Gabe Newell, who apologized for the removal.[211] The game was rated "Adults Only" (AO) by the ESRB, which prevents retail sales and its release on consoles, and would likely prevent its sale on digital storefronts for personal computers.[212]
2015 Playing History 2 - Slave Trade PC Serious Games The game was created by Serious Games as an edutainment title to teach the user about slave trading. One game mode in the title was called "Slave Tetris", with the goal to try to fit as many African slaves on a boat as possible, using gameplay similar to Tetris; the developer had intended to show how inhumane the slave traders were, and how such trade boats were packed to capacity, stating "it really gets people to think about just how absurd and cruel it is". When the mode was discovered by a wider audience due to discounted sales of the game and Let's Play broadcasts of it, many critics expressed distaste for the mode, considering it to be highly insensitive. The developer pulled the mode from the game following this outrage.[213]
2015 Survival Island 3 iOS and Android NIL Entertainment A first-person action game in which the white player-character has to fight and kill Indigenous Australians while destroying Australian fauna. After a Change.org petition, the game was pulled from the App Store and Google Play.[214]
2015 Pakistan Army Retribution Android A first-person shooter game, based upon the 2014 Peshawar school massacre. Developed as part of the Peaceful Pakistan peace campaign, the game allowed the player to control a soldier during the attack and kill Taliban terrorists. After a negative review on the website of newspaper DAWN, calling the game to be of "poor taste",[215] other people also expressed criticism.[216] The game was subsequently pulled from the Google Play Store in January 2016.
2016 Overwatch Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Blizzard Entertainment A team-based multiplayer shooter which includes a number of unique characters, and matches concluded with the winning character doing one of several possible victory poses that can be selected by the player. Some players found that the victory pose for one character (a young woman named Tracer who is also shown on the game's cover art) was overtly sexual, and reduced the character to a "bland female sex symbol".[217] Blizzard removed the offending pose, replacing it with a pin-up model-inspired pose.[218]
2016 Street Fighter V PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows Capcom, Dimps An update for the PC version of the game released in September 2016 included a device driver named Capcom.sys, as a part of the game's anti-cheat measures, which was seen by players and security analysts as a rootkit. Capcom has since provided a rollback.[219] In 2017, an update which added M. Bison's classic Street Fighter II stage was taken down after fans noticed Islamic chants in what was actually a Buddhist temple.[220] A scene featuring the wrestler R. Mika slapping her butt as part of her Critical Art attack taunt was removed from the North American version of the game, as well as the entrance animation for Cammy. This caused debate in the community over whether or not the game was being censored.[221] Producer Yoshinori Ono clarified it was an internal decision to remove her taunt, and not due to response from the community."[222]
2016 Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear Microsoft Windows Beamdog Siege of Dragonspear is an expansion atop Beamdog's Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, itself a remastering of the original 1998 game, providing a narrative to explain events between Baldur's Gate and its sequel. Though the game was criticized by players on its release due to a number of software bugs, a controversy arose at what was perceived as a forced political agenda by the developers, in particular the inclusion of a transgender character.[223]
2016 Pokémon Go iOS, Android Niantic, Inc., Nintendo Pokémon Go gained significant controversy after the game allegedly inspired criminals to commit robberies using the augmented reality feature. CNN reported that the geolocation feature was used for robbers to find and capture victims.[224] There have been several deaths that occurred while playing the game, such as the death of a Japanese woman who was hit by a driver who was playing the game.[225] In 2017, Jiansheng Chen, a Chinese-American grandfather, was shot and killed by a security guard while playing the game.[226]
2016 No Man's Sky Playstation 4, Microsoft Windows Hello Games No Man's Sky started significant controversy due to its state upon release and how this differed significantly with marketing statements made by the developers. Both critics and fans cited the many bugs and game-breaking glitches present alongside missing content and features not implemented despite marketing material mentioning or claiming those features would be available at launch.[227]
2016 Persona 5 PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 Atlus Within the game's dialog includes scenes between Ryuji, a high school student, and two other effeminate men. Many fans of the series and critics commented poorly on these scenes as the characters were a stereotypical presentation of overly-sexualized gay males, and appeared to be inappropriate attempts at creating a sexual relationship between them and Ryuji as a minor.[228] Due to these complaints, Atlus announced for release of the expanded content in Persona 5 Royal, released in Japan in 2019 and in Western regions in 2020, that they would alter these scenes with updated lines "for the current generation".[229]
2017 Fight of Gods Microsoft Windows PQube Fight of Gods was designed as a satirical fighting game between various religious and mythical gods or godlike figures. In September 2017, after Jesus was added as a playable character, the government of Malaysia considered the game "blasphemous", demanded Valve remove the game from Steam, and had its ISPs temporarily block the country's access to Steam. Valve eventually blocked sales of the game in Malaysia, allowing the service to be restored in the country.[230][231]
2017 Star Wars Battlefront II Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Electronic Arts In November 2017, the game received unfavorable critical attention when its loot box monetization scheme during its open beta period was revealed, which many felt was a "pay-to-win" scheme, since some loot box rewards directly influenced multiplayer gameplay. Electronic Arts revisited the loot box approach prior to launch to address those concerns.[232] Just before the game's full launch, it was revealed that many of the playable heroes in the game would be locked until the player had earned enough in-game credits over time, or spent money on microtransactions to unlock them faster, further raising player criticism. Electronic Arts attempted to justify the change on the game's subforum at Reddit, but it was met with outrage, making that comment the most down-voted Reddit post of all time.[233] Hours before the game's release, EA temporarily disabled all microtransactions for the game to review concerns by players, and to rework the in-currency systems after launch.[234]
2018 Standoff Microsoft Windows Revived Games Originally titled Active Shooter, the game was developed by Revived Games, and was published by Acid Games in June 2018 on Steam. The game presented a first-person shooter based on a fictional school shooting scenario, with the game's description stating that the player can choose to be the SWAT team member to take down the suspects, or the students firing on the school. The game, which appeared on Steam shortly following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February 2018, came under criticism from students, parents, and politicians, directing concern towards the developers, publisher, and Valve for trying to profit off an emotional distressing situation.[235] Before the game could be released, Valve pulled the game and the developer from Steam, citing prior issues with "asset reuse" games by the developer and manipulation of Steam reviews.[236]
2018 Agony PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Madmind Studio A dark fantasy survival horror video game that puts players into the perspective of a tormented soul within the depths of Hell, devoid of any memories whatsoever about its past. The special ability to control people on their path, and possess weak-minded demons, gives players the necessary measures to survive in the extreme conditions they are in.[237] Agony is infamous for being one of only four games to have received the "Adults Only" rating from ESRB due to violence and other extreme graphic content (including gay and lesbian sex scenes and genital physics), following The Punisher, Manhunt 2, and Hatred. The game was re-rated "Mature" after the developers agreed to tone down the violence, which also led to PEGI rating the game 18. A planned "Adults Only" unrated patch for PC was later dropped due to "legal issues".[238] However, on June 6, 2018, the developers said they were "talking with Steam representatives" about offering Agony Unrated as "a separate title produced and published by Madmind Studio and without the involvement of any publishers." For those who already own the original game, this version will be either free DLC or a separate purchase at 99% off, which currently is the highest possible discount on Steam's platform.[239] After announcing the financial problems of the company and canceling the Unrated version of the game, the basic game docked on August 1, 2018, with a considerable amount of updates on the platforms on which it debuted.[240]
2018 Bolsomito 2K18 PC BS Studios Bolsomito 2K18, a brawler game where the player fights "the evils of communism", and "the growing corruption and inversion of values that plagues [sic] his society", according to its description, while in-game, this is represented as attacking women, minorities, and LGBTQ persons. The game was released on Steam two days prior to the October 2018 Brazilian general election, where one of the candidates in the election was Jair Bolsonaro, thus inspiring the game's name. Bolsonaro was considered a far-right candidate in the election, and led after the first round of voting. The Brazilian Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories has opened an investigation on both Valve and BS Studios, stating that the game and its close release to the elections "clearly intends to harm [the] Presidency of the Republic and thereby embarrass the 2018 elections", and "cause collective moral damages to the movements social, gays and feminists".[241][242]
2018 Assassin's Creed Odyssey PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Stadia Ubisoft The main storyline in Assassin's Creed Odyssey features the ability to select one of two playable characters, the male Alexios or the female Kassandra, and gave players the ability to interact with non-player characters in various romance options, including gay relationships; this feature was stressed by Ubisoft in its promotional material for the game, given that they did not want to force the player into any specific relationship. In the finale of the game's downloadable content, Legacy of the First Blade, the player character is shown to have settled down after the main story and raised a child with a spouse of the opposite gender. This annoyed players who had chosen to role-play their character as gay in the original game. Ubisoft apologized, stating that they wanted to show how the character's bloodline continued into future generations of Assassins, but agreed to change the story.[243] Ubisoft released an update in February 2019 that alters the end scenes, to show that those who opted to play their character as gay will enter into a non-romantic relationship with a spouse for the purpose of continuing the bloodline, retaining the romantic choices the player otherwise made before, as well as changing the achievement name for reaching this point from "Growing up" to "Blood of Leonidas" to avoid implications made by the former.[244][245]
2019 Devotion PC Red Candle The Taiwanese horror game Devotion drew backlash from Chinese players after two Easter eggs were discovered that mocked Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping, who is also the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. The first Easter egg consisted of a poster with text written on it referring to the president as a "Winnie-the-Pooh moron"; the children's literature character had previously been blocked online by the Chinese government for being heavily featured in Internet memes comparing him to Xi. The second Easter egg consisted of a newspaper describing the incarceration of an individual under the alias "Steamed Bun," a euphemism for Xi used by his critics to evade federal censorship. Following a review bombing campaign, developer Red Candle apologized for the Easter eggs' inclusion and stated that they would refund offended players. Reports from Chinese social media users also claimed that the game was pulled from Steam as a result of the controversy.[246][247] In December 2020, Red Candle had worked with GOG.com to bring the game back through that service, but GOG.com opted not to sell the game, stating it had received "many messages from gamers" criticizing them for doing so.[248] Red Candle Games opened their own digital storefront by March 2021 to sell Devotion and other games.[249]
2019 Rape Day PC Desk Plant Rape Day was listed as an upcoming title on Steam around early March 2019; according to its description, Rape Day was a "dark comedy and power fantasy" visual novel that allowed the player to "[control] the choices of a menacing serial killer rapist during a zombie apocalypse." The game's store page included numerous warnings related to the content, including "violence, sexual assault, non-consensual sex, obscene language, necrophilia, incest, and the death of a baby". Many journalists quickly expressed concern about the game's content, based on the description and troubling screenshots and how it appeared to glorify rape, and opined that the game would be a type of litmus test of Valve's recently-developed hands-off policy in terms of Steam storefront curation, believing Valve should block the game. By March 6, 2019, Valve had issued a statement that it will not allow the game to be published on Steam, and removed its upcoming store page. In the company's statement, Valve said, "We respect developers' desire to express themselves, and the purpose of Steam is to help developers find an audience, but this developer has chosen content matter and a way of representing it that makes it very difficult for us to help them do that."[250][251]
2019 Ion Fury PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch Voidpoint Initially titled Ion Maiden, Ion Fury was forced to change its title when the game's publisher was challenged with a trademark infringement lawsuit by the band Iron Maiden. After release, players found language within the game that was considered by some to be homophobic: a bottle of lotion labeled "Ogay" (parodying the brand Olay) and an inaccessible room containing the word "fagbag", allegedly a spoof on the title of the Duke Nukem theme song. Additionally, players on the game's Discord server found that some of the developers had previously used language that is insensitive to transgender causes. Developer Voidpoint and publisher 3D Realms apologized for the poor language, and vowed to donate US$10,000 to The Trevor Project, as well as patch out the offensive content. A week later, facing backlash from confused players who thought the entire game was to be censored, Voidpoint and 3D Realms clarified that they were not censoring content intended to be included in the game, and were merely removing the offensive word found within the inaccessible area, though still stressing that the behavior on Discord was unacceptable.[252]
2019 NBA 2K20 PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Stadia 2K Games Prior to the game's own release, NBA 2K20 received severe backlash for microtransactions components being advertised in a trailer which has blatant similarities to a casino. The heavy focus on these components in conjunction with the option to spend real-world currency on it has also caused many to criticize both PEGI and the ESRB for giving the game each organization's lowest possible age rating despite both boards claiming that gambling content, simulated or not, would warrant a significantly higher age rating.[253]

2020s

[edit]
Release date Title Platform Developer/Publisher Reason(s)
2020 Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch Nintendo (Nintendo EPD) The game was pulled from Chinese online digital sales as it allowed users to create their own displays in game, some which were used to support the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.[254]
2020 Cooking Mama: Cookstar Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 1st Playable Productions, Planet Entertainment The game was released without any approval of the IP holder Office Create, which started a legal dispute against the game's publisher Planet Entertainment,[255] resulting in the removal of the game on the Nintendo eShop and an extremely limited print run.
2020 EA Sports UFC 4 PlayStation 4, Xbox One Electronic Arts (EA Vancouver) The game, released as a standard premium title, was updated about a month after launch to include short but full screen in-game advertisements from third-parties. Fans complained to Electronic Arts, who stated that while they had used ads for the game itself, they recognized the negative feedback from players over these third-party ads, and disabled them within a few days.[256]
2020 Cyberpunk 2077 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S CD Projekt Cyberpunk 2077 was a highly anticipated game which had been planned for release around April 2020, but was pushed back until December 2020 between both technical issues, and as part of the COVID-19 pandemic. This put it into after the release of the next-generation consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game as released performed generally well on the Windows platform, but the game's performance on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was considered extremely poor; none of the pre-release material for the game showed the game working on these consoles, and players complained that they were led to believe the game would play as well on the older platforms. CD Projekt admitted that they failed to test these versions as well as they had the other ports, and assisted players in trying to get refunds for digital purchases, despite Sony and Microsoft initially refusing to provide these.[257] Within a week of release, Sony stated they would refund the game on the PlayStation consoles but at the same time, removed the game from digital purchase until further notice.[258][248][259]
2021 Boyfriend Dungeon Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S Kitfox Games Boyfriend Dungeon is a role-playing game mixed with a dating simulator, in which the potential romantic interests are generally male characters that can turn into weapons that can be used within dungeons. In a late stage of the game, one of these characters engages in stalking and emotional manipulation of the player-character, which some players felt was inappropriately disturbing, and not adequately warned about in the game's content warnings. Developer Kitfox Games agreed to update the game's content warnings and storefront pages to alert players about these potentially troublesome topics.[260]
2022 Diablo Immortal iOS/Android, Windows Blizzard Entertainment Diablo Immortal was originally announced as an exclusive mobile title for the Diablo series at the 2018 BlizzCon event. Attendees at the event booed the presentation in response, and fans took to social media to express discontentment with the announcement. The situation was further stressed when Kotaku had claimed that inside sources informed them that Blizzard had pulled a Diablo 4 announcement at the last minute, which Blizzard refuted the next day.[261][262][263] Following its release on June 2, 2022, Diablo Immortal faced widespread criticism over its use of microtransactions. Players alleged that the game is designed to be "pay-to-win" because it is supposedly harder for players to progress through its later stages without paying real-world money.[264][265][266] The game faced review bombing for Metacritic’s user review score, making it the site’s lowest ever user rating for a game.[267][268]
2022 beat refle Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows qureate The game was originally titled Massage Freaks and slated for release on Nintendo Switch on August 4, 2022. It received criticism for its depiction of women, which was considered discriminatory and reminiscent of real-world sexual crimes at massage parlors in Japan.[269][270][271] It was also noted that female characters in the game shared their first names with members of the idol group Hinatazaka46.[270][271][272] Following the criticism, qureate delayed the Switch release indefinitely,[272][273] cancelled preorders,[269] and changed the characters' names.[271][272][273] beat refle was silently released on Steam on July 31, 2022,[272] albeit censored.[273]
2023 Hogwarts Legacy PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch Warner Bros. Games The game received intense criticism from certain groups both for its alleged antisemitic themes involving goblins[274] as well as the Harry Potter series creator J.K. Rowling's controversial views on transgender people,[275] despite Rowling herself not being involved in the game's development.[276]
2023 Simulador de Escravidão Android MagnusGames A Brazilian simulation mobile game where players can, according to the developer "exchange, buy and sell slaves". It has been called racist in Brazilian discourse and Google has since removed the game from the Play Store.[277]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The 8 Most Ethnically Stereotypical Punch-Out!! Characters – Topless Robot". February 16, 2012. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  2. ^ "Racist Games: Punch-Out!". June 18, 2013. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  3. ^ "Top 5 Racist Videogames". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e David Craddock, "The Rogues Gallery: Controversial Video Games Archived 2014-03-18 at the Wayback Machine," Shacknews (September 29, 2005).
  5. ^ a b c d Fecal Jesus, "The Seven Most Controversial Games and why most of them are complete crap," GamerHelp (February 14, 2008).
  6. ^ a b c Kearney, Paul; Pivec, Maja (May 2007). "Sex, lies and video games". British Journal of Educational Technology. 38 (3): 489–501. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00712.x.
  7. ^ a b c d e Silverman, Ben (September 17, 2007). "Controversial Games: Some games push all the wrong buttons". Yahoo! Games. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  8. ^ a b Oxoby, Marc; Browne, Ray (2003). The 1990s. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 84. ISBN 0-313-31615-5.
  9. ^ Williams, D. (December 2003). "The Video Game Lightning Rod". Information, Communication & Society. 6 (4): 541. doi:10.1080/1369118032000163240. S2CID 144783288.
  10. ^ Weatherford, Carole Boston (January 5, 2000). "Politically Incorrect Pokémon". Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  11. ^ Barrett, Devlin (January 5, 2000). "POKEMON EARNS PAPAL BLESSING". Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  12. ^ Androvich, Mark (November 8, 2007). "Take-Two settles "Hot Coffee" lawsuits". Gamesindustry.biz. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  13. ^ "Interview with Ryan Gordon: Postal2, Unreal & Mac Gaming". Macologist. March 9, 2005. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  14. ^ Schiesel, Seth (October 29, 2007). "Under Glare of Scrutiny, a Game Is Toned Down". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
  15. ^ "Blog Archive » Conservative Blogger Claims Mass Effect Offers "Customizable Sodomy"". GamePolitics.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  16. ^ Schiesel, Seth (January 26, 2008). "Author Faults a Game, and Gamers Flame Back". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  17. ^ Boyes, Emma (November 16, 2007). "Singapore unbans Mass Effect". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  18. ^ Molina, Brett (March 19, 2012). "BioWare: No decision yet on 'Mass Effect 3' ending". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  19. ^ "'Mass Effect 3' makers to rewrite 'soul-crushing' ending for furious fans". Fox News. March 22, 2012. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  20. ^ Good, Owen (March 11, 2012). "Part of Mass Effect's Controversial Day-One DLC is on the Disc, Video Alleges [UPDATE]". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  21. ^ Ashcraft B. "Mob blames mass effect for school shooting, is embarrassingly wrong". Kotaku 15 December 2012.
  22. ^ Ferguson, Christopher J. (December 20, 2012). "Sandy Hook Shooting: Video Games Blamed, Again". Time. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  23. ^ VanOrd, Kevin. "Why Do You Hate Mass Effect 3?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  24. ^ Takeuchi, Craig (March 9, 2012). "Mass Effect 3 goes gay: Lesbian and gay sex scenes spark debate". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  25. ^ Chalk, Andy (April 5, 2017). "BioWare apologizes for Mass Effect: Andromeda's Hainly Abrams character". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  26. ^ Mulkerin, Tim (April 5, 2017). "'Mass Effect: Andromeda' News: BioWare might finally be taking its queer fanbase seriously". Mic. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  27. ^ Tamburro, Paul (February 9, 2021). "BioWare 'censors' Mass Effect Legendary Edition butt shots and gamers are mad". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  28. ^ Lavigne, Carlen (September 1, 2015). "'She's a soldier, not a model': Feminism, FemShep and the Mass Effect 3 vote". 7 (3). Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  29. ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 10, 2011). "There's A New Wrinkle In Japanese Schoolgirl Game Gal Gun's Panty Shot Drama". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on November 24, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  30. ^ "Gal Gun Banned in New Zealand – FVLB Calls Sexualisation "Relentless", Criticises "Lack of Difficulty"". Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  31. ^ Kaser, Rachel (February 19, 2018). "Slimy seduction expert slips world's sleaziest game onto Steam". The Next Web. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  32. ^ Cole, Samantha (February 26, 2018). "Putting This PUA Game On PlayStation and Steam Normalizes Stalker Behavior". Vice. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  33. ^ Maiberg, Emanuel (February 19, 2018). "New 'Pick-Up Artist' Video Game Teaches Men How to Be Creeps". Vice. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  34. ^ "Kickstarter suspends "realistic" FMV seduction game". GameWatcher. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  35. ^ Alexander, Julia (February 28, 2018). "Super Seducer dev under fire after DMCA takedown hits YouTuber, Twitter fight". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  36. ^ Bailey, Jonathan (March 6, 2018). "The Worst False DMCA Notice I've Seen". Plagiarism Today. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  37. ^ "There's a new game that teaches men how to pick up women". The Independent. March 7, 2018. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  38. ^ "'Super Seducer' has been banned again, this time by Nintendo Switch". NME. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  39. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (March 21, 2021), "Steam Refuses to Sell Pick-Up Artist Game Super Seducer 3", IGN, archived from the original on December 10, 2021, retrieved December 10, 2021
  40. ^ "What is 'Super Seducer 3' and why won't Steam sell it?". Happy Mag. March 23, 2021. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  41. ^ Gotcha at the Killer List of Videogames
  42. ^ DeMaria, Rusel; Wilson, Johnny L. (2003). High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 27, 28. ISBN 0-07-223172-6.
  43. ^ "NOW opposes Custer's Revenge video game". UPI. December 6, 1982. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  44. ^ "'Custer's Revenge,' a home video game in which Gen..." UPI. November 15, 1982. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  45. ^ Gießler, Denis (November 21, 2018). "Video Games In East Germany: The Stasi Played Along". Die Zeit. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  46. ^ Pasanen, Tero. "Gaming the Taboo in the Finlandization Era Finland: The Case of Raid Over Moscow". Academia.edu.
  47. ^ DATA EAST USA, INC., v. EPYX, INC., – UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – No. C-86-20513-WAI
  48. ^ Data East v. Epyx. In: Steven L. Kent: The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokémon—The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. New York, New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. p. 368-371.
  49. ^ Richard H. Stern, Computer Law 484 Professor Richard H. Stern Cases and Materials Archived January 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  50. ^ Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier, Hardcore Gaming 101, reprinted from Retro Gamer, Issue 67, 2009
  51. ^ "The Ace Fido Awards". ACE. No. 15. December 1988. p. 121.
  52. ^ [1] Archived September 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, When Two Tribes Go to War: A History of Video Game Controversy
  53. ^ "Sinclair User 44 - Gremlin". www.sinclairuser.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  54. ^ "A Sensible Chat - Part 1". www.zzap64.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  55. ^ Janssen, Tim. "Amiga reviews Special: The Toady Awards". amigareviews.leveluphost.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  56. ^ "This month in... C&VG '86". Ziggurat. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  57. ^ "MayhemUK Commodore 64 archive". mayhem64.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  58. ^ http://www.retro8bitcomputers.co.uk/Content/downloads/magazines/crash/Crash21-Oct85.pdf Archived June 14, 2018, at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  59. ^ "Twister". Games That Weren't. October 4, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  60. ^ Carroll, Martyn (March 30, 2006). "Company Profile: Palace Software". Retro Gamer (23). Bournemouth, United Kingdom: Imagine Publishing: 66–69. ISSN 1742-3155.
  61. ^ "Whodunwot". Sinclair User (68). London, United Kingdom: EMAP: 8–9. November 1987. ISSN 0262-5458.
  62. ^ Andreas Lober, ed. (2011). Die Clone-Kriege. Spiele-Plagiate im juristischen Licht. p. 170.
  63. ^ Eli Neiburger, ed. (2011). Gamers-- in the library?!. Amer Library Assn Editions. p. 53,174. ISBN 978-0838909447.
  64. ^ Collins, Karen, ed. (2008). Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design. The MIT Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0262033787.
  65. ^ Eggebrecht, Julian (February 23, 1998). "Factor 5 Interview (Part I)" (Interview). Interviewed by Peer Schneider. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  66. ^ "Race Image Change". Commodore User. No. 59. August 1988. p. 7.
  67. ^ "Chronology of Action". Tobaccodocuments.org. Archived from the original on November 30, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  68. ^ [2] [permanent dead link]
  69. ^ Video Games and Computer Entertainment. July 1991. Pg. 44
  70. ^ Wolfenstein 3D Just Got Modernized With the Release of Wolfram Archived July 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Indiegamemag, June 12, 2012
  71. ^ Whitaker, Robert (November 3, 2020). "The 'Oregon Trail' Studio Made a Game About Slavery. Then Parents Saw It". Vice. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  72. ^ Analysis at Patent Arcade Archived July 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine accessed June 18, 2009.
  73. ^ Kent, Steven L. (September 17, 1995). "'Phantasmagoria' Banned Due To Game's Violence". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  74. ^ "Banned & Censored Games of 1995". Refused Classification. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  75. ^ "The First Hot Coffee". PC Gamer. Future Publishing. March 2007. p. 62.
  76. ^ Soete, Tim (May 1, 1996). "Duke Nukem 3D Review for PC". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 3, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  77. ^ "Duke Nukem 3D review for the PC". Game Revolution. June 5, 1996. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  78. ^ Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo? Archived March 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Helen W. Kennedy, Game Studies, Vol. 2, Issue 2, December 2002.
  79. ^ "The Saga of Battlecruiser 3000". The 25 dumbest moments in gaming. GameSpy. Archived from the original on July 3, 2006. Retrieved July 11, 2006.
  80. ^ "The Making Of... Carmageddon". Edge Online. June 27, 2008. Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
  81. ^ F1 Racing magazine, December 1997 issue, page 20, British edition as imported to America
  82. ^ Video Game Maker Drawing Fire for Violent Ads. Los Angeles Times. June 29, 1999
  83. ^ "DDR Freak – Solo 2000 Statement". Ddrfreak.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  84. ^ 10 Years Later, Romero Apologizes for Daikatana Tom's Hardware, May 18, 2010 (Article by Kevin Parrish)
  85. ^ "Nintendo Introduces Perfect Dark". Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  86. ^ Casamassina, Matt (March 2, 2001). "Conker's Bad Fur Day review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  87. ^ "Nintendo Cries Copyright Infringement". rpgamer.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  88. ^ Scheeres, Julia (February 20, 2002). "Games Elevate Hate to Next Level". Wired. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  89. ^ Moore, Matthew (November 6, 2008). "Suicide bomber video game condemned by terror victims". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  90. ^ "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly". Game Informer. Vol. 11, no. 100. August 2001. p. 17.
  91. ^ a b c d e Brown, Paul (August 19, 2004). "Microsoft pays dear for insults through ignorance". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  92. ^ a b "Kakuto Chojin recalled". Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  93. ^ Brown, Paul (August 19, 2004). "Microsoft pays dear for insults through ignorance". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  94. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  95. ^ "Gamasutra - Q&A;: Englobe's Edwards Talks Gaming's 'Geocultural Risks'". Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  96. ^ "Controversial video games". virginmedia.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  97. ^ "Fail Video Game Bin Laden VS USA Hand Held Toy Review by Mike Mozart of JeepersMedia". DeadlineLIVE. December 22, 2009. Archived from the original on December 26, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  98. ^ Halter, Ed (June 2006) [2006]. "Part 4: The Dream War". From Sun Tzu to Xbox: War and Video Games (1 ed.). New York, NY: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-681-8. OCLC 68918463. cp3p6rfKdK0C. Retrieved September 27, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  99. ^ "'Sims' content criticized". CNNMoney. July 28, 2005. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  100. ^ Feldman, Curt (November 23, 2004). "JFK Reloaded picks up press, none pretty". Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  101. ^ Surette, Tim (July 8, 2005). "The Guy Game banned, goes straight to video". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  102. ^ "The Punisher for PlayStation 2 (2005) MobyRank". MobyGames. January 18, 2005. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  103. ^ "Case Study: The Punisher". Sbbfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  104. ^ "Games Censorship: A to Z". Refused-Classification.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  105. ^ "The Punisher for PlayStation 2 (2005)". MobyGames. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  106. ^ Holmes, T.J.; Nguyen, Betty (November 7, 2007). "Transcripts – CNN Sunday Morning". CNN. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  107. ^ Hung, Yee (June 12, 2007). "Exploiting grief; bad taste, it appears, makes money". The Straits Times. p. 1.
  108. ^ Thompson, Clive (July 23, 2006). "Saving The World, One Video Game At a Time". The New York Times. p. 1.
  109. ^ Townsend, Emru (October 23, 2006). "The 10 Worst Games of All Time". PC World. Archived from the original on November 4, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  110. ^ [3] [permanent dead link]
  111. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (October 26, 2006). "Bully's boy-on-boy scene causing a stir". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  112. ^ "Bully". Entertainment Software Rating Board. January 4, 2010. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  113. ^ "Bully (Multi Platform)". Australian Classification Board. Australian Government. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  114. ^ Silverman, Ben (September 17, 2007). "Controversial Games". Yahoo! Games. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  115. ^ Zenke, Michael (June 19, 2007). ""Boobies Did Not Break the Game": The ESRB Clears the Air On Oblivion". The Escapist. Archived from the original on January 13, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
  116. ^ "Controversially Executed". January 13, 2009. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  117. ^ Hayward, Andrew (June 29, 2007). "Mind Quiz Yanked in UK for Offensive Term". 1up.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  118. ^ Musgrove, Mike (August 17, 2006). "Fire and Brimstone, Guns and Ammo". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  119. ^ Greene, Richard (December 14, 2006). "Christian video game draws anger". BBC. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  120. ^ Tapper, Jake; Miller, Avery (December 4, 2006). "Faith-Based Killing? Critics Rip Christian Video Game". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  121. ^ "GameSpy: Left Behind: Eternal Forces review". Pc.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  122. ^ Butts, Steve. "IGN: Left Behind: Eternal Forces review". Pc.ign.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  123. ^ Kuchera, Ben (December 13, 2006). "Left Behind: Eternal Forces review". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on September 12, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  124. ^ Bramwell, Tom (June 11, 2007). "Church of England attacks use of cathedral in PS3's Resistance". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  125. ^ Sorrel, Charlie. "UK Politician Calls Police War On Photography "Daft"". Wired. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  126. ^ Bramwell, Tom (November 15, 2006). "Rome mayor wants game banned". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  127. ^ Gibson, Ellie (November 17, 2006). "505 Games responds to Rule of Rose controversy". gamesindustry.biz. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  128. ^ Martin, Matt (November 24, 2006). "505 Games cans Rule of Rose". gamesindustry.biz. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  129. ^ "BioShock draws attention for 'killing' little girls". GamePro. August 24, 2007. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  130. ^ Orland, Kyle (August 23, 2007). "BioShock's Little Sister killing gets mainstream attention". Joystiq. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  131. ^ Fahey, Mike (August 25, 2007). "Killing Little Girls". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  132. ^ "Jack Thompson Shocked by Bioshock TV Ads". GamePolitics.com. August 19, 2007. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  133. ^ "'Spastic' video game is recalled". Metro.co.uk. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  134. ^ "Casual Friday: Why Spore Won't Work". PC World. September 12, 2008. Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  135. ^ Teridman, Daniel (May 8, 2008). "Report: Gamers angry at DRM system from EA". CNet News. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  136. ^ "Spore DRM: the evolution of a brewing controversy". HeraldNet. September 9, 2008. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  137. ^ Kramer, Staci D. (September 19, 2008). "EA Admits Spore Launch Botched by DRM; Still, Financial Damage Already Done". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  138. ^ "Top 10 Most Pirated Games of 2008". TorrentFreak. December 4, 2008. Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  139. ^ "'Muslim Massacre' computer game blasted in Britain". ABC News. September 13, 2008. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  140. ^ Stanley, Douglas Edric (August 7, 2008). "Invaders!". Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  141. ^ Stanley, Douglas Edric (August 25, 2008). "Some Context..." Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  142. ^ a b Remo, Chris (August 25, 2008). "Creator of Space Invaders-Based 9/11 Art Piece Pulls Exhibit". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  143. ^ "Silent Hill Aussie Ban Update". IGN. September 29, 2008. Archived from the original on June 1, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  144. ^ Farivar, Cyrus (October 20, 2008). "Sony recalls LittleBigPlanet over Quran quote in music". Machinist: Salon.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
  145. ^ "Yahoo!". biz.gamedaily.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  146. ^ Carless, Simon. "Breaking: Silicon Knights Files Lawsuit Against Epic". Gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  147. ^ "Epic Games prevails in lawsuit, awarded $4.5M -TechWire Insider :: Editor's Blog at WRAL TechWire". Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  148. ^ "Silicon Knights ordered to destroy unsold copies of all Unreal Engine games – VG247". Vg247.com. November 9, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  149. ^ Caoili, Eric (June 12, 2008). "Tri Synergy Discontinues Limbo Of The Lost On Stolen Asset Allegations". Gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
  150. ^ "House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld banned from Germany". Nintendo Everything. August 19, 2008. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  151. ^ rawmeatcowboy (October 7, 2008). "SEGA planning to bring MadWorld to Australia". GoNintendo. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  152. ^ "IGN: MadWorld Gets AU Classification". January 22, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  153. ^ MacDonald, Keza (September 19, 2008). "MadWorld". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  154. ^ "IGN: NIMF Disappointed with Nintendo". March 15, 2009. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  155. ^ a b John, Tracey (April 10, 2008). "Newsweek's N'Gai Croal On The 'Resident Evil 5′ Trailer: 'This Imagery Has A History'". MTV. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  156. ^ "Editorial: SAW Game Is Depraved And Inhumane; Konami Should Be Ashamed". Cinemablend.com. July 28, 2009. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  157. ^ "Most Controversial Games of 2009". GameDaily. October 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 13, 2009. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  158. ^ Amrich, Dan (July 2, 2009). "Only on Xbox 360: Left 4 Dead 2". Official Xbox Magazine UK. No. 49. Future Publishing. p. 43.
  159. ^ Ramadge, Andrew (September 17, 2009). "Left 4 Dead 2 refused classification in Australia". News.com.au. Archived from the original on December 10, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2009.
  160. ^ Jefferson, Willie (July 14, 2009). "Racism in video games: The new norm?". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
  161. ^ Kalning, Kristin. 'Fat Princess' game stirs up heavy debate Archived June 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  162. ^ Kietzmann, Ludwig (October 28, 2009). "New Modern Warfare: Airport Murder Simulator 2 video game glorifies terrorism". Joystiq.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2009.
  163. ^ Crecente, Brian (October 28, 2009). "Modern Warfare 2 Features Skippable Scene of Atrocities – Modern warfare 2 – Kotaku". Feeds.gawker.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2009.
  164. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 09 Nov 2009 (pt 0002)". Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. November 9, 2009. Archived from the original on November 19, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  165. ^ Shoemaker, Natalie (March 11, 2012). "The most controversial moments in Call of Duty history". Geek.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  166. ^ "Russians ban Modern Warfare 2 console versions for 'No Russian' mission – Neoseeker Forums". Neoseeker.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  167. ^ "Modern Warfare 2 Map Removed Following Controversy". IGN.com. October 8, 2012. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  168. ^ New Video Game Will Let You Play as the Taliban Archived September 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, AOL News, August 13, 2010
  169. ^ Goodrich, Greg (October 1, 2010). "Multiplayer Change | Medal of Honor — Coming October 12, 2010". Medal of Honor. Archived from the original on October 4, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  170. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (October 5, 2010). "Military stores won't carry Medal of Honor despite 'Taliban' change". Joystiq.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  171. ^ "Outrage Over Konami's "Six Days in Fallujah"". GamePolitics. July 20, 2012. Archived from the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  172. ^ Lyles, Taylor (February 11, 2021). "Controversial shooter Six Days in Fallujah back in development". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  173. ^ Tito, Greg (March 1, 2011). "Inside the Sick Mind of a School Shooter Mod". The Escapist Magazine. Archived from the original on September 4, 2011.
  174. ^ "Parents, school officials terrified by school shooter video game". KREM. April 13, 2011. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013.
  175. ^ Perera, John (March 1, 2011). "School-Shooting Spree Game Making Waves". My Fox Houston. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011.
  176. ^ McWhertor, Michael. "Hyper Violent School Shooter Mod Yanked From Mod Hosting Site". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
  177. ^ Cork, Jeff (February 20, 2011). "Fox News Blogger Continues To Beat The Bulletstorm Drum". Game Informer. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  178. ^ Goulter, Tom (May 19, 2011). "Slow news day leads to Portal 2 adoption "controversy"". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on December 17, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  179. ^ Cardona, Julian; Martinez-Cabrera, Alejandro (February 17, 2011). "Cartel video game riles U.S.-Mexico border residents". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 20, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  180. ^ Parker, Laura (June 21, 2011). "We Dare remains PG in Australia". GameSpot AU. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  181. ^ "'We Dare' game too kinky for U.S., OK for Europe". NBC News. March 2011. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  182. ^ Purchese, Robert (July 8, 2011). "Dead Island Developer Techland Disturbed by Feminist Whore Skill". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  183. ^ Baker, Chris. "Fans Have Dropped $77M on This Guy's Buggy, Half-Built Game". WIRED. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  184. ^ "Stop Funding Star Citizen". Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  185. ^ Chalk, Andy (August 24, 2015). "Derek Smart threatens legal action against Cloud Imperium Games over Star Citizen". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 25, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  186. ^ "The Star Citizen makers are being sued by Crytek". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  187. ^ "In Space, No One Can Hear You Threaten Lawsuits". October 4, 2018. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  188. ^ "'Star Citizen' Developer Threatens Lawsuit Against The Escapist, Demands Apology And Retraction". October 4, 2015. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  189. ^ "How do Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skins work?". Polygon.com. July 11, 2016. Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  190. ^ "23 Skin Gambling Sites Targeted With Cease And Desist By Valve". Esportswbettingreport.com. July 20, 2016. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  191. ^ "FACUA pide a Valve que retire cualquier referencia a ETA de Counter Strike: Global Offensive - Alfa Beta Juega". August 17, 2012. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  192. ^ "Counter Strike Global Offensive tendra una faccion inspirada en ETA - Noticias". August 21, 2012. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  193. ^ Dransfield, Ian. "Capcom Includes Paid DLC On The Disc, Hilariously". Play. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  194. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (March 16, 2012). "On-Disc DLC Outrage Is Off the Mark". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  195. ^ "Persona 4 Arena To Be First Ever Region-Locked PS3 Release". EGMNow. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  196. ^ Dyer, Mitch (July 6, 2012). "Atlus Addresses Persona 4 Arena Region-Locking". IGN. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  197. ^ Sirani, Jordan (July 10, 2014). "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is Region-Free". IGN. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  198. ^ Philips, Tom (October 16, 2015). "PayDay 2 community erupts in anger at addition of stat-changing microtransactions". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  199. ^ Saed, Sherif (May 30, 2016). "Payday franchise rights back to Overkill, microtransactions removed, more". VG247. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  200. ^ Griffiths, Daniel Nye (June 13, 2012). "That Was Quick: Crystal Dynamics Responds On Tomb Raider Controversy". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  201. ^ Schreier, Jason (June 13, 2012). "Tomb Raider Creators Are No Longer Referring to Game's Attempted 'Rape' Scene As an Attempted Rape Scene". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  202. ^ Pitcher, Jenna (June 25, 2013). "Saints Row 4 refused classification in Australia due to 'alien narcotics' and an 'Alien Anal Probe'". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  203. ^ Pitcher, Jenna (August 2, 2013). "Censored Saints Row 4 receives MA15+ rating in Australia". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  204. ^ Pitcher, Jenna (August 5, 2013). "Saints Row 4 in Australia barred from international co-op (update)". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  205. ^ Chalk, Andy (October 23, 2013). "The Stanley Parable Maker Promises to Change "Racist" Image". The Escapist. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  206. ^ "Strafgesetzbuch, sections 86, 86a". Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  207. ^ Moses, Toby (March 5, 2014). "Why has the South Park: Stick of Truth game been censored in Europe?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  208. ^ Crossley, Rob (August 15, 2013). "Anger over 'rape scene' in Hotline Miami 2". Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on August 17, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  209. ^ Orland, Kyle (January 15, 2015). "Hotline Miami 2 blocked from sale in Australia over implied rape scene". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  210. ^ Hall, Charlie (August 20, 2014). "CEO behind Hatred responds to accusations of neo-Nazi, anti-Islamic affiliation". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  211. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (December 15, 2014). "Controversial mass murdering game Hatred appears on Steam Greenlight". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  212. ^ "Hatred given Adults Only rating in US and Canada". Polygon. January 16, 2015. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  213. ^ Machkovech, Sam (September 3, 2015). "After outcry, "edutainment" game removes slave-Tetris mode". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  214. ^ "Demands for 'racist' Survival Island 3 game to be removed from app stores". ABC News. January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  215. ^ Rahool, Munir (February 11, 2015). "Review: This Army Public School attack game fails on every front". DAWN. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  216. ^ "Pakistan removes Taliban school massacre video game after social media uproar". ABC. January 18, 2015. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  217. ^ Saed, Sherif (March 29, 2016). "Overwatch – Blizzard removes "sexualized" Tracer win pose following fan complaint". VG247. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  218. ^ Saed, Sherif (April 6, 2016). "Overwatch's Tracer butt pose replaced with cheesecake pin-up stance". VG247. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  219. ^ Chalk, Andy (September 23, 2016). "Capcom promises Street Fighter 5 rollback after "rootkit" discovered in the latest update". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  220. ^ Frank, Allegra (April 26, 2017). "Street Fighter 5 players notice Islamic chants in new Buddhist temple stage". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  221. ^ "Street Fighter V modders have already brought back R. Mika's 'butt slap'". Digital Trends. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  222. ^ "Street Fighter 5 developer explains why R.Mika buttslap was removed". GameZone. December 9, 2015. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  223. ^ Purchase, Robert (April 5, 2016). "New Baldur's Gate expansion Siege of Dragonspear off to a rough start". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  224. ^ Lindh, Clara (July 11, 2016). "What Pokémon GO has to do with armed robbery and a dead body". CNN. CNN. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  225. ^ McCormick, Rich (August 25, 2016). "Driver distracted by Pokémon Go kills woman in Japan". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  226. ^ Cardin, Rachael (February 21, 2019). "Body cam, surveillance video submitted as evidence in Chesapeake murder trial". WTKR.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  227. ^ Kuchera, Ben (September 16, 2016). "No Man's Sky was a PR disaster wrapped in huge sales". Polygon. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  228. ^ Shepard, Kenneth (May 2, 2017). "Persona 5 Put Me Back in the Closet". pastemagazine.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  229. ^ Marks, Tom (February 17, 2020). "Persona 5 Royal Will Change Homophobic Scenes For Western Release". IGN. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  230. ^ Donaldson, Alex (September 8, 2017). "Malaysian Government block their citizens from accessing Steam over fighting game where Jesus can fight Buddha". VG247. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  231. ^ Jones, Ali (September 8, 2017). "Steam is back in Malaysia, but Fight of Gods is no longer available there". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  232. ^ O'Conner, James (October 13, 2017). "After beta controversy, DICE has better clarified the 'loot crate' and progression systems in Star Wars Battlefront 2". VG247. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  233. ^ Salinis, Sara (November 13, 2017). "EA's new Star Wars game is so unpopular a developer is apparently getting death threats". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  234. ^ Kim, matt (November 16, 2017). "Report: EA to Kill Star Wars Battlefront 2's Monetized Loot Box Progression". US Gamer. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  235. ^ Diaz, Andrea (May 28, 2018). "Parents of Parkland victims are outraged about a new video game that would let players shoot up a school". CNN. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  236. ^ Gault, Matthew (May 29, 2018). "Valve Has Removed a School Shooting Simulator From Steam, Calling the Developer a 'Troll'". Vice. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  237. ^ "Playway – Agony". Playway.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  238. ^ Chalk, Andy (May 28, 2018). "Hellish horror game Agony will be slightly toned down, 'uncensored' patch plan dropped". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  239. ^ "Agony :: Agony Unrated!". June 6, 2018. Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  240. ^ "Agony". Kickstarter. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  241. ^ Kidwell, Emma (October 12, 2018). "Valve under investigation by Brazilian government over violent political game". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  242. ^ Kent, Emma (October 11, 2018). "Valve investigated by Brazilian government over game which incites violence against election candidates". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  243. ^ Phillips, Tom (January 15, 2019). "Ubisoft sorry for shock Assassin's Creed Odyssey DLC twist which ignores player choice". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  244. ^ Wales, Matt (February 25, 2019). "Ubisoft is replacing Assassin's Creed Odyssey's controversial DLC ending tomorrow". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  245. ^ Tolito, Stephan (February 25, 2019). "Ubisoft Renames Controversial Assassin's Creed Odyssey Trophy". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  246. ^ Allen, Kerry (February 25, 2019). "Taiwan game 'Devotion' upsets China with Winnie the Pooh reference". BBC. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  247. ^ McWhertor, Michael (February 25, 2019). "Horror game Devotion pulled from Steam after Winnie-the-Pooh controversy". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  248. ^ a b Carpenter, Nicole (December 18, 2020). "CD Projekt has blown years' worth of goodwill in a week". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  249. ^ Marshall, Cass (March 15, 2021). "Censored horror game Devotion available once again on new store". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  250. ^ Wilde, Tyler; Lahti, Evan; Brown, Fraser (March 5, 2019). "Steam is currently listing a game called Rape Day in which you play as a 'serial killer rapist'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  251. ^ Wales, Matt (March 4, 2019). "Valve under fire as sexually explicit game glorifying rape is listed on Steam". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on March 5, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  252. ^ Kim, Matt (August 26, 2019). "Ion Fury Devs Take Back Decision to Remove Homophobic Remarks in Game". IGN. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  253. ^ "NBA 2K20 Trailer Slammed for Casino and Gambling Mechanics". August 28, 2019. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  254. ^ "Animal Crossing removed from sale in China amid Hong Kong protests". BBC. April 13, 2020. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  255. ^ Doolan, Liam (April 4, 2020). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar Cryptocurrency Saga Takes Yet Another Turn As Publisher Blames Coronavirus". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  256. ^ Lyons, Kim (September 7, 2020). "EA apologizes for putting full-screen in-game ad in UFC 4". The Verge. Archived from the original on September 6, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  257. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 15, 2020). "Cyberpunk 2077 publisher says it took the 'wrong approach' with PS4, Xbox One versions". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  258. ^ Spangler, Todd (December 17, 2020). "Sony Removes Glitchy 'Cyberpunk 2077' From PlayStation Store, Will Offer Full Refunds". Variety. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  259. ^ Isaac, Mike; Browning, Kellen (December 19, 2020). "Cyberpunk 2077 Was Supposed to Be the Biggest Video Game of the Year. What Happened?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  260. ^ Parish, Ash (August 16, 2021). "Boyfriend Dungeon will update its content warning after player concerns". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  261. ^ Good, Owen S. (November 2, 2018). "Diablo fans call Diablo: Immortal a reskin of a free-to-play mobile game". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  262. ^ McWhertor, Michael (November 3, 2018). "Blizzard responds to Diablo: Immortal backlash". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  263. ^ Wade, Jessie (November 5, 2018). "Update: Blizzard Says It 'Didn't Pull Any Announcements From BlizzCon'". IGN. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  264. ^ Kelly, Erron (June 7, 2022). "Wow, gamers really hate Diablo: Immortal". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  265. ^ Scullion, Chris (June 6, 2022). "Diablo Immortal faces a backlash as Metacritic user score drops to Blizzard's third lowest ever". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  266. ^ Byrd, Matthew (June 6, 2022). "Why Diablo Immortal Does (and Doesn't) Deserve All the Hate". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  267. ^ Notis, Ari (June 13, 2022). "Diablo Immortal Slammed On Metacritic, Now Holds Lowest User Score Ever". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  268. ^ Middler, Jordan (June 12, 2022). "Diablo Immortal now has the lowest user score in Metacritic history". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  269. ^ a b Yamanaka, Taijiro (July 22, 2022). "Massage Freaks delayed after receiving backlash in Japan over its risqué subject matter [Update]". Automaton. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  270. ^ a b Reynolds, Ollie (July 25, 2022). "Raunchy Rhythm Title 'Massage Freaks' Delayed Indefinitely After Online Backlash". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  271. ^ a b c Tolentino, Josh (August 1, 2022). "Beat Refle Is the New Title of Massage Freaks, Now on PC". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  272. ^ a b c d Romano, Sal (July 31, 2022). "Massage Freaks renamed beat refle, now available for PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  273. ^ a b c Reynolds, Ollie (August 1, 2022). "Controversial Rhythm Game 'Massage Freaks' May Have Been Canned On Switch". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  274. ^ Jackson, Gita (March 25, 2022). "Hogwarts Legacy Imagines a Harry Potter Without JK Rowling". Vice. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  275. ^ Powell, Steffan (February 10, 2023). "Hogwarts Legacy game comes out as online debate continues". BBC News. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  276. ^ Stephen, Bijan (September 17, 2020). "Warner Bros. reassures fans that J. K. Rowling isn't directly involved with new Harry Potter game". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  277. ^ "Google removes 'Slavery Simulator' game amid outrage in Brazil". BBC News. May 25, 2023. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
[edit]