Cyberpunk 2077 and Battlefield V: Why AAA Games Flop?

Cyberpunk 2077 and Battlefield V flopped for reasons that we’re aware of. This article aims to break down those reasons, especially as gamers worldwide paid full price for these titles at launch. Cyberpunk 2077 is still being roasted for game-breaking bugs that still exist in the game to date. However, it has a DLC now called Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and it’s a lot more stable. Nevertheless, it hasn’t escaped the tragic legacy of the base game. Another game that flopped is No Man’s Sky, which was hyped beyond reason and imagination before it was launched. Many gamers cancelled their purchases because it was unplayable at launch. 

Also Read: Is the Call of Duty Series Coming to the Nintendo Switch?

6 Reasons Why AAA Games Flop

Below, you’ll learn the reasons why AAA games flop after studios invest years and millions of pound sterling. Besides the issue of crunching, studios can also be underfunded. Reviewers at Player.com have discovered some of the ways that future games could also flop. After all, history has a way of repeating itself.

#1: Crunch Culture Can Be Harmful

One of the reasons why many AAA games flop is because of the creators’ crunch. Crunching is the practice of working overtime to meet deadlines. Its adverse effects are dramatic, to say the least, because some creators reportedly lost their passion for game development after the episode. 

So, crunching doesn’t only affect the quality of a game. It also leads to mental blocks that can eventually burn out a creator’s mind. Also, workers are never compensated for the hours that they crunched while developing a game. Sadly, this culture applies to artists, developers, writers, models, and other creators. 

#2: Lack of Funding

Lack of funding can also lead to crunching but in most cases, it’s a problem on the part of the shareholders of a studio. The investors can decide to cut the funding at any point due to personal reasons. Some of them might not be convinced that the game would sell. After all, only 10–30% of released games are profitable.

The same scenario is prevalent in indie games, where the developers themselves fund their titles. This leads to job cuts in the gaming industry. Heck, the only reason that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty reviews are positive is because CD Projekt Red isn’t new to making games. So, they salvaged their mistake via marketing. If the creators were relying on banks instead, they wouldn’t get funded because banks don’t like liabilities.

#3: Lack of Time

There’s usually limited time to develop games in most studios. When the going gets rough and unpredictable, companies might be set back almost a year. However, because the studio has promised their fans that they would deliver, the only solution is to release an unfinished product. Of course, that decision will trigger a public backlash from the gaming community. 

It’s just that studios won’t care too much at that point, but of course, it doesn’t end there. Some studios may still not have the funding to release frequent updates. Instead, they kickstart another game, abandoning the last title. Toxic gaming community behaviours may also contribute to programmers and artists feeling rushed.

#4: No Creative Freedom

The issue with having investors instead of being independent is that creators don’t have creative freedom. There are multiple milestones that the art, coding, and music departments must meet while developing a game. Every department must reason as one, or else the final product won’t be consistent with the lore, NPCs, or even the sandbox. Ideas will definitely evolve, but the team itself must be given creative freedom over those ideas.  

If overbearing managers or investors interfere too much in the development, the final product might suffer. For one, the storyline may be weak or the art style boring. A great example is Forspoken, which is a beautiful game on the surface. The executives changed writers and so, the game suffered in originality and story depth. Concepts evolve, so caging game creators will sour the game. 

#5: Failed Marketing

To sell a game, you must market it by releasing trailers and teasers for the public to see. This means that studios only have a few chances to impress their fans. For one, Halo: Infinite flopped because the trailer wasn’t impressive. Next-gen games like God of War Ragnarok impressed fans with their realistic teasers. On the flip side, Halo: Infinite looked like a last-gen game. 

Hence, the internet started trolling the game until it was released. Most studios don’t know that their fans are the judge, jury, and executioner. So, any trailer they release must show off cool new features without revealing the best parts of the game. 

#6: Over-Reliance on Trends

Two games come to mind when it comes to abusing the current trends. They’re Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It’s not like we don’t want to kill the Justice League but there were too many superhero games at the time. There was simply no space for the game to shine. 

Another reason why many fans didn’t buy the games was because they were crammed full of useless features. Everything from a four-player co-op mode to a menu chock-full of unnecessary stats, the games attempted to be what they weren’t. In the end, they needed more depth because many players were already familiar with those game mechanics. 

Other AAA Games That Flopped Badly

Besides Cyberpunk 2077 and No Man’s Sky, the other games that disappointed fans are Anthem, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Fallout 76, and The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is the worst-performing game on this list. A few reviewers gave it a score of 2 out of 10 because it was released in its unfinished state.

In the game, you’re not even a proper stealth master. Instead, Gollum is a slave in the game who has to work extra hard to earn a slice of bread. The puzzles in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum are poorly designed, and the quests are not as rewarding as the developers hyped them to be. Overall, it feels hollow and incomplete. 

Our Final Say: Post-Launch Updates Are the Key to Getting Back on Track

The worst-case scenario for an AAA game is that it’s broken at launch. However, if the studio’s team of testers and debuggers is capable, they should release a day-one patch. Many games like Starfield, Valorant, and God of War received day-one updates that fixed the majority of their bugs, errors, and glitches. Ultimately, funding is the biggest issue, affecting even the timely release of updates. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Are AAA Games Profitable?

Yes, AAA games are profitable. Some games will rake in more than £500,000 in revenue, while others may earn studios as much as £1,000,000,000. Truly, the sky’s the limit for studios like Rockstar Games, Nintendo, Naughty Dog, and Ubisoft. The one thing that all these studios have in common is that they have sold more than £700,000 worth of AAA games. Nevertheless, only 10–30% of studios make money from games. 

Can a Single Person Make an AAA Game?

No, a single person can’t make an AAA game from scratch. Even if the person has a foundation to build from, it’s impossible to build an AAA game from scratch. Sure, a single individual could hire a team of developers, artists, and creators to build a game. However, a single person can’t code the game, design the characters and sandbox, or write the script and storyline. United, we stand, but divided, we fall.

How Much Money Does It Cost to Build a Game?

It can cost as much as £1,000,000,000 to build a game and GTA VI is evidence of that. The game has been in development for at least a decade now and yet we still don’t have a release date. So, we can expect it to eat up even more money. However, if we’re being modest, an indie game will cost upwards of £150,000 to make. Whereas AAA games will cost upwards of £40,000,000.