8 Great Games Hated By Their Own Developers

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Man, have you ever heard about the making of Apocalypse Now? It came out in 1979, and everyone says it’s a total masterpiece, one of the greatest films ever. But seriously, the whole production was a nightmare. It sounds like it really messed a lot of people up, leaving lasting problems for almost everyone involved. It’s crazy to think something so amazing came with so much behind-the-scenes trauma.

Just like any creative endeavor, making video games can be incredibly difficult for the people involved. Problems can arise from challenging development processes, disagreements within the team, or even when a finished game doesn’t match the creator’s original vision.

For various reasons, some truly excellent games have caused their developers to become detached, disappointed, or even reject them. But that’s alright—if the people who made these games can’t appreciate them anymore, we fans will gladly do so.

8. Shadows of the Damned

Death by Corpo Meddling

Goichi Suda, or Suda51 as he’s widely known, is a hugely influential director in gaming, and Shadows of the Damned perfectly showcases why he’s so beloved by action game enthusiasts.

Shadows of the Damned had the potential to be a great success, bringing together the talents of Suda and producer Shinji Mikami with the resources of EA. However, the project suffered from too much interference from the company, leading to disappointing sales and a frustrated creative lead.

Following the game’s launch, producer Mikami claimed that EA had initially misled director Suda51 by pretending to love his idea. However, the number of changes they later demanded was so extensive that it devastated Suda51 and ultimately resulted in a game that was drastically different from his original vision.

Although Shadows of the Damned was a personal disappointment for Suda51 and didn’t sell well, the game itself is actually quite fun to play, with solid mechanics. It’s not his greatest creation, but that says a lot considering how high his standards are.

7. Flappy Bird

A Quick Project Turned Nightmare

Long before the current controversy surrounding Palworld and Nintendo, there was a similar debate about Flappy Bird. Created solely by Nguyễn Hà Đông, this simple mobile game became incredibly popular and earned its creator a lot of money. However, he surprisingly removed it from app stores less than a year after it launched.

Nguyễn shared a heartbreaking message on Twitter, expressing deep regret and saying he could no longer continue with the game. He previously told Forbes he’d hoped to create a relaxing experience, but it unexpectedly became highly addictive. Instead of letting his feelings of guilt worsen, Nguyễn made the difficult decision to shut down the game.

Since 2014, many copycat versions of Flappy Bird appeared, but because Nguyễn wasn’t actively involved with the game, he lost the trademark, which now belongs to Gametech Holdings. They relaunched the game in 2024 under the name ‘The Flappy Bird Foundation,’ but without the original creator, the attempt to capitalize on nostalgia hasn’t been successful.

6. Fable 2

What the Hater Hates Most

It’s tricky to talk about Peter Molyneux without acknowledging he’s a somewhat divisive person in the gaming world. Interestingly, he has similar feelings about his own game, Fable 2. While most fans consider Fable 2 the strongest entry in the series, Molyneux himself doesn’t seem entirely satisfied with it.

At a conference in 2010, Molyneux admitted the game had some significant problems, particularly near the end. He explained that this was partly due to the development team being pressured to finish quickly, resulting in a version that was incredibly buggy – the most bug-filled game the Microsoft testing team had ever seen.

Despite its flaws – like frustrating bugs that could make your family disappear and lengthy loading screens – Fable 2 told a compelling story and offered incredible character customization and enjoyable gameplay. Peter Molyneux’s criticisms don’t diminish those strengths.

5. Resident Evil 4

Off to Bingo

I remember when Resident Evil came out in the early ’90s – Shinji Mikami totally changed horror games with it! It’s funny though, looking back, it seems like that very success actually held him back from moving up in his career for about ten years. I never really thought about that before, but it makes sense now!

Shinji Mikami dedicated the best years of his career to the Resident Evil franchise, but he left after finishing Resident Evil 4. He explained in a 2022 interview that moving into a producer role meant he could no longer fully express himself as a creator, even though most of the games in the series are highly acclaimed.

If Shinji Mikami had moved on from the series sooner, he might have had more opportunities to explore his creativity. However, as a fan, I believe it was a worthwhile trade-off, considering his huge impact on the evolution of modern horror games.

4. Battlefield 3

This Is The Price You Pay

It’s a bit disappointing to hear this, as I personally loved the Battlefield 3 campaign, but the writer, David Goldfarb, sees things differently.

A longtime player of Bad Company 2 publicly shared his frustration with the Battlefield 3 campaign. This caused significant internal criticism for Goldfarb, leading him to believe the final game was received much worse by players than it actually was.

While Battlefield 3’s single-player campaign didn’t receive great reviews at first, it’s become surprisingly popular with fans over time. It’s clear that Battlefield 6 attempted to recreate some of its most iconic scenes, though those efforts weren’t very successful.

Despite the challenges it presented during development, the epic moments like driving tanks into Iran or parachuting in to capture Kaffarov are what truly make modern Battlefield games stand out – it’s that realistic, cinematic action that players remember.

3. Spec Ops: The Line

A Nightmare in Dubai

Developing Spec Ops: The Line was a difficult and challenging process, according to narrative designer Walt Williams. However, that struggle is also a key reason why the game is so impactful and well-regarded.

Williams famously stated he’d rather endure something extremely unpleasant than work on another game like it. Cory Davis, the lead designer, criticized 2K for insisting on a multiplayer mode that he described as a poorly made imitation of Call of Duty, and that compromised the game’s original vision.

Both Spec Ops: The Line and the film Apocalypse Now were inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, and both tell their stories effectively. However, because Spec Ops: The Line is a game, it makes you directly involved in the events, rather than simply watching them unfold.

It was a difficult process, but I’m incredibly grateful to Yager for finishing the game. Unfortunately, licensing problems now make it almost impossible to buy the game through official channels.

2. STALKER: Clear Sky

In the Shadow of Its Prequel

GSC became well-known for creating intense, radioactive horror shooter games, but this happened after the original team that developed the genre had already moved on, following their work on STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl.

The small group of team members who stayed with the company saw the development of both STALKER: Clear Sky and STALKER: Call of Pripyat. While these games became well-known and popular, the original team who created Shadow of Chernobyl believed the sequels simply repeated ideas from their earlier work without proper recognition or payment.

Call of Pripyat built on what came before and felt like a worthy sequel, but Clear Sky doesn’t really offer much that wasn’t already in Shadow of Chernobyl, aside from some new features related to the game’s factions. And, surprisingly, that’s perfectly fine with us!

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Why Are We Here?

It’s hard to imagine a more messy breakup in the gaming world than the one between Hideo Kojima and Konami, and the game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was at the heart of it all.

Kojima has said the game was released before it was truly finished, which caused a rift between him and voice actor David Hayter. Estimates put the game’s development cost around $80 million. Despite being a difficult experience for those involved and for the Metal Gear franchise, many consider The Phantom Pain to be the strongest game in the series, even with its imperfections.

Even the weaker parts of the game have a strange appeal, honestly showing how empty it feels to fight as a mercenary when you don’t believe in the reason for the fighting. It’s a cycle of going, killing, and returning, but instead of achieving something meaningful, you only get paid – or killed.

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2025-11-01 19:11