AAA Games That Flopped Hard on Steam

It’s rare for a video game to be a huge hit with both players and critics, and recently, we’ve seen several major game releases fail to live up to expectations. This has led to disappointing sales and quickly dwindling player bases. We’ve compiled a list of some of the biggest, most anticipated games – and the studios behind them – that, while not necessarily bad, didn’t perform well enough to be considered successes. These games all underperformed on Steam, the popular PC gaming platform, and failed to meet the sales numbers needed to sustain their development. See which high-profile releases didn’t achieve the hoped-for results.

Big-budget games sometimes fail spectacularly, but we’re highlighting a few of the most recent and noteworthy flops that happened on Steam.

All data taken for all-time peaks are from Steam Charts.

Payday 3

Only Having an All-Time Peak of 69,112 Players Made Heisting a Disaster

Payday 3 had a lot of hype surrounding its release, especially after a ten-year wait since the popular Payday 2. It seemed like a major improvement with updated features and systems, but the launch was a disaster due to its constant online requirement. Players struggled to connect with friends or even start the game solo. Combined with a limited number of heists available at launch, many quickly returned to Payday 2. Payday 3 never recovered the initial player base, and currently averages around 500 players online. While the game is now running better and feels improved compared to Payday 2, it still pales in comparison, with Payday 2 boasting 30,000 daily players and a peak of over 247,000. This raises the question of whether Payday 3 can ever attract those players back, considering Payday 2 ran on virtually any computer, had tons of content, and never suffered from server problems.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Ubisoft Missed the Mark for Feudal Japan, Meaning Only a Peak of 64,627 Players Became Assassins

For a long time, fans have requested an Assassin’s Creed game set in feudal Japan. However, Suckerpunch Productions released Ghost of Tsushima first, and it did an exceptional job – beautiful visuals, a compelling story, and excellent combat that supported both stealth and action. This success likely contributed to the disappointing launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Steam. Players felt that Ghost of Tsushima had already done the setting better, and Ubisoft had been using the same game formula for so long that Assassin’s Creed titles now feel generic. While the idea of playing as both a samurai and a shinobi was appealing, players anticipated the usual issues – a large, repetitive map, tedious tasks, and technical bugs – on top of concerns about the game’s depiction of the historical period. These factors resulted in Assassin’s Creed Shadows peaking at only 64,627 players on Steam.

Diablo 4

An Ultimate Action-RPG Experience Only Brought An All-Time Peak of 55,561 Players

The original Diablo is a well-known and highly-regarded action RPG, celebrated for its blend of dungeon crawling and epic fantasy, which made it incredibly replayable with its beautiful yet dark worlds and rewarding loot. After a long pause following Diablo 3 in 2012, fans eagerly anticipated Diablo 4 as a potential revival of the genre. However, the 2023 release revealed that action RPGs have become less mainstream, with newer games capturing much of the audience previously dominated by classic RPGs. Diablo 4 peaked at just over 55,000 players on Steam, indicating a smaller player base than expected. While about a fifth of those players still play daily, and Blizzard continues to support the game, its long-term future is uncertain. Despite enjoyable gameplay and design, the game suffers from common issues with live-service titles, like microtransactions and a repetitive endgame.

Marvel’s Avengers

An All-Time Peak of 28,145 Players Proves That Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Might Be a Gaming Dud

For a long time, Marvel hadn’t released any major video games, but that changed with the successful launch of Marvel’s Spider-Man on PlayStation 4. Building on that momentum, they partnered with Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics to create Marvel’s Avengers, a game where players could team up and experience the thrill of being a superhero. Despite impressive graphics, the game’s gameplay felt weak and uninspired. This led to negative reviews and a lack of player interest, ultimately causing Marvel’s Avengers to shut down in September 2023. Its peak player count on Steam was only 28,145 – a surprisingly low number for a franchise that has generated billions of dollars in movie ticket sales.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

Only An All-Time Peak of 13,459 Players Proves the Suicide Squad Kills Hype, Not Sales

From the moment Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was announced, fans were skeptical. Rocksteady Studios had found success with the Arkham series and its Batman-focused combat, so changing course – making Batman a villain, introducing the Justice League as Brainiac’s enslaved victims, and shifting to a fast-paced, action-heavy combat style – didn’t sit well. Combined with the game being another live-service title, it launched to poor reception and struggled to find an audience, peaking at just over 13,000 concurrent players on Steam. Despite its potential, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League failed to gain traction, though it did highlight fans’ desire for more Batman and the Arkham combat system, rather than ongoing service games. While the game offered a fun story and gameplay experience with its unique characters, it wasn’t enough to win over players, and support will end in January 2025, only eleven months after its release.

Skull & Bones

The First AAAA Game Invites Players to Sail the Open-World, But Only 2,581 Players Accepted

Skull & Bones promised a top-tier gaming experience, but it largely fails to deliver on that promise despite a massive budget. The game focuses on naval combat, letting players captain a ship, battle other vessels, collect resources, and complete quests. However, the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive, consisting mostly of endless fetch quests. Years of development delays and uninspired gameplay drove many fans away before launch, and those who did try the game were largely disappointed. This resulted in a shockingly low peak player count of just 2,581, with only about a fifth of those players continuing to play.

Redfall

Kill Vampires and Fight Through Glitches With Just 1,560 Other Players at Launch

While Arkane and Bethesda have a strong track record, their game Redfall didn’t live up to expectations. It was a first-person shooter where players teamed up to fight vampires in an open world, similar to Left 4 Dead. However, Redfall launched with numerous bugs and a repetitive, unengaging gameplay experience. The lack of a compelling story and the frustrating technical issues drove players away. Ultimately, the game only reached a peak of 1,560 players, leading to its development being halted and the closure of Arkane Austin, a disappointing outcome for what could have been a successful title.

Saints Row (2022)

A Quirky GTA-Like Experience, Killed By Its Own Writing and Epic Games Exclusivity That Only Welcomed 2,975 Players

Although initially hoped to compete with Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row eventually found success as a lighthearted and over-the-top open-world game. However, the recent reboot failed to capture the spirit of what made the series enjoyable. While it retained some of the quirky humor, it lacked the original charm, resulting in a bland open world, uninspired characters, and a story that missed the mark. Players quickly realized the reboot wasn’t a true Saints Row experience. This further damaged a franchise already struggling to gain traction, especially after an exclusive launch on the Epic Games Store delayed its Steam release by a year and limited potential sales. The game only peaked at 2,975 players, ultimately leading to the closure of Volition, the long-time developer of the Saints Row series.

MindsEye

Former Grand Theft Auto Devs Couldn’t Save This Action-Adventure From Amassing More Than An All-Time Peak of 1,393 Players

Look, games that try to get attention just because they’ve got people who used to work on big titles like Grand Theft Auto… they often fall flat, and MindsEye is a good example. The idea was cool – a story-driven action game set in the near future where you play as a troubled ex-soldier fighting against dangerous tech. They even had tools for creating your own missions! But honestly, it just never really clicked. It wasn’t bad, exactly, but it wasn’t anything special either. Word got around, and it only peaked at around 1,000 players ever, and that number hasn’t gone up, even though the developers promised to keep adding new content regularly. It’s a shame, but it just didn’t grab me or anyone else I know.

Concord

Another Live-Service PvP Game That Lasted Barely 14 Days With An All-Time Peak of 660 Players

The story of Concord is a fascinating, yet cautionary tale in the AAA gaming world. PlayStation initially envisioned it as a groundbreaking live-service game, even reorganizing the company around its potential. Despite promising world-building and unique characters, the game was ultimately developed as a PvP hero shooter – a genre many players were already losing interest in. Concord launched to very low player numbers – peaking at only 660 on Steam – and was shut down just two weeks later, with all purchases fully refunded. This highlights the challenges faced by big-budget games in today’s constantly evolving and demanding market.

2025-11-10 23:07