Ah that The Game Awards – an evening full of glitz, glamour, and questionable nominations. While the usual suspects like "Best Game," "Best Studio," or "Best Creator" are celebrated, one important category is consistently overlooked year after year: The biggest disasters of the gaming year.
If DLCs are now considered "Game of the Year" go through And if we're debating whether an update deserves a place in the Hall of Fame, then we should really celebrate those truly courageous individuals who have broken through the barriers of the gaming landscape. Because – let's be honest – it takes a lot to throw millions away and leave gamers worldwide collectively shaking their heads in disbelief. That's a real feat – so extraordinary that it actually deserves its own award.
A price for eternity: The flops of the year
A glance at the list of "successful" games of 2024 reveals that the competition for the imaginary "Golden Crash Award" would be fierce. Take "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League," for example. With a name that sounds more like a blockbuster than a complete disaster, the game nevertheless managed to disappoint pretty much everyone. The idea of cramming repetitive missions and an uninspired loot system into a live-service format was about as successful as a wrecked Batmobile. Player numbers? A record-breaking crash. Applause for that.
But anyone who thought that was the low point hadn't reckoned with "Concord." Sony's attempt to compete in the live service market was a masterclass in "How to ruin your own game in less than a month." The hype had barely begun, the player numbers even less —and the servers were shut down faster than you could say "patch day." And that wasn't Sony's only flop—if you add "Lego Horizon Adventures" to the mix, Sony could secure a lead in the award race simply through sheer volume.
Innovations that nobody wanted
No less impressive was “dustborn"A game that somehow managed to be both politically correct and completely irrelevant at the same time. Who wants classic heroes when diversity is the new standard? Red Thread Games apparently set out to create the first video game that nobody actually wanted to play. The developers patted themselves enthusiastically on the back for their diversity offensive, while the target audience wondered, bewildered, if they hadn't accidentally stumbled into a soap opera casting call."
Oh yes, and then there was "The Day Before," which tried to market itself as a "The Last of Us" competitor but ended up feeling more like "The Last to Be Released." From technical shortcomings and empty promises to the final question of whether it was even a game or just a marketing gimmick – The Day Before It offered everything you would expect from a flop.
A prize for posterity
An award for failed games would not only be a monument to bad decisions, but also a reminder that not all that glitters is gold. The "Loser of the Year" category could motivate games, studios, and publishers to invest not only money, but also a bit of passion into their projects. Or they could simply ignore the award like their other failures.
But hey, as they say, failure is the mother of success – in this case, more like the godmother of collective second-hand embarrassment. Cheers to the flops; they make the highlights shine all the brighter. And it's also convenient: with each additional category, we get closer to an awards ceremony that's truly... It's honorable – regardless of whether it's a success or a flop. Because a win is a win… somehow.
