Video game franchises often include dozens of games — especially when Mario is involved. Others tend to sit at around three to maybe 10+ entries, and whenever a new title enters the mix, a pre-existing fanbase scoops them up. When they’re good, the franchise thrives, but if not, they can cause some serious damage. Then there are the rare games that are so utterly awful that they all but kill the franchise outright. Granted, a game has to be pretty bad to tank an entire franchise, but it’s happened a few times over the years. We’ve found three examples, and they’re arranged in no particular order.
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1) Star Fox Zero
The Star Fox franchise launched in 1993 on the Super Nintendo and was a huge success. It took some time, but in 1997, an even better-received reboot, Star Fox 64, was released for the Nintendo 64. The franchise doesn’t have many entries, but it continued for several years, and in 2016, Star Fox Zero came along and utterly turned things around. The game was criticized for being too short, for not innovating on previous titles, and for its painful control scheme. It was poorly received across the board and quickly flopped, becoming the franchise’s lowest-selling entry. Even the release of Star Fox 2 the following year couldn’t revive the disastrous entry that was Star Fox Zero.
2) Medal of Honor: Warfighter
Before there was Call of Duty, the biggest WWII-themed FPS was Medal of Honor, but it was quickly overshadowed as CoD gained traction. Still, the franchise didn’t die off outright — not until Medal of Honor: Warfighter was released in 2012. Visually, the game looked great, but its terrible AI and strange story didn’t enamor it with either critics or players. It sold relatively well, moving 3 million copies, but that fell well below Electronic Arts’ projections. As a result, the entire franchise was removed from rotation, and the only release that followed was Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond in 2020, a VR title that failed to sell well.
3) Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem 3D was a huge hit in 1996, not only because people enjoyed the game, but because it was a pop culture phenomenon. Fans wanted a sequel, and there was one in development, but it was delayed many times over the years. Finally, in 2011, after 14 years, Duke Nukem Forever finally arrived, but it was too late. The game failed to live up to the hype or fan expectations and was derided for its dated story, humor, and mechanics. Frankly, it’s an unpolished mess that failed to sell well and ultimately bombed commercially, dragging down the franchise. As of writing, Duke Nukem Forever is the last entry in the franchise.
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image courtesy of Studio Ghibli -
Image Courtesy of Studio Ghibli -
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures
