These video game franchises are known for drawing a lot of hate. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most hated video game franchises. To be clear, we’re not saying we hate these franchises. But the public consensus on them hasn’t been positive in quite some time.
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the game franchises that
00:13 draw more hatred than any others.
00:16 To be clear, we're not saying we hate these franchises or that they don't have any good
00:21 or high selling games, but the public consensus on them hasn't been positive in quite some
00:27 time.
00:33 Number 10.
00:36 Postal Series When a series is named after a term used for
00:43 inflicting massive violence, it's bound to draw some controversy.
00:47 The original Postal follows a man who believes everyone around him has been infected by a
00:52 toxin that makes them hyper aggressive.
00:54 It was an excuse to let players loose, but this series hasn't done much to evolve since
01:00 1997.
01:01 In fact, it has devolved, focusing on the same premise with a heavier emphasis on vulgarity.
01:10 What started as dark humor has become distasteful.
01:13 But the games also aren't very fun to play.
01:16 Both Postal 3 and Postal 4 were slammed for being technical messes with dated jokes.
01:22 "You know you made this look so easy."
01:24 Number 9.
01:26 Battlefield Series Oh how the mighty have fallen.
01:36 Battlefield used to be a great alternative to Call of Duty, focusing more on team based
01:40 objectives, realism, and larger maps.
01:43 But with the way EA has treated it, it has caused more and more players to lose their
01:48 love for it.
01:49 While its online community is still present, many have voiced their dissatisfaction across
01:54 multiple games.
01:56 Mediocre campaigns are one thing, but countless bugs, lackluster features and modes, and balancing
02:02 issues are quite another.
02:04 Battlefield 2042 was a major point of contention, with players complaining about all of the
02:09 above, as well as unwelcoming changes to gameplay.
02:18 Number 8.
02:19 Grand Theft Auto Series Although Rockstar has certainly stumbled
02:26 with the franchise's re-releases, most players seem pretty happy with Grand Theft Auto.
02:31 When it comes to the larger world though, it's a buzzword for all things negative about
02:36 gaming.
02:37 Since the first game's release, the franchise has been at the center of too many controversies
02:41 to count.
02:42 Thanks to giving players the freedom to be as unhinged as possible, it's a constant
02:46 scapegoat for real world violent acts.
02:49 This has given it a reputation that it's never fully been able to shed.
02:54 When GTA 6 releases in 2025, we all better be prepared for the cycle to start anew.
03:04 Number 7.
03:05 Diablo Series In many cases, hate for a franchise is directly
03:19 tied to the company behind it.
03:21 Blizzard has seen its fair share of controversies over the years, a few of which have surrounded
03:26 Diablo.
03:27 While the first two entries remained beloved, things started growing sour with 2012's
03:32 Diablo 3.
03:33 Many criticized the need for it to always be online, but even more hated the auction
03:38 house, a feature that let players purchase in-game items with real world money.
03:43 Unfortunately, then came Diablo Immortal.
03:46 Not only did fans hate the idea of a mobile entry, but it was released with a ton of shady
03:51 microtransactions.
03:53 Diablo 4 actually started off strong, but then the studio issued updates to make everything
03:58 take longer so that you'd keep grinding.
04:07 Number 6.
04:08 Five Nights at Freddy's Series The original Five Nights at Freddy's garnered
04:15 a lot of attention due to its unique premise, spreading across the internet like wildfire.
04:22 Unfortunately, problems arose for many players when it became a franchise.
04:27 With so many constant sequels and spin-offs by this point, the series has been criticized
04:32 for repetitive gameplay and for relying too much on jump scares.
04:36 Releasing more and more entries without innovation while still being popular is a surefire way
04:41 to draw some very vocal hatred.
04:44 Even those that have stuck with the series have grown tired as its lore can often be
04:49 confusing or plain nonsensical.
04:52 Despite the hate, the franchise doesn't show signs of slowing down and even got a movie
04:57 adaptation in 2023.
05:02 Number 5.
05:03 Overwatch Series While Overwatch is barely a franchise with
05:11 only two games, the hate it's gathered in just a short period is almost impressive.
05:16 The first game was genuinely fantastic, with a variety of character types, an addictive
05:20 gameplay hook, and an engaging world.
05:24 While the world and characters began to feel shallow over time, that only brought mid to
05:28 satisfaction compared to what came with Overwatch 2.
05:32 Many questioned the need for a sequel when Blizzard could just update the first.
05:36 A free to play model sounded good until we realized it gave the studio free reign to
05:41 load it up with microtransactions.
05:43 Needless changes to gameplay also rubbed many the wrong way, as did the cancellation of
05:48 promised story based missions.
05:55 Number 4.
05:56 Rabbids Series Essentially the minions but in bunny form,
06:04 the Rayman spun off Rabbids were just a type of loud silly creation for hyper kids to fixate
06:10 on.
06:11 But with an entry released every year from 2006 to 2014, and in some cases 2, they grew
06:18 to annoy a lot of players very quickly.
06:23 Oversaturation was a problem, especially since they were mostly basic party games.
06:28 Although it didn't help that we didn't get nearly as many Rayman games.
06:32 With artwork for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle League, players were ready to riot.
06:38 That game turned out pretty great, as did its sequel.
06:41 But it says a lot that the dislike for Rabbids made so many people uneasy about a Mario game
06:47 of all things.
06:53 Number 3.
06:54 Busby Games Hate is clearly a subjective thing, yet Busby
07:04 is an objectively bad series.
07:07 When the Bobcats first game was released, it was seen as little more than a lackluster
07:11 attempt at another platforming mascot.
07:14 While many others stopped after one entry, Busby somehow got sequels of the same quality
07:20 until he jumped to the Playstation.
07:22 Unfortunately, Busby 3D is now considered one of the worst games of all time due to
07:28 the awful level designs and even worse controls.
07:31 Again, this should've killed the franchise, but Busby made a return to 2D in 2007 and
07:38 got another sequel in 2019, neither of which worked that good.
07:43 There's no controversy here, just a group of bad games where surprise has been allowed
07:47 to continue.
07:52 Number 2.
07:53 Call of Duty series.
08:01 Call of Duty may be one of the best selling video game franchises of all time, but all
08:06 the money in the world can't protect it from hate, and it's gathered quite a lot
08:11 over the years.
08:12 One of the biggest reasons players feel such vitriol towards it is because Activision insists
08:17 on releasing a new one every single year.
08:21 This has made one of its most common criticisms a failure to innovate or keep things fresh,
08:27 despite some wildly different settings.
08:29 While some still enjoy it, many others have grown bored retreading the same ground, only
08:35 with more microtransactions.
08:37 This has led to a sharp decline in sales, and even the free-to-play battle royale entry
08:42 Warzone lost a ton of players in 2023.
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09:06 Number 1.
09:07 Madden NFL series.
09:14 When it comes to yearly, full-price releases with little to no updates, EA's Madden series
09:20 is the undisputed king.
09:22 While we're sure players felt finally about the franchise once, the time has long since
09:27 passed.
09:28 It seems every year we do the same song and dance, and entry releases with a minor refresh
09:34 to the roster and almost nothing else.
09:37 Players complain, EA does nothing, and so on and so on.
09:42 However, with no alternative way to enjoy virtual American football, it seems unlikely
09:47 to change despite the immense displeasure from players.
09:50 One of the fastest ways to piss off gamers is to value money over artistic integrity.
09:56 With Madden, as well as FIFA and NHL, EA shows no signs of growing.
10:05 Which of these franchises do you think deserves the hate?
10:08 Is there a big one we didn't mention?
10:11 Share your thoughts in the comments down below.
10:13 And don't forget to subscribe to WatchMojo for more great gaming videos.
10:33 [outro]