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00:08Welcome to MojoPlays and today we're talking some mad smack. Publishers are infamous for
00:13being the goalie between developers and gamers. Some goalies let a lot go through,
00:17while some goalies are such good goalies they make it borderline impossible for developers
00:21to score a goal. And the result is a pretty crappy game of soccer. You know what, let's
00:26knock off the vagueness, let's take a look at the 10 worst publishers and what their damn problem is.
00:30Before we continue, we publish content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
00:36to get notified of our latest videos. Rockstar. Rockstar Games is looking to bring the heart of
00:42the Grand Theft Auto experience to a living online world with multiple players. Just what you choose
00:50to do in that world is up to you. Let's get this out of the way early, Rockstar doesn't release
00:56bad games. In fact, each and every entry of Grand Theft Auto gets better than its previous.
01:01That doesn't mean they don't have practices that make them so incredibly frustrating for gamers
01:05and their own staff. First problem for many players is that they historically treat PC players
01:10as an afterthought. Their games are undeniably massive hits, but titles like Grand Theft Auto 5
01:15routinely land on PC long after their console debuts. But even for console players, the studio's
01:21output has slowed to a growl. Since Grand Theft Auto 5 launched in 2013, new releases have been
01:27really, really sparse, with GTA Online generating so much revenue that the urgency to produce fresh
01:32titles seems minimal, with a formal sequel announcement not coming until 2022. And finally,
01:38the company has faced criticism over intense crunch culture, with reports describing extended
01:43overtime during projects like RDR2. Throw in reports of Rockstar encouraging their staff to avoid unions,
01:49and you've got a pretty average publisher, with some goddamn great games.
01:52Fill it with custom vehicles, and then take them racing by land, air, and sea.
02:00Epic Games.
02:01Globally, and mobile IAP spend growing, we're introducing native commerce to Unity, a single
02:08place to manage everything from your digital catalogs to payment providers and web stores
02:13across not just mobile, but web and PC too.
02:16I will do anything I can to avoid Epic Games in favour of Steam, and here's about 150 words why.
02:22On the consumer side, the consumer being you, me, basically anyone who doesn't work there,
02:27the Epic Games Store launched without many features PC players had come to expect. User
02:32reviews, forums, robust mod support, and cloud saves, which made it feel bare bones compared to
02:38established storefronts. On the corporate side, Epic has faced scrutiny over workplace culture,
02:43and don't even get me started on the goddamn loot boxes and battle passes, which often frustrate
02:47players because they shift focus from gameplay to monetization. F***ing monetization. Loot boxes rely
02:52on randomized rewards, encouraging repeated spending for a chance at desirable items, which can feel
02:58manipulative rather than rewarding. Battle passes turn progression into a timed grind, pressuring players
03:04to log in constantly or miss out on limited cosmetics they've already paid for. It's dumb, and so are they.
03:10So starting next year, Unity developers will be able to publish games directly into Fortnite,
03:14to appear in Fortnite's discovery system alongside games built with Unreal Engine,
03:19and to participate in the Fortnite economy as it evolves towards an open metaverse economy
03:24connecting all users and all engines. Microsoft Publishing.
03:33Microsoft Publishing frustrates critics not because it lacks resources, but because it often feels like
03:38a company with endless potential and no output. Over the years, Microsoft has purchased major
03:43studios and valuable IPs, raising expectations that Xbox would deliver a steady stream of must-play
03:49exclusives. Instead, fans have frequently faced long gaps between flagship releases, high-profile delays,
03:55or games launching in some pretty average conditions. The emphasis on subscription growth through
04:00services like Game Pass, while consumer-friendly in price, have also sparked debate about whether
04:05quantity sometimes takes priority over quality. Some beloved franchises have gone dormant,
04:10while others have struggled to evolve. Also, they're constantly changing their opinion on console
04:15strategies, console exclusivity, and cross-platform mechanics. It seems like they have a new boss every
04:19single year. EA. Electronic Arts has carried a bruised reputation for over a decade, even earning the
04:35dubious distinction of worst company in America. Being the winner of the most downvoted Reddit comment
04:40of all time is no easy feat, and they did that in an afternoon. Much of the resentment traces back
04:46to its
04:46history of acquiring respected studios only to later shutter them or completely drown them with rushed
04:51titles. The general consensus is they don't really care about the product. They just want to make the
04:56most money possible at the highest speed possible. Labor practices also sparked backlash, with reports
05:02of extreme overtime leading to the EA Spouse blog, an originally anonymous post from the wife of an EA
05:09employee highlighting the rough working conditions that went viral. On the business side, securing exclusive NFL
05:15licensing effectively eliminating competition like NFL 2K, and then of course there was the loot box
05:20controversy of Star Wars Battlefront 2. That was something else.
05:33Titus Interactive
05:42Alright, this is a fun one. Established in 1985, the French publisher Titus Interactive carved out a name in
05:48the industry. Unfortunately, not a flattering name. Over the years, the studio became synonymous with
05:54rushed development and critically panned releases, building a catalogue that many players remember
05:58for all the wrong reasons. It has famously become the worst publisher of all time, but not for bad
06:04staff practices or money-grabbing schemes, just kind of being half-arsed from the jump. Which you've
06:10kind of got to respect. Its legacy is most heavily tied to Superman 64, released in 1999 on the Nintendo
06:1664,
06:17a title that still gets dragged into conversations about the worst games ever made. Between the infamous
06:22fog, awkward controls and those flying ring sections that feel like a personal attack,
06:26it cemented Titus' reputation permanently. While the company handled a range of projects,
06:31very few escaped harsh criticism. Among its catalogue, the most recognizable and least
06:36controversial title attached to its publishing history is Worms World Party.
06:48Blizzard.
07:00Hello, Blizzcon. It's hard to believe that we're already more than halfway through.
07:06Blizzard's catalogue isn't exactly light on heavy hitters. They've delivered a massive amount of
07:11titles like Diablo 3, Starcraft, Overwatch and Hearthstone, games that basically printed money and
07:16goodwill at the same time. I for one am a fiend on World of Warcraft for about four weeks straight
07:20once a year, like clockwork. Yet despite that legacy, the studio's reputation has taken a serious
07:26beating. A major flashpoint has been Overwatch 2, the sequel to the original Overwatch 1 which was
07:31built on a simple model. Buy the game once and unlock everything through play. Overwatch 2 felt less
07:37like a true sequel and more like a monetization DLC, frustrating players who had already paid for the
07:42first game only to see it effectively erased. Promised large-scale PvE story content was scaled back
07:48for a handful of missions, far from what had been marketed. On top of that, public reports about
07:52workplace misconduct furthered their reputation to creak. As you can see, I am super excited to be here
07:59and share some of the content that we prepared, especially for Clash map. So before I jump in,
08:07let me share a cool video with you guys. So can we play the video?
08:14Konami, any noise that you make in the room will be broadcast on the internet live. So be conscious of
08:21that. If not, you might end up on the internet in a sound at least, and we don't want that
08:26to happen.
08:26So please, yeah, you don't want to do that. Konami didn't become controversial overnight,
08:32it was more methodical. It slowly earned that reputation through a string of decisions
08:36that left long-time fans feeling burned and angry. It's a tale as old as mine, I mean time.
08:42The most explosive moment was the very public fallout with Hideo Kojima during the development
08:47of Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain, which led to his name being scrubbed from marketing
08:51and the cancellation of Silent Hills, a project that had horror fans foaming at the mouth.
08:56Basically, they took their biggest cash cow and sold him to a different farm.
09:00Well, actually, let him free and then he started his own farm. Same, same.
09:03To make matters worse, Konami committed the cardinal sin, the blizzard crime if you will.
09:08They appeared to pivot away from big budget console development in favor of mobile games
09:13and pachinko machines, which felt like watching your favorite band quit music to sell ringtones.
09:19Releases like Metal Gear Survive are a physical embodiment of their failures, and it says plenty.
09:23It's amazing. But because we played this game, we can kind of dance now.
09:28Nah, I don't think so. There's nothing we can show everybody.
09:32I know, I know.
09:33If you just continue to press the same button like X, X, X, and Y, Y, and X, X, and
09:40Y, Y again,
09:41you'll be sucked. Ubisoft.
09:42If our crazy rabbits were unleashed upon the world of Mario, today, the dream is reality.
09:54Ubisoft often gets lumped in with industry giants like EA and Activision when conversations turn
09:59to controversial publishers. And it's totally fair. At one point, the company required players
10:04to maintain a constant internet connection just to play certain single player titles including
10:09Assassin's Creed 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction. For many consumers, that always online requirement
10:14was a complete deal breaker. For me, it was borderline impossible. I don't know if you all
10:18know just how bad internet is in Australia, but for some goddamn reason, we're like 10 years behind
10:22everyone else, and it sucks dick. Before the internet issues, Ubisoft used Starforce DRM,
10:27which installed low-level drivers that reportedly caused hardware instability issues for some users.
10:32The company had also been accused of retaliatory behavior such as withholding review copies from
10:37outlets like Electronic Gaming Monthly after unfavorable coverage. Petty.
10:42Legal trouble followed as well, including the 2012 lawsuit alleging that the Assassin's Creed series
10:47borrowed heavily from a novel titled Link, though the case was ultimately dropped.
10:51More recently, Ubisoft faced widespread scrutiny in 2020 after, color me shocked, multiple allegations
10:56of workplace misconduct came forward. Typical.
11:00Everywhere else in the world, drivers and fans meet across the country and celebrate a common passion
11:09for all things motorized. Warner Bros. Games
11:24often draw criticism for how it manages both its studios and its monetization strategies,
11:29which seems to be a pattern, but Warner Bros. really wants to make money. Despite owning powerful licenses,
11:36DC, Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat and more, the company has a track record of chasing live service trends at the
11:42expense of focused, polished experiences. Titles have launched with aggressive microtransactions or post-launch roadmaps
11:49that feel designed around long-term spending rather than player satisfaction. They want the new Fortnite,
11:55but at half the cost. The handling of certain projects has also raised eyebrows with reported studio
12:00shakeups, cancelled games and strategic pivots that created uncertainty for developers and fans alike.
12:06Don't pivot. You know what we want. Please don't make a Warner Bros. Battle Royale. I swear to god,
12:11I'll throw my PC at the f***ing window. Players grow wary when beloved franchises are steered towards
12:16grind-heavy systems or battle pass structures instead of tight single-player designs.
12:22You can't stop me. That easy.
12:25Game Mill Entertainment
12:36To finish us off, we're focusing on a perfectly fine company, I guess, but just keeps churning out garbage.
12:42Game Mill Entertainment has earned a rough reputation largely because of the kind of projects it chooses to
12:47publish and how quickly they push to market or force devs to rush to market. The company often works with
12:52licensed properties, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Nerf, that the final products frequently feel rushed,
12:58underfunded or lacking polish. Instead of delivering thoughtful adaptations that respect
13:03the source material, critics argue many Game Mill titles come across as low-effort cash-ins designed to
13:09capitalize on brand recognition rather than gameplay depth. Ouch. Technical issues, shallow mechanics and
13:14limited content have plagued several releases, leaving players disappointed and wary of future announcements.
13:20Look at these titles and tell me these don't sound like garbage. Frozen, Olof's Quest, Big Hero 6,
13:25Battle in the Bay, Cartoon Network Battle Crashers, Nickelodeon Kart Races, Nickelodeon Kart Races 2 Grand
13:31Prix, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and Nerf Legends. Crack open the PS5 baby, it's time for some Nerf Legends.
13:48Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from MojoPlays. Be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
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