3 Games So Bad They Ruined Franchises

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1) Star Fox Zero

Image courtesy of Nintendo

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

Image courtesy of Electronic Arts

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

Image courtesy of 2K

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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