Summary
- Games can benefit from controversy to increase attention, but some like Mercenaries 2 faced backlash for themes.
- Controversies in games, like the torture scene in Grand Theft Auto 5, can lead to justified criticism.
- Hogwarts Legacy faced backlash due to J.K. Rowling's views, showing that controversies can impact a game's success.
Open-world gaming has become so mainstream that most titles will try their hardest to stand out in some way or another. Great gameplay and stories are welcome, but some games also benefit from a bit of controversy to increase the number of eyes on their product.
While some people agree all publicity is good publicity, some controversies may be hard to justify, ranging from excessive in-game violence to reprehensible actions by creators. Thankfully, the majority of these open-world games are great to play despite the amount of controversy they caused at launch.

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8 Mercenaries 2: World In Flames
Venezuela Didn't Love That Players Killed The Country's President
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is a rather by-the-numbers open-world game that players can enjoy if they love destruction physics on a ridiculous scale. To most, the story is nothing to write home about, but its themes didn't sit right with the Venezuelan government.
Venezuela made accusations about how Pandemic Studios was working for the U.S. government and drumming up support to fight against Hugo Chavez, the then-president of Venezuela. It didn't help that the company had made a game for the U.S. Army before this title. This prompted Pandemic Studios to release a statement downplaying any parallels to real life, with their commitment solely to making this experience fun for players.
7 Grand Theft Auto 5
The Infamous Torture Mission Led To Heavy Criticism
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- Top Critic Rating: 92/100 Critics Recommend: 92%
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Released
- September 17, 2013
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar North
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Grand Theft Auto 5 was a landmark release that showed the amazing technical capabilities of Rockstar's new engine, which required a jump to a whole new console generation to show off its full depth. But as one might expect, Grand Theft Auto 5 also became the source of controversy because of a torture mission that was admittedly a bit too gratuitous.
In one mission, players use a bunch of torture instruments on an innocent civilian who reveals the information required for Michael to take out his target. While the outcry was justified to an extent, it was surprisingly muted compared to the reactions people have had over other aspects of the Grand Theft Auto series in the past.
6 Hogwarts Legacy
Drew Attention To J.K. Rowling's Bigoted Views
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- Top Critic Rating: 84/100 Critics Recommend: 89%
- Platform(s)
- PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Released
- February 10, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Software
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Hogwarts Legacy went through the wringer before its release for reasons completely unrelated to the gameplay itself. Rather, questionable statements made by series creator J.K. Rowling caused people to boycott the game's release, not wanting her to profit off the game's success.

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While it's true that J.K. Rowling's heinous views deserve to be criticized, people had mixed opinions about Hogwarts Legacy becoming the source of this derision, with many pointing out that the developers didn't deserve to be punished for Rowling's regressive views. Still, Hogwarts Legacy's sales have made it clear that it's one of the most successful video games ever made.
5 Bully
Rockstar's Reputation Stirred Controversy In A Game About High Schoolers
Rockstar is one of the most controversial video game developers of all time, and it was only a given that their efforts to tell a story using high school students would rile up their detractors. Despite Bully being an excellent open-world game that made the most of Rockstar's strengths, the violence that players could inflict as a high schooler didn't sit right with many.
The game also lets players give roses to characters and kiss them regardless of their gender, which back in 2006 generated controversy as well. For what it's worth, this particular outcry was mostly a product of its time, and takes nothing away from Bully's incredible gameplay.
4 Palworld
A Huge Controversy Surrounding Its Inspirations From Pokemon
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- Top Critic Rating: 71/100 Critics Recommend: 58%
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Released
- January 19, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
One of the biggest games around, Palworld has taken the world by story with its unique take on Pokemon with guns. However, Nintendo clearly isn't flattered by this title and has sued them for copyright infringement, which in itself has caused a ton of controversy in the gaming world.
There's some debate over how ethical it was for Palworld to emulate a ton of what makes Pokemon successful (to the point where the monster designs look eerily similar). Still, the idea that it should be illegal for any company other than Nintendo to feature a gameplay loop where players trap monsters by throwing a ball at them just feels wrong. If Nintendo wins this lawsuit, it will set a dangerous precedent for the future that may encourage other big companies to stifle creativity.