While there was also a great deal to celebrate for gamers, it remains that there were numerous high-profile controversies that held the industry in 2022.
The gaming industry can be a source of endless diversion and positivity, with this being what many fans will at first consider while seeing the space all in all. So, computer games are such a wide-spanning industry that there are unavoidable instances of significant backlash and controversy, which may engrain themselves in the social zeitgeist of gaming and live on long after they first happen.
These controversies are subsequently very diverse in the way that they form and can be found in a gigantic scope of aspects of the industry that are seemingly steadily developing. Sadly, 2022 was no exemption for the high recurrence where these gaming controversies happen. In no particular request, here are the ten biggest computer game controversies to happen in 2022.
10. Byonetta VA Pay Controversy
An enormous gaming controversy for 2022 came in October when long-lasting Bayonetta voice actress Hellena Taylor shook the industry with her claims that she was essentially strong-furnished out of reprising her part in the expected Bayonetta 3. Taylor guaranteed that she was offered a payment well beneath the industry standard for possible work on Bayonetta 3, and at first mobilized immense amounts of support from numerous who sympathized with the hardships that voice actors can persevere over compensation for their work.
However, it was subsequently uncovered that Platinum Games had really offered Taylor around five times more than the underlying $4,000 figure the voice actress at first guaranteed she was offered, turning the story and the tide of general assessment significantly. Many scrutinized Taylor for seemingly exploiting the Bayonetta fan base and the discourse surrounding voice entertainer compensation, with these criticisms possibly developing when Taylor then asked fans to give to hostile to early termination charities instead of purchasing Bayonetta 3.
9. Diablo Immortal Microtransactions
Another substantial gaming controversy came in June with the release of Diablo Immortal. This particular title had been controversial even preceding its release because of its temperament as an allowed-to-play versatile game, with many fans of the Diablo franchise being skeptical of how Immortal would adapt itself, and as it should be.
After playing the game, many fans instantly described the title as being vigorously dependent upon microtransactions in its adaptation strategy, with genuinely allowed-to-play ongoing interaction being an almost impossible drudgery that intensely pushed players towards in-game purchases. Some of the best in-game items were essentially locked behind these purchases, with specific streamers spending close to $25,000 on Diablo Immortal just to get a single five-star thing.
8. Google Stadia Shutdown Blindsides Devs
The ambitious Google Stadia stage was sent off in 2019, being Google’s significant introduction to the universe of cloud gaming. Permitting games to be streamed instantaneously to a colossal scope of devices, Stadia had gotten a decent lot of consideration over the years, which made the shock declaration that the Stadia service would close down even more surprising to the gaming industry.
This declaration was made in September of this year and came all the way unexpected for the two consumers and developers the same, who were just made mindful of Google’s plans to shut down the service as a result of the declaration itself. While fans were offered finished refunds, game developers working with Google Stadia were exceptionally vocal in their disappointment in regards to how the announcements were handled, with numerous studios having previously pooled resources and committed to a now old stage.
7. Gotham Knights and Xbox Series S
Gotham Knights were one of the most expected games of 2022, making it even more susceptible to delivering some significant controversies. Just days before its October send-off, certain data in regards to the console versions of Gotham Knights were exposed which made immense rifts in the gaming industry, prompting discourse about the potential precedents that the release might have uncovered about the industry overall.
The controversy in question surrounds the way that Gotham Knights is restricted to 30 FPS on consoles, with there as of now being no plans for an exhibition mode to be added to the title. With many expecting the industry standard for current-gen consoles to be 60 FPS, frustrations were voiced and discussion started as to why this edge-related decision had been made.
The Xbox Series S was the fundamental offender behind why many accepted this decision was made. With devs now possibly representing a game running on the Series S as well as the Series X and PS5, many fans are concerned at the future implications of games releasing in technically simpler states just to stick to Series S equipment.
6. Microsoft and Sony Argue Over Call of Duty, ABK Acquisition
It is no secret that one of the most prominent and controversial developments to come from the gaming industry this year accompanied Microsoft’s declaration of its intentions to obtain Activision Snowstorm Ruler in a record-shattering $68.7 billion arrangement. The acquisition is still going through an extensively scrutinizing lawful process before it is officially affirmed, and the colossal implications of the arrangement have typically prompted a great deal of back and forths inside the industry.
The most vocal of these criticisms came from Sony, which is Microsoft’s largest direct competitor in the console space. Considering how worthwhile and strategically significant franchises like Call of Duty and Overwatch could be for Microsoft, PlayStation chief Jim Ryan even traveled to Brussels to speak to regulators with respect to the implications of the possible acquisition. With Sony refusing Call of Duty responsibility offers from Microsoft and proceeding to voice its disapproval of the arrangement, the remarkably open nature of such intense industrial tension fostered a rather significant degree of controversy in the gaming space.
5. Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ Graphics Controversy
Another exceptionally expected release of 2022 that created controversy was Pokemon Legends: Arceus. An ambitious title in the wide-spanning index of Pokemon games because of its higher emphasis on investigation and less-conventional battle, there was one aspect of Arceus, in particular, that was adversely gotten by many fans.
Perhaps as a result of the increased scale of the release, the graphics of Pokemon Legends: Arceus were controversial to many fans, who felt that the game had compromised and not set forth legitimate energy in terms of its constancy. While the title was still commended for its ongoing interaction, things like edge rate issues, unfortunate draw distances, and surface pop-ins prompted a more extensive discussion about the graphical state of the Pokemon franchise all in all, which were not helped by similar issues that many also confronted while playing the fresher Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
4. The Grand Theft Auto 6 Leaks Show How Little is Known About Development
Tremendous controversy shook the gaming scene in September when one of the most significant gaming leaks in history came in regards to the massively expected Rockstar title Grand Theft Auto 6. With colossal amounts of the impending title’s source code, as well as numerous early development in-game videos, being disclosed, the leaks had such severe implications that the programmer behind them was swiftly arrested and is having to deal with severe criminal penalties.
While these leaks were innately controversial, many consider the public response to the spilled film of the game to be just as contentious. With a considerable lot of the spilled videos for GTA 6’s interactivity being from the incredibly beginning phases of development, the videos of course missed the mark on the graphical polish of a finished game, as normal.
However, this didn’t stop swathes of individuals from lambasting GTA 6 for unfortunate graphics because of this recording, featuring a stressing disconnect between numerous players and what the development pattern of a game really looks like. To feature this, numerous development studios released their own pre-release film in solidarity with Rockstar, to support just how basic early development film really looks from a graphical standpoint.
3. The Last of Us Part 1’s Pricing Controversy
The first Last of Us is a genuinely venerated title and is considered by quite a few people to possess perhaps of the most convincing and immersive stories that gaming can offer. However, when it was officially reported in June of this year that the game would get a ground-up change called The Last of Us Part 1, controversy stirred in regards to the sizable sticker price of the game contrasted with what fans accepted it would offer.
From the limited-time film of The Last of Us Part 1, many were invigorated at the prospect of playing the game once more, however, felt it didn’t offer a lot besides basic graphical improvements and minor additions to center ongoing interaction. Considering what number of fans also accepted that the first 2013 title still held up very well according to a graphical perspective, many started questioning the purpose of Part 1, as well as assuming that its creation was even necessary. With the release sending off with a strong $70 sticker price, these criticisms were significantly uplifted, with many describing the title as just a Sony cash get, tarnishing the game before its send-off.
2. Twitch Gambling Meta
The Twitch streaming stage is no stranger to controversy, with the massive amounts of viewership and various creators that the site hosts definitely rearing some contentious issues. While these issues often happen on a singular level, they can sometimes manifest as stage-wide metal that just increases the inflexible backlash.
One of the most controversial metals the stage has at any point seen came this year with a well-known gambling meta, which saw some high-profile streamers like xQc and Adin Ross be sponsored by companies like Stake.
1. Twitch Pay Split Changes
Another significant controversy came from the Twitch stage this year, this time is credited to the organization itself as opposed to those who broadcast through it. Back in September, the stage declared its intentions to change the 70/30 subscription income split that some creators appreciated to 50/50, which typically rankled numerous streamers.
It must be said that the 70/30 split was simply offered to a select not many of the site’s top performers, meaning some of the most persuasive names on Twitch were straightforwardly influenced by these changes.
While Twitch has for some time been at the highest point of the streaming industry, the stage is confronting developing rivalry from the likes of YouTube, settling on this choice against their biggest earners all the seriously confusing and controversial.
Considering how Twitch has been steadily losing some of its top streamers to other sites, many saw this decision as strange, especially while considering how it agreed with the previously mentioned gambling controversy that held the stage.