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For nearly as long as video games have existed, they have been the subject of controversy.
In 1976, Death Race became one of the first games to truly test the limits of good taste, with rudimentary gameplay inviting players to run over stick figures with a two-dimensional car. Decades later, the highly acclaimed Grand Theft Auto franchise would land in hot water for depicting almost exactly the same thing – only in a lot more detail.
Some games are controversial by design, either excessively violent or morally problematic. In some instances, they're indefensibly obscene , while others were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, wrapped up in an uproar of someone else's making, such as the criminally misappropriated Pokémon Go.
Controversy can sometimes damage a game's release, but often it gives them an instant injection of publicity. There are countless examples of games perversely benefiting from the whirlwind of scandal, Grand Theft Auto being arguably the most infamous.
From best-selling titles to obscure-but-reviled independent releases, here are 20 of the most controversial video games of all time...
20 most controversial video gamesShow all 20 1 /2020 most controversial video games 20 most controversial video games Death Race (1976) One of the earliest games to cause a stir for its violent content, this black-and-white arcade game saw players score points by running over crudely-rendered pedestrians.
Exidy
20 most controversial video games Custer's Revenge (1982) This infamously horrible Atari 2600 game was criticised for its depiction of sexual violence and racism, with the gameplay focusing on the rape of a Native American woman.
Mystique
20 most controversial video games Mortal Kombat (1992) Although it was praised for its slick fighting gameplay, Mortal Kombat scandalised the general public in 1992 with its excessively gruesome violence. The game was directly responsible for the introduction of an age-rating system for video games.
Midway
20 most controversial video games Night Trap (1992) In Night Trap, players had to protect teenage girls from sexual violence using a series of traps. Blending live-action film footage and interactive game elements, the game was pulled from shelves by publishers Sega, after people objected to its tawdry B-movie sexism.
Sega
20 most controversial video games Doom (1993) Seminal shooting game Doom made headlines when it was released because of its gory violence and hellish imagery. It is now considered one of the most important video games of all time.
List
20 most controversial video games Grand Theft Auto (1997) The game that launched a multi-billion pound franchise, Grand Theft Auto attracted controversy in Europe when it was released for its cavalier attitude to crime and violence. Looking back, the original game now looks rather tame compared to any of the series' more recent releases.
BMG Interactive
20 most controversial video games Grand Theft Auto III (2001) Released on 22 October 2001, this lauded but controversial sequel underwent significant revisions after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The adjusted version still had plenty of edge, however, and ramped up the violence and excess seen in the previous Grand Theft Auto releases.
Rockstar Games
20 most controversial video games Ethnic Cleansing (2002) Created by the US white supremacist organisation National Alliance, this despicable FPS let players control a member of the Ku Klux Klan and commit a spree of racially motivated murders.
Resistance Records
20 most controversial video games Postal 2 (2003) In 1997, schlocky PC game Postal courted scandal with its over-the-top violence and obnoxious tastelessness. This sequel was even more outrageous, and was slated by reviewers for its cheap, amateurish quality.
Running With Scissors
20 most controversial video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) One of the most infamous scandals in video game history concerns San Andreas' so-called "Hot Coffee" mod. Embedded in the game's original code and accessed by curious-minded modders, "Hot Coffee" consisted of a fully animated, (and quite explicit) sex-based minigame in which the player gets intimate with one of several female NPCs.
Rockstar Games
20 most controversial video games Bully (2006) Made by the creators of Grand Theft Auto, this schoolyard simulator was showered with critical praise – but was condemned in the build-up to its release for its apparent endorsement of bullying.
Rockstar Games
20 most controversial video games Manhunt 2 (2007) Before it was even released, Manhunt 2 was (erroneously) cited as a factor in a real-life murder case. The very violent game was denied a rating by the BBFC and was made to undergo substantial cuts before it could secure a British release.
Rockstar Games
20 most controversial video games Bioshock (2007) A landmark in video games, underwater sci-fi shooter Bioshock was still controversial when it was released, largely due to the gameplay aspect that let players murder beings that resembled young children – called the "little sisters" – to gain power-ups.
2K Games
20 most controversial video games Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) Still shocking to this day, Modern Warfare 2 opens with a deeply upsetting sequence where the player massacres dozens of civilians at a Russian airport. After a public outcry, the game was amended to give players the option to skip the tasteless sequence altogether.
Activision
20 most controversial video games MadWorld (2009) Released on the Nintendo Wii, a console mostly sold to families and children, this cartoonishly violent hack and slash game stuck out like a sore (severed) thumb. Its reception was mixed, but many were shocked at the gratuitousness of the violence on show.
Sega
20 most controversial video games Bulletstorm (2011) With a puerile sense of humour and a penchant for extreme violence, first-person shooter Bulletstorm seemed almost custom-designed to generate outrage. Fox News duly took the bait and started a contentious debate over the game's dubious moral influence.
Electronic Arts
20 most controversial video games South Park: The Stick of Truth (2014) True to the TV series' provocative spirit, this South Park game adaptation featured a sequence containing anal probing and an abortion, which was removed from the European release altogether.
Ubisoft
20 most controversial video games No Man's Sky (2016) Synonymous with the idea of 'false advertising' in gaming, No Man's Sky sparked a furious response on its release, as it failed to deliver many of the exciting features early trailers had promised. Subsequent updates have greatly improved the game, but the widely publicised damage to its reputation was already done.
Hello Games
20 most controversial video games Pokémon Go (2016) This augmented reality mobile game was briefly a worldwide sensation, but it attracted considerable backlash when it was reported that the game's geo-positioning technology was being used by creative-minded criminals to orchestrate real-world muggings.
The Pokémon Company
20 most controversial video games Rape Day (2019) Reviled for its grotesque depiction – and apparent promotion – of sexual assaults, this game was removed from game distribution platform Steam, in a break from Valve's company policy, after mass public outrage.
Desk Plant
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