Biggest Video Game Flops of 2025 Include Two Major Xbox Games

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Looking back at 2025, there were several high-profile game failures, with Xbox taking the biggest hit – two of the flops came from Xbox itself, including one published by Activision and another developed by Xbox Game Studios. While Nintendo and PlayStation also had a relatively weak year, Xbox’s performance was particularly underwhelming, which has been a consistent pattern since the Xbox One generation began. Although 2025 wasn’t Xbox’s absolute worst year during that time, it fell far short of being a successful one for the company.

What defines a ‘flop’? It’s not simply a bad game. A game that’s expected to be terrible and is terrible isn’t a flop – it just wasn’t good. A game can actually be a flop even if it’s okay, if there was a lot of hype around it and it didn’t sell well. Ultimately, whether something is considered a flop depends heavily on the situation and expectations surrounding it.

South of Midnight

While South of Midnight received a respectable 77 on Metacritic, its lack of initial player engagement is more concerning. Though not a critical failure, the game didn’t generate much buzz upon release. Xbox highlighted that it reached over a million players, but considering it was an Xbox Game Studios title available immediately through Game Pass, that number feels underwhelming and isn’t a significant achievement.

The game’s initial performance on Steam was strikingly poor, with a peak of only 1,438 concurrent players. While its availability on Xbox Game Pass likely affected Steam numbers, that peak is remarkably low. For comparison, Redfall – a major flop that led to a studio closure – reached 6,124 players at its peak. South of Midnight isn’t necessarily a bad game, it just didn’t capture players’ interest. Some tried it because it was included with their Game Pass subscription, but very few people chose to buy it outright. Considering it was an Xbox Game Studios release with significant marketing investment, the game simply didn’t perform well.

Mindseye

Despite warning signs before its launch, there was genuine excitement for Mindseye. This was largely due to it being the first game from Build a Rocket Boy, a studio created by Leslie Benzies – the lead producer of the popular GTA series from GTA 3 through GTA 5. However, early indications suggest Mindseye might be one of the biggest disappointments of 2025.

The game had a large budget and aimed for high production quality, but ultimately failed to deliver on that promise. Critics heavily panned it, with scores ranging from 28 to 37 on Metacritic, making it one of the worst games released in recent years. Surprisingly, even with these negative reviews, it still attracted more than twice the number of concurrent players on Steam compared to the game South of Midnight.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

Despite being a popular title in 2025, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was considered a disappointment for Xbox. While the game still sold well, numbers were significantly lower than Black Ops 6 and previous bestsellers, leading Activision to admit it didn’t meet expectations. The timing couldn’t have been worse, as EA and DICE released a well-received Battlefield 6 that actually outsold Black Ops 7. This marked the first time a Battlefield game had surpassed Call of Duty in sales.

Not only did the game fail to sell well, but critics and players didn’t like it either. With a score of 65 on Metacritic, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III would be the lowest-rated main Call of Duty game ever made if it weren’t for even worse releases. Player reviews are even harsher, giving it a dismal score of 1.6. To make matters worse, many consider its campaign to be the worst in the entire Call of Duty series. While the game might not seem like a complete failure on its own, considering its performance compared to other titles, it’s clear that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was a significant flop.

FBC: Firebreak

Firebreak, or FBC, didn’t make much of a splash when it was released and many people missed it. However, it’s worth remembering considering it was made by Remedy Entertainment, a studio known for creating high-quality games. While Remedy is capable of making incredible titles, they’ve also had their share of unsuccessful projects over the years.

Remedy Entertainment’s first attempt at a multiplayer game, FBC: Firebreak, didn’t succeed. Despite being offered for free to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass subscribers at launch, the game quickly faded into obscurity, peaking at just 1,992 concurrent players on Steam. This poor performance not only signals the failure of FBC: Firebreak but also underscores how badly South of Midnight performed. Even though FBC: Firebreak was free with subscriptions and considered a weaker game overall, it still managed to attract more players on Steam than South of Midnight.

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2025-12-28 01:10