This is a list of video games considered controversial. The list includes games that have earned controversies for violence, sexual content, racism, and review bombing from fans. Some of the video games on this list have been banned or regionally censored.
Video game series Release dates Series title Platform Primary developer/publisher Reason(s) 1992–present Mortal Kombat Arcade, PC, Consoles, Mobile devices, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 Midway (later Warner Bros. Interactive) Blood, violence and gore. First fighter to introduce "Fatalities" to finish off opponents. When released for home console formats, it became the first "big budget" game to raise the issue of violence in the medium. Possible catalyst to the implementation of a rating system such as ESRB. 1996–present Pokémon Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo DS, Wii, WiiWare, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo, Game Freak Jynx, one of the series' titular creatures, came under heavy backlash following a 2000 article by Carole Boston Weatherford that accused its design of perpetrating blackface imagery. The resulting controversy forced a drastic redesign of Jynx, changing its skin from black to purple and shrinking its eyes and mouth. The series was also attacked by Protestant Evangelical groups, who argued that it promoted Satanic themes. In response, the Vatican broadcast its public approval of Pokémon in April 2000, claiming that the game was based on "intense ties of friendship", and lacked "any harmful moral side effects." 1997–present Grand Theft Auto Android, Dreamcast, Fire OS, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, iOS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, PSP, Windows Phone, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X Rockstar Games (formerly DMA Design, now Rockstar North) (Take-Two Interactive) Sexual themes, drug use, racism, nudity, foul and sexually explicit language, drunk driving, violence (against civilians, law enforcement members and military personnel). Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was originally rated "Mature" in the U.S., but was reviewed and re-rated "Adults Only" after controversy surrounding a fanmade Hot Coffee mod which unlocked a hidden sex scene (which was in the game's code, but left out of the final version). It was again re-rated "Mature" after Rockstar Games removed this scene from the game's code. In Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, one mission features full frontal male nudity, while in Grand Theft Auto V, one mission sees the character Trevor Philips torturing another character in several different ways, including waterboarding, pulling out teeth, and administering electrical shocks to the nipples. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars featured a drug-dealing mini-game. 1997–present Postal PC, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PS4 Running with Scissors/Various Violence and anti-law, most of which is committed against both civilians and government authorities, as well as racism, sexual themes, drug use, language, and animal cruelty. Postal 2 was banned in New Zealand and Australia. In Germany, Postal,Bundesanzeiger vom 30. Juni 1998 Postal 2Bundesanzeiger vom 31. Juli 2003 and Postal IIIBundesanzeiger vom 1. Februar 2012 were added to The List of Media Harmful to Young People as adult only. 2003–2007 Manhunt PS2, PC, Xbox, Wii, PlayStation Portable Rockstar Games (Rockstar North) (Take-Two Interactive) Excessive violence and gore. Manhunt gained significant controversy after it was alleged that the game inspired a teenager to commit a murder. Banned in Australia. Manhunt 2 has been labeled as possibly the most violent video game ever made and is infamous for being one of only four video games to have received an "Adults Only" rating due to violence. Further controversy surrounds the Wii version, due to the fact that it actually simulates the violence through motion control, causing it to be dubbed a "murder simulator". 2007–present Mass Effect PS3, Xbox 360, PC, BlackBerry 10, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One BioWare/Microsoft Game Studios (later Electronic Arts) Falsely accused by evangelical blogger Kevin McCullough of containing "rape and sodomy", which later led to the removal of McCullough's blog entry on Townhall.com. The game was featured on the Fox News Channel following the controversy, with host Martha MacCallum, which included the headline "full graphic sex". The game was briefly banned in Singapore due to the controversy.
While critically acclaimed overall, the ending of Mass Effect 3 was highly criticized as, among other issues, rendered all the decisions players had made in the trilogy, carried over through save files, moot, in contrast to marketing material BioWare had put forth for the game. Due to a large reaction from the player base, BioWare released free downloadable content that provided a more cinematic ending sequence that addressed some of these concerns.
Other controversies included the release of Mass Effect 3: From Ashes as day-one paid DLC; public outrage over the alleged link between the series' in-game combat violence to the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which was eventually debunked;Ashcraft B. "Mob blames mass effect for school shooting, is embarrassingly wrong". Kotaku 15 December 2012. and the portrayal and representation of women as well as sexual minorities. 2011–present Gal Gun Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, PC Inti-Creates The Gal Gun series has been criticized by western critics due to allowing players to sexually exploit teenage girls. Inti-Creates was forced by Microsoft to censor the Xbox 360 version due to players being able to look up the girls' skirts, while the PlayStation 3 version remained completely uncensored. The sequel, Gal Gun: Double Peace, which was released internationally, was banned in New Zealand for the same reason. 2011–present Senran Kagura Nintendo 3DS, iOS, Android, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch Marvelous The hack and slash game series gained notoriety for its accusations of sexism regarding the objectifications of underage women. The US distributors censored the adolescent ages of the playable female shinobi characters to avoid charges of hebephilia.2018–2021Super SeducerPCRed Dahlia InteractiveSuper Seducer was billed as "the world's most realistic seduction simulator". The player is taught by a pickup artist how to pick up women by going through multiple choice questions accompanied by video clips. The game came under fire by a number of video game critics; one described it as the "world's sleaziest game", and another criticized the game for "normalizing rape culture" Prior to its release, the game had its crowdfunding campaign suspended by Kickstarter. According to its press release, this was due to "inappropriate content, including but not limited to offensive or pornographic material", and "spamming or abusive behavior, offering rewards in violation of Kickstarter's rules." During release, the developer came under fire for ordering a DMCA takedown request against a YouTuber after he made a video critiquing the game. Its release on PlayStation 4 was pulled by Sony shortly before it was due for release. The original and second installments were blocked from release by Nintendo over explicit contents in 2021. Despite releasing the first two installments, the third installment was pulled from Steam; despite this, they allowed them to remain on their store.
Multiplayer games Release datesSeries titlePlatformPrimary developer/publisherReason(s)2006–presentRoblox Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5Roblox Corporation2023–presentGoreboxAndroid, Linux and WIndowsF2GamesGraphic violence
1970s–1980s