The gaming industry’s been tripping over itself trying to push woke nonsense, and gamers are sick of it. Titles like Stellar Blade proved guys want fun games with great characters, not preachy DEI lectures. These 10 games—Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Avowed, Concord, and more—crashed hard because they forgot who’s actually playing. Let’s break down the biggest woke flops that tanked, proving the industry needs to quit pandering and get back to making games for their real fans.
1. Concord (2024)
Sony’s Concord is the king of woke disasters, barely hitting 2,388 players on Steam before getting yanked in just two weeks. Its diverse cast and preachy tone screamed “we don’t care about gamers,” and X posts tore it apart for calling players “talentless freaks.” A generic hero shooter in a crowded market, it flopped so bad it’s basically a meme now.
2. Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024)
BioWare’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard limped to a 61,360 Steam peak, a joke compared to Stellar Blade’s 183,830. X users and playtesters called it a “super woke” mess, packed with forced pronouns, top surgery scars, and ugly characters. Dull combat, a weak story, and no connection to past games’ choices made it a betrayal of the series. Sales estimates of 1-1.5 million fell way short of its budget, proving fans want depth, not lectures.
3. Assassin’s Creed Shadows (2025)
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows hit a measly 25,863 Steam peak, way below expectations for a “AAAA” title needing tens of millions in sales. Its Black samurai lead, Yasuke, and DEI-heavy design got roasted on X for “historical inaccuracy” and pandering. Delayed to 2026, it’s already a punching bag, with players rejecting its forced inclusivity over stealth and story.
4. Avowed (2025)
Obsidian’s Avowed was supposed to be a big RPG but tanked with a 15,000 Steam peak. X and Steam forums slammed its “woke” elements and bland gameplay, calling it “Dragon Age: The Veilguard 2.0.” Its art director’s rants against gamers didn’t help, and with only 74% favorable reviews, it’s a shadow of what fans expected from the Pillars of Eternity crew.
5. Dustborn (2024)
Dustborn is the indie woke poster child, peaking at under 100 players on Steam. Backed by government funds, it shoved leftist ideology down players’ throats, and X posts called it a total snooze. Its story and characters were so in-your-face that gamers ran the other way, making it a textbook “go woke, go broke” case.
6. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024)
Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad bombed with a 14,000 Steam peak, dropping to a few hundred players soon after. Its woke-leaning cast and live-service grind turned off fans who wanted the gritty Arkham style. Rocksteady fans trashed it as generic and uninspired, a massive fall for a once-loved studio.
7. Star Wars Outlaws (2024)
Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws was a letdown, with lackluster sales prompting Ubisoft to admit failure. Its “diverse” cast and modernized take on Star Wars didn’t click, and X posts ripped its generic open-world fetch quests. Another pricey flop that proves pandering doesn’t pay.
8. Forspoken (2023)
Square Enix’s Forspoken flopped hard with a weak story and cringey dialogue, leaning into a “diverse” protagonist that felt forced. Steam numbers were dismal, and X users mocked its “woke” vibe as a reason it tanked. It’s a reminder that flashy graphics can’t save a game that forgets fun.
9. Saints Row (2022 Reboot)
The Saints Row reboot ditched the series’ wild, fun roots for a sanitized, “inclusive” cast that bored everyone. It sold poorly, with Steam peaks nowhere near its predecessors. Fans of the previous games called it a woke sellout, proving you can’t fix what ain’t broke with DEI lectures.
10. Unknown 9: Awakening (2024)
Unknown 9: Awakening barely registered, with a tiny Steam peak and no buzz. Its “diverse” lead and heavy-handed narrative got zero love, and X users lumped it with other woke flops like Dustborn. Another forgettable title that proves gamers want quality, not agendas.
Bandai Namco actually thought they were going to get a multimedia franchise out of this Unknown 9 game.
Why These Games Tanked
- Pandering Over Quality: These games shoved DEI—diverse casts, pronouns, modern politics—instead of focusing on fun gameplay or good stories. Gamers, mostly guys (60% of PC players per 2024 Statista), want escapism, not lectures. Stellar Blade’s Eve showed how it’s done.
- Ignoring the Core Audience: Titles like Concord and Veilguard alienated their male fanbase with preachy tones. X posts scream frustration at devs who don’t get who’s buying their games.
- Bad Execution: Weak combat (Veilguard), generic gameplay (Suicide Squad), or boring worlds (Avowed) made these games forgettable, even without the woke stuff.
- Proof of the Trend: Successes like Black Myth: Wukong (2.2 million peak) and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 skipped woke agendas, focused on fun, and won big. The industry needs to take notes.
What This Means for Gaming
These flops are a loud warning: stop forcing woke politics and make games for the guys who actually play them. Stellar Blade’s 180K weekday peak shows what happens when you deliver polish, fun, and a character like Eve. Meanwhile, Concord’s 2,388 peak and Avowed’s 15K are proof that DEI obsession kills games. X users are already eyeing upcoming titles like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet as the next failures. Devs need to ditch the agendas, focus on quality, and respect their real audience—or keep watching their games crash and burn.
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