History UsefulNotes / TheNewTens

* In Australian TV, the National Indigenous Television (NITV) was integrated with Creator/{{SBS}} so that the indigenous station could broadcast free-to-air for all Australians to see. Speaking of SBS, it's second channel Creator/{{SBS2}} was rebranded as a youth channel, bringing with it shows like ''Series/{{Community}}'', ''Series/UnbeatableBanzuke'', and ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' after 6pm.

* Stronger LGBTQ representation in children's cartoons made a huge amount of progress in this decade. Steven Universe, among other things, became the first American children's cartoon with a gay wedding in it.

* The FightingGame genre is undergoing something of a renaissance. The success of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6'', and ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger'' in the late 2000s led to announcements of expansions and sequels, among them ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters XIII'', ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart 3'', ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur V]]'', ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'', ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive 5'', ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', and ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', though the latter two are particularly divisive and possibly contributed to Creator/{{Capcom}}'s decline. The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series released its fourth installment(s) as well and its fifth came out four years afterwards. In addition to established titles, there's also some new blood in the fighting arena, like ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'', ''VideoGame/DaemonBride'', and ''VideoGame/RivalsOfAether'', as well as spin-offs for non-fighting games like ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' fighting game and ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena''. The decade so far also saw the revival of the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' franchise with its [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 newest installment/reboot]] and its [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX two]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombat11 sequels]], in addition to a [[VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs pseudo-spinoff starring DC Comics characters]] and a [[VideoGame/Injustice2 sequel to that later]], winning back fans who'd been disappointed by its brush with the PolygonCeiling. And of course, Creator/ArcSystemWorks, the company behind ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', has continued to grow thanks to its now-flagship series, with the possibility of becoming the next top FightingGame company following FanDisillusionment towards Capcom.
** The fan disillusionment on Capcom could be traced with several of their questionable practices with their fighting games. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' was [[ChristmasRushed released with bare-bones single player feature to make sure the game can be featured in EVO and the players were well-trained in PVP matches.]] It took several years for Capcom to remedy this, but this has an effect of some games being rushed for EVO, such as ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'' or just merely released with minimum single player features, with latter features coming via DLC (an example includes ''VideoGame/FightingEXLayer''). The worst offender of this one however, is ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'': A combination of ExecutiveMeddling for roster decision and bad marketing ploys made players actually avoid the game (to the point that there were ZERO players detected) despite actually being a normally playable game, with fans saying that the game has been killed. All in all, there were some justifications that Capcom, despite still staying as a fighting game juggernaut (if only via ''Franchise/StreetFighter''), has been losing some grounds.

** Eastern video games (especially in regards to the {{JRPG}}) have fallen deeply, as the most recent offerings by Creator/SquareEnix, such as ''VideoGame/{{Mindjack}}'' and ''VideoGame/LordOfArcana'', failed to impress a Western gaming community that has written them off, and ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' suffered its greatest failure to date with [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV its fourteenth installment]] (though [[[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV the following installment]] was heralded as a return to form). While Idea Factory and [[Creator/NipponIchi]] have tried to pick up the slack, they weren't well-received, with the growing differences between Japanese and Western tastes in gaming often cited as an explanation. This is in addition to sites like Polygon and Kotaku publishing articles with an anti-Japan bias, though these have mellowed down over time as other games were well-received. Still, this inadvertently had a chilling effect on games being brought over from Japan, ranging from refusal to localize certain games like ''VideoGame/DeadOrAliveExtremeBeachVolleyball3'' and ''VideoGame/OmegaLabyrinthZ'' to censorship of fanservice content. However, just like anime, Japanese video games are still a formidable force due in part to the resurgence of the {{Fighting Game}} with titles like ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', as well as the arrival of Nintendo's UsefulNotes/WiiU in 2012 and Sony's UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 4}} later in 2013. While the Wii U did poorly at first, it soon made its mark with a string of strong hit games, and the [=PS4=] has been doing even better. However, the effort is muddled with frustrating issues such as increased censorship of newer [=PS4=] games has proven to have been met with a harsh reception.

* The subscription [=MMORPGs=] had fallen out of favor by this time; ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', while still being popular, has seen a decline in subscriber count, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' was severely botched on launch, ''VideoGame/AllPointsBulletin'' quickly tanked and ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' adopted a free-to-play scheme mere months after release due to extravagant budget issues. ''VideoGame/{{Rift}}'' has seen some success after being launched in March 2011, although it too adopted a limited free-to-play model the next year, as did ''World of Warcraft'' earlier on. Free-To-Play games using a microtransaction model have been flourishing at the start of the decade, especially with the great popularity of games like ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' and ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. Other no monthly subscription [=MMORPGs=] such as ''VideoGame/RagnarokIILegendOfTheSecond'', ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', and ''[[https://fiesta.gamigo.com Fiesta Online]]'' are relatively popular.[[note]]Many [=MMORPGs=] sustain their revenue through an item shop where players [[BribingYourWayToVictory pay real life money]] for virtual items that will either help boost gameplay or cosmetic purposes.[[/note]]

*** HistoryRepeats on Creator/SquareEnix. Their second MMORPG, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', released at 2010 and hyped to defeat [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Blizzard's juggernaut MMO]], was released in such a messy state that it costed them so much, putting them in the same place before the merging of Squaresoft and Enix (with ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'') or before ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' was ever released: The company was in a red state. Eventually, Square-Enix pulled the plug of the game by creating a stunningly impressive cutscene that marks the EndOfAnEra and being immersive about it for the remaining players, and then a year later, released ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: A Realm Reborn'', which addressed ''everything'' about the game, allowing them to recover the damage they did and at least allowed them to release ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' instead of getting the whole franchise killed. This turns out to be a long game: ''FFXIV: A Realm Reborn'' and the dedication for it (many thanks to the director Creator/NaokiYoshida) managed to recover whatever great damage the vanilla version caused and coinciding with Blizzard's more erratic actions (see above), its slow-and-steady approach managed to make their game winning praises everywhere and look poised to take the '#1 MMORPG' spot and fulfilling its mission at last, and also restoring a majority of trust in Square-Enix, and as a bonus, the early release at 2020 for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' was met with resounding success and praise (as opposed to Blizzard's debacle with the remake of their classic above which was released early in 2020), showing how AAA games are done. If there's anything Square-Enix showed themselves to be good at in this decade, it's is that while first impression is very important, what matters is how one is willing to admit their mess ups and improve from criticism, even from a rock bottom position.

* This move towards more correctness and rectitude is the result of [[CallingTheOldManOut backlash against the "Baby Boomer" generation]][[note]]Those born between 1946 and 1964[[/note]], now portrayed by later generations as [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]], immature freeloaders with an unrealistically simplistic (and overtly utopic) vision of the world. It hasn't helped that the reputations of many of the boomers' most important symbols and idols have been shattered overnight. On the other hand, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers also accuse Millennials of being [[NotSoDifferent selfish, immature freeloaders with an unrealistically simplistic (and overtly utopic) vision of the world]].

*** Creator/{{Konami}} experienced a shift of management in the mid-2010's, which saw the company start a cascade of unexpected changes that alienated their western fandom. It began with a top-level shift of focus from AAA console game development to mobile game development and pachinko machine design, much of which did not see export to the West. Aside from breaking contact with American and European audiences, these shifts had drastic effects on highly anticipated projects, chief among them a new Silent Hills installment and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': the former was suddenly cancelled, to a great outcry from journalists and series' enthusiasts, bemoaning the loss of a promising project with confirmed potential in the form of the acclaimed P.T. demo; the latter was released to critical acclaim, but followed by a surfacing scandal. Sources on the media exposed a souring in relations between the company and Creator/HideoKojima, who was to direct the aforementioned games, and revealed mistreatment of the staff of Kojima Productions from the company's side. Kojima soon parted ways with Konami to form his own studio under Sony, leaving his former employer with a very tainted image in the eyes of the western public. With a decreased developer workforce, Konami's next projects showed decreasing quality, with rather poorly received titles such as ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'' or ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Rogue Corps''. Defenders of Konami can point to some successes since then, such as ''Super VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} R'' and allowing [[VideoGame/{{Castlevania}} Simon and Richter Belmont]] to appear in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', and their ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' franchise continues to perform well, but the faith of many a former supporter of theirs has been shattered, and there seems to be agreement over the company's general decline. On the other hand, they managed to bounce back and be more acceptable/forgiven in their home country (Japan), continuing to make games that won them some local awards to the next decade as they managed to actually move on from the scandal, making the whole unending hatred [[AmericansHateTingle more contained in the Western side]] and [[ValuesDissonance their different culture over there]] (though even the Japanese still agree that they had an overall decline compared to their past self). Overall, while they did take some big damage, Konami's exodus from Western gaming industry had merits in terms of 'survival', since the scandal would be the last big controversy they'd be involved with the West as as stated below, the Western area of video game development would be engulfed in unending 'scandal hunt' that could have further damaged them, even if [[NeverLiveItDown the Western perception of them will always be based on that scandal no matter their modest progress in Japan]].

*** Creator/{{Konami}} experienced a shift of management in the mid-2010's, which saw the company start a cascade of unexpected changes that alienated their western fandom. It began with a top-level shift of focus from AAA console game development to mobile game development and pachinko machine design, much of which did not see export to the West. Aside from breaking contact with American and European audiences, these shifts had drastic effects on highly anticipated projects, chief among them a new Silent Hills installment and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': the former was suddenly cancelled, to a great outcry from journalists and series' enthusiasts, bemoaning the loss of a promising project with confirmed potential in the form of the acclaimed P.T. demo; the latter was released to critical acclaim, but followed by a surfacing scandal. Sources on the media exposed a souring in relations between the company and Creator/HideoKojima, who was to direct the aforementioned games, and revealed mistreatment of the staff of Kojima Productions from the company's side. Kojima soon parted ways with Konami to form his own studio under Sony, leaving his former employer with a very tainted image in the eyes of the western public. With a decreased developer workforce, Konami's next projects showed decreasing quality, with rather poorly received titles such as ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'' or ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Rogue Corps''. Defenders of Konami can point to some successes since then, such as ''Super VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} R'' and allowing [[VideoGame/{{Castlevania}} Simon and Richter Belmont]] to appear in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', and their ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' franchise continues to perform well, but the faith of many a former supporter of theirs has been shattered, and there seems to be agreement over the company's general decline. On the other hand, they managed to bounce back and be more acceptable/forgiven in their home country (Japan), continuing to make games that won them some local awards to the next decade as they managed to actually move on from the scandal, making the whole unending hatred [[AmericansHateTingle more contained in the Western side]] ([[NeverLiveItDown refusing to move on from the controversies above for years]]) and [[ValuesDissonance their different culture over there]] (though even the Japanese still agree that they had an overall decline compared to their past self).

*** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment, once an iconic and universally loved figure, has started to develop cracks in its image. Aggressive pushes on the e-sports scene appear to have caused the company's focus to become split, and some of its IP appeared to stagnate at points, with ''[[VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft Hearthstone]]'' and ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' experiencing intervals of little forward development. They also attracted scorn for their forays into mobile games, most notably the infamous ''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal'' reveal at [=Blizzcon 2018=], which didn't sit well with their western player base, who saw this as an abandonment of their established and devoted audience in favour of easy revenue from Asian mobile markets. However, their single most damning moment was an incident with ''Hearthstone'' esports player "Blitzchung", who was immediately banned from a tournament and harshly punished after expressing support for the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests during an interview, along with stream casters who were broadcasting his words. The company's actions quickly garnered attention, and were soon subject to heavy criticism from the public: objections to what was seen as transparent appeasement of Chinese business relations sprouted from many third parties, with several US Congressmen signing a letter of admonishment to Blizzard, and boycotts being called among the gaming community. These events had a lasting effect on the company's reputation, closing the decade at a low point in public perception. Adding a final insult to the injury, the January 2020 remake of one of its classics, ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III: Reforged'', garnered an overwhelmingly negative response[[note]]It is [[ObviousBeta a bug-ridden mess]], lacks features both [[NeverTrustATrailer from its trailer in 2018]] and from the original game, the EULA was updated from the original to give Blizzard exclusive ownership over any and all user-created content (a response to the ''WCIII'' mod ''[[VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients DotA]]'' becoming popular enough to become its own separate franchise, which Blizzard didn't have full ownership of due to it originally being a user-created mod), and the original has been merged with the remake, forcing those who already owned the original to contend with the unwelcome changes, to ensure the EULA update can't be sidestepped (keep in mind, the original was released in 2002, and its classic status ensured it retained a devoted fanbase for just over seventeen years before it was merged with the disastrous remake)[[/note]].

The effects of this was felt with UsefulNotes/TheJapaneseInvasion seeming to reel back from some foreign shores, with the anime, manga, and Japanese video gaming industries considered to have suffered a crash similar to the UsefulNotes/{{TheGreat Video Game Crash of 1983}} at the beginning of the decade due to a combination of general oversaturation and [[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/01/09/general/will-cool-japan-finally-heat-up-in-2014/#.XGZGOndFyUk an ever-greater focus in Japan on pandering to the]] {{Otaku}} market at the expense of casual and foreign fans, although as the decade moved along, said industries have largely been seen to have recovered.
** The decade started out poorly for anime, with the collapse of Toonami still lingering, the closeout of many prominent dubbing companies, and a string of poorly-performing shows. However, since 2012, Anime has been enjoying a massive revival in the west, thanks to the revival of Toonami, the success of streaming services like Neon Alley (which would be absorbed into Creator/{{Hulu}}) and Website/{{Crunchyroll}}, new dubbing companies like NIS America and Creator/SentaiFilmworks Films rising to the fore, and a multitude of smash hits such as ''Anime/AttackOnTitan'', ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', ''Anime/OnePunchMan'' and ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', just to name a few.

*** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment, once an iconic and universally loved figure, has started to develop cracks in its image. Aggressive pushes on the e-sports scene appear to have caused the company's focus to become split, and some of its IP appeared to stagnate at points, with ''[[VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft Hearthstone]]'' and ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' experiencing intervals of little forward development. They also attracted scorn for their forays into mobile games, most notably the infamous ''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal'' reveal at [=Blizzcon 2018=], which didn't sit well with their western player base, who saw this as an abandonment of their established and devoted audience in favour of easy revenue from Asian mobile markets. However, their single most damning moment was an incident with ''Hearthstone'' esports player "Blitzchung", who was immediately banned from a tournament and harshly punished after expressing support for the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests during an interview, along with stream casters who were broadcasting his words. The company's actions quickly garnered attention, and were soon subject to heavy criticism from the public: objections to what was seen as transparent appeasement of Chinese business relations sprouted from many third parties, with several US Congressmen signing a letter of admonishment to Blizzard, and boycotts being called among the gaming community. These events had a lasting effect on the company's reputation, closing the decade at a low point in public perception. Adding a final insult to the injury, the January 2020 remake of one of its classics, ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III: Reforged'', garnered an overwhelmingly negative response[[note]]It is [[ObviousBeta a bug-ridden mess]], lacks features both [[NeverTrustATrailer from its trailer in 2018]] and from the original game, the EULA was updated from the original to give Blizzard exclusive ownership over any and all user-created content (a response to the ''WCIII'' mod ''[[VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients DotA]]'' becoming popular enough to become its own separate franchise, which Blizzard didn't have full ownership of due to it originally being a user-created mod), and the original game has been merged with the remake, forcing those who already owned the original game to contend with the unwelcome changes, to ensure the EULA update can't be sidestepped (keep in mind, the original game was released in 2002, and its classic status ensured it retained a devoted fanbase for just over seventeen years before it was merged with the disastrous remake)[[/note]].

*** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment, once an iconic and universally loved figure, has started to develop cracks in its image. Aggressive pushes on the e-sports scene appear to have caused the company's focus to become split, and some of its IP appeared to stagnate at points, with ''[[VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft Hearthstone]]'' and ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' experiencing intervals of little forward development. They also attracted scorn for their forays into mobile games, most notably the infamous ''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal'' reveal at [=Blizzcon 2018=], which didn't sit well with their western player base, who saw this as an abandonment of their established and devoted audience in favour of easy revenue from Asian mobile markets. However, their single most damning moment was an incident with ''Hearthstone'' esports player "Blitzchung", who was immediately banned from a tournament and harshly punished after expressing support for the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests during an interview, along with stream casters who were broadcasting his words. The company's actions quickly garnered attention, and were soon subject to heavy criticism from the public: objections to what was seen as transparent appeasement of Chinese business relations sprouted from many third parties, with several US Congressmen signing a letter of admonishment to Blizzard, and boycotts being called among the gaming community. These events had a lasting effect on the company's reputation, closing the decade at a low point in public perception. Adding a final insult to the injury, the January 2020 remake of one of its classics, ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III: Reforged'', garnered an overwhelmingly negative response[[note]]It is [[ObviousBeta a bug-ridden mess]], lacks features both [[NeverTrustATrailer from its trailer in 2018]] and from the original game, the EULA was updated from the original to give Blizzard exclusive ownership over any and all user-created content (a response to the ''WCIII'' mod ''[[VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients DotA]]'' becoming popular enough to become its own separate franchise, which Blizzard didn't have full ownership of due to originally being a user-created mod), and the original game has been merged with the remake, forcing those who already owned the original game to contend with the unwelcome changes, to ensure the EULA update can't be sidestepped (keep in mind, the original game was released in 2002, and its classic status ensured it retained a devoted fanbase for just over seventeen years before it was merged with the disastrous remake)[[/note]].

*** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment, once an iconic and universally loved figure, has started to develop cracks in its image. Aggressive pushes on the e-sports scene appear to have caused the company's focus to become split, and some of its IP appeared to stagnate at points, with ''[[VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft Hearthstone]]'' and ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' experiencing intervals of little forward development. They also attracted scorn for their forays into mobile games, most notably the infamous ''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal'' reveal at [=Blizzcon 2018=], which didn't sit well with their western player base, who saw this as an abandonment of their established and devoted audience in favour of easy revenue from Asian mobile markets. However, their single most damning moment was an incident with ''Hearthstone'' esports player "Blitzchung", who was immediately banned from a tournament and harshly punished after expressing support for the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests during an interview, along with stream casters who were broadcasting his words. The company's actions quickly garnered attention, and were soon subject to heavy criticism from the public: objections to what was seen as transparent appeasement of Chinese business relations sprouted from many third parties, with several US Congressmen signing a letter of admonishment to Blizzard, and boycotts being called among the gaming community. These events had a lasting effect on the company's reputation, closing the decade at a low point in public perception. Adding a final insult to the injury, the January 2020 remake of one of its classics, ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III: Reforged'', garnered an overwhelmingly negative response[[note]]It is [[ObviousBeta a bug-ridden mess]], lacks features both [[NeverTrustATrailer from its trailer in 2018]] and from the original game, the EULA was updated from the original to give Blizzard exclusive ownership over any and all user-created content (a response to the ''WCIII'' mod ''[[VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients DotA]]'' becoming popular enough to become its own separate franchise, which Blizzard didn't have full ownership of due to originally being a user-created mod), and merging the original game with the remake, forcing those who already owned the original game to contend with the unwelcome changes, to ensure the EULA update can't be sidestepped (and the original game was released in 2002, and its classic status ensured it retained a devoted fanbase for just over seventeen years before it was merged with the disastrous remake)[[/note]].

* The decade was an ''interesting'' one for some veteran companies, with some managing to bounce back from a rocky position and WinBackTheCrowd, and others entering a downward spiral of bad publicity, losing the goodwill of their fandom. Here are some examples:

*** VideoGame/{{Capcom}} in particular has probably had one of the best success stories of the decade. Initially starting off the decade as reviled by the gaming community for aspects of their games that seemed poorly thought out and some poor corporate decisions (many will point to the disastrous launch of 2012's ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' as one of their absolute lowest points in recent memory, particularly due to the substantial amount of on-disc DLC). Starting with ''Resident Evil 7'' as shown above, they have released at least one nearly universally acclaimed game a year. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' in 2018 was the next one, and ''VideoGame/MegaMan11'' was considered to be a great return to form for their Platforming mascot, to the point where it was called "''VideoGame/MightyNo9'' done right". But 2019 had the back-to-back successes of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'', which garnered even better praise then Resident Evil 7 did, and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', which not only garnered similar acclaim, but was a shot in the arm that the Devil May Cry fanbase needed after ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' demoralized and divided the fanbase prior. It also garnered the highest PC release in the companies history, right after ''Monster Hunter World'', in fact, and 2012's ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' also became something of a SleeperHit despite low initial sales due to word of mouth, and is now acclaimed as one of the best action [=RPGs=] on the market. While their Fighting Game Division is still a bit off in terms of quality, many have claimed that Capcom as a whole has found their footing and might even be doing better both critically and commercially as a company than they have ever had. Though that is not to say they had their own blunders in this decade (such as ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite''), but they came out much better than the last decade.

*** In general, after the middle of 2010's, the Western video game community has increasingly becoming a lot more sensitive towards any kinds of 'employee mistreatment' scandals (one of the most common examples is when the company dares to include crunch time to develop a game) to which they are very likely to condemn video game companies for it, creating controversies after controversies to which any video game companies in the West are more than likely to be condemned to experience a downfall or 'fall from grace', no matter how respected they were before; aside of Blizzard and Konami above or the usual suspect Creator/ElectronicArts, occasional targets of this controversies usually include the likes of Creator/{{Bethesda}} or Creator/{{Ubisoft}} or Creator/{{Activision}} (coincidentally, Activision also caught flak with the controversies of Blizzard due to their merger and Activision being thought to be the ones calling the shots overall). For good or bad, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment this ain't the place to talk further about it.]]

*** VideoGame/{{Capcom}} in particular has probably had one of the best success stories of the decade. Initially starting off the decade as reviled by the gaming community for aspects of their games that seemed poorly thought out and some poor corporate decisions (many will point to the disastrous launch of 2012's ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' as one of their absolute lowest points in recent memory, particularly due to the substantial amount of on-disc DLC). Starting with ''Resident Evil 7'' as shown above, they have released at least one nearly universally acclaimed game a year. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' in 2018 was the next one, and ''VideoGame/MegaMan11'' was considered to be a great return to form for their Platforming mascot, to the point where it was called "''VideoGame/MightyNo9'' done right". But 2019 had the back-to-back successes of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'', which garnered even better praise then Resident Evil 7 did, and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', which not only garnered similar acclaim, but was a shot in the arm that the Devil May Cry fanbase needed after ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' demoralized and divided the fanbase prior. It also garnered the highest PC release in the companies history, right after ''Monster Hunter World'', in fact, and 2012's ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' also became something of a SleeperHit despite low initial sales due to word of mouth, and is now acclaimed as one of the best action RPGs on the market. While their Fighting Game Division is still a bit off in terms of quality, many have claimed that Capcom as a whole has found their footing and might even be doing better both critically and commercially as a company than they have ever had. Though that is not to say they had their own blunders in this decade (such as ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite''), but they came out much better than the last decade.

*** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment, once an iconic and universally loved figure, has started to develop cracks in its image. Aggressive pushes on the e-sports scene appear to have caused the company's focus to become split, and some of its IP appeared to stagnate at points, with ''[[VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfTheStorm Hearthstone]]'' and ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' experiencing intervals of little forward development. They also attracted scorn for their forays into mobile games, most notably the infamous ''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal'' reveal at [=Blizzcon 2018=], which didn't sit well with their western player base, who saw this as an abandonment of their established and devoted audience in favour of easy revenue from Asian mobile markets. However, their single most damning moment was an incident with ''Hearthstone'' esports player "Blitzchung", who was immediately banned from a tournament and harshly punished after expressing support for the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests during an interview, along with stream casters who were broadcasting his words. The company's actions quickly garnered attention, and were soon subject to heavy criticism from the public: objections to what was seen as transparent appeasement of Chinese business relations sprouted from many third parties, with several US Congressmen signing a letter of admonishment to Blizzard, and boycotts being called among the gaming community. These events had a lasting effect on the company's reputation, closing the decade at a low point in public perception. Adding a final insult to the injury, the January 2020 remake of one of its classics, ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III: Reforged'', garnered an overwhelmingly negative response[[note]]It is [[ObviousBeta a bug-ridden mess]], lacks features both [[NeverTrustATrailer from its trailer in 2018]] and from the original game, the EULA was updated from the original to give Blizzard exclusive ownership over any and all user-created content (a response to the ''WCIII'' mod ''[[VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients DotA]]'' becoming popular enough to become its own separate franchise, which Blizzard didn't have full ownership of due to originally being a user-created mod), and merging the original game with the remake, forcing those who already owned the original game to contend with the unwelcome changes, to ensure the EULA update can't be sidestepped (and the original game was released in 2002, and its classic status ensured it retained a devoted fanbase for just over seventeen years before it was merged with the disastrous remake)[[/note]].

* The decade was an ''interesting'' one for some veteran companies, with some managing to bounce back from a rocky position and win back the crowd, and others entering a downward spiral of bad publicity, losing the goodwill of their fandom. Here are some examples:

*** Creator/{{Konami}} experienced a shift of management in the mid 2010's, which saw the company start a cascade of unexpected changes that alienated their western fandom. It began with a top-level shift of focus from AAA console game development to mobile game development and pachinko machine design, much of which did not see export to the West. Aside from breaking contact with American and European audiences, these shifts had drastic effects on highly anticipated projects, chief among them a new Silent Hills installment and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': the former was suddenly cancelled, to a great outcry from journalists and series' enthusiasts, bemoaning the loss of a promising project with confirmed potential in the form of the acclaimed P.T. demo; the latter was released to critical acclaim, but followed by a surfacing scandal. Sources on the media exposed a souring in relations between the company and Creator/HideoKojima, who was to direct the aforementioned games, and revealed mistreatment of the staff of Kojima Productions from the company's side. Kojima soon parted ways with Konami to form his own studio under Sony, leaving his former employer with a very tainted image in the eyes of the western public. With a decreased developer workforce, Konami's next projects showed decreasing quality, with rather poorly received titles such as ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'' or ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Rogue Corps''. Defenders of Konami can point to some successes since then, such as ''Super VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} R'' and allowing [[VideoGame/{{Castlevania}} Simon and Richter Belmont]] to appear in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', and their ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' franchise continues to perform well, but the faith of many a former supporter of theirs has been shattered, and there seems to be agreement over the company's general decline. On the other hand, they managed to bounce back and be more acceptable/forgiven in their home country (Japan), continuing to make games that won them some local awards to the next decade as they managed to actually move on from the scandal, making the whole unending hatred [[AmericansHateTingle more contained in the Western side]] ([[NeverLiveItDown refusing to move on from the controversies above for years]]) and [[ValuesDissonance their different culture over there]] (though even the Japanese still agree that they had an overall decline compared to their past self).
*** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment, once an iconic and universally loved figure, has started to develop cracks in its image. Aggressive pushes on the e-sports scene appear to have caused the company's focus to become split, and some of its IP appeared to stagnate at points, with Hearthstone and Heroes Of The Storm experiencing intervals of little forward development. They also attracted scorn for their forays into mobile games, most notably the infamous ''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal'' reveal at Blizzcon, which didn't sit well with their western player base, who saw this as an abandonment of their established and devoted audience in favour of easy revenue from Asian mobile markets. However, their single most damning moment was an incident with ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' esports player Blitzchung, who was immediately banned from a tournament and harshly punished after expressing support for the ongoing Hong Kong protests during an interview, along with stream casters who were broadcasting his words. The company's actions quickly garnered attention, and were soon subject to heavy criticism from the public: objections to what was seen as transparent appeasement of Chinese business relations sprouted from many third parties, with several US Congressmen signing a letter of admonishment to Blizzard, and boycotts being called among the gaming community. These events had a lasting effect on the company's reputation, closing the decade at a low point in public perception. Adding a final insult to the injury, the remake of one of its classics, ''Warcraft 3 Reforged'', garnered a largely negative response.

*** Capcom in particular has probably had one of the best success stories of the decade. Initially starting off the decade as reviled by the gaming community for aspects of their games that seemed poorly thought out and some poor corporate decisions (many will point to the disastrous launch of 2012's ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' as one of their absolute lowest points in recent memory, particularly due to the substantial amount of on-disc DLC). Starting with ''Resident Evil 7'' as shown above, they have released at least one nearly universally acclaimed game a year. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' in 2018 was the next one, and ''VideoGame/MegaMan11'' was considered to be a great return to form for their Platforming mascot, to the point where it was called "''VideoGame/MightyNo9'' done right". But 2019 had the back to back successes of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'', which garnered even better praise then Resident Evil 7 did, and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', which not only garnered similar acclaim, but was a shot in the arm that the Devil May Cry fanbase needed after ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' demoralized and divided the fanbase prior. It also garnered the highest PC release in the companies history, right after ''Monster Hunter World'', in fact, and 2012's ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' also became something of a SleeperHit despite low initial sales due to word of mouth, and is now acclaimed as one of the best action RPGs on the market. While their Fighting Game Division is still a bit off in terms of quality, many have claimed that Capcom as a whole has found their footing and might even be doing better both critically and commercially as a company than they have ever had. Though that is not to say they had their own blunders in this decade (such as ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite''), but they came out much better than the last decade.

** While Lootboxes as we know them had begun with VideoGame/TeamFortress2, many other games started to slowly hop on the bandwagon not long after, VideoGame/PAYDAY2 in particular got mocked for its Crimefest 2015 event, essentially being based about the safe/ drill system implemented into the game, despite the developers claiming that the game would never feature such mechanics, which then caused the developers to make changes to the system not even six months later to make all safes free to open. ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' launched in 2016 with Lootboxes in tow, much to the chagrin of a fair amount of players, with defenders coining the phrase ''"It's Just Cosmetic!"'' as justifications for purchasing them, which meant, for the longest time, ''Overwatch'' escaped criticism of its Lootboxes on a larger scale.

*** If you're wondering their key to success amongst the crowd, part of it can be pointed to the fact that they drew really attractive playable female characters (most often by outsourcing various artists, so everyone gets a different artistic feel) as their super rare gacha prize, with some referring them as 'waifu' (as many of the higher rarity characters are often 5* rarity, or the rarest character, happen to be females). And with enough popularity on a character, the game will then release an alternate version of the character, or basically the same character with a {{Fanservice}} outfit depending on the season of the time (Summer is the most common for BeachEpisode and swimsuits) and different gameplay than the vanilla version, in the end, the amount of fortune by the waifu popularity will greatly increase with that. For those who didn't much care about waifu-ness, there is also the fact that if a gacha game is made out of a long-running franchise running through TheVerse, then that means [[{{Fanservice}} the gacha game became one intercontinuity crossover of one's favorite franchise and a chance to see their favorite characters within the same franchise under one roof, instead of being separated through continuities and new verses.]]

* The FightingGame genre is undergoing something of a renaissance. The success of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6'', and ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger'' in the late 2000s led to announcements of expansions and sequels, among them ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters XIII'', ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart 3'', ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur V]]'', ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'', ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive 5'', ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', and ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', though the latter two are particularly divisive and possibly contributed to Creator/{{Capcom}}'s decline. The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series released its fourth installment(s) as well and its fifth came out four years afterwards. In addition to established titles, there's also some new blood in the fighting arena, like ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'', ''VideoGame/DaemonBride'', and ''VideoGame/RivalsOfAether'', as well as spin-offs for non-fighting games like ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' fighting game and ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena''. The decade so far also saw the revival of the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' franchise with its [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 newest installment/reboot]] and its [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX two]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombat11 sequels]], in addition to a [[VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs pseudo-spinoff starring DC Comics characters]] and a [[VideoGame/Injustice2 sequel to that later]], winning back fans who'd been disappointed by its brush with the PolygonCeiling. And of course, Creator/ArcSystemWorks, the company behind ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', has continued to grow thanks to its now-flagship series, with the possibility of becoming the next top FightingGame company following fan disillusionment towards Capcom.
** The FanDisillusionment on Capcom could be traced with several of their questionable practices with their fighting games. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' was [[ChristmasRushed released with bare-bones single player feature to make sure the game can be featured in EVO and the players were well-trained in PVP matches.]] It took several years for Capcom to remedy this, but this has an effect of some games being rushed for EVO, such as ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'' or just merely released with minimum single player features, with latter features coming via DLC (an example includes ''VideoGame/FightingEXLayer''). The worst offender of this one however, is ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'': A combination of ExecutiveMeddling for roster decision and bad marketing ploys made players actually avoid the game (to the point that there were ZERO players detected) despite actually being a normally playable game, with fans saying that the game has been killed. All in all, there were some justifications that Capcom, despite still staying as a fighting game juggernaut (if only via ''Franchise/StreetFighter''), has been losing some grounds.

[[folder: In General]]

* The FightingGame genre is undergoing something of a renaissance. The success of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6'', and ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger'' in the late 2000s led to announcements of expansions and sequels, among them ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters XIII'', ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart 3'', ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur V]]'', ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'', ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive 5'', ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', and ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', though the latter two are particularly divisive and possibly contributed to Creator/{{Capcom}}'s decline. The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series released its fourth installment(s) as well and its fifth came out four years afterwards. In addition to established titles, there's also some new blood in the fighting arena, like ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'', ''VideoGame/DaemonBride'', and ''VideoGame/RivalsOfAether'', as well as spin-offs for non-fighting games like ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' fighting game and ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena''. The decade so far also saw the revival of the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' franchise with its [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 newest installment/reboot]] and its [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX two]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombat11]], in addition to a [[VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs pseudo-spinoff starring DC Comics characters]] and a [[VideoGame/Injustice2 sequel to that later]], winning back fans who'd been disappointed by its brush with the PolygonCeiling. And of course, Creator/ArcSystemWorks, the company behind ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', has continued to grow thanks to its now-flagship series, with the possibility of becoming the next top FightingGame company following fan disillusionment towards Capcom.
** The fan disillusionment on Capcom could be traced with several of their questionable practices with their fighting games. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' was [[ChristmasRushed released with bare-bones single player feature to make sure the game can be featured in EVO and the players were well-trained in PVP matches.]] It took several years for Capcom to remedy this, but this has an effect of some games being rushed for EVO, such as ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'' or just merely released with minimum single player features, with latter features coming via DLC (an example includes ''VideoGame/FightingEXLayer''). The worst offender of this one however, is ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'': A combination of ExecutiveMeddling for roster decision and bad marketing ploys made players actually avoid the game (to the point that there were ZERO players detected) despite actually being a normally playable game, with fans saying that the game has been killed. All in all, there were some justifications that Capcom, despite still staying as a fighting game juggernaut (if only via ''Franchise/StreetFighter''), has been losing some grounds.

** [[https://www.popmatters.com/synthwave-feature-list-2641449554.html One subgenre that slowly increased in popularity over the decade]] was UsefulNotes/{{Synthwave}}. Inspired by the sounds and imagery of the '80s, it first gained notoriety when many tracks from the genre were featured in the soundtrack to ''Film/{{Drive}}''. Afterwards, the genre snowballed its way into the mainstream thanks to works like ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon'', ''Film/KungFury'', and ''Series/StrangerThings'' that used various levels of influence from Synthwave and by the end of the decade, big-name artists like Taylor Swift and Music/TheWeeknd were taking inspiration from the genre for a couple of their songs.

*** In the previous decades, the company Creator/{{SNK}} was known as the underdog company that could go toe-to-toe against the company juggernaut Creator/{{Capcom}} in terms of [[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom fighting games.]] Unfortunately, they had to file for bankruptcy and stay out of the limelight while trying to re-gather their resources after they sold it out to Aruze and Playmore, eventually re-forming under the name 'SNK Playmore'. They continue to release their games in mostly spin-off titles and several hit-or-miss games and even Pachinko titles (the same venture that doomed Creator/{{Konami}}, read above), but eventually in this decade, it has gathered enough resources to return to its original name (just SNK) and unleashed several hit fighting games that brought them back to the limelight after their long absence: ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters XIV'' and ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown (2019)'', which continued to be given post-release contents and also earned them spots in the EVO tournaments, and also lent their characters as GuestFighter in other games (most notably [[VideoGame/FatalFury Geese Howard]] in ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 7'', [[VideoGame/SamuraiShodown Haohmaru]] in ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburVI'', [[VideoGame/FatalFury Mai Shiranui]] in the fifth and sixth ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' titles alongside [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Kula Diamond]] in the latter, and [[VideoGame/FatalFury Terry Bogard]] in ''VideoGame/FightingEXLayer'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''). In this decade, SNK has finally completed its '[[BackFromTheDead risen from the grave]] like a Phoenix' story phase.

*** In general, after the middle of 2010's, the Western video game community has increasingly becoming a lot more sensitive towards any kinds of 'employee mistreatment' scandals (one of the most common examples is when the company dares to include crunch time to develop a game) to which they are very likely to condemn video game companies for it, creating controversies after controversies to which any video game companies in the West are more than likely to be condemned to experience a downfall or 'fall from grace', no matter how respected they were before; aside of Blizzard and Konami above or the usual suspect Creator/ElectronicArts, occasional targets of this controversies usually include the likes of Creator/{{Bethesda}} or Creator/{{Ubisoft}}. For good or bad, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment this ain't the place to talk further about it.]]

*** Creator/{{Konami}} experienced a shift of management in the mid 2010's, which saw the company start a cascade of unexpected changes that alienated their western fandom. It began with a top-level shift of focus from AAA console game development to mobile game development and pachinko machine design, much of which did not see export to the West. Aside from breaking contact with American and European audiences, these shifts had drastic effects on highly anticipated projects, chief among them a new Silent Hills installment and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': the former was suddenly cancelled, to a great outcry from journalists and series' enthusiasts, bemoaning the loss of a promising project with confirmed potential in the form of the acclaimed P.T. demo; the latter was released to critical acclaim, but followed by a surfacing scandal. Sources on the media exposed a souring in relations between the company and Creator/HideoKojima, who was to direct the aforementioned games, and revealed mistreatment of the staff of Kojima Productions from the company's side. Kojima soon parted ways with Konami to form his own studio under Sony, leaving his former employer with a very tainted image in the eyes of the western public. With a decreased developer workforce, Konami's next projects showed decreasing quality, with rather poorly received titles such as ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'' or ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Rogue Corps''. Defenders of Konami can point to some successes since then, such as ''Super VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} R'' and allowing [[VideoGame/{{Castlevania}} Simon and Richter Belmont]] to appear in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', and their ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' franchise continues to perform well, but the faith of many a former supporter of theirs has been shattered, and there seems to be agreement over the company's general decline.

* Towards the end of the decade, an entirely new genre of gaming began working its way into the mainstream: the "Battle Royale" genre (named after [[Literature/BattleRoyale the novel]] and [[Film/BattleRoyale film]] of the same name, from which the genre draws its core concept). Introduced by ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds'' (or "PUBG" as it's more commonly known)[[note]]The genre actually has its roots as an ''VideoGame/{{ARMA}}'' mod, but ''PUBG'' was the first stand-alone retail game in the genre[[/note]], the concept is as simple as they come: a massive number of players (typically 100) skydive onto a massive island littered with weapons, equipment, and other various tools and items, and proceed to fight one another as a [[AdvancingWallOfDoom damaging energy ring slowly encloses around the players]], forcing combatants to group closer together as the game progresses. The goal is equally simple: be the last player (or team, in some games) left alive. Not long after ''PUBG'' saw widespread success, it quickly spawned a slew of imitators each bringing their own twist to the genre, such as ''VideoGame/ApexLegends'', ''[[VideoGame/{{Paladins}} Realm Royale]]'', and ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4'''s "Blackout" mode. However, one member of the genre in particular, ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'', took off like a rocket to become one of the most popular games of the decade, and overall the genre as a whole shows no signs of slowing down.

*** Creator/{{Konami}} experienced a shift of management in the mid 2010's, which saw the company start a cascade of unexpected changes that alienated their western fandom. It began with a top-level shift of focus from AAA console game development to mobile game development and pachinko machine design, much of which did not see export to the West. Aside from breaking contact with American and European audiences, these shifts had drastic effects on highly anticipated projects, chief among them a new Silent Hills installment and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': the former was suddenly cancelled, to a great outcry from journalists and series' enthusiasts, bemoaning the loss of a promising project with confirmed potential in the form of the acclaimed P.T. demo; the latter was released to critical acclaim, but followed by a surfacing scandal. Sources on the media exposed a souring in relations between the company and Creator/HideoKojima, who was to direct the aforementioned games, and revealed mistreatment of the staff of Kojima Productions from the company's side. Kojima soon parted ways with Konami to form his own studio under Sony, leaving his former employer with a very tainted image in the eyes of the western public. With a decreased developer workforce, Konami's next projects showed decreasing quality, with poorly received titles such as ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'' or ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Rogue Corps''. Defenders of Konami can point to some successes since then, such as ''Super VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} R'' and allowing [[VideoGame/{{Castlevania}} Simon and Richter Belmont]] to appear in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', and their soccer simulator ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' continues to perform well, but the faith of many a former supporter of theirs has been shattered, and there seems to be agreement in denouncing the company's general decline.
*** Creator/BlizzardEntertainment, once an iconic and universally loved figure, has started to develop cracks in its image. They became very aggressive in pushing on the e-sports scene, though not with long-term success, thus modifying many of its games to make sure they are 'competitively eligible', but at the cost of the fun-loving non-competitive gamers. They could no longer reach the golden age of how ''VideoGame/StarcraftBroodWar'' became an e-sport icon, with their other e-sport scenes not that successful, and this ends up with them taking away support for one of their multiplayer titles ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'', knocking it down from being one of the best MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena games, and overall also damaging the experience with ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''. They also damaged their playerbase with the reveal of ''VideoGame/DiabloImmortal'' mobile game at Blizzcon, revealing ''VideoGame/DiabloIV'' at a latter Blizzcon as a late damage control, but that didn't sit well with their western player base which were less attuned with mobile games. However, their biggest damning moment was the incident with the ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' player Blitzchung, whereas after hearing him showing support for his struggling country at Hong Kong, and in order to appease their marketbase at China, at that time under the rule of UsefulNotes/XiJinping, Blizzard decided to ban Blitzchung and all of its casters and taking away his achievement prizes. The news went viral fast and many fans turned against Blizzard for its rather political-driven decision. For further insult to the injury, Blizzard's remake of one of its classics, ''Warcraft 3 Reforged'', turned out to be very polarizing and garnering negative reaction (Technically this happened in January 2020, but it was close enough). A majority of all these were related with the decisions made by Activision, and so Blizzard closes the decade as a company that used to be beloved, but now considered to be catching up with EA in terms of 'badness'.