History YMMV / LawBreakers

** Likewise, [=CliffyB's=] extremely aggressive and condescending attitude towards Xbox players when he marketed the game as a [=PlayStation=] exclusive permanently turned off folks who owned ''both'' consoles as well as [=XBox=] players who were originally considering in getting a [=PlayStation=] 4 to try the game out. Suffice to say. Intentionally pissing off the console known for its multiplayer fanbase was not a wise move as it artificially hamstrung ''Lawbreakers''[='=] population playerbase to just [=PlayStation=] owners, a fanbase known for the ''complete opposite direction''.

** Likewise, [=CliffyB's=] extremely aggressive and condescending attitude towards [=XBox=] players when he marketed the game as a Playstation exclusive permanently turned off folks who owned ''both'' consoles as well as [=XBox=] players who were originally considering in getting a Playstation 4 to try the game out. Suffice to say. Intentionally pissing off the console known for its multiplayer fanbase was not a wise move as it artificially hamstrung Lawbreakers' population playerbase to just Playstation owners, a fanbase known for the ''complete opposite direction''.
* CriticalDissonance: Reviews tended to score in the 60 to 80 mark, but completely bombed when it came to people actually playing the game. The amount of players was in the low thousands at launch, and plummeted to the point where it was effectively a game no-one was playing. The most common thoughts on the reasons for the failure are the aggressive, edgy & overhyped marketing campaign, and being viewed as close enough to ''Overwatch'' that the target market decided not to bother wasting $30 on trying it.

** The announcement that there wouldn't be an UsefulNotes/XboxOne port didn't sit well with many gamers who became fans of Cliff because of his Xbox-exclusive ''Gears of War'' games.

** One of the biggest factors as to why the game failed as hard as it did was that it failed to capture a significant audience. Aside from the fact most of the marketing the game had involved it being "The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' of FPS", turning off those looking for a casual experience, it failed to capture fans of other games in the HeroShooter genre due to its more realistic and gritty art style making it seem generic and uninteresting in tone (compare and contrast to ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' and ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''), and ironically because it borrowed elements of those genres, it even turned off fans of classic arena shooters like ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament''. All these factors would ultimately give the game a niche appeal at best.

* FandomRivalry: With ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', naturally. As ''[=LawBreakers=]'' was influenced by ''Overwatch'', it was bound to draw in fans of the latter game claiming it to be a "clone", and ''[=LawBreakers=]'' fans had to fight off those accusations at every turn, as the gameplay is significantly different due to ''[=LawBreakers=]'' being far more focused on fast-paced arena shooter action than the MOBA-like teamplay of ''Overwatch''.

** "The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' of first-person shooters."[[labelnote: explanation]]Cliff Bleszinski repeatedly described ''Lawbreakers'' this way during interviews, in reference to its alleged difficulty and learning curve. The internet took notice of the buzzword usage and mocked him for trying to superficially compare an e-sport hero/arena shooter to a slow-paced, narrative-driven action RPG.[[/labelnote]]

** One of the biggest factors as to why the game failed as hard as it did was that it failed to capture a significant audience. Aside from the fact most of the marketing the game had involved it being "The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' of FPS", turning off those looking for a casual experience, it failed to capture fans of other games in the HeroShooter genre due to its more realistic and gritty art style making it seem generic and uninteresting in tone (compare and contrast to ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' and ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''), and ironically because it borrowed elements of those genres, it even turned off fans of classic arena shooters like ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament''.

** One of biggest factors as to why the game failed as hard as it did was that it failed to capture a significant audience. Aside from the fact most of the marketing the game had involved it being "The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' of FPS", turning off those looking for a casual experience, it failed to capture fans of other games in the HeroShooter genre due to its more realistic and gritty art style making it seem generic and uninteresting in tone (compare and contrast to ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' and ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''), and ironically because it borrowed elements of those genres, it even turned off fans of classic arena shooters like ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament''.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: One of the primary complaints early in the game was the complete lack of a medic class, meaning people were expected to be able to reach a health pack or recharge station in time before being killed, which meant knowing the maps and being able to stay alive long enough with no direct way to get healed in a fight. It just wasn't fun, and Boss Key responded by creating the Battle Medic class, which allowed for players to be healed in the middle of a firefight, and the reaction was positive.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: One of biggest factors as to why the game failed as hard as it did was that it failed to capture a significant audience. Aside from the fact most of the marketing the game had involved it being "The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' of FPS", turning off those looking for a casual experience, it failed to capture fans of other games in the HeroShooter genre due to its more realistic and gritty art style making it seem generic and uninteresting in tone (compare and contrast to ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' and ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''), and ironically because it borrowed elements of those genres, it even turned off fans of classic arena shooters like ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament''.
** Cliff Bleszinski announcing in 2016 that the game's payment model had changed from a free to play system to a $30 buy in because they were tired of having to ask "how will this make money" rather than "how can we make a good game". This alienated millions of players who would have at least tried it despite being seen as an "edgy Overwatch clone" but with any kind of payment cost it destroyed all interest. Ironically this decision came right before VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'s battle royale release re-wrote the rules on how profitable a free to play game could be.

* MemeticLoser: As one can tell from this page, the only reason ''Lawbreakers'' is talked about today is due to its failure, with [=CliffyB=]'s out-of-touch marketing slogans being [[MemeticMutation a particular sticking point]].

* NeverLiveItDown: [=CliffyB=] probably isn't going to shake off his infamous claims about ''[=LawBreakers=]'' anytime soon.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Arguably one of the reasons why the game failed as hard as it did, was that it failed to capture a focused and reliable audience. Aside from the fact most of the marketing the game had involved it being "The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' of FPS", turning off those looking for a casual experience, it failed to capture fans of other games in the HeroShooter genre due to its more realistic and gritty art style making it seem generic and uninteresting in tone (compare and contrast to ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' and ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''), and ironically because it borrowed elements of those genres, it even turned off fans of classic arena shooters like ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament''.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Cronos seems to be the one character most people seem to like (or at least recognize) even after the game was rendered unplayable. This could mainly be due to his CyberPunk-ish CoolMask made him stand out from the rest of the cast. (Whom were often criticized for generally being too [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks generic]] looking.)

* CriticalResearchFailure: During an interview, one of the developers stated that the reason they wouldn't port to UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch was because the system had a lack of buttons. Aside from the touchpad and analogue triggers, the Switch and the [=PS4=] have the same amount of buttons on their controllers (16 each). [[https://twitter.com/lupo_affamato/status/885315397624500224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nintendolife.com%2Fnews%2F2017%2F07%2Flack_of_buttons_might_prevent_lawbreakers_from_coming_to_switch Fortunately]], it looks like said developer owned up to his mistake. However, it's entirely possible that he was referring to the number of buttons on a single Joycon as opposed to two.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Cronos seems to be the one character most people seem to like (or at least recognize) even after ''Lawbreaker's'' infamous player drop. This could mainly be due to his CyberPunk-ish CoolMask.

** Cliff left Creator/EpicGames to open Boss Key Productions and create ''[=LawBreakers=]'', boasting that it would be the next "billion dollar franchise". Not only did this turn out ''not'' to be the case, having been one of the most famous examples of a game that has massively bombed in recent memory, but Epic would go on to do what he failed: create a billion dollar franchise. That game? ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'', which is a game Cliff had a part in the making of before it launched the Battle Royale mode that propelled it to rivalling ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' in terms of sheer success and popularity. ''[=LawBreakers=]'' lost money and and died on arrival.
** During [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INnlyjPNKT8 a presentation in 2017]], Cliff made [[TakeThat disparaging comments]] about how the same few games keep being made over and over again, and how game developers only seem to [[FollowTheLeader blindly chase profitable trends]] rather than make something new. Only four days after acknowledging the failure of ''Lawbreakers'' in April 2018, Boss Key would announce ''Radical Heights'' - [[ObviousBeta a low-budget, slapdash attempt]] to cash in on the meteoric rise of the battle royale genre (codified, ironically, by ''Fortnite'' above).
* MemeticLoser: After launch the only way the game was ever talked about was it's gigantic failure, or [=CliffyB=]'s various aggressive marketing slogans that massively backfired.

* NeverLiveItDown: [=CliffyB=] probably isn't going to be able to shake off his infamous claim that Lawbreakers will become a billion-dollar franchise anytime soon nor his attempt at cashing in on the Battle Royale craze.

** The announcement that there won't be an Xbox One port didn't sit well with many gamers who became fans of Cliff because of his Xbox-exclusive ''Gears of War'' games.

** During [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INnlyjPNKT8 a presentation in 2017]], Cliff made [[TakeThat disparaging comments]] about how the same few games keep being made over and over again, and how game developers only seem to [[FollowTheLeader blindly chase profitable trends]] rather than make something new. Only four days after acknowledging the failure of ''Lawbreakers'' in April 2018, Boss Key would announce ''Radical Heights'' - [[ObviousBeta a low-budget, slapdash attempt]] to cash in on the meteoric rise of the battle royale trend (a genre codified, ironically, by ''Fortnite'' above). Cliff later [[https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/05/cliff-bleszinskis-boss-key-productions-shuts-down-after-three-years/ admitted via Twitter]] that ''Radical Heights'' was created solely as an (unsuccessful) attempt to recoup the losses from ''Lawbreakers''' flop.

** "Another Billion Dollar Franchise"[[labelnote: explanation]]This was a statement Cliff Bleszinski made that he predicted ''[=LawBreakers=]'' would become; however, the game basically fell flat on its face after launch and never recovered. As a result, this has become a case of NeverLiveItDown for Cliff[[/labelnote]].

* HarsherInHindsight: Despite the game’s MemeticLoser status, it does become a bit saddening to see Bosskey end development of the game with hopes to give it “a second life” later on, only for the entire company to shut down afterwards and Bleszinski to retire from active game development. This effectively killed any chance of the game’s second life.

* HolyShitQuotient: The ability to ''[[LudicrousGibs explode]]'' enemies with a headshot is bound to get this reaction.

** "None of that $60 multiplayer only bullshit!" [[labelnote: [=CliffyB=]'s repeated marketing tag during pre-launch interviews. It turned out to be $30.[[/labelnote]]

* CriticalDissonance: Sort of. While the game received some great reviews, the number of people who were actually playing the game were far lower than expected. The dearth of players has been blamed on the FandomRivalry below, since the success of ''Overwatch'' has seen a large number of games FollowTheLeader and copy its formula, leading to an over-saturated market of ''Overwatch''-styled games. And while ''[=LawBreakers=]'' is different from ''Overwatch'', to many people, it appeared similar enough that they just ignored it in favor of ''Overwatch''.

* CultClassic: A rather tragic example as even though the game was positively received by most whom played it, its low player count eventually led to the servers being shut down, making it literally unplayable for anyone still interested in the online multiplayer.

* MemeticLoser: The game itself is known as a multiplayer shooter that has no Bot feature and boasting 10 or less players regularly even before the servers got shut down.

** Cliff left Creator/EpicGames to open Boss Key Productions and create ''[=LawBreakers=]'', boasting that it would be the next "billion dollar franchise". Not only did this turn out ''not'' to be the case, having been one of the most famous examples of a game that has massively bombed in recent memory, but Epic would go on to do what he failed: create a billion dollar franchise. That game? ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' (which in a sheer twist of irony, Cliff had a part in the making). It rivals the likes of PUBG and ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' in terms of sheer success and popularity, and ''[=LawBreakers=]'' wasn't even a fraction of how popular that game has become while it was still playable.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Arguably one of the reasons why the game failed as hard as it did, was that it failed to capture a focused and reliable audience. Aside from the fact most of the marketing the game had involved it being "The VideoGame/DarkSouls of FPS", turning off those looking for a casual experience, it failed to capture fans of other games in the HeroShooter genre due to its more realistic and gritty art style making it seem generic and uninteresting in tone (compare and contrast to ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' and ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''), and ironically because it borrowed elements of those genres, it even turned off fans of classic arena shooters like ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament''.

* CriticalResearchFailure: During an interview, one of the developers stated that the reason they wouldn't port to UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch was because the system had a lack of buttons. Aside from the touchpad and analogue triggers, the Switch and the [=PS4=] have the same amount of buttons on their controllers (16 each).
** [[https://twitter.com/lupo_affamato/status/885315397624500224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nintendolife.com%2Fnews%2F2017%2F07%2Flack_of_buttons_might_prevent_lawbreakers_from_coming_to_switch Fortunately]], it looks like said developer owned up to his mistake. However, it's entirely possible that he was referring to the number of buttons on a single Joycon as opposed to two.

* HilariousInHindsight: Cliff left Creator/EpicGames to open Boss Key Productions and create ''[=LawBreakers=]'', boasting that it would be the next "billion dollar franchise". Not only did this turn out ''not'' to be the case, having been one of the most famous examples of a game that has massively bombed in recent memory, but Epic would go on to do what he failed: create a billion dollar franchise. That game? ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' (which in a sheer twist of irony, Cliff had a part in the making). It rivals the likes of PUBG and ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' in terms of sheer success and popularity, and ''[=LawBreakers=]'' wasn't even a fraction of how popular that game has become while it was still playable.

** "Another Billion Dollar Franchise"[[labelnote: explanation]]This was a statement Cliff Bleszinski made that he predicted [=LawBreakers=] would become; however, the game basically fell flat on its face after launch and never recovered. As a result, this has become a case of NeverLiveItDown for Cliff[[/labelnote]].

* MemeticLoser: The game itself is known as a multiplayer shooter with no Bot feature, yet boasting 0 players regularly after the servers got shut down.

* NeverLiveItDown: [=CliffyB=] probably isn't going to be able to shake off his infamous claim that Lawbreakers will become a billion-dollar franchise anytime soon.