Do review bombings work? The evidence suggests they unfortunately do, but most companies don't acknowledge this, and for a good reason — it's like admitting defeat. So, imagine the surprise when one of the most successful video game publishers in the world tells investors the risks involved when one of their games is the target of these user-driven campaigns. Take Two Interactive did just that.
The discovery comes courtesy of Stephen Totilo, who compared the company's latest 2024K 10K annual filing with the version it published in mid-2023. In the updated version, Take-Two issued a warning to its investors about the potential effects of review bombings, saying that they may "lead to loss of players and revenues, additional advertising and marketing costs, and reputation harm."
The GTA 6 publisher has felt the brunt of these campaigns in recent years. Negative feedback forced Take-Two to cancel WWE 2K21 in 2020, putting an end to a long-standing streak for the once-annual franchise. The series has since returned to a yearly release, but Take-Two is now aware that fans won't stand for the release of a subpar product.
