Most embarrassing gaming flop in a long time..

Asmongold TV| 00:15:51|May 4, 2026
Chapters7
Host reacts to the game and its trailer with disbelief, criticizing the thumbnail and overall hype.

Asmongold TV calls Aelion the biggest gaming flop in years, tearing apart its trailer, gameplay, budget myths, and the writer behind it with relentless humor.

Summary

Asmongold breaks down the failed spectacle around Aelion, labeling it possibly the biggest flop in recent gaming history. He mocks the trailer’s clickbait thumbnails and points out that the game shows almost no actual gameplay, treating it as a cinematic no-show. The discussion pivots to audience reception, noting a laughably small modern viewership—about 80 players—and questioning whether revenue can ever be recouped. He pulls apart inconsistent budget chatter, attempting back-of-the-envelope math to illustrate a staggering loss on an $8 million production with only a few thousand sales. The stream wanders through tangents about Life is Strange Reunion and even Gamergate-era callbacks, using them to contextualize the controversy surrounding the game’s writer, Leia Alexander. Throughout, Asmongold riffs on the idea that a high-profile writer from journalism could fail so spectacularly in game development, culminatings in a sharp verdict: this game is dead on arrival. The host playfully vets the actual game footage, revealing that wandering, aimless exploration replaces any meaningful play. The segment closes with predictions about the studio’s fate and broader reflections on how modern titles get branded as artistic while missing fundamental gameplay.

Key Takeaways

  • Trailer hype far exceeded actual gameplay, with the launcher promising a mission in which you 'finish this mission' but delivering little action or interactivity.
  • Player count is minuscule (roughly 80 concurrent players observed), signaling a failed market reception despite marketing claims.
  • Budget-and-revenue rhetoric is speculative; the back-of-the-envelope math suggests a loss of around $7.6 million on $8 million spend with only 6,000 sales at $60 each.
  • This project is tied to a controversial writer from Gamergate-era narratives, Leia Alexander, which complicates public perception and media coverage of the game.
  • ASmongold treats the studio’s project as a landmark failure in modern gaming, joking that it might become one of the era’s most infamous flops.
  • Actual gameplay footage shown by Asmongold underscores the lack of meaningful mechanics—walking and exploration without progression or challenge.
  • Industry implications are discussed: a once-prominent studio releasing a flop could face existential consequences and potential dissolution.

Who Is This For?

Essential viewing for game developers and industry watchers curious about why a high-profile launch can fail so spectacularly, and for fans of Asmongold who enjoy blunt, data-informed critique.

Notable Quotes

"What? What is this game? So, Aelion. This might be the biggest flop I've seen in the gaming industry in a long time."
Opening judgment on Aelion and its perceived quality.
"There’s no gameplay. We got to finish this mission, man. Play it now. Right now, you can play this."
Commentary on trailer promises versus actual gameplay experience.
"80. There's 80. So, this is actually impressive. It is. This is impressive."
Noting the minuscule audience size with irony."
"This is another competitor for one of the most artistic applications to McDonald's ever made."
Hyperbolic critique of the game’s perceived quality and branding.
"The writer is a pathetic activist."
Direct critique of Leia Alexander and her involvement.

Questions This Video Answers

  • Why do some games fail despite big budgets and hype?
  • How does trailer quality relate to actual gameplay in new releases?
  • Who is Leia Alexander and how does Gamergate-era controversy affect modern games?
  • What can be learned from failed game launches about marketing vs. gameplay?
AelionAsmongold TVGamergateLife is Strange ReunionVideo game flop analysisGame marketing vs. gameplayBudget and revenue in game development Leia Alexander
Full Transcript
What? What is this game? So, Aelion. This might be the biggest flop I've seen in the gaming industry in a long time. Aelon. What is this game, dude? This thumbnail. Did you have to do them like this? Really? Oh my god. Wow. Okay, so this is the launch trailer. All right, let's see the Let's see what game got everybody excited. Here we go. Let's watch it. You guys ready? I thought this mission was my dream. Came here to find the heat source of Pphanie and tell the world if this place could save humanity. But it turns out I can't do it without you. It's like it sucks. I'm going to be honest. It's like nothing going on in the game at all. Whatever happened, there's no gameplay. We got to finish this mission, man. Play it now. Right now, you can play this. I hope the modern audience supports this. All two of them. Well, let's correct the record here. Let's see how many people are really playing it. How many people are in the modern audience this time? 80. There's 80. So, this is This is actually impressive. It is. This is impressive. Like this is So do you guys think they're making their money back with this game? What do you think? Do you you think they're going to make the money back or not? 200 tried it and refund it. Paid testers. Clarious. The company is called Don't Read, I guess. And uh the West is unsalvageable. Check out Life is Strange Reunion. Okay. Life is Strange Reunion. Life is Strange Reunion. When did this game come out? Let me see the release date. It came out uh a couple of day. Oh, the it came out this week. No. Jesus, guys. Oh my god. This is bad. So, how much did they spend on it? Aelion. Let me see how much how much did like did they spend on the game? I'm just going to do an AI check. A Felion game. How much did it cost to make plus marketing? This is an AI summary, so it's going to probably be mostly inaccurate, but it'll give you a general idea. So, what does it say? $2 billion, somebody says. No, it's not Concord. Okay. Yeah, it's not. When's Nick Shirley going to do a video about video game development fraud? Had a production cost of $8 million. Okay. So, it was it cost $8 million. So, let's say it was 8 mill. So, if you sell Okay, let's do the math, right? So, let's say it cost $8 million to make this game and 6,000 people bought the game. So, let's do some math. Uh, let me calculator. All right. So, if 6,000 people bought it times uh let's say it's $60. Okay. So, you're down $7.6 million. Okay. So, you've spent you spent $8 million and you've lost you've made $360,000. So, uh, I I think that guys, I think that this is another this is another competitor for one of the most artistic applications to McDonald's ever made. It is. I didn't even know about this game. I had no idea about it. And now I'm seeing it and it's just [ __ ] hilarious. Oh my god. modern games are so like how do you make a game like this and think that it's not going to flop really like it and also like it there's not even any game play there's nothing that even happens in the trailer this is the full game okay let's look at the actual game itself let's click somewhere randomly in the middle here first I regret doing that should not have done that by this is me sprinting by the way you're sprinting Stop that. I could go up there. Okay. Should I make this? So, we go back the other way. That little passage should now be open that we tried to go down. Yeah. And I think there's another feed just here. Just in time. Uh, where do I go now, though? Um, so we should try and go as far as we can. Uh-huh. Let's go forward. Uh-huh. We made it. It's a cinematic. There's nothing that even happens. Like there's nothing happening ever. Do I have any? Keep going. Oh, is there anything here? It looks like uh not really. All you do, you're just walking around the entire time. There's nothing. It's not even a video game. This is amazing. Oh my god. I I I don't even know what to say. How pathetic. So, uh uh wow. Okay. It's a map, I guess. So, and uh so no surprise cuz the writer is a pathetic activist. Well, wait a minute. Leia Alexander, who leads the writing on Aelion, is also the journalist behind 2014 Gamer Sutra title piece. Gamers don't have to be your audience. Gamers are No. So, this this girl that wrote the article that like basically started Gamergate, this is her video game and the lead writer. Is this it? Let me see if I can find Yes. Here's the article right here. Leia Alexander, August 28th, 2014. Jeez, shut the [ __ ] that. I have to say, a culture writer. Look at his son. Create a culture in your spaces, of course. Right. And this was a really, really big article. This made everybody super, super mad. And so this happened. Now, did she lure her lesson? She has not lured. After literally 12 years of luring, she has still not been lured. And uh how many pop-ups? I don't know. I'm not reading all that. Nobody did. And so anyway, allow me to make this as simple as I can. No appeal, no purchase. Smells smells like failed Hollywood writer who thinks she's too good for games. and she found out. Well, she wasn't even good enough for games instead. She's still around. The writer is a pathetic activist. Oh my god. Well, um I look forward to seeing her working at Applebee's. What do you guys think? Applebee's, Chili's, Wendy's, um you know, like something like that. I don't know. What do you guys think? GameDev? Yep. Journalist. Exactly. Wendy's only fans. No, she's not hot enough for that. That wouldn't happen. Next. Resisting arrest. Oh, water burger. I like that. Yeah, water burger. Yeah, pop. You know what, Pop? I like Popeye's. Yeah. Yeah. Popeye the Sailor Man. You're right. And uh Pro on Popeye's. And so that's it. Newest Bungie employee. Yeah, the newest Bungee employee. Exactly. So, I didn't even know that I I didn't This is what's crazy is that these games are the unsungs of 2026. Let me think. All right. So, we have Unsung Songs of Concord 2026. So, Last Flag, what's this game called? Aelion. That's a guy in League of Legends, isn't it? Isn't that a guy in League of Legends? Aelion Aelios. Okay. Yeah, there it was. I got it. See, it's close. I played uh I I played [ __ ] uh this game uh it's an auto battler. What's it called? Team Fight Tactics, TFT. And I was about to get platinum and then I I basically just quit the game. Uh and I remember I would play him sometimes cuz he was really good. He was really really good. And so I actually know a lot of the uh the characters in that game. And uh you play League? No, I will play League whenever they add ranked to WD. I'll play League. I'm waiting for that. A felony. Yeah, exactly. TFT is a [ __ ] Yeah, I really Are you still playing? No, I played um I I played I played this a lot. I I I've actually now I've basically beaten the game. I've beaten the game. Like I I have nine of I haven't gotten these guys like no reason to even do this. But like I b I went I beat this game. I killed the reaper. I killed the reaper in this game in like one hit. Wait, they did? Wait, WD ranked is out now. [ __ ] I'm going to have to start playing it. A [ __ ] Ah, guys, would you look at the time? Oh. Uhoh. Well, yeah. All right. I'll I'll look into it. Okay. I know Jinxie's been playing. I've been seeing some of the clips. Right. Uh, I'll I'mma play this [ __ ] by I don't want anybody teaching me how to play. I'mma play it [ __ ] by play it [ __ ] by myself. Not yet. One one more patch to come, maybe. And so, anyway. All right. So, what are the un unsung flag? What are the what are the other Concordians? Uh 14. Yeah. Uh 1348. Uh unsung. Okay. The Edgar game. Which one? Relooted. Okay. Uh let's see here. Uh Marathon. Marathon is not an unsung song. Marathon is part of the Concordia trilogy. Mike, it is it Concord High Guard Marathon. And so Marathon must die. Marathon, you guys have to understand this. Marathon must die for the prophecy to be complete. If Marathon dies, all of these other video games will be over. Okay, that Soros. Sorrowos seems pretty good. Like what do you mean? It's not Concord at all. What are you talking about? And uh of No, I'm saying this is 2026. This year. This is It's this year. Uh going north. That one got destroyed. That's gone. Sorrows is is woke. It's It's good. I I don't know. Like the game looked fine. I watched a few guys play it. It looked decent to me. Like I just Guys, I'm going to be honest. I don't want to play a PlayStation 5 shooter on a controller. I just want to wait. Like when is is Sorrowos going to come out to PC? Sorrow is going to come out to PC? What? What? Why? What the [ __ ] the [ __ ] What? Why? But but I want to play it. Yeah. I What do you mean? Like, so I have to buy a [ __ ] a [ __ ] PlayStation F. What? You can use a mouse and keyboard? I mean, can I? I mean, really? If I can do that, I'll maybe play it. Returnal. Uh, their previous game eventually came to PC 2 years after release. See, I wait I will wait for 3 years to play this game. I will. I will wait and I'll just play something else. Code Violet, thank you. We finally have another Concordia. So, these are the unsung 2026 thus far. Okay. So, right now, obviously, it's here, but it will probably go even farther. Spectre Divide. That was last year. Mind's Eye. I mean, yeah, Mind's Eye was kind of on there. Yeah, I'd say so far. Life is Strange. Yeah, Life is Strange. Uh Life is Strange Reunion. Okay. Uh well, yeah, that's good. And uh we've got to have probably even more of these, too. 2X KO and uh Greedfall. I don't even know what the hell Greedfall is. Well, anyway, we've talked about this too much. This game is dead. And uh it is really funny for me to see somebody who was a uh you know, a big part of Gamergate, you know, you spent years uh you know, like causing all these problems. you finally make your own video game and you've caused this is the thing this studio is going to die. This is this is a this is such a monumental failure that like they're not going to be able to sustain this. This is a colossal failure. It's over. It's done. It's gone. Reduced to Adams. Yes, exactly. 80 players. Yeah. You're done, man. You're totally done. And uh sorry you tried but uh uh yeah, too bad. It's it's inevitable.

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