There are a lot of corporations in the world that fail to look out for the best interests of the global population, but some video game corporations truly excel at screwing up the environment and everyone who lives in it. We rounded up the worst of the lot; here are 10 video game corporations that are probably facing some serious OSHA violations.
10. Abstergo (Assassin's Creed series)
While the Templars have always been the antagonists to the shadowy Assassins, the organization's machinations haven’t always been completely black or white. However, the Templars' modern-day corporate shell is clearly a few shades darker. While this corporation has produced some impressive memory-extracting technology that allows users to relive their ancestral pasts, it is also using this technology in order to create a totalitarian regime. Abstergo wants peace, but it only wants peace under the strictest terms. This isn’t Burger King Abstergo; you can’t have everything your way! (This joke brought to you by 2002.)
9. Cerberus (Mass Effect series)
Cerberus is a pro-humanity paramilitary
group led by President Josiah Bartlet. It believes that humans deserve a
greater role in the galactic community and operates (often covertly)
in order to preserve the human race. However, if loving humanity alone made
you evil, then Mother Teresa and my Aunt May would deserve a spot on this
list. Cerberus’ problem is its disreputable practices. Mother Teresa
never tried to brainwash high-ranking military personal or attempted
alien genocide in order to achieve her goals; that’s why she’s not on this list.
8. Aperture Science (Portal series)
Aperture Labs started out as a simple manufacturer of shower curtains for the army, but its curtains probably only stopped some water from pouring out of the tub, because the company was forced to quickly diversify – experimenting with new kinds of plastics and lemon grenades before slapping physics in the mouth by creating a gun that opened holes in time and space. Not only does Aperture seem to care very little for its employees or test suckers subjects, but the whole company is managed by a ruthless and emotionally abusive artificial intelligence (whom we’d like to take to dinner).
7. Armacham Technology Corporation (F.E.A.R.)
ATC was founded in the early ‘60s as a military contractor that designed cutting-edge technology and weapons. However, since this is a video game company, ATC also started conducting shady genetic experiments on young girls. When the company discovered that three-year-old Alma Wade had psychic powers, it started experimenting on her in an attempt to create an army of psychically controlled super soldiers. Unsurprisingly, Alma’s psyche escaped and began terrorizing everyone involved with the project. Armacham execs never learned that genetic experiments are only cool if you produce something cute like white foxes, or something foxy like Captain America.
6. Fontaine Futuristics (BioShock)
A lot of people call their boss a crook, but the head of Fontaine
Futuristics was literally a gangster. After fleeing to the undersea “utopia” of Rapture looking for new markets to exploit, Fontaine found a
gold-mine in Adam – an experimental sea-slug goo that could rewrite genetic code. Fontaine started bootlegging plasmids that
gave Rapture's residents superpowers, and was instrumental in the city’s ultimate
collapse. Oh yeah, and Fontaine also exploited young girls – using them as worker bees who collected his honey, while turning ex-cons into
the whale song-belching Big Daddies who protected his investment.