A Video Game Flopped Harder Than Anything at the Box Office This Year, Unnoticed

Saturated market for this type of game + no major distinction from competitors. It would be more surprising for the game to not flop.

My sense is that it's because most people care far less about video games than movies. Outside of overt gamer social groups, I can't think of a time when I've heard anybody has talk about video games or especially the video game industry except briefly in passing -- but people talk about movies and the movie industry all the time.

As someone with limited interest in either (thus no dog in this fight), that discrepancy is hard not to notice.

The short answer is that news, especially entertainment news, is "push" driven by press releases, and Sony aren't particularly keen to talk about such a disaster.

There's some rumors that the game has seen updates on Steam and is planning a relaunch, but that might just be a Morbius situation.