Rugby league game a laughing stock like NRL fans all expected

There has been outrage from NRL fans as the code’s highly anticipated gaming return flopped in spectacular fashion.

Another Australian football game, another epic flop.

The production organisation behind the new Rugby League 26 game are desperately scrambling for solutions after the highly anticipated game fell apart this week.

The release of the iconic rugby league video game descended into farce with users taking to social media to complain about glitches, comical bugs and frozen loading screens.

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It has seemed ages since rugby league fans have had an opportunity to try a new gaming experience, but this week’s embarrassing release will be an all-too-familiar deflating feeling.

With limited resources and budgets for such a small market of gaming fans, expectations are always low when it comes to local football games — but even the most pessimistic of fans would have been disappointed when the game dropped.

While plenty of fans have publicly praised the in-match experience, countless others have taken to social media to share clips of hilarious glitches.

Among the angry reactions across cyberspace, some fans have reached out directly to the Big Ant Studios Studios developer responsible for executing the new game.

Users of X have reached out directly to the organisation to ask for refunds.

The cover of the game, as displayed at Big W.

Nathan Cleary is the face of the new video game, Rugby League 26, which will be released on July 17.

Big Ant Studios released a statement on social media on Thursday night, making an apology to those that have purchased the new game.

“We know today has not gone as smoothly as it should have and we will compensate all #RugbyLeague26 purchasers with some free #ProTeam credit,” the Studio posted.

“Details to follow tomorrow. There has been overwhelming demand that also may have caused service issues, and for that we cannot apologise enough.

The studio on Friday morning shared another update.

Injured South Sydney Rabbitohs player Brandon Smith playing the Rugby League 26 game.

Tiana Penitani is one of the faces of the new video game, Rugby League 26.

“At the moment the team have been on a double+ shift of 16+ hours to secure server services to enable #ProTeam to be turned back on,” it stated.

“That is the first priority, then an update to the game.”

Users sharing video clips of some of their user experiences have got plenty of rugby league fans guffawing on X.

One person posted on X: “Not even joking how did this game get the green light?

Another person posted: “8 years and this dross is the best you can come up with? Embarrassing”.

One user wrote: “Cannot put into words how bad Rugby League 26 is”.

One person summed it up by posting: “I didn’t have big expectations around Rugby League 26 but this is a genuine piss take. I understand you are not a big developer but c’mon guys, be better.”

The most damning social posts have been videos shared by users.

Typical commentary from a #bigant rugby game 🙈 #rugbyleague26pic.twitter.com/kbFOg287mq

— Darren Glover (@dazglo36) July 17, 2025

interesting kickoff tactic #RugbyLeague26pic.twitter.com/70YptFhN4b

— steven (@stvnktzms) July 17, 2025

Thought I’d give the online section of Rugby League 26 a go, swiftly left the game after this bullshit.

This game is brutal😂@[e-mail]/1LX7wx3zWx

— Jamie Tomlin (@JamieTomlin_) July 17, 2025

En route to your headquarters as we speak @RossSymons@BigAntStudios#RugbyLeague26pic.twitter.com/laHH0ZqZ7c

— zac (@shaisprint) July 17, 2025

That doesn’t mean every user has had a bad experience.

Fox League larrikins Nathan Hindmarsh and Bryan Fletcher appeared to get plenty of giggles while playing it on a segment of their hit segment.

Although even their promotional video showed up some bugs.

As reported by Code Sports, the game has had the biggest pre-sale for any game in 2025.

Rabbitohs hooker Brandon Smith enjoyed playing the game in a promotional exercise.

“Mate, it’s a great game,” he told the publication.

“For me, it’s just about playing rugby league on a video game and being in one. I remember when the old games came out …. it was just a cool thing. So it’s awesome just to be a part of something like this.”

Smith’s rating in the game is 82, despite his recent injury woes.

Panthers star Nathan Cleary is the highest rated player in the game with a rating of 93.

Penrith captain Isaah Yeo is the second best player in the game with 92.

Of course, a few things like glitches, bugs and major system breakdowns won’t stop diehard rugby league fans from snapping up the game.

At least now, we’ve all been warned.

Originally published as Rugby league game a laughing stock like NRL fans all expected