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Disastrous game launches are nothing new.
Now more than ever, games can be patched to remove critical flaws.
It’s a high bar to clear, but it’s been happening more and more often.
Case in point: Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
After abysmal sales,Ubisoft is committed to a major overhaul to make the game, well, good.
Therecent remaster of Warcraft IIIis another good example.
Let’s take a look at this evolving practice—more than a patch, less than a remake.
But diligent updates (and listening to the community) helped improve them immeasurably.
Middle Earth: Shadow of War
Sometimes a single design decision can ruin an otherwise solid game.
Despite the familiar Final Fantasy elements, it was a lamentable flop.
Fast forward to 2013, when FFXIV was rereleased asFinal Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
Final Fantasy 14 was empty and busted at launch.
A total renovation made it one of the most popular MMO role playing games of the decade.
Or, so it was thought.
Yes, they would, but they weren’t particularly happy about it.
Predictably, the lack of content and online multiplayer bugs left a sour taste in players' mouths.
But Capcom persisted, releasing new characters and stages along with consistent updates and tweaks.
Special Mention: Fortnite
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mentionEpic’s Fortnite.
Fallout 76
Oh dear.
As a groundbreaking multiplayer follow-up to Fallout 4, Bethesda’sFallout 76was hotly anticipated by some, dreaded by others.
The latter seem to have been correct: Fallout 76’s launch was dreadful.
(Costing $100 a year to fix a broken game, Bethesda?
And, then it stacked on a pay-to-win system full of exploited in-game purchases and grind to avoid them.
Players would need to spend dozens of hours to unlock basic functions of the online mode.
The game’s loot box system was so greedy that it bordered on insulting.
Anthem
Speaking of EA:Anthem.
This multiplayer sci-fi shooter was seen as the mega-publisher’s answer to Activision’s Destiny.
After the initial marketing blitz, players left the game in droves.
But no amount of recolored Iron Man suits could save Anthem from its own dreary and repetitive gameplay.
All Points Bulletin
If you’ve never heard of All Points Bulletin, you’re not alone.
A tired premise, plus an expensive MMO-style subscription model, limited APB’s appeal from the get-go.
All Points Bulletin would return asAPB: Reloadedin 2011, this time with a free-to-play model.
It was also released for the Xbox One and PS4 in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
