The best live service games to recover from a terrible launch

Players know the story all too well. A new game is announced, hype prevails, and players begin to anticipate the inevitable release of the game. The launch of a game is probably the most important moment in its life cycle, as it is the moment when many long-awaited players dive into the game for the first time. However, while many games manage to live up to players' expectations, others fail to land.

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There is a long line of games that have launched in a terrible state, causing them to crash and burn. However, very few people actually go through the arc of redemption and recover. For those who have, players are often rewarded with some of the best games on the market. Here they are five games that managed to recover from the roughest starts.

No Man's Sky

From broken promises to epic sci-fi adventures

The first one is above No Man's Skyexcellent game on this list. While many of the later entries launched in a state where the game was released too soon without polish, suffered from bugs or server issues, or was simply unplayable, No Man's Sky it didn't really suffer from too many bugs or performance issues. The game ran smoothly, was incredibly stunning, and provided a generally fun experience during the first launch window. However, there was one major problem.

No Man's Sky takes players into a procedurally generated universe where they can map the stars and explore new worlds. However, the game launched without many promised features it got fans invested in the game in the first place. From no multiplayer at launch to a general lack of variety in the worlds players visited and a slew of other missing features, No Man's Sky's the biggest problem was it did not live up to the expectations that the developers had set for themselves.

in spite of No Man's Sky is now considered one of the best sci-fi games on the market, not only because of its ambitious premise, but also because of the sheer number of free updates have been added to bring missing content and more to the game.

Cyberpunk 2077

From unfinished mess to perfection

If any game deserves the title of worst launch experience, this next title takes the crown by a wide margin. Although CD Projekt Red is widely popular Cyberpunk 2077 he is now highly respected, his success is the result long effort to fix the game after its terrible state at launch.

Cyberpunk 2077 was the subject of heavy controversy due to the game's numerous technical and performance issues that made it largely unplayable for many players. While most of the problems were found on PS4 and Xbox One, to the point of refunds, next-gen consoles and even high-end PC users were unable to do so. escape the game's overwhelming number of challenges.

From countless crashes, graphical issues, and hilariously frustrating bugs, to a general lack of polish, there's no denying that Cyberpunk 2077 started too soon in unfinished state. Thanks to a long stream of updates and fixes Cyberpunk 2077 was finally brought back to a playable state, allowing players to finally enjoy the game's stellar gameplay and masterful storytelling as intended.

Final Fantasy XIV

From one of the worst launches to the best MMORPG

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail

Released

July 2, 2024

ESRB

Teen // Blood, language, partial nudity, sexual themes, alcohol and tobacco use, violence

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When it comes to the best gaming comebacks, no game has seen a better turnaround than Final Fantasy XIV. Although the game is now often considered one of the best MMORPGs of all time, it originally launched in abysmal condition, prompting a studio-wide effort to bring it back into the limelight.

Final Fantasy XIV he was in a difficult situation to say the least the first iteration is incredibly poorly received by players. The game was riddled with bugs, suffered from extremely poor optimization that made it clunky to play, and was plagued by countless technical issues along with a general lack of content and clear focus.

Final Fantasy XIV was in such a state that Square Enix eventually ending the game in an epic in-game event who saw the end of the world in real time. However, that was not the end Final Fantasy XIVas a game later relaunched as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Today, Final Fantasy XIV is far more acclaimed than its predecessor, fixing many of the issues that plagued the original release while also bringing a host of new content for fans to dive into.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

From Modern Warfare 2's Cash Grab DLC to an epic standalone title

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is often considered one of the best modern Call of Duty titles, but the game was also the subject of major controversy at launch. To put it bluntly, the initial launch Modern Warfare 3while still selling at record highs, it may be one of the roughest launches of all Call of Duty to date.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 arrived with what was probably one of the worst and weakest campaigns in the series, and its initial content offering earned it the label of being little more than DLC Modern Warfare 2. The game featured only a few original weapons, with more than half of the arsenal carried over from the previous title. The multiplayer map list also consisted entirely of remastered versions of maps from the original Modern Warfare 2. Couple that with the open-world extraction-style Zombies mode, which, while enjoyed by a small portion of the community, failed to resonate with die-hard Zombies fans. Modern Warfare 3 he definitely had a rough start.

However, campaign aside, Modern Warfare 3 also succeeded perform one of the best comebacks Call of Duty historywhich became one of the few games in the series that actually won over players over time. This was largely due to strong post launch supportwhich introduced consistent new maps and modes, limited-time events, and weekly aftermarket parts, weapons, and camos through Weekly Challenges. Combined with the improvements that Sledgehammer Games introduced, including faster overall movement, smoother weapon handling, and removal of several controversial elements from Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3 has successfully evolved into a strong standalone entry with its own identity.

Sea of ​​Thieves

From catastrophic server outages to great pirate adventures

• It won numerous awards, including Xbox Game of the Year at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards

Sea of ​​Thieves was easily one of the most anticipated games of 2018 and remains widely popular today thanks to its long-term success. Promising players a fun adventure in a shared world on the high seas, complete with epic ship battles and dangers lurking in the depths, Sea of ​​Thieves stood out as one of the most unique titles on the market. Unfortunately, the start of the game was far from stellar.

Due to the large number of players who jumped in on opening day, Sea of ​​Thieves suffered from massive server outages and matchmaking failureswhich in some cases prevents thousands of players from enjoying the game for up to two full days. To address this issue, Rare deployed frequent server maintenance that further restricted access regular shutdowns occurring throughout the launch week.

The players who managed to get in also had to are faced with many fundamental problems. These included Plunder Pass crashes, players not getting gold from items sold at bases, and even big exploits like running a ladder. Honestly, launching the game was a chaotic nightmare. With consistent technical fixes, strong post-launch content support, and much needed improvements in quality of life such as revamped inventory management, better ways to spot loot and more, Sea of ​​Thieves has ended up being one of the best games to jump into today.