Best live service game that recovered from a terrible launch

Gamers know the story all too well. A new game is announced, the hype takes over, and gamers begin anticipating the game's inevitable release. A game's launch is arguably the most important moment in its lifecycle, just like when many long-awaited players dive in for the first time. But while many games manage to meet player expectations, others fail to stick the landing.

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Longest Open-World Game

Even the most sophisticated player will be confused by the sheer scale of these games. These are the open world games that take the longest to beat.

There are a long line of games that have launched in a terrible state, crashing and burning as a result. But very few have actually gone through a redemption arc and recovered. For those who have, players are often rewarded with some of the best games on the market. Here is five games that managed to bounce back from the toughest of launches.

No Man's Sky

From failed promises to epic sci-fi adventure

Up first is No Man's Skyan outstanding game on this list. While many of the later entries launched in a state where the game was either released prematurely without polish, suffered from game-breaking bugs or server issues, or was simply unplayable, No Man's Sky didn't actually suffer from too many bugs or performance issues. The game ran smoothly, was incredibly awesome, and provided a generally fun experience during the initial launch window. However, there was one big problem.

No Man's Sky takes players to a procedurally generated universe where they can map the stars and explore new worlds. However, the game launched without many of the promised features that 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 host of other missing features, No Man's Sky's biggest problem was did not meet the expectations that the developers had set.

Despite this, 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 because of the sheer number free updates are added to bring the missing content and more to the game.

Cyberpunk 2077

From unfinished mess to excellence

If any game deserves the title of worst experience at launch, this next title takes the crown by a wide margin. Although CD Projekt Red is very popular Cyberpunk 2077 held in high esteem now, its success is the result of a long shot at fixing the game after its terrible state at launch.

Cyberpunk 2077 was the subject of heavy controversy due to the game's many technical and performance issues that made it largely unplayable for many players. While a large portion of the problems were found on PS4 and Xbox One, to the point where refunds were distributed, next-gen consoles and even advanced PC users could not escape the game's overwhelming number of problems.

From countless crashes, graphical issues, and hilarious game-breaking bugs, to a general lack of polish, there's no denying that Cyberpunk 2077 was launched far too early in an unfinished state. But through a long stream of updates and patches, Cyberpunk 2077 was eventually brought back to a playable state, allowing players to finally enjoy the game's stunning 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, Use of alcohol and tobacco, Violence

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When it comes to the best comebacks in gaming, no game has done a better turn than Final Fantasy XIV. Although the game is now often regarded as one of the best MMORPGs ever, it originally launched in an abysmal state, sparking a studio-wide effort to bring it back into the spotlight.

Final Fantasy XIV was in a tough spot to say the least with his the first iteration was incredibly poorly received by the players. The game was riddled with bugs, suffered from extremely poor optimization that made it feel unwieldy 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 finally sunset the game in an epic event in the game who saw the end of the world in real time. However, that was not the end of it Final Fantasy XIVas the 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 introducing a breadth 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 often considered one of the best modern Call of Duty titles, but the game was also the subject of great controversy at launch. To put it bluntly, the first launch of Modern Warfare 3while still selling records, may have been one of the toughest launches of anyone Call of Duty to date.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 came up with what was undoubtedly one of the worst and most lackluster campaigns in the series, and its original content offering gave it the label of being little more than DLC for Modern Warfare 2. The game featured only a few original weapons, with over 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 an open-world extraction Zombies mode, which, while enjoyed by a niche section of the community, failed to resonate with hardcore Zombies fans, and Modern Warfare 3 definitely got off to a rough start.

But campaign aside, Modern Warfare 3 also succeeded make one of the best comebacks in Call of Duty historyand became one of the few games in the series that actually gained players over time. This was largely due to strong support after launchwhich 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 the removal of several controversial elements from Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3 successfully developed into a strong stand-alone entrance with its own identity.

Sea of ​​Thieves

From catastrophic server outages to an excellent pirate adventure

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

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

Due to the large number of players jumping in on launch day, Sea of ​​Thieves suffered from massive server outages and matchmaking failurespreventing thousands of players from enjoying the game for up to two full days in some cases. To address this, Rare employed frequent server maintenance, further limiting access, with regular downtime that runs throughout the launch week.

Players who managed to get in also had to grapple with many game-breaking problems. These included Plunder Pass not working, players not getting gold from items sold at Outposts, and even big feats like the launch of the ladder. To put it bluntly, the launch of the game was a chaotic nightmare. But through consistent technical fixes, strong post-launch content support and much-needed improvements in quality of life like reworked inventory management, better ways to spot loot and more, Sea of ​​Thieves ended up being one of the best games to jump into today.