Best Games That Have Changed & Evolved Since Launch

Summary

With a countless number of games coming out every year, there are bound to be a few rough launches.
Some developers just don’t give up, releasing patches and content updates that turn the game around.
Cyberpunk 2077 and No Man’s Sky may just be the biggest comebacks in gaming history.

It’s common knowledge that the variety of gaming choices is vast nowadays, ranging from established AAA corporations to emerging independent studios. Annually, countless new games emerge on various platforms, making it inevitable for some releases to not meet expectations initially.

Despite numerous mediocre game releases, some titles have successfully transformed and advanced since their debut, re-attracting their player base and expanding beyond their initial successes.

6. No Man’s Sky

The Evolution Of Sandbox Space Exploration

Initially, “No Man’s Sky” emerged as an innovative concept from a compact studio, aiming to deliver an almost infinite playground for space exploration through procedural generation. However, its launch in 2016 faced challenges, suggesting that perhaps the idea was overly ambitious.

Initially, players found the game plagued with numerous technical issues and an uninteresting universe. But instead of abandoning the game known as “No Man’s Sky,” Hello Games persisted in fixing bugs and adding substantial updates over time. This effort eventually transformed the game’s image within the gaming community, making it a hit that surpassed its initial buzz and continues to receive new content even today.

5. Cyberpunk 2077

Possibly The Biggest Comeback In Gaming History

Cyberpunk 2077, developed by CD Projekt Red, was eagerly awaited and had high expectations. However, its debut in 2020 was marred with technical glitches, poor performance, and the lack of promised features, making it nothing short of a complete catastrophe.

Fortunately, CDPR refused to abandon their new Cyberpunk RPG, which might have become one of the most remarkable turnarounds in gaming history. Over subsequent years, they rolled out numerous substantial content updates, culminating in a significant DLC expansion called “Phantom Liberty“. Through all the controversies surrounding it, they remained committed to the project. Additionally, they made modding more user-friendly for the community by providing free tools. In the end, Cyberpunk 2077 underwent a drastic change, with its reviews evolving from predominantly negative to almost universally positive.

4. Fallout 76

An RPG With No NPCs?

In 2018, Bethesda attempted to transition their acclaimed post-apocalyptic RPG, Fallout 76, into the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) realm. Despite achieving significant success with The Elder Scrolls Online since its 2014 debut, Fallout 76’s reception was somewhat less favorable.

The early stages of “Fallout” encountered multiple technical glitches and server problems for several months, along with a limited amount of content, which included no NPC characters. This rough start led to significant criticism from fans. However, the game’s technical issues gradually improved over time. Additionally, since 2020, “Fallout 76” has received more than 20 seasonal updates, each offering an array of new items, quests, and events that players can enjoy individually or together.

3. Need For Speed Unbound

Stylish But Controversial

The debut of Need For Speed Unbound‘s fresh, cartoon-esque aesthetic and altered vehicle handling received a blend of positive and negative feedback upon its release in the fall of 2022. Opinions were varied, and for a series renowned in the “arcade” racing genre, the novel gameplay seemed to overemphasize that arcade feel with its revamped visual style and mechanics.

Initially, the game Unbound wasn’t perfect, but with numerous live updates and tweaks, it began to significantly improve. These changes aimed to align the title more closely with the conventional mechanics of the series. Even though it may not be the ultimate installment in the series, some fans now view NFS Unbound as the best contemporary addition to the franchise due to its evolution over time.

2. Battlefield 2042

Battlefield’s Biggest Blunder

By now, it’s no secret that many people are familiar with the tale surrounding Battlefield 2042, the latest addition to Electronic Arts’ highly successful first-person shooter series. In 2021, anticipation ran high as it promised a return to a more conventional, modern battlefield setting. Regrettably, its debut didn’t live up to the grandeur of its unveiling. Plagued by bugs, technical glitches, and connectivity problems, Battlefield 2042 has become one of EA’s poorest releases in history, leaving fans utterly disappointed.

Despite facing a lengthy and challenging journey, DICE persisted and introduced multiple updates, adhering to their planned seasonal content releases, and even addressing fan concerns by modifying some of the more debated changes to the class system. Battlefield 2042, though it didn’t achieve the same level of success as its predecessors, managed to win back its audience by making improvements along the way.

1. Final Fantasy 14

“Second Launch Is The Charm”

Since its relaunch in 2013, Final Fantasy 14 has consistently ranked among the top-rated and most played MMORPGs. However, this wasn’t the case when it first launched in autumn 2010.

Back when they first introduced the massive multiplayer online version of my all-time favorite RPG series, it was a total letdown – a flop, if you will. The servers were constantly crashing, and the gameplay felt dull as dishwater. It left gamers like me with this sense that the game wasn’t fully baked yet, so it got pulled off the shelves in late 2012.

In 2013, Square Enix revived Final Fantasy as an MMORPG, titled Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. This relaunch featured enhanced graphics, improved game mechanics, and functional servers. The revamp was highly praised, pushing the game to the summit of MMORPGs, a position it has maintained for over a decade since.

2025-07-06 01:35