Certainly! Botched video game launches can be quite memorable for fans and critics alike. Here are some additional notorious game debuts that could fit well on your list:
1. **Anthem (2019)** - Developed by BioWare and published by EA, this game had high expectations but suffered from technical issues, lackluster content, and a confusing story.
2. **No Man's Sky (2016)** - Promised vast, procedurally generated worlds, but at launch, it lacked many of the features that were advertised, leading to significant backlash. However, it has since been improved significantly.
3. **Fallout 76 (2018)** - Faced severe criticism for bugs, server issues, and a lack of NPCs, which made the world feel empty.
4. **Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017)** - Criticized for its facial animations, bugs, and lackluster story compared to previous entries in the series.
5. **Battlefield 4 (2013)** - Launched with numerous bugs and server issues that took months to resolve, leading to a rocky start for the game.
6. **Warcraft III: Reforged (2020)** - This remaster was criticized for not meeting expectations, having bugs, and lacking promised features.
7. **Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013)** - Widely criticized for its poor graphics, AI issues, and deviations from what was shown in pre-release demos.
8. **Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)** - While you've mentioned it, it's worth reiterating its significance. The game had numerous bugs and performance issues, especially on last-gen consoles, leading to refunds and its removal from the PlayStation Store temporarily.
These titles had rough starts but many have made efforts to improve post-launch, showcasing the importance of continued development and support for games.
1. **Anthem (2019)** - Developed by BioWare and published by EA, this game had high expectations but suffered from technical issues, lackluster content, and a confusing story.
2. **No Man's Sky (2016)** - Promised vast, procedurally generated worlds, but at launch, it lacked many of the features that were advertised, leading to significant backlash. However, it has since been improved significantly.
3. **Fallout 76 (2018)** - Faced severe criticism for bugs, server issues, and a lack of NPCs, which made the world feel empty.
4. **Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017)** - Criticized for its facial animations, bugs, and lackluster story compared to previous entries in the series.
5. **Battlefield 4 (2013)** - Launched with numerous bugs and server issues that took months to resolve, leading to a rocky start for the game.
6. **Warcraft III: Reforged (2020)** - This remaster was criticized for not meeting expectations, having bugs, and lacking promised features.
7. **Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013)** - Widely criticized for its poor graphics, AI issues, and deviations from what was shown in pre-release demos.
8. **Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)** - While you've mentioned it, it's worth reiterating its significance. The game had numerous bugs and performance issues, especially on last-gen consoles, leading to refunds and its removal from the PlayStation Store temporarily.
These titles had rough starts but many have made efforts to improve post-launch, showcasing the importance of continued development and support for games.
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GamingTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Botched Video
00:15Game Launches.
00:20For this list, we'll be looking at the video game debuts that were marred by controversy,
00:24poor performance, and other failures.
00:27If there's a bungled video game launch we messed up by not including, help us patch
00:33our list in the comments.
00:3510.
00:36Grand Theft Auto The Trilogy, The Definitive Edition
00:50Grand Theft Auto is a franchise that always brings plenty of hype with any new release,
00:55and while fans are still eager for a new game, a remaster of classic titles should have been
01:01a slam dunk.
01:03Unfortunately, this trilogy package of upgraded games felt more like downgrades to many fans.
01:14The Definitive Edition's new art style was not well received, and it shipped with many
01:19glitches and bugs.
01:21Additionally, the PC version experienced problems with the Rockstar Games Launcher,
01:26which made it unplayable at launch.
01:28Speaking of which, being forced to use the launcher instead of Steam wasn't too popular
01:34either.
01:35Ultimately, the most definitive thing about the game's launch was how bungled it was.
01:419.
01:44Halo The Master Chief Collection Speaking of remastered video game collections,
01:57Halo The Master Chief Collection also experienced a horrific debut.
02:03Bugs absolutely plagues the game, with the multiplayer experience being particularly
02:08bad.
02:09Two dedicated servers, a voice chat that cut in and out, difficulty contacting friends,
02:15volume changes, the list goes on.
02:25While post-release patches have made the game the definitive, modern way to play Halo it
02:31was intended to be, the initial launch sent the game flying flat into its helmeted face
02:37and gamers up in arms.
02:448.
02:45Diablo III Diablo II is one of the most beloved PC games
02:57of all time, so to say expectations were high for its sequel would be like saying the sky
03:04is blue.
03:05Unfortunately, Blizzard massively underestimated the hype for their own game, which broke records
03:11with how fast it sold.
03:19There weren't enough servers to support players at launch, which is a nightmare scenario for
03:23an always online game.
03:26Then there was the steep difficulty in finding loot, which made breaking pots and using in-game
03:32auction house more profitable than fighting monsters.
03:35Diablo III at launch was positively hellish, and not the good kind.
03:457.
03:49Overwatch 2 Another much-anticipated sequel that flubbed
04:01its arrival is Overwatch 2.
04:04There were baffling changes to existing features and AI, one less player per team, and a lack
04:11of the previously promised PvE content.
04:20These missing features were controversial enough, to the point where some were calling
04:24it a step back instead of a sequel.
04:27But when you add in all the other problems at launch, like abysmal queue times, a discriminatory
04:33phone number policy, and a convoluted battle pass, Overwatch 2 proved to have arguably
04:41the worst launch of its year.
04:466.
04:48Assassin's Creed Unity The only real Unity this entry in the annual
05:00Killing People in Different Historical Periods franchise brought was its negative response.
05:06Set during the French Revolution, when many heads rolled, Assassin's Creed Unity's
05:11bugs featured plenty of character models with their heads turned inside out.
05:20Along with glitches more gruesome than the kills, the game also crashed frequently on
05:25PC, and on consoles, the framerate moved slower than its many trailing missions.
05:31While Ubisoft made some fairly generous concessions, like giving away free games and improving
05:37the game with patches, its launch permanently damaged its reputation.
05:445.
05:47No Man's Sky The idea of an endlessly generated universe
05:57to explore fired up gamers' imaginations in the mid-2010s.
06:02However, upon launch, No Man's Sky not only didn't live up to the hype with a disappointing
06:08gameplay loop, but it also didn't include a laundry list of feature promises before
06:14release.
06:21Problems even launching the game abounded in its first few weeks as well.
06:26No Man's Sky was so different at release from what it had been sold as, that calling
06:31it No Man's Lie has become practically a cliché.
06:35We've all heard that it's better, but there are still those who refuse to play it
06:39again on principle.
06:454.
06:48Final Fantasy XIV Online A JRPG MMO with the name Final Fantasy attached
07:01to it seemed too big to fail, but fail it did.
07:06Lag and framerate problems were rampant, and even when the game ran well, it still took
07:10longer than you'd think to get anything done, with its massive menus and confusing
07:16UI.
07:17Not that there was much to do, mind you.
07:27The base game had little meat on its poorly performing bones.
07:30Within a few months, the player base was practically non-existent, and Square Enix had to overhaul
07:36the entire thing and re-release it a few years later.
07:40And now, it's one of the biggest MMOs out there.
07:43But it took a huge failure before Final Fantasy XIV could reach its current success.
07:553.
08:00Cyberpunk 2077 We've greatly enhanced our crowd and community
08:05system to create the most believable city in any open world game to date.
08:12Not even Keanu Reeves could save Cyberpunk 2077 from crashing and burning on arrival.
08:20After many delays, this highly anticipated game was finally released, only to make most
08:26wish it had spent more time in the oven.
08:33Cyberpunk was a buggy, glitch-filled mess at launch, with its console versions suffering
08:37particularly bad performance.
08:40Ever-seedy Project Red suffered falling stocks, were forced to issue refunds, and endured
08:45lawsuits from investors and angry customers who alleged false advertising.
08:51While great strides have been made to improve the game in the years since, its initial reception
08:56was anything but excellent.
09:012.
09:05Star Wars Battlefront II EA and controversy walk hand in hand, but
09:17Star Wars Battlefront II was an unprecedented fuster-cluck.
09:22In addition to a lackluster single-player campaign, the game's progression system proved
09:27frustrating and confusing.
09:30Gaining access to hero characters took either more hours than anyone could realistically
09:35put into the game, or more money than anyone should spend on them.
09:40But these issues were minor compared to the real problem, microtransactions.
09:51The loot boxes essentially made the game pay-to-win, and caused several countries to label loot
09:57crates as gambling.
09:59And just a few weeks after its release, EA's stock price fell three billion dollars.
10:05Battlefront II was an unmitigated disaster, though not quite the worst game launch ever.
10:19Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.
10:25Fallout 76
10:26A multiplayer Fallout title plagued by bugs and an aimless wasteland of nothing to do.
10:40Anthem
10:41BioWare bungled the pay-to-play model, and the game's mechanics sucked.
10:54Marvel's Avengers
10:56Earth's mightiest heroes couldn't save poor performance, gameplay, and an awful loot
11:02system.
11:24SimCity
11:34If it could go wrong, it did go wrong for SimCity.
11:38The baffling choice to make the city simulator only play online meant that server crashes
11:44were frequent in its first week.
11:47Basically, no one could play the game for the first week it was out.
11:51At least without the game crashing, save data being lost, or a host of other issues.
12:05Then there's the issues with the game's engine itself, with the Sims acting in the
12:09most efficient manner instead of the most realistic one.
12:14SimCity is simply one of the most disastrous launches in gaming history.
12:19And it was another EA fiasco.
12:49SimCity is simply one of the most disastrous launches in gaming history.