Developing games is hard. Sometimes, no matter how long a studio takes to make a game, it can be broken at launch.
Whether it’s due to a game being unfinished, riddled with bugs and technical issues, or downright boring, these are the worst game launches of all time.
Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition
As great as the GTA games from the PlayStation 2 era are, they feel incredibly outdated. Giving these classic games a facelift was a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, upon release, these games were an absolute mess. They were not only unoptimized visually and had janky bugs, but they were completely broken.
To make matters worse, the original games were removed from digital platforms.
World of Warcraft
While World of Warcraft eventually became one of the greatest MMORPGs of all time, some wondered if the game had a future.
Calling the game unplayable in its first month is an understatement. The servers were unable to handle the game’s popularity.
Blizzard would eventually right the ship, and WoW won over millions of games across the world.
No Man’s Sky
Few games were released with the same amount of anticipation as No Man’s Sky. It seemed like a dream come true to explore endless worlds across the galaxy.
Unfortunately, when the game was released, there was little to do. Each planet felt boring, and players had no real story or direction to follow.
No Man’s Sky, like WoW, would right the ship, becoming one of gaming’s best comeback stories.
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Fallout 76
It’s been far too long since we’ve seen a traditional Fallout game release. When Bethesda announced Fallout 76, fans were excited and optimistic.
Sadly, that optimism quickly fades when everyone realizes the game is always an online experience and not the single-player adventure the Fallout games usually are.
Cyberpunk 2077
At the end of its reveal trailer, CD Projekt RED promised that Cyberpunk 2077 would be released “when it’s ready.” It turned out that was a lie.
Cyberpunk was an unfinished game at release, riddled with bugs that made the game completely unplayable. It was rightfully panned by critics and gamers alike, for good reason.
Like a couple of other games on our list of the worst game launches, Cyberpunk eventually turned things around, becoming an incredible open-world RPG experience today.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
An unfortunate trend with modern Pokémon games is that they feel like they’re more and more lacking. Scarlet and Violet is the perfect example of that.
Not only did the games feel like they were missing content, but they were also a complete mess at launch. They were filled with bugs and frame rate issues, which is saying something since Scarlet and Violet are nowhere near the best-looking games for the Nintendo Switch.
Final Fantasy XIV
While Final Fantasy XIV is an adored game today, Square Enix had to blow up the world. Literally.
The original form of Final Fantasy XIV is one of the worst MMORPGs ever made. It wasn’t necessarily bugs or server stability that brought the game down; it was boring, shallow gameplay that failed to stand out in the genre.
Gollum
Gollum may be one of the worst games ever made. Despite releasing for modern consoles, its graphics feel like they belong on the Nintendo Wii.
Somehow, the gameplay is even worse. It’s a broken, buggy, unfinished game that has gone down in infamy. Worst of all, it’s nowhere near the “so bad it’s good” category.
Redfall
No one was overly excited to hear that Arkane Studios, known for creative games like Prey and Dishonored, was releasing a team based looter shooter.
Still, there was some optimism. After all, Arkane is one of the best developers in the industry. Surely they could pull this off, right? Unfortunately, no.
Redfall felt shallow upon release, having more in common with an Xbox 360 title than a modern video game. Between its lack of content and unreliable servers, Redfall failed to find an audience.
Halo: Master Chief Collection
Like the Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition, combining the Halo games was a slam-dunk idea. However, like the GTA collection, the game was a mess upon release.
Online matchmaking was an absolute mess for a game that relies on its multiplayer. No matter how long you were looking for a match, you couldn’t connect to a game.
Additionally, some of the graphics were rough around the edges. While things improved over time, it was a black mark on a once strong franchise.
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