From failure to triumph: 11 games that disappointed at the start but eventually became hits

Game releases are often accompanied by technical problems and disappointed reviews. Even large projects can fail on release due to bugs, lack of content, or controversial decisions of developers. Usually, such games are quickly forgotten. But sometimes studios don’t give up and persevere in fixing mistakes. They listen to players, release updates, rebuild mechanics, and eventually turn failed projects into successful ones. In this selection, we will discuss games that disappointed at the start but became much better over time. If you’ve ever put them aside because of bad reviews — maybe it’s time to give them a second chance.

The Elder Scrolls Online

When The Elder Scrolls Online was first announced, fans of the series didn’t know what to expect — but they definitely didn’t want a game with expensive subscription fees, numerous bugs, and an empty world. At the time of its release in 2014, ESO felt exactly like that: it was criticized for technical problems, mediocre quest design, and most importantly — for not resembling the promised experience «as in Skyrim». The number of players was gradually decreasing, and the future of the project was unclear.

But ZeniMax and Bethesda recognized their mistakes in time. In 2015, the game was re-released under a new rebranding as Tamriel Unlimited — without a mandatory subscription, with a one-time access fee. The developers changed monetization and began to actively update the game: large-scale additions, story expansion, new dungeons, PvP and PvE activities, balance and bug fixes appeared. Thanks to these efforts, ESO has gradually transformed into a full-fledged, deep MMO that, although it did not replace Skyrim, managed to find its own niche.

Today, ESO — is a game with millions of copies sold, an active fan base, and regular seasonal updates.

Destiny

The original Destiny was one of the most anticipated games in 2014, after all, it was created by Bungie, the studio famous for the Halo series. However, the game received a lukewarm reaction at release. Critics and players noted the excessive structure of the grind, a short and passable story campaign, and a lack of explanations in the in-game lore. The game’s development model was particularly dissatisfying: add-ons were released regularly, but, in the opinion of many, were too expensive and did not offer enough content for the price.

But gradually, thanks to expansions like The Dark Below, House of Wolves, and especially The Taken King, Destiny began to change for the better. More story content, new raids and activities, and deeper world building were added to the game. This helped to redefine the gaming experience, bringing it closer to the level that was expected from Bungie at the start.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

It seemed like Halo: The Master Chief Collection seemed to be the perfect release for fans — it included six iconic titles of the series, updated and adapted for modern platforms. For 343 Industries, it was a chance to continue Bungie’s legacy and show that the series was in good hands. But at the time of its release, MCC was a disappointment. The developers ruined one of the most important parts of the series — multiplayer. There were no community favorites in the collection, matchmaking worked with numerous glitches, and servers often crashed, which caused a flurry of criticism and forced the studio to publicly apologize to the community.

Nevertheless, 343 Industries did not lie low, but worked hard on the game. Over the course of several years, the team released numerous patches, improved performance, added content, and restored trust. Today, the collection is available in the Game Pass subscription, works stably, has all the key modes and maps, and is deservedly considered one of the best classic collections for PC and Xbox.

Sea of Thieves

At the time of the announcement, Sea of Thieves seemed like a dream for all fans of pirate adventures: a huge open world, sea battles, treasure hunts, joint raids with friends — all this looked like a new stage in the development of cooperative games. On release, however, it turned out quite differently: the world was beautiful but empty — there was nothing much to do except travel, collecting gold, and attacking islands. A lack of content, a limited set of activities, and the absence of a full-fledged plot caused many players to lose interest.

But Rare Studio did not give up. Starting in 2019, the game began receiving regular free updates — new enemies appeared, including sea monsters like the legendary kraken, factions with unique tasks, PvP modes, seasonal campaigns, and even story missions for players who prefer solo play. Now Sea of Thieves is no longer just a marine sandbox, but a full-fledged adventure game with a deep progression system, rich content, and live multiplayer.

Fallout 76

When Fallout 76 was released in 2018, it was literally torn apart by critics. Even though the gaming community is used to the technical shortcomings of Bethesda games at launch, this installment was striking in its scale of problems. A world without NPCs, numerous critical bugs, connection issues, and poor optimization made the project almost unplayable. The old Creation Engine could barely handle the load, and the series’ transition to multiplayer felt clumsy and incomplete. The problems were not limited to the technical part. Scandals also arose around the in-game store with inflated prices and blocking users who tried to modify the game. Fallout 76 quickly gained a reputation as one of the most disastrous releases of the generation.

But over the next few years, the developers gradually revived the project. The game received a new storyline, new factions, seasonal events, and mechanic updates, and the game world became more lively. The most important was the Wastelanders update, which added human NPCs with quests to the game. They became the part that really brought players back and actually saved the game from failure — after all, in an RPG, it is interesting quests and characters that make the world alive and exciting.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

Assassin’s Creed Unity, released in December 2014, sought to showcase revolutionary Paris in all its splendor: huge crowds, detailed architecture, and a modernized engine, but the hardware capabilities of the time could not withstand the load. The release was accompanied by numerous critical errors ranging from random crashes to character facial textures falling off, which instantly made the game an internet meme.

However, Ubisoft did not leave the project to its fate: dozens of patches appeared within a year after the release, significantly improving the game’s stability and performance. Today, Assassin’s Creed Unity is practically devoid of technical flaws and is appreciated for the best parkour in the series and still impressive graphics.

Star Wars Battlefront II

The release of Star Wars Battlefront II in 2017 quickly turned into a scandal. The main problem was not technical failures but aggressive monetization. Players were literally bombarded with paid loot boxes, and to unlock key characters such as Darth Vader, players had to either play for dozens of hours or pay real money. This provoked the anger of the community, and the situation became so resonant that even some governments began to discuss whether loot boxes in video games should be classified as gambling.

Under the pressure of criticism, EA initially defended itself, but eventually was forced to radically revise the progression system. Four months later, paid loot boxes were completely removed, and the player development system was redesigned from scratch. New maps, heroes, and modes were added, all for free. Today, Star Wars Battlefront II is a completely different game: balanced and rich in content.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

At the time of its release, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 greeted players with the atmospheric world of the alienated Chernobyl zone, but also with considerable technical problems. The game was criticized for its unstable performance, crashes, bugs, and ill-conceived enemy behavior. A-Life — the system for simulating life in the Zone — looked crude, and mutants and NPCs acted predictably and unnaturally. The first few months after the release were a period of active bug fixing: patches 1.2 and 1.4 fixed more than 3,000 bugs, improved AI performance, and enriched the gameplay.

As of mid-2025, the game has changed significantly for the better. NPCs began to use cover more efficiently, mutants react to the environment and player actions, and the A-Life system became much more lively. The update also added new modding tools and official mod support, even on consoles.

No Man’s Sky

Few games can match No Man’s Sky in terms of the level of disappointment that accompanied its release in 2016. Hello Games conducted an active marketing campaign, promising players an endless adventure in galaxies full of life and amazing planets. But in reality, players received empty worlds that looked almost identical. There was no full-fledged multiplayer, and the game mechanics were mostly limited to resource extraction, crafting, and moving between monotonous locations.

However, Hello Games has made amends: they have been updating the game for years without requiring any additional payment from players. Thanks to dozens of free updates, No Man’s Sky has gradually turned into one of the most interesting space games: now it has cooperative multiplayer, base building, a story campaign, fleets, improved graphics, and really interesting worlds to explore.

Cyberpunk 2077

Announced eight years before its release, Cyberpunk 2077 carried the burden of incredible expectations. CD Projekt Red, inspired by the success of The Witcher 3, promised to create a convincing, atmospheric world of the future, but unfortunately, it failed to reach the level of expectations. The release in December 2020 was a big disappointment: the game was released in a technically disastrous state — with thousands of bugs that constantly ruined the immersion in the world of Night City. The situation was especially bad on consoles.

But despite the disastrous start, CD Projekt Red managed to fix the situation. The developers gradually released patches, fixing bugs, improving graphics and optimization, and bringing the game to the level it deserved from the very beginning. The real revival took place in 2023: thanks to the release of the 2.0 update and the Phantom Liberty expansion pack, Cyberpunk 2077 turned into a deep, dynamic, and atmospheric action-RPG that still remains popular.