The promise of “it’ll get fixed later” has doomed many video games that fail to attract a substantial player base. A broken game can be a pain to play through, and the player count can fall in droves until a game is on the verge of crumbling and fading away.
Thankfully, some video games have stuck to this promise,delivering patches and updatesthat have substantially improved the player experience. The positive buzz generated by these patches has been enough to rekindle interest and help these games become popular again, which is a feel-good story anyone can enjoy.
Most people are well aware ofNo Man’s Sky’s disastrous launch, with Sean Murray promoting the game to kingdom come only to become the laughingstock of the video game industry when this title launched. However, credit should be given to Hello Games for never giving up on a title they were passionate about.
A steady stream of updates followed that addressed complaints and fixed bugs, but the biggest turning point for this title was the NEXT update. It finally added multiplayer to the game and made the title prettier for players to get immersed in with ease as they enjoyed this space exploration title with a friend. Suffice it to say,interest skyrocketed inNo Man’s Skyfollowing the NEXT update, and the title has never looked back since.
It’s debatable as to which update renewed interest forCyberpunk 2077. The Edgerunners update came at a perfect time when the anime adaptation made waves, andUpdate 2.0 was a huge step forwardfor the game that rebalanced game systems to makeCyberpunk 2077more engaging than ever before.
However, the point when players finally regained hope and went back to this title came after the launch of Patch 1.5. It was a huge update that addressed many existing problems to make Night City more immersive than ever before, with the title finally reaching the heights promised by its marketing.Cyberpunk 2077wasn’t just playable anymore — it was a great game that players returned to as they were immersed in V’s epic story once again.
WhenDestinycame out, it felt like this live-service title would run out of steam in just a few months after its release. However, Bungie was hard at work addressing fan complaints to ensure that the game’s balancing issues were a thing of the past.
This led to the launch of Update 1.1, a game that rebalanced many weapons and made the crafting system less of a pain to get through. The changes were so comprehensive that fans gave this game a second shot and were pleasantly surprised by the progress Bungie had made, slowly allowingDestinyto gather more hype as new expansions were greenlit and launched.
Fallout 76’s launch was laughably bad, with long-time fans hating how barren and lifeless this game was compared to other titles in the series. The lack of living humans and a neutered combat system ensured that players would get bored of this title in no time.
Thankfully, Bethesda heard the complaints of fans and launched the Wastelanders update, which marked a turning point forFallout 76. Appalachia was populated once again with new settlers who breathed some much-needed life into the game and convinced people to give this game another shot. Givenhow activeFallout 76has beenever since it’s clear that Wastelanders played a major role in turning things around for this multiplayer RPG.
Therollout forGTA Onlinewas far from impressive. Technical issues coupled with a lack of meaningful content meant that players gave this mode a whirl for a few hours before heading back to the single-player mode.
It wasn’t until the launch of Heists thatGTA Onlinebecame a worldwide phenomenon. Teaming up with friends to carry out cool heists was an easy sell, with returning players realizing that the game was full of content compared to its barren state at launch. This allowedGTA Onlineto become Rockstar’s most successful cash cow as more players check out this game mode to live out a virtual life of crime.
Tom Clancy’s The Divisionwas another Ubisoft game that was hyped to the moon and back, only to disappoint players when it launched. It didn’t help that the 1.3 update made the game feel worse than ever before, prompting a lot of people to give up on the hopes that this title would ever achieve its true potential.
All these complaints were silenced with the very next update, showing that Massive Entertainment was listening to fans and trying to improve the experience. Enemies didn’t feel like bullet sponges and dropped valuable gear more frequently, making the game more entertaining as players returned to this multiplayer third-person shooter and gave it a chance.
It would be a stretch to say thatFortnitewas dying, given that Save the World was a decent mode that attracted its fair share of fans. However, compared to the massive popularity this title enjoys nowadays, Fortnite was nothing more than a drop in the ocean of forgettable multiplayer shooters with crafting elements.
Everything changed with the advent ofFortnite Battle Royale, turning the game into an overnight phenomenon and one of the most popular video games of the modern era. The hold thatFortnitehas on pop culture in modern times would’ve never been achieved without the advent of Patch v1.6 and the Battle Royale mode it introduced, pulling the game from the depths of obsolescence to become something special.
