After eight years of hype, Cyberpunk 2077 was finally released. Instead of living up to that hype, the launch of this game ended up being a complete disaster.
There were numerous awful glitches across all versions of the game. And the versions for Xbox One and PS4 versions had such awful graphics on top of the glitches that the developer encouraged annoyed consumers to seek refunds. This eventually led to Sony removing the game from the PlayStation Store.
As bad as Cyberpunk’s launch is, however, it is merely the latest in a long line of awful game launches. In fact, many games had even worse launches. And this is our roundup of the worst offenders throughout the years.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Generally speaking, the Arkham series of games has been beloved by fans. Arkham Asylum blew our minds when it first hit the scene in 2009, and Arkham City took everything we loved and made it bigger and better in 2011.
And 2015’s ambitious Arkham Knight served as a worthy entry in the franchise… at least, for console players. But on PC, this game had insane glitches and frame rate issues across the board. A combination of new drivers, patches, and a lot of player patience helped fix these issues, but that initial launch was more embarrassing than Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
In the here and now, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a great game. In fact, it is the best game for fans of Master Chief who want to relive the old campaigns in HD or engage in multiplayer gaming across five different Halo titles.
But when MCC launched in 2014, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The games were glitchy, the servers were a mess, and lobbies were broken and empty shells. Adding salt to the wound is that it took months to iron out these problems, driving many core players away before things could be fixed.
Half-Life 2
It may be surprising to see Half-Life 2 on this list. After all, this is a beloved title that also served to launch Steam, the world’s most famous game distribution service.
But the fact that it launched Steam is what gave this game a terrible launch in 2004. On top of many frustrating glitches and bugs, many users had trouble logging into Steam after they downloaded it. The result was a shiny new game and game distribution service that thousands of gamers couldn’t even play!
No Man’s Sky
In many ways, No Man’s Sky has mapped out the best possible future for Cyberpunk 2077. That’s because this game was eventually patched into something awesome that was worthy of its original hype. But the game at launch was a complete disaster in 2016.
The launch was a perfect storm of glitches, bugs, and broken promises. Simply put, the game didn’t play the way the developers promised. And the combination of fan outcry at false advertising combined with terrible glitches made many gamers give up on this title after only a few days.
Ultimately, the patches made good on what developers promised. We can only hope CD Project Red does the same with Cyberpunk 2077!
Assassin’s Creed: Unity
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has had many ups and downs. However, Assassin’s Creed: Unity proved one of the worst games in the series, especially when the game first launched in 2014.
Even after weeks of delays, the final game had characters falling through the terrain, getting stuck in parts of the map, and having their faces disappear entirely. The game is meant to make you feel like a powerful assassin, but this awful launch just made players want to kill the game they just bought.
Fallout 76
Fallout 76 seemed like a no-brainer. The world of this franchise is very rich, and the idea of turning it into a multiplayer experience should have been an excuse to print money.
However, this game didn’t just have a few bugs at launch in 2018. It has every kind of bug and glitch you can think of, from weird animation and inventory issues to broken quests and audio problems. There was even a bug that would delete your entire game… and, given the state of the game at launch, we can say that’s an improvement!
The launch issues extended beyond the game, too. Players who purchased the expensive Power Armor edition of the game were supposed to get a fancy West Tek canvas bag but got a crappy nylon one instead. And even after massive customer outcry, it took Bethesda seven months to deliver the bag they promised!
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Mass Effect: Andromeda is already pretty bad as a game. In fact, it very nearly killed the Mass Effect franchise. But the game was even worse at launch in 2017 than it is now.
The game often crashed at the worst possible times. And players encountered numerous performance issues even when running the game on a beefy PC. Worst of all were the buggy facial animations that made the game look like a parody of itself.
By the time most of these issues were patched, it was too late for many fans.
SimCity (2013)
Part of the fun of a SimCity game is finding clever solutions to different problems for your virtual city. But it’s no fun when most of the problems come from just playing the damn game!
When this title launched in 2013, players needed to be online at all times in order to play. This would have been bad enough, but countless players couldn’t even log on to EA’s servers to play. Gamers were so angry at this that Amazon temporarily yanked the game from their store, just as Sony would yank Cyberpunk 2077 from their online store in the wake of major gamer backlash.
What game’s buggy launch disappointed you the most? Sound off in the comments below!
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