The last three decades have been extremely important for gaming, as it has been the time when video games have evolved the most significantly. From two-dimensional 8-bit pixels to three-dimensionalmovie-likegraphics, video games have come a long way and will only get better from here. However, as the number of details in modern-day titles has increased, so has the time it takes to develop a video game.
Nowadays, it can take hundreds of man-hours to create a title, and even more time to polish it for release. Hence, sometimes developers can put unfinished products up for sale to match the deadline. Several games have suffered for this, but some have redeemed themselves in the long run. Let’s look at some great games that came out in an unoptimized state on consoles or PC.
10Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4came out in 2013 and was one of the first cross-generation games at the time. Hence, the stakes were high. Not only did the game have to improve onBattlefield 3, but it also had to work flawlessly on multiple platforms.
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Thankfully, the game did many things right, and was functionally an improved battlefield experience. Unfortunately, it bombed on launch in terms of optimization on older-gen consoles and PCs.From glitches to server issues,Battlefield 4was initially full of problems. Moreover, the game had trouble running on various computer configurations that had run the third game perfectly fine.
9Mass Effect: Andromeda
Mass Effect: Andromedawas one of the most hyped sequels in gaming history. After all, it was the return of the popularMass Effectfranchise, which many players still regard as the best Sci-Fi video game trilogy ever. As expected, the stakes couldn’t be higher, and the anticipation for the game couldn’t have been wilder.Mass Effect: Andromedadropped on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 in 2017, and immediately almost everyone realized it had needed more time in the oven.
The game had multiple problems on different platforms, including frame rate issues,facial animation glitches, and other optimization issueson PC. Fortunately, the patches that dropped in the next few years made it a much better game.
8Diablo 3
It is not hard to believe that developerBlizzardonce won the gamer god award, as they’ve released excellent games likeDiablo & World of Warcraftin the past. TheDiablo 3trailer first dropped in 2010, and the hype was unmatched by anything the developer had ever done. Unfortunately, this overbearing publicity became one big reason their game didn’t perform upon its release, at least in terms of player reviews.
Diablo 3wasn’t half-baked, but it was an online-only PC game that came with many online-only problems. From login issuesto server bugs and the power of internet connectionsin 2012, the game had a hard time maintainingDiablo 2’s reputation. Nowadays, the third game in theDiabloseries is in much better shape, and is a must-play for action-RPG fans.
7The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
TheElder Scrolls V: Skyrimwas the much-awaited fifth title in the franchise, and almost everyone knew it would be a great game. Unfortunately, whenBethesda’s RPG masterpiece dropped in 2011, it was anything but optimized on consoles and PC. From video memory bugs to crashes and frame drops,Skyrimdidn’t perform as people expected it to.
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The game also had long loading times and UI errors, but the worst was the frame lag on consoles. Thankfully, over time and with countless different releases,Skyrimwas patched to the brim and now works flawlessly even on Nintendo Switch.
6Watch Dogs
Gamers expectedWatch Dogsto be the greatestUbisoftopen-world game ever. It was supposed to be theGrand Theft Autokiller, the true definition of next-generation games, a benchmark for personal computers for years to come. At least, that is how it seemed from the first gameplay trailer.
Unfortunately,Watch Dogswas a hot mess on release and looked terrible compared to whatUbisoftshowed before. Thegame was a glitchy mess on personal computers, with framerate slowdownsand stuttering issues, and was unplayable and colorless on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Thankfully, the game got much better with patches and mods.
5Crysis 2
The sequel to the PC-killerCrysiswas a debatable title due to its gameplay changes. However, most gamers were excited about the visuals and graphics fidelity when the game first came out. Unfortunately,Crysis 2was unplayable for many players when it was released. From launch issues to graphics card compatibility problems, the game was full of nuisances that stopped people from enjoying it at launch.
For the people who tried out,Crysis 2felt like playing a slugging shooter with too much motion-blur,fewer tweaking options, lower frame rates, and weird glitches.Thankfully, Crytek fixed the game over time, and players were able to enjoy the fluid gameplay mechanics and amazing story.
4Assassin’s Creed Unity
The hype is usually through the roof when a newAssassin’s Creedgame comes. The same was true forAssassin’s Creed Unity, which would be the first-ever next-gen exclusive experience. While the new title had truly revamped the formula of older games, it fell short on launch due to the barrage of issues and a broken release.
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Assassin’s Creed Unitywas an ungodly mess when it first came out on the PC. It was what people would call an unplayable game on launch. Thegame had glitches, terrible meme-worthy bugs, animation issues,crash issues, and unoptimized gameplay, which truly muddled the beautiful game it was underneath.
3Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Knightwas the end of the popular Arkham series. Hence, everyone was excited to play the epic conclusion to the long-running saga. The latest game in the series looked beautiful from the previews, and players couldn’t wait to get their hands on a fully functioning batmobile.
Sadly,Batman: Arkham Knightdisappointed PC fans when it launched in an unplayable state in June 2015. The final Arkham game had issues ranging fromframe stutters to game-breaking bugsthat halted in-game progress. It took the next 12 months and free content forRocksteadyto make up for their errors and fix the game to near perfection.
2Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Editionis one of the latest unoptimized games to launch on the next-generation systems. While the game consisted of three amazingGTAgames from the past, it managed to ruin them with various issues that weren’t there before.
Apart from cut content,Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Editionhad a weird rain bug, a disappearing ocean water bug, spelling mistakeson billboards, animation glitches, and truly poorperformance. Thankfully, the developer quickly fixed many of the issues, but it didn’t stop people from refunding the game.
1Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077was released three to four years before it should’ve been. It’s a CD Projekt Red title that everyone anticipated to be the next big role-playing experience sinceThe Witcher 3. Unfortunately,Cyberpunk 2077was one of the worst games of 2020 and 2021. The developer promised the game to be a truly breathtaking experience, which turned out to be stress-inducing after the game came out on PS4 and later on PC.
Cyberpunk 2077marked the first time in years when a game performed equally unoptimized on consoles and PC. While everyone realizes there’s a decent game underneath all theoptimization issues and game bugs, and it has made some strides since its release, it will take at least two more years forCyberpunk 2077to be flawless.
