Multiplayer games that became popular years after launch

Not all Multiplayer game Comes out of the gate as a big hit. for each Overwatch and ARC Riders, Many other games have all the elements to achieve success, but they are brought down by other issues that hold them back. These issues are not insurmountable, but they do take time to iron out.

These next games went through that exact process. For a number of reasons, they didn't catch on at launch, but over time, players discovered these multiplayer games, and they became incredibly popular after their original release. Not only are all of these games still played today, but some of them are some of the most popular games on the planet, even if, when their journey began, they were destined for the dustbin of gaming history.

between us

A streaming success

Originally released in 2018, between us It was just a blip on the radar. This social deduction game was largely overlooked, which developer Innersluth attributed to their own poor marketing skills. At the time, the game had between 30 and 50 concurrent players on Steam. 30 and not 50 thousand; Literally up to 50 players.

Two things changed the fortunes between us First, the Covid pandemic hit, forcing people to stay at home and find other outlets for socialization. secondly, between us It was picked up by Twitch streamers, starting with American Twitch streamer Sodapoppin and eventually promoted by major names like Pokimane, MisterBeast, Ninja, Shroud and PewDie. The rest, they say, is history. between us' playercount skyrocketed, sales followed suit, and today the game has sold over 30 million copies on Steam alone.

Star Wars Battlefront 2

Avoided major backlash

The story is now well told. at launch, Star Wars Battlefront 2 So rife with microtransactions that it quickly became the poster child for EA's obsession with excessive monetization. It was so bad that the game featured loot boxes inside other loot boxes, the rewards for which were more powerful weapons and characters which effectively made the game pay-to-win.

To try to save their game's reputation, DICE removed all microtransactions (minus some very minor cosmetic monetization) and added a ton of content via free updates. This attracted a large influx of new players. While Battlefront 2's Perceptions were still marred by its launch, which DICE has since played with those changes to position it as one of the best multiplayer shooters on the market.

A year after its release, major changes got the ball rolling

Starting in early 2014, The Elder Scrolls Online Initially an expensive subscription model was used wow, Charging players a monthly fee to explore the world of Tamriel. On its own, it didn't sink the game, but when combined with a lackluster experience that did very little new and was essentially playable. SkyrimWith only other players interrupting things, this was not well received.

A year after its launch, The Elder Scrolls Online Switched to a buy-to-play model with microtransactions and adopted a seasonal content model instead of major annual chapter updates, all of which significantly improved player opinion of the game. Rebranded The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, Things are starting to look up for the MMORPG. The first major expansion, Morroind, Released in 2017, it was the icing on the cake, drawing for a long time TES Fans of the game, increasing its player count and revenue, and turning it into a success. As of 2024, The Elder Scrolls Online It has earned 2 billion dollars in revenue.

Fallout 76

A perfect example of how to get feedback

Although a Bethesda property, The Elder Scrolls Online was developed by ZeniMax, and Fallout 76 was actually Bethesda's first multiplayer game. Unfortunately, it didn't perform too well after its 2018 launch. Technical issues were a big factor, but other criticisms included aimless gameplay, questionable design, and a complete lack of NPCs to populate the world. While Fallout 76 With 1.4 million copies sold in its launch year, many of those players expressed their dissatisfaction with the product. Even worse, the in-game currency was broken by a counterfeiting bug, which allowed players to accumulate dozens of in-game items that they would sell on outside markets.

It took until 2020 for things to start turning around. There was a catalyst for this Waste pickers The update, which responded to major player criticism by introducing NPCs into the world. This update was met with a relatively positive response, but it was enough to show that Bethesda was going in the right direction. From there, further updates added new content Fallout 76 While improving on past issues, and as a result the number of players began to climb steadily.

Final Fantasy 14

The most successful re-release of all time

Originally released in 2010, the first edition of Final Fantasy 14 It was easily the worst commercial failure the long-running franchise had ever seen. Critics tore it apart for everything from its technical state to its shallow gameplay and uninteresting progression. It was so bad that the original version of the game was permanently discontinued at the end of 2012.

Less than a year came Final Fantasy 14: A Realm RebornA complete overhaul of the first effort featuring a completely reworked HUD, combat mechanics, and progression system. FF14 May still rely on traditional MMO design tropes, but it executes them to perfection. In fact, the re-release was so successful that Square Enix, which had a poor financial year in 2013, attributed its comeback in 2014 primarily to profits. Final Fantasy 14. This is one of the best gaming comeback stories of all time, and while one can argue if the original release and A field reborn Even considering the same game, it is undeniable that the re-release has gained more popularity than its previous iteration.

Warframe

A self-described wicked success

Comparing Warframe What it was at launch today is essentially like comparing two different games. Yes, in both cases, you're playing a space ninja called Teno, you have a sword and a gun, and you're taking down waves of enemies, but what's on offer in the current version looks like a tech demo showing the 2013 release as a proof of concept. However, this is why its first iteration didn't garner a ton of positive attention. It wasn't bad By any stretch, however, its adoption was slowed by mediocre critical reviews, low player counts, gameplay that became stale very quickly, and generally unfavorable comparisons. destiny.

However, developer Digital Extremes was well aware that it had a small but devoted group of consistent players who would regularly communicate with the devs on potential improvements. This was enough motivation, and the updates started rolling out slowly but surely. With each update, new mechanics, warframes, weapons, and enemy types are introduced. While it wasn't a quick climb, Warframe Gradually as of 2019 more than 50 million people have accumulated the number of registered players, and this number is probably much larger today, as its popularity has increased even more. The best part is that those players keep coming back, maintaining the game's popularity where other free-to-play titles may decline over time.