10 Promising Video Games That Totally Botched Their Launch
7. No Man's Sky
The disappointment of No Man's Sky is well-documented by now, but before the game was released, anticipation was still at an all-time high.
Players couldn't wait to experience the supposedly revolutionary game that would allow them to visit thousands of unique and interesting planets, interact with different species and simply live whatever space-faring life they wanted.
The launch of No Man's Sky revealed the truth about the game. Disappointing on all fronts, No Man's Sky was a tedious, resource-gathering game with a heavy emphasis on survival. Rather than being about boundless exploration, it was restrictive, with player freedom curtailed at every turn. The anger escalated, however. The No Man's Sky subreddit was full of accusations of lying aimed at developer Hello Games, and the situation got so bad that the subreddit was temporarily shut down.
Add to this fire the fact that Hello Games went silent for months after release and people began to suspect they had taken off with the money. It was one of 2016's biggest gaming controversies - but Hello Games have since turned it around, releasing numerous patches to help improve their embattled game.