10 Worst Video Games Launches Of All Time (And If They Got Fixed)

Disaster: When EA and Maxis revived SimCity in 2013, it should’ve been a triumphant return for one of gaming’s most beloved strategy franchises. Instead, it became a textbook example of how not to launch a game. The biggest controversy? A forced always-online requirement for a mostly single-player experience. 

At launch, the servers couldn’t cope - players were locked out of their cities, saved data vanished, and even the tutorial failed to load. Reviewers couldn't access basic features, and the game was unplayable for days. The backlash was fierce, with fans accusing EA of prioritizing DRM and online infrastructure over player experience.

Redemption: To its credit, EA eventually patched in an offline mode. But by then, the damage was done. Many fans had already walked away, and SimCity (2013) was widely seen as a shadow of what the franchise used to be - with restricted city sizes, clunky AI, and a lack of depth compared to earlier entries. 

The final nail came a few years later, when Colossal Order released Cities: Skylines, a spiritual successor that did everything SimCity was supposed to do… and more. EA’s reboot never recovered, and the franchise has remained dormant ever since.