9 Greatest Comebacks In Video Game History
1. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
In what is probably the greatest comeback story in video games, even if we had put No Man’s Sky on this list, the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV launched, spectacularly failed for two years, Square’s CEO stated the game damaged the entire brand, then they burned it all down, built it all back up again, rebranded, relaunched, and absolutely nailed it on the second attempt.
Though the reveal that this second attempt, named A Realm Reborn, would require players to subscribe since going back to the drawing board wasn’t exactly a cheap decision, it ended up being an impressive enough experience that players were happy to buy in.
The game offered cross-platform support and loads of small additions as well as four incredibly substantial updates: 2015’s Heavensward DLC, 2017’s Stormblood, 2019’s Shadowbringers, and 2021’s Endwalker. These expansions both brought with them expansive and compelling campaigns consisting of hundreds of hours of new content as well as new jobs, locations, dungeons, raids, and playable races.
The reasons to return became relentless in the best way. Heavensward, in particular, literally doubled the amount of content from the base game. Of course, the game is also ridiculously lucrative for Square Enix.
The gorgeous, sprawling setting, refreshing and engaging progression systems, and exciting, lore-rich story more than worthy of its lofty franchise are just the tip of the iceberg in calling out the fan favourite features of A Realm Reborn.
Not only is A Realm Reborn now one of the best MMOs ever made, it’s also one of the best Final Fantasy games, even if multiplayer isn’t usually your preferred way to play.