Top 10 Worst Video Game Launches of All Time

Sometimes, despite a developer’s best intentions, a video game launch turns out to be a minor disaster.  Maybe the game in question was rushed to market, or things did not work during the game’s development, meaning there will be plenty of patching to do later. Perhaps the game’s creators had to meet a tight deadline at a publisher’s insistence, which is not uncommon in these highly stressed times. But whatever the reason, it is clear that more than one high profile game has had a pretty bad launch. Here follows a list of the top 10 worst video game launches of all time.

10. Half-Life 2 (2004)

Back in 2004 Half-Life 2 by developer Valve was probably the most hyped game ever. It arrived after suffering numerous delays (and there even was a high-profile leak of the game a year before release). But it turned out to be one of the best first-person shooters ever, with a delightful cast of characters and a gripping storyline about an alien invasion by the pesky Combine, incredible graphics and revolutionary use of physics for the time.

But such an ambitious game wasn’t without issues at launch. Half-Life 2 was the first game to require Steam, which as you probably know already is Valve’s world-conquering video game digital distribution service. But it wasn’t in tip-top shape in its 2004 debut, and many gamers couldn’t log in to play the game, and reported numerous crashes and bugs. This led to plenty of “Steam hate” and users berating Valve for coupling the wonderful Half-Life 2 to Steam. Although thankfully Valve managed to sort matters out and Steam gets more love than hate these days…

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Next: 9. Diablo 3 (2012)