In recent years, multiplayer games have seen an increase in popularity with players. Titles like Call of Duty are one of the best releases as well as top-selling multiplayer experiences of its time, impressing many gamers into buying further additions of its genre.
However, not all multiplayer games are as successful at launch, with some having less than desirable releases that left them in a sorry state. Though, with a couple of fixes from their developers, these co-op creations have gradually got themselves back in the spotlight and have been given the honor of cult classics by those that have played them.
10 No Man's Sky
Although No Man's Sky may be an enjoyable experience now that players can enjoy with friends, when the open-world space explorer first released in 2016 the game left a lot to be desired as well as many unanswered claims.
One such claim was the promise of multiplayer, which appeared to have been left out, amongst other things. It wasn't until 2018 that the game finally got its significant update that included the chance to allow players to enjoy this empty world with others, and it finally started making its mark again.
9 Elder Scrolls Online
This now successful MMO didn't quite interest fans during its original release. As a game that hoped to finally bring a co-op experience to the Elder Scrolls, when it released, players felt that it didn't truly fit the scale of the franchise it represented.
From its average reviews by critics, Elder Scrolls Online was struggling. Finally, ZeniMax, the developers of the MMO, decided to scrap its subscription for a one-time payment that saw a resurgence of players. Alongside, countless expansion packs that expanded the possibilities of play in Tamriel
8 Fortnite
It's odd to consider that Fortnite ever did poorly, especially with how successful the Battle Royale section of the game is, where players battle against one another to be the last team standing. Though when the game was originally conceived there was another mode alongside the royale, this was Fortnite: Save The World.
Feeling as though this tower-defense mode was holding back Fortnite, Epic Games decided to split them in two, making Fortnite a free-to-play battle royale and keeping Save The World as a premium paid mode. This allowed Fortnite to become the classic players know, but at the expense of its defense counter-part.
7 Diablo 3
When Diablo 3 released, it contained many of the undesired features that fans were not happy to see. For a multiplayer experience, there was a lack of Player vs Player combat, and an auction house that essentially ruined the need for players to hunt for their own gear.
In the hope to match the fame of Diablo 2, Blizzard lost sight of what Diablo meant to players. They eventually removed the auction house as well as temporarily adding a PVP mode that players could use to battle one another as it gradually regained its audience.
6 Halo: The Master Chief Collection
As a collection of the Halo franchise, 343 Industries were praised for their remastering of the original titles, as the single-player content worked brilliantly. However, when players started to try out the PVP of the multiplayer, issues began to reveal themselves immediately.
Many of these problems for players were down to issues with the connection to servers, as so many people were trying to play multiplayer at the same time. This injured the hype for co-op immensely, as it took many patches to the game before this had been fixed to a point that it could be enjoyed, and gradually Halo got its multiplayer fans back.
5 Grand Theft Auto Online
Similar to the issues that struck Halo, Grand Theft Auto 5 was praised highly for its single-player story, but when Grand Theft Auto Online was released many players believed it should have waited due to the dire fixes it needed.
These connectivity issues may have caused the hype to die-down but after solving these issues as well the new content being gifted freely to players monthly. It is of no surprise that GTA Online got back on its feet so fast, and with no sign of slowing down yet.
4 Street Fighter 5
Releasing exclusively on PlayStation 4, Street Fighter 5 didn't do as well as hoped by Capcom during its first sale. Although players praised the graphics and gameplay of this fighter game, many felt that the title was missing a significant number of characters as well as other content.
Hearing this criticism, Capcom worked on increasing the number of characters through expansions such as the Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition update, as well as the physical release and update of Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition which included a wide range of characters, costumes and new stages to fight on. Since then, it has sold incredibly well, making it the second-best Street Fighter game to sell on home consoles.
3 Driveclub
Although the servers were recently closed in 2020, it is still important to remember this PlayStation exclusive racing game that had a rocky start which finally led to great success. On release, Driveclub was judged heavily for its lack of features and content as well as its servers being tragically broken, with players unable to join their friends for weeks.
Eventually, these server issues were dealt with, as well as the developers providing players with a large amount of both paid and free content that opened up further racetracks and cars. As well as free new features like dynamic weathers that finally made Driveclub one of the best games to sell on PlayStation.
2 Tom Clancy's The Division
Although followed excitedly by players through the entirety of its launch, with PC players even signing petitions to make sure it reached their platform of choice, The Division looked like it was going to have a great release.
However, when the game finally got into player's hands in 2016, it had quite the rocky response from those exploring the world. It didn't only have server issues of endless queuing, but also a lack of variety for content. Those that waited were rewarded as Ubisoft worked endlessly to supply both paid and free expansions for The Division, that successfully brought it back above water.
1 Battlefield 4
For a game that is critically acclaimed for its multiplayer while its single player content has been long forgotten, players tend to forget the initial problems that Battlefield 4 had on its release, even in the multiplayer.
Many players found when themselves to be surrounded by unplayable lag, infuriating crashes and game-breaking bugs that wasn't just on PC but also PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. DICE did acknowledge these issues and promised to fix them before releasing any further content to the game, though a second expansion was released while concerns were still present, even if later resolved.