Post-launch support has become a bit of a beleaguered concept in gaming. On the one hand, title updates allow developers to digest community feedback and suss tweaks, additions, and other gameplay modifications that can help improve their games. In other ways, the ability to release updates after a game’s release often give license to developers to launch incomplete titles with the promise of adding features in the future.
If handled correctly, however, post-launch support can add new life to games throughout their life cycle. Online connectivity and ever-evolving game ecosystems have created a world in which a title can look entirely different even as little as a few months after its release. That’s the lightning in a bottle developer Hello Games hopes to capture with the latest update to No Man’s Sky which adds a 30-hour campaign, procedurally generated missions, and multiplayer.
If successful, No Man’s Sky will join a long list of games that used their ability to patch in features after their release to make not only a more polished game, but also a more robust one.
Destiny
In the lead up to the release of the original Destiny, Bungie promised an expansive story, massive playing areas, and diverse missions. Upon its release, however, the game received criticism for not delivering on these lofty expectations. Limited by the support of legacy consoles and a last-minute change in narrative direction, launch Destiny left fans largely disappointed in comparison to its pre-launch hype, even if, at the time, many considered it the most impressive first-person shooter when it came to mechanics. The game also featured a frustratingly unpredictable loot grind that made players mine resources and take on challenges across an assortment of game modes.
Bungie had a long road ahead of them to right the ship, but the developers met the challenge head on with its second expansion, House of Wolves, and every subsequent expansion during its lifecycle. House of Wolves took baby steps in terms of legendary drops, equipment upgrades, and interesting gameplay twists within the short added campaign.
Bungie began to right Destiny ship in a major way with the release of its year two expansion, The Taken King. The new expansion added a more streamlined loot system that combined multiple currencies and materials into just a few, simpler-to-manage items. It also merged crucible and vanguard marks into a new overarching Legendary category which made accruing currency far easier. Another major criticism, the lackluster story presented in Destiny, received a shot in the arm from the new content.
While the game may have never reached the level that players expected when it was first announced, every new piece of content released for the game added interesting modes, diverse weaponry, and introduced changes that made it more accessible.
Dying Light
Techland, the minds behind the Dead Island franchise, released their zombie, parkour open world game, Dying Light, in 2015. It received generally positive reviews across the board, though reviewers criticized several aspects of the game. From a graphical standpoint, the game suffered from a few issues that, while not game breaking, definitely took away from the experience, such as lips that were not synced with words, a lack of character model diversity, and limited facial animation. Critics also levied complaints against the game for lacking in mission variety, as it leaned heavily on the use of fetch quests.
A year after its initial release, Techland released a major expansion, Dying Light: The Following. The expansion included a number of new features along with upgraded visuals. For the first time, players could drive custom built buggies that they could equip with flamethrowers, spikes, electric cages, and all sorts of other tools of mayhem. The feature added a welcome change of pace from the methodical parkour action the original contained.
Now, two and a half years after its release, the game reportedly still enjoys a respectable user-base of over 500,000 a month. Because of the continued engagement, Techland has planned a full year’s worth of additional DLC. Tymon Smektala, the game’s producer, asked fans to submit ideas via Twitter for what they think would make good DLC moving forward.
The Elder Scrolls Online
The fictitious continent of Tamriel has no shortage of stories to tell, and because of this fact, ZeniMax wanted the take the world of Elder Scrolls and give it an MMORPG spin. After seven years of development, The Elder Scrolls Online’s 2014 release date was preceded by palpable fan excitement. Rumors about the game swirled for years prior to its reveal in 2012. The deep lore the base franchise created seemed like the perfect fit for a game that could compete alongside the likes of World of Warcraft.
While the game should have been a smashing success in theory, the original release on PC and Mac was plagued with various bugs, a strange phasing mechanic that saw teammates fighting invisible enemies, and veteran progression system. Perhaps the most detrimental of missteps for the initial launch of ESO was the $15 a month subscription model on top of the $60 pricetag on the game itself.
In March 2015, ZeniMax launched ESO: Tamriel Unlimited which dropped the mandatory subscription model and instead offered players an optional subscription that included all of the game’s DLC, exclusive in-game bonuses, and a monthly drop of the game’s in-game currency, crowns. In June of that same year, ESO: Tamriel Unlimited came to PS4 and Xbox One, free from the subscription model, as well. The game received a far more positive response from both critics and consumers.
Since the game dropped the mandatory subscription, ZeniMax has continued to provide support for The Elder Scrolls Online. In 2015, The Imperial City and Wrothgar were added via DLC. A year later, The Dark Brotherhood DLC removed the much-maligned veteran progression system while adding additional questline and revamping some of the crafting systems. Earlier this year, the game received its first full expansion pack which took players to Morrowind.
Rainbow Six Siege
After the release of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 in 2008, the future of the franchise seemed unstable and uncertain. Ubisoft planned to release Rainbox 6: Patriots on 7th generation consoles, after revealing it in November 2011. However, in 2012, the game’s creative director, lead designer, narrative director, and animation director were all removed from the project, and Ubisoft ultimately announced the project’s cancelation in 2014. It’s replacement — Rainbow Six Siege.
Siege broke the mold of the traditional Rainbow Six model the moment it was announced. Rather than focusing on a single-player campaign about counter-terrorism operations, the team at Ubisoft Montreal developed a hardcore, tactical, online shooter. The shift from a narrative focus to a multiplayer-centric approach seemed an odd choice for a franchise that built itself on narrative-driven single-player gameplay.
When the game launched in 2015, it received a positive critical response, and for good reason. As a concept, the game created tension within the multiplayer and forced players to lean heavily on a tactical approach like no other shooter has been able to achieve. However, the initial release left much to be desired. From a content standpoint, Siege lacked a lot of diversity and featured a microtransaction market that many deemed greedy.
Since launching, however, Rainbow Six Siege has received an almost unprecedented level of support. Ubisoft Montreal launched regular updates to fix bugs and improve gameplay and matchmaking. The studio has also released seven expansion packs each introducing new maps and operators. As a result of this consistent post-launch support, the player base for Rainbow Six Siege has not only stayed consistent, but it has grown. As of August, the game has 20 million players, nearly five times as many players than they had at launch.
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