Top 10 Multiplayer Games That Died Instantly

Top 10 Multiplayer Games That Died Instantly A multiplayer game can’t survive without people to play with! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today, we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Multiplayer Games That Died Instantly! For this list, we’re taking a look at multiplayer games that didn’t get stick around for too long, whether it was from a lack of content or general disinterest in the games. Let the following 10 entries be a lesson to all aspiring Game developers & publishers.

#10: “Titanfall 2” (2016)

“Titanfall 2” was an unfortunate victim of circumstance. Publisher EA practically sent the game out to die, launching “Titanfall 2” just a week after “Battlefield 1” and a week before Activision’s “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare”. As many gaming critics expected, “Titanfall 2” suffered in sales, selling well below EA’s projected sales goal. The sad part of the situation is that the game was a significant improvement over its predecessor, and it received many free updates that added new maps and Titans to control. Unfortunately, “Titanfall 2” would be one of the most overlooked games of 2016.

#9: “Hellgate London” (2007)

Not every game requires a multiplayer component to the experience, and “Hellgate: London” would learn this the hard way. While critics argued about the MMO’s combat and story, most would agree about the abysmal quality of its multiplayer, citing frequent bugs, frame dips, and crashing. You can bet players didn’t stick around. Then again, this is an MMO we’re talking about, and “World of Warcraft” was fairly popular around the time of its launch. So, was it much of a surprise when servers shut down over a year later? Eh, not really…

#8: “MAG” (2010)

One of the cool things about “MAG” was that each game could be filled with up to two-hundred and fifty-six players, a number that was unheard of at the time of its release. Even “Call of Duty” and “Battlefield” couldn’t hold those numbers! As impressive as it was, this would be the only feature to make “MAG” famous. As for the rest of the game, there wasn’t much to keep players around. “MAG” suffered issues in maintaining balanced gameplay in addition to technical problems. Plus, the game was useless if you didn’t have online services. So, there were plenty of reasons for people to leave. Well, it was fun while it lasted!

#7: “Kill Strain” (2016)

In this twin-stick MOBA shooter, two teams must fight for control over a powerful energy known as the Strain. Reviews were scathing, citing “Kill Strain’s” lack of content and confusing gameplay. Less than a year after launch, “Kill Strain’s” servers shut down due to a dwindling player base. The loss in profit would prompt Sony San Diego to layoff several employees. What makes the whole thing worse is that “Kill Strain’s” failure caused the cancellation of another game: an online game called “Gnomageddon”, To think we could have been playing as Garden Gnomes killing each other.

#6: “Battleborn” (2016)

In May 2016 Gearbox Software and 2K Games released “Battleborn”, a first-person shooter that utilized some MOBA elements. With its large cast of characters, each with their own unique play styles, “Battleborn” was a fairly solid game. However a mere three weeks later Blizzard released the ever so addictive hero shooter “Overwatch” and the game’s player base quickly diminished. To which the game would eventually transition into a free-to-play format. Unfortunately, this was too little too late. As of September 2017, “Battleborn” only receives maintenance updates, which means servers may be shutting down very soon.

#5: “Lawbreakers” (2017)

“Battleborn” would not be the only game to suffer from “Overwatch’s” success. Boss Key Productions launched their own hero shooter, “LawBreakers”, on August 8, 2017, over a year since the aforementioned games released. Critics found the game fun and exciting, but the positive feedback was not enough to save the ill-fated shooter. In April 2018, Boss Key admitted that “LawBreakers” failed to find an audience big enough to sustain the company. Although, this wouldn’t be the last game we’d see before the company shutdown, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

#4: “Umbrella Corps” (2016)

Okay, let’s make things perfectly clear; “Resident Evil” does NOT need to be a multiplayer game, especially an eSport one. So, why on this glorious, green Earth did Capcom need to make something such as “Umbrella Corps”? The gameplay is chaotic to the point where nobody knows what the hell is going on, not even the player! On top of that, the game was overloaded in bugs and glitches, making it borderline unplayable. In theory, a multiplayer “Resident Evil” game could work, but for something as messy as this? Just...no.

#3: “Infinite Crisis” (2015)

When you look back at history (or a list like this), chasing trends will often result in a game’s failure. Most of our entries here have learned that the hard way, and “Infinite Crisis” is certainly no exception. Players take control of their favorite DC Comics heroes and villains to destroy the enemy team’s power core while destroying turrets and drones. Huh, you know, it sounds an awful lot like “Smite”...and “DotA 2”...and “League of Legends”. Yeah, that’s basically what it was; yet another MOBA game that plays like the others. “Infinite Crisis” quickly drowned in the overcrowded MOBA market, causing servers to shut down less than five months after launch.

#2: “The Culling II” (2018)

Speaking of chasing trends in overcrowed markets, here’s yet another victim. If you’re looking at this footage and thinking: “Hey isn’t this PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds?” Well you’d be half right! as the game’s concept its practically a carbon copy of PUBG, only there were only 50 players, no vechiles and more buggier. Not that any of that mattered since players were lucky to even get into a match due to a very low player count; Obviously because Fortnite and PUBG fans … were busy playing Fortnite & PUBG. It was so bad that developer Xaviant pulled the game from online stores and issued refunds to everyone only 8 days after the game launched.

#1: “Radical Heights” (2018)

In a last-ditch attempt to make profits, Boss Key Productions shelled out this battle royale game whom just like out previous entries; tried to cash in on the trend with a rushed product. Much to their chagrin, “Radical Heights” would spell the end of Boss Key Productions. The game released on Steam as an Early Access (or, in their words, “X-treme Early Access”), complete with bugs and glitches that made players appalled with this cashgrab attempt. Despite it’s unique 80’s aesthetic and game show-esque presentation, this was not enough to save the company. Boss Key Productions announced its closure a month after “Radical Heights” launched.