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#10: “Final Fantasy XIV” (2010)
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A game must be truly broken if the only way to save it is to burn everything to the ground and start anew. Square Enix's post-"Final Fantasy X" games have had their share of development issues, none more so than 2010's MMO. Put together over five years by a team with little experience in the genre, "Final Fantasy XIV" launched in a barely playable state, with a terrible user interface, awful combat, and a lack of a job system. Despite multiple patches that revamped everything from the graphics to the gameplay, Square had to completely shut down "Final Fantasy XIV" and start from scratch with "A Realm Reborn."
#9: “Street Fighter V” (2016)
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Fighting games cater to two markets: The casual and competitive scene. Ideally, both should be given the same amount of attention, something Capcom neglected to do with the launch of "Street Fighter V." Rushed to coincide with 2016's pro tour, "Street Fighter V" debuted with barely any offline modes, limited and inconsistent servers, a poultry roster, and a pathetic excuse for a story mode. While the gameplay was quite brilliant, the $60 package was frustratingly short of content. Arcade mode – a staple of fighting games since practically forever – wasn't added to "Street Fighter V" until 2018.
#8: “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” (2015)
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"The Phantom Pain" is a weird case, as the game launched in a polished state with a lot of content while still feeling rushed. As the final entry in a 28-year-old franchise, "The Phantom Pain" takes an uncharacteristically minimalist approach to its story, with Chapter 2 being far less comprehensive than its predecessor. "Metal Gear Solid's" creator, Hideo Kojima, had a public falling out with Konami as "The Phantom Pain's" production went over budget and a deadline was imposed. The final result was a great game that peters out during its climax and lacks a sense of grandiosity the franchise deserved for its potentially last main entry.
7. “Assassin's Creed: Unity” (2014)
Following a three-year production cycle, "Assassin's Creed: Unity" launched in an infamously buggy state. In terms of visuals and art, "Unity" is a marvel to behold and made the most of the jump to eight generation consoles; however, this came at the cost of the gameplay. While Paris was gorgeous to behold, traversing the open-world was frustrating and ripe with glitches, and it would take months of patches for "Unity" to reach a polished-enough state that could be deemed properly playable. Ubisoft rushing "Unity" out of the door harmed the "Assassin's Creed" brand, leading to its sequel experiencing a significant sales drop.
#6: “Dragon Age II” (2011)
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Work on 2009's "Dragon Age: Origins" dates back at least as far as 2002; meanwhile, EA published "Dragon Age II" in under two years. Along with purposefully taking the sequel's combat and story structure in a different direction than "Origins," BioWare had to make concessions due to the short development cycle, mainly by limiting the number of dungeons and setting the story in one city rather than an expansive kingdom. The outcome was an RPG sequel that felt more restrictive and less consequential than its predecessor, almost coming across as a side-story rather than a proper follow-up. Hopefully, EA learned from this mistake.
#5: “Battlefield 4” (2013)
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OK, maybe EA just needed one more lesson. "Battlefield 4" eventually grew into a fantastic shooter, but that was hardly the case at launch. Published approximately two years after the franchise's third main entry and across multiple console generations, "Battlefield 4's" potential brilliance was undermined by game-breaking bugs that made it difficult for many people to play, let alone enjoy its multiplayer component. To DICE's credit, the developer worked vigorously to fix "Battlefield 4," but a longer development cycle would have greatly helped a title that was not only accommodating for new consoles but also used a new engine. "Battlefield 4's" botched launch damaged the license's reputation.
#4: “Star Wars Battlefront” (2015)
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So, 4th times the charm? Movie tie-in games and rushed development cycles have a long and intimate history, but few were as disappointing as "Star Wars Battlefront." Besides carrying the "Star Wars" name, 2015's game was also a reboot of the beloved "Battlefront" series that had not spawned a home console entry since 2005. Expectations were high when EA and DICE announced "Battlefront" in 2013, but a desire to capitalize on the theatrical release of "Star Wars: A Force Awakens" meant a single-player campaign had to be omitted. While still sporadically enjoyable, "Battlefront" lacked depth in combat and modes, especially when compared to the previous entries in the franchise.
#3: “Mass Effect: Andromeda” (2017)
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Oh, for crying out loud EA. While technically BioWare spent five years on "Andromeda," the RPG struggled to find any direction until the last 18 months. Years dedicated to the idea of procedurally-generated worlds ended up going nowhere and by 2015, "Andromeda's" story, mission structure, and vision had yet to take shape. Combined with personnel changes and an engine far from ideal for RPGs, "Andromeda" went through a horrible development cycle that led to BioWare putting together the majority of the game within the final months before release, leaving little time for polish. "Andromeda" had elements that worked but all of that was overshadowed by its many meme-worthy flaws.
#2: “Anthem” (2019)
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With five rushed games after each other, EA is nothing if not consistent. "Anthem" was in development for seven years but most of that period was consumed by potentially exciting concepts that were not united through a single vision. By late 2016, BioWare was still unsure of whether to include flight, one of "Anthem's" core mechanics, and the game's 2017 E3 footage was closer to a tech demo than anything indicative of a fully-fledged project well in development. All the time in the world means nothing when no progress is being made, and “Anthem” was only starting to make headway in its final two years before launching as a half-baked product with an infamous roadmap.
#1: “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5” (2015)
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...And Activision sneaks in to break EA’s streak and steal the crown. More than a decade after the last numbered entry in the series, Activision announced and published "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5" all within the space of a year. One of the worst-rated games of the 2010s and reportedly rushed out of the gate as Activision's "Tony Hawk" license was expiring, "Pro Skater 5" is a cynical and lifeless mess that makes a mockery of a beloved franchise. Launching with fewer levels than even 1999's original "Pro Skater," 2015's sequel required a huge Day One patch to get most of its content running, although that did little to help the bugs and downgraded controls.