Question Mid-Week Question: What ongoing game has improved the most since launch?

[PCG Chris]

With Fallout 76 getting better by adding human NPCs and new quests, and Sea of Thieves getting another new update Wednesday (it will include cats, though you have to buy them), and probably other games I can't think of at the moment getting better in ways I can't remember, seems like a good time to ask:

What ongoing game has improved the most since it launched? (And why?)

We'll post answers from our staff and from these here forums on Wednesday!

 

[Johnway]

Path of exile. I played it back at the start when it ended at act 3 after defeating Piety. Afterwards, (like most ARPGS) the game would loop back to the start except on a higher difficulty for better loot. Its at this point i uninstalled the game. I wasn't particularly impressed by the small amount of content and couldn't see the game improving. Fast forward to 2018 i give the game a second chance (because of a PCG article on the incursion league) and i was blown away at how polished the game had become and how much new content there was. Its even more impressive that it was a F2P game!

The game now had 10 acts, ascension to specialize classes, master challenges, hideouts, areas reworked, new areas, more story etc. But more importantly, it had a compelling end game that i couldn't stop playing (906 hrs and counting...) . In fact the game is still improving with new content being crammed into the game whilst we wait for the sequel.

Don't take my word for it, Path of Exile won the 2020 BAFTA award for evolving game beating the likes of Apex legends, Destiny 2, Final fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, fortnite and no mans sky!

 

[Zloth]

I'm picking X3: Terran Conflict. (I'm calling it ongoing because mods are still being made/improved.) It started out in a fairly poor state with scarce content, an Orca full of bugs, and little support from modders. When the game came out, big ships sometimes couldn't leave the station they were docked at without running into it and destroying themselves! Soon after release, some official mods were released that let you manage trade ships that could run between several stations to pick up and sell supplies or set a trade ship to keep one of your stations supplied buy watching that stations around it for needed wares at good prices. More story lines were added. Modders started putting in more ships then bigger mods that changed several things about the game. The Albion Prelude DLC was added, bringing in even more content.

No Man's Sky has added at least as much and didn't need even one DLC to do it but I actually liked the game quite a bit when it came out and haven't been terribly interested in the new stuff so, for me, it just isn't that big of an improvement.

 

[berroni]

Overgrowth has did well developing the open game for about 9 years, and they still are developing it.

 

[SWard]

I mean, broadly speaking any MMO that's been around the longest that's still being updated would have technically improved the most, due to the sheer size and scale of performance, technical and content updates since their first iteration. EVE Online for example has continually had updates to the same single shard universe since 2003 and there's a few others which still stand up today with refreshed New Player Experiences, lore updates and in some cases complete overhauls of the subscription and revenue models. These online multiplayer games truly perfected and honed the 'games as service' format and formed the retention pillars you see reflected today in pretty much any game (PC, Mobile or Console) that has DLC, patches and graphical/technical/content updates. Not to mention engagement and retention concepts like Double XP, Live Events and loot drops. Golden Age MMO's with currently active dev teams, we salute you. <3

 

[SWard]

*missing from this, all the veterans of these games who don't think they've improved and are worse then how they were in 2007 (gamers hate change)

 

[Croaker]

Squad

For those who don't know, a good entry level borderline "mil-sim" first person shooter that manages to toe the line between the complexities of the Arma series, the gunplay of Insurgency, and the teamwork of... hmmmm best teamplay game I've everplayed.

It's amazing how much progress has been made in this game. Granted, it's still technically "early access", and has been since 2015, but I've felt since late 2016/2017 that this game has been plenty stable, with plenty of content. I have a feeling soon there will be several very well received mods coming out as well. You know it's pretty stable when going prone doesn't shoot you dozens of feet up into the air.

Great game that I keep coming back to!

 

[Pifanjr]

Minecraft has come quite a long way, especially if you include mods, even if not everyone is happy with all the changes.

 

[Frindis]

While Lord of The Rings Online has one of the greatest online communities you can experience, it is also a place for regular updates for fans to enjoy, like new storylines, items, housing areas, dungeons, kinship updates, and events:

It is celebrating it's 13th anniversary this weekend and even implementing a historic moment of the wedding between Aragorn and Arwen later this summer. How cool is not that!


'I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo.
'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.' J.R.R. Tolkien – The Fellowship of The Ring

 

[Zoid]

You already know I'm gonna be in here mentioning Kerbal Space Program

KSP has been developed far beyond where it was when it was first launched in Alpha in 2011. New parts, planets, and game systems have been added consistently since then. Having grown from its beginnings as a small little rocket physics sandbox on PC, KSP is now being used in classroom learning (an entirely new version of the game was released specifically for educational use), has had an expansion officially supported by NASA, has been migrated from Unity 4 to Unity 5, and has been ported to the PS4 and Xbox One.

I think KSP's 9-year journey is a testament to what a small team of dedicated developers can do when they are passionate about their game and supported by their community.

 

[Oussebon]

Skyrim. Because mods took something great and made it legendary.

Gothic 3. It was genuinely, fundamentally broken on launch. Developer and community patches made it a worthy entry to a franchise much beloved by its fans.

Overkill's The Walking Dead. Because it used to be on sale and now isn't.

The Crew 2. I haven't followed that game, but I played the open beta and my goodness was it one to avoid. I recall early Steam reviews agreeing. Metacritic scores were not good either at 66. But Ubisoft must have done something right with it because:

https://imgur.com/yqg1svD

View: https://imgur.com/yqg1svD


Out of 5,268 reviews between launch (June 2018) and 26 April 2019, 56% positive. 27th April 2019 to 21 April 2020, 85% positive out of 12,736 reviews.

 

[Piang Muang]

Fortnite

 

[Vexxxus]

Without a doubt that would be Path of Exile. I mean really, they keep adding new content and storyline, updating their engines and just constantly improving. Really has to be the best in this regard

 

[SWard]

@Johnway and @Croaker congrats, you've been featured in the article https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/which-ongoing-game-has-improved-most-since-it-launched/

 

[Oussebon]

And @Zoid and @Frindis

Also if anyone happens to know what Ubisoft did to make people like The Crew 2 I'm genuinely interested. No desire to play it, but I do marvel at people apparently not hating it any more.

 

[purnje]

I love Devil May Cry and I think it’s the most improved game since its launch in March last year.