Modern open-world RPGs are easily among the most popular releases today, often amassing hundreds of thousands of players from day one and selling over a million copies within their first few weeks. With the industry more widely covered than ever, great open-world RPGs going largely unnoticed are rare nowadays, but even strong games can still struggle to find their audience. Naturally, it’s especially risky for completely new franchises from new developers, which may need more time to gain recognition.
This selection is all about great open-world RPGs, many of which were praised immediately but reached limited audiences or suffered disappointing sales at launch. There can be many reasons for that, which we’ll explore case by case. Some of the titles below only became more visible and widely recommended years later thanks to word of mouth, ports to new platforms, discounts, sequels, or players simply looking back and realizing what they had missed. Let’s take a look at open-world RPGs that only found real traction or cult status years after their launch.
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One of the cleanest modern examples, even Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire’s developers don’t understand why nobody played the sequel. Despite excellent reviews and being a direct follow-up to an already established CRPG from a prominent developer, Deadfire sold notably worse than the original and fell far short of expectations, with early numbers reportedly almost six times lower. Its poor performance left Obsidian unsure whether the series could continue at all. The studio eventually returned to the world of Eora with the first-person RPG Avowed.
While it’s hard to say that Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire became extremely popular or iconic after the dust settled, it remains one of the finest modern open-world CRPGs and is almost incapable of disappointing fans of the genre. From a vast archipelago to explore to strong writing, deep character building, and complex party relationships, Deadfire delivers everything you might crave from an old-school CRPG made by a team of Obsidian’s caliber.
Like Deadfire, Xenoblade Chronicles X wasn’t the start of a new series, but instead launched as a standalone spinoff to the already acclaimed and popular original game. While Xenoblade Chronicles X wasn’t a downright commercial flop, it was trapped for almost a decade as a Wii U exclusive – one of the least successful consoles in history. As a result, the game simply couldn’t reach the full audience that may have been interested in trying this unique open-world RPG, reportedly selling fewer than a million copies during its first year.
Only a decade later, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition got its chance at a true second coming with its Nintendo Switch launch. As one of Nintendo’s most ambitious open-world RPGs, the game rightfully enjoyed a new wave of acclaim and recognition, with critics and players alike enjoying its rich world and combat, unique science-fantasy setting, and an array of side quests and activities that can take well over 100 hours to complete.
Outward is another game that wasn’t an outright failure at launch, especially given its borderline-AA scope, experimental and uncompromising nature, and modest sales expectations. Despite the lack of marketing and a tiny team whose earlier releases included GoD Factory: Wingmen (a game that truly nobody played), Outward’s promise of a challenging world with great freedom attracted fans of the genre, resulting in a pretty solid opening. Still, it was only the start for an unexpected sleeper hit that remained relevant for years.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/best-open-world-rpg-games-nobody-played-at-launch/
