The Effects of “Ship Now, Fix Later” on Player Trust and Game Quality

In 2024, the video game industry saw its revenue soar to $282 billion. Despite this impressive figure, growth is being overshadowed by an increasing trend of releasing unfinished games that rely on post-launch patches to meet even the basic standards. This “ship now, fix later” approach, often driven by pressures to meet corporate deadlines and an ambition to support live-service models, is causing a shift in development priorities and eroding the trust of players.

High-profile missteps like the launches of Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020 and Battlefield 2042 in 2021 highlight this concerning trend. Cyberpunk required a hefty 43 GB update right from day one but still ended up facing legal challenges and got removed from the PlayStation Store because of game-breaking bugs on consoles. Battlefield 2042, on the other hand, hit the market missing core features, like voice chat, causing a massive 75% drop in Steam players within just three months.

The rush to meet financial goals often leads to these problematic releases. Take Ubisoft’s XDefiant, which was shut down by June 2025 due to its failure to maintain a player base, causing 277 layoffs. Errors like these are costly, not just financially but in terms of reputation. According to a survey by PCMag in 2022, 68% of gamers now opt to wait several months after a game’s release before purchasing it, reflecting the wariness bred by these issues.

Even the iGaming sector leans heavily on updates, but for different reasons. Here, updates keep engagement levels up by introducing fresh offers and premium slot experiences in online casinos such as sia casinos. Online casinos and sportsbooks capitalize on AI-driven personalization to adapt bonuses, game options, and tournament settings swiftly. Unlike the video game sector, the iGaming industry uses updates proactively to enhance player experiences instead of fixing problems.

The trend towards games-as-a-service (GaaS) has cemented ongoing updates as the norm. Games like Fortnite and Apex Legends allocate a significant portion of their development efforts—up to 70%—toward post-launch seasons. This GaaS model prioritizes long-term monetization over pristine initial launches. It works well for major franchises; for instance, Monster Hunter World by Capcom upped its player base by 72% with free updates like Iceborne. Yet, smaller studios can find themselves strained—while games like Genshin Impact successfully generated $3.7 billion in 2023 thanks to steady updates, many others don’t survive the unsustainable development costs live-service games demand.

This heavy reliance on post-launch problem-solving is wearing away at player trust. PCMag’s 2022 survey revealed that almost 70% of gamers now wait for reviews or significant updates before considering a purchase, a marked increase from 45% in 2018. Frustrations boil over from seeing games fall short of expectations at launch and enduring increasingly bloated day-one patches that can exceed 50 GB—especially bothersome for players with limited storage or slower internet speeds.

Oftentimes, the pressure to meet quarterly financial targets fuels this “ship now, fix later” mentality. Some studios are breaking the mold—Nintendo, for example, is known for delaying titles like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023) to ensure quality before release. Trust is rebuildable—but it requires developers to focus on delivering well-polished products at launch, using updates to enhance rather than repair.

With the global gaming market expected to grow from $262 billion in 2023 to an estimated $312 billion by 2027, studios have a golden opportunity to align their strategies with what players truly expect. Striking the right balance between financial objectives and player satisfaction will be crucial for sustainable, long-term success in the gaming industry.