Ghost Recon Breakpoint
When Ghost Recon Wildlands was first showcased, right up to its first beta and eventual release, there was plenty of skepticism. The series had always been known for its linear, stealth-oriented gameplay, squad play and realism. Now all of a sudden it was turned into yet another open-world sandbox. The fact that it was teeming with bugs, glitches and other issues up to launch didn’t help.
But eventually, fans embraced it for what it offered. Playing on higher difficulties with friends allowed for somewhat replicating the brutal stealth of the older games, and the sheer amount of stuff you could do was also nice. Subsequent updates that added Ghost Mode, Tier 1 Mode, and various crossovers with Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six Siege also helped. Ghost Recon Wildlands, for all of its initial faults, was actually a fun co-op shooter.
When Ghost Recon Breakpoint was first revealed, it appeared to be following in those footsteps but leaning more into survival mechanics. Then the developer confirmed that there would be rarities for guns. Also, no AI teammates – you were completely solo this time. The beta was limited and because it was a beta, one assumed the full game would fix the various issues.
Unfortunately, Breakpoint was broken in multiple ways at launch, from numerous bugs and server issues to problematic performance. Design-wise, it was a huge step back, presenting a terrible story with a throwaway antagonist; numerous “drones” to fight which acted as little more than bullet sponges; a social hub and copious amounts of microtransactions; and of course, the aforementioned loot system, which was kind of moot since you could one-shot headshot human enemies.
Such was the disappointing sales for Breakpoint that they actually contributed to a two-year low for Ubisoft’s stock while causing several other games to be delayed for the sake of polish. It would receive numerous updates and improvements, including the return of AI teammates, but it was still considered a massive step down from its predecessor.
