No Man's Sky – a cathartic experience. 7 big hits that almost got cancelled

The story of No Man's Sky's tumultuous release has been told many times before, but it usually focuses on the game's poor launch, unfulfilled promises, and the determination to restore the glory, and the announced features, of this ambitious project. Less often recalled is the fact that the game was not only repeatedly delayed, but also came inches away from being deleted. And the reasons were far more serious than the standard CFO's dilemma of whether the number of zeros will fit. That's because the Hello Games team was hit by a natural disaster.

For starters, it's also worth mentioning that the game's creator, Sean Murray, nearly opted out of the first presentation at the 2013 VGA. He was very disappointed with the internal reception of the trailer, so he had little incentive to show it publicly to millions. Event host Geoff Keighley somehow convinced him, explaining that the trailer was already integrated into the event agenda and would be presented anyway. Murray did appear, and it seemed that the response was universally positive.

Shortly thereafter – on Christmas Eve 2013 (probably just to add insult to injury) – Hello Games' offices were destroyed by a flooding. The team lost their office and lots of PC hardware, as well as some of the progress on the development. To top it off, the insurer refused to pay compensation. The future of No Man's Sky suddenly became bleak. Murray recalls that the blow was really hard, and that he himself was on the verge of abandoning the project. And he probably would have, had the game not been announced at the Game Awards just days before.

After the initial shock, however, the team scrambled to get it back together. Temporary, alternate HQ was found, and some people began working remotely. In some ways, the flood was even a positive event, as it bonded the team through this baptism of fire, or rather water, eventually resulting in better cooperation. It may not have been apparent right after release, but the state that No Man's Sky is in today is a testament to how tightly-knit and persistent a team Hello Games is.

1. No Man's Sky in our encyclopedia

Call of Duty – Zombies mode – it's fun, so let it stay

Zombies used to be all the rage in pop-culture, but blending it with World War 2 seemed kind of too out there to be compelling to the mainstream gamer. At least it seemed so to Treyarch and Activision executives when they found out that a group of unruly developers had created a zombie mode with its own map for Call of Duty: World at War– totally off their own bat, without a request or even permission!

Initially skeptical to the idea, Mark Lamia – the head of the studio – was willing to ban the development of the project. However, once the official word came to bin the zombie mode and convince devs to focus on core content, he refused. His people were able to convince him that the zombie gameplay just offered so much great fun. They accurately predicted that their shooter needed a bit of variety, as the World War II theme had already been pretty hackneyed back in 2008.

Activision, despite tacit approval for the development of the new mode, was not convinced by the idea, so they decided not to boast about it in promotional materials and make it a small, unlockable bonus. Even Mark Lamia liked it, as it made the mode a secret that players themselves discovered and advertised. And for Treyarch, it was a valuable lesson of risk taking. After all, the zombie mode has become one of the most cherished additions to Call of Duty.