2023 TechRaptor Awards - Best Evolving Game

Live service games get a bad rap, but there are a ton of games that do the job well. There's also a lot of games that get a ton of love and support without being live service. This year we felt several did a particularly great job, so here is our winner of 2023.

Here are the nominees for TechRaptor's 2023 Best Evolving Game Award for outstanding continued development on an existing game.

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Deep Rock Galactic
• Final Fantasy XIV
• Fortnite
• Halo Infinite

Check out here for our other award categories and nominees.

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Third Place - Final Fantasy XIV

Developer: Square Enix | Release Date: September 30th, 2010

Written by Erren Van Duine

Of the handful of games that continue to evolve, Final Fantasy XIV strives to prove year after year that it’s among the best. With just over two years since the launch of Endwalker, the expansion that capped off a ten-year behemoth of a story, the wealth of content has persisted. For players, that end was just the beginning of something new.  

Now with the announcement and subsequent launch of Dawntrail expected over the upcoming Summer, Square Enix is doubling down aiming to push Final Fantasy XIV to further heights. We already know about the new jobs classes; the new locations and the new characters being drawn up for version 7.0. There will be plenty of new music and a hefty graphics update to boot.

Because of these additions, there’s good reason to believe Dawntrail might just be their biggest expansion yet – it’s at least warming up to kick off a whole new era, one that will hopefully encompass another ten years in the world of Etheirys (the world FFXIV takes place in) and beyond.

With the promise of a new world across the borders of the in-game continent of Eorzea, there’s plenty of excitement to be had that will continue cementing this storied MMORPG in the evolving game category. Certainly, it doesn’t look to be leaving it any time soon.

Second Place - Cyberpunk 2077

Developer: CD Projekt RED | Release Date: December 10th, 2020

Written by Austin Suther

Cyberpunk 2077's evolution the past few years has been nothing short of remarkable. It initially launched in late 2020 and received widespread criticism over its buggy and unfinished state. Thankfully, CD Projekt RED was determined to fix Cyberpunk 2077’s glaring flaws.

While issues were fixed throughout the years, 2023 saw the culmination of their efforts come into fruition with Update 2.0. This gargantuan update fixed even more bugs and glitches, but perhaps most importantly, it overhauled a staggering amount of mechanics.

With brand new perks and abilities, vehicle combat, a revamped police system, and numerous other fixes, Cyberpunk 2077 has, frankly, become one of the most impressive video games we’ve seen.

Winner - Fortnite

Developer: Epic Games | Release Date: September 26th, 2017

Written by Samiee "Gutterpunk" Tee

In the wake of a rather tumultuous year for Epic Games, which saw court battles, lay-offs, and just general shenanigans from CEO Tim Sweeney, its now-flagship title Fortnite was in the crosshairs for fear of becoming stale, 6 years since its initial release as “Save The World”.

The result couldn’t be further from the expected outcome. What we got were a slew of mechanical improvements and switch-ups, continuing surrealist crossovers for brands all over the place, and a map that kept giving bigger and better firefights. Even with all of its fancy tricks stripped off in the face of its “Fortnite OG” season, it briefly gave us a reminder of why Fortnite became what it is now.

That’s not even including its constantly growing map-making tools providing for bounds of different content, even maps far removed from its third-person shooter counterpart. Sure, you could get a victory royale, but look at this! Someone’s tried making Phasmophobia, and that Xenomorph from Aliens keeps default dancing where the ghost is!

Like Roblox before it, Fortnite has become the new toybox and toolbox, providing those with the creative vision to succeed, and those with the inquisitive mind to discover.