Blue Protocol is an anime style MMORPG set in the vibrant world of Regnus. With a weapon-based class system, Blue Protocol boasts action combat gameplay and many gear crafting features.
Publisher: Amazon Games (Global ex JP) Bandai Namco (JP) Playerbase: TBD Type: Anime MMORPG Release Date: 2023 Pros: +Distinct visual style. +Voice acted main story quest. +Arenas, world bosses, and other group content. Cons: -Limited information available. -Multiple delays. -No PvP.
Palia is a community simulation MMO set in a world of high fantasy. Make social bonds, cook, fish, garden, and so much more! Think of Palia as a Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley MMO. Create your own adventure in this cozy open world game.
Publisher: Singularity 6 Playerbase: Medium Type: Social MMO Release Date: August 10, 2023 (Open Beta) Pros: +Relaxing, cooperative gameplay. +Multiple life skills. +In depth crafting. +Persistent world elements. Cons: -No voice acting on NPC dialogue. -Generic NPCs. -Many housing items aren't interactible.
Hytale is a sandbox fantasy game where players can shape the world block by block. Create custom minigames, go on adventures with friends, and create the world of your dreams!
Publisher: Riot Games Playerbase: TBD Type: Sandbox MMO Release Date: 2023 (planned) Pros: +Shape the world around you. +Powerful creator tools. +Competitive and cooperative gameplay. +RPG elements & a sense of progression. Cons: -Delayed release schedule. -Dated visuals.
Ravendawn Online is a 2D isometric fantasy MMORPG inspired by the classic MMOs of the 1990s. Step into an open sandbox experience where players pursue their own adventures for fame and glory!
Publisher: Living Phoenix Entertainment Playerbase: TBD Type: Isometric MMORPG Release Date: December 2022 (planned) Pros: +Unique art style. +Low system requirements. +Player driven economy. Cons: -Retro feel may limit appeal.
An official post published on February 16, 2022 announced that Royal Crown would be shutting down on April 28, 2022. Released on February 23, 2021 Royal Crown was a PC/Mobile multiplatform Battle Royale title with fantasy and RPG elements.
The game was published by Line and enjoyed some success during its initial launch window, with the concurrent Steam player count peaking above 5000. Matches tended to be smaller than other Battle Royales at 30 players per match. The game often filled slots with bots with poor AI and laughable names.
Players still have some time to enjoy the game before the sunset date. The cash shop closes on February 24 and the servers themselves will stay open until April 28, 2022.
The Wagadu Chronicles is an African inspired fantasy MMORPG with a strong emphasis on classic roleplaying elements. Designed alongside a D&D 5th Edition compatible tabletop roleplaying experience, The Wagadu Chronicles promises detailed character and world building features.
Publisher: Twin Drums Playerbase: TBD Type: Fantasy MMORPG Release Date: December 2022 (planned) Pros: +Unique African setting. +Strong emphasis on world building. +Player driven economy. Cons: -Limited information available. -No PvP content initially planned.
The story of New World’s successful launch and immediate crash is by now well documented. Amazon’s first big launch title was (and still is) plagued by bugs, missing content, and balance issues. From a high of over 900,000 concurrent players, New World now sits at an average daily player count of 13,600 with no floor in sight (as of June, 2022). The stellar launch of Lost Ark, a Korean MMORPG for which Amazon serves as publisher, is bound to continue siphoning away New World players.
What is less discussed in this saga is just how much money Amazon has lavished on New World and how little it got in return for its troubles. In order to get a clear understanding, a brief summary of Amazon Game Studios is in order. Amazon’s foray into games started in 2011 with the release of the Amazon Appstore. A series of unremarkable mobile and Facebook web games were then released between 2012-2018. The studio’s first PC title, Breakaway was canceled in 2018 with its development team shifting to the hero shooter Crucible and to New World. 2019 saw the release of The Grand Tour Game for PS4/XB1. That title proved a failure and was removed from retail and digital store fronts soon after. Multiple unnamed projects were canceled that same year including a project codenamed Intensity which was to be a Fortnite inspired Battle Royale. An earlier project, codenamed Nova that was to be a League of Legends inspired MOBA was canceled, in 2017. 2020 saw the cancellation of Crucible following a brief but disastrous launch. 2020 also saw the cancellation of an unnamed Lord of the Rings themed MMORPG that Amazon had been involved with. That left New World as the studio’s last remaining named project.
With multiple teams reassigned to help with New World, there is no question that this was Amazon’s flagship video game title. It's important to emphasize this because credible reports by insiders have stated that Amazon is spending $500 million a year on its Games studio. That figure does not include Twitch, or the video game streaming service Luna which are managed by a separate division. While no official figures are available, that means New World has likely burned through at a minimum $200 million during its development. The more likely figure is $500 million or more, considering the game was first announced in 2016 but did not see release until September 2021. Even if we take the ultra conservative figure of $200 million, that would make New World among the most expensive MMORPGs ever produced, surpassed only by the controversial crowd-funded project Star Citizen.
What makes that astronomical development budget even more startling is the fact that New World is rather feature poor for a MMORPG. Originally envisioned as a PvP focused survival game like Rust, New World went through many revisions before it became the game it is today. Early design decisions were difficult to adjust and some of those limitations can be seen in the finished game. Monster designs are notoriously limited, with the same few models being recycled across every region. Servers have a laughably small population cap of around 2000 despite New World having first party access to Amazon’s AWS cloud service and Lumberyard game engine. The rapid transition from a PvP focused game to a standard PvE focused MMORPG with consensual PvP options proved to be both expensive and incomplete.
Interviews with insiders pin some of the blame for cost overruns and delayed schedules on the game engine itself. Forked from a licensed version of CryEngine, Lumberyard lacked both documentation and a pool of developers with experience coding on the platform. Star Citizen is perhaps the only other title still committed to using Lumberyard outside Amazon’s first party initiatives. Needless to say, development progress on that title is not a vote of confidence for Lumberyard in the eyes of outside observers. Even Lumberyard itself seems to be largely sidelined by Amazon. In July of 2021 Amazon open sourced much of Lumberyard and transferred it to the Linux Foundation under the new name Open 3D Engine (O3DE). Making the engine available to the open source community is certainly commendable, but hints at Amazon’s failure to turn the game engine into a commercially viable product that can compete against rivals like the Unreal and Unity engines.
The lone bright star in Amazon Game Studio’s constellation is now Lost Ark which has had the biggest MMORPG launch in recent memory. Peaking at over 1,300,000 concurrent players in the days after its release, Lost Ark now ranks second only to PUBG in Steam’s top player count of all time list. Amazon’s experience in first party game development has been a humbling experience, but that is a risk one takes when trying to run before learning to walk. Perhaps several years as a game publisher will give Amazon the experience and confidence it needs to wade back into game development in the years to come. But by then the sun may have already set on New World.
Living Phoenix Entertainment announced a fork of their in-development Tibia-inspired 2.5D MMORPG on January 22, 2022. Dubbed Ravendawn Eternal, the game will be a blockchain-powered fork of Ravendawn Online.
Ravendawn Online is expected to release first and will be free of NFT and Blockchain elements. Many gamers, including many of the original crowdfunding backers of Ravendawn Online, have no interest in mixing NFT or 'play to earn' elements into the retro-styled MMORPG. Rather than shoehorn this latest gaming craze into their already existing title, Living Phoenix Entertainment has taken a more accommodative approach by offering a forked version of the title dubbed Ravendawn Eternal.
Both titles will run the same core game, but with widely different approaches. The developers claim their foray into the NFT/Blockchain market will greatly expand their funding abilities, to the mutual benefit of even those who stick to the original version of the game. To that end, all 'stretch' goal features are now unlocked and in the process of being added to the game.
With so much investor and player interest in what is being dubbed 'Web3' technologies, there's little doubt that Living Phoenix Entertainment has managed to attract considerable funding to make this fork possible. What's most exciting for players is that Ravendawn Eternal will be free to play from day 1. Most Blockchain games require players to make large upfront purchases before they can start playing. Axie Infinity is a good example, requiring players to purchase 3 pets dubbed 'Axies' before they can participate. Ravendawn Eternal bills itself as a 'Play & Earn' MMORPG, with a player-driven economy and ability to earn crypto tokens via in-game activities. The closest example we have of a similiar concept today would be Mir 4 which has seen enormous success both on PC via Steam and on mobile.
Both versions of Ravendawn are scheduled to launch later this year, so if the idea of combining retro graphics and gameplay with modern Blockchain technology sounds appealing to you, be sure to keep an eye on this one!
Heroes of Newerth, also known as HON, is shutting down on June 20, 2022. Developed by S2 Games, HON was one of the first standalone MOBA titles. Drawing inspiration from the Warcraft 3 custom map Defense of the Ancients (DOTA), Heroes of Newerth initially released as a buy-to-play game on May 12, 2010. The game went free to play on July 29, 2011.
Heroes of Newerth enjoyed a brief window of popularity as Dota players migrated to the new service which offered better graphics, a reconnect feature, ranked play, and other features that the original Warcraft 3 custom game lacked. The release of Dota 2 sent Heroes of Newerth into a chronic decline that has lasted nearly a decade.
The official closure announcement was made on Facebook and includes a schedule of events leading up to the final closure date of June 20, 2022. The most prominent of these lead-up dates is December 31, 2021 as no new accounts can be created after this date. Veterans and new players alike can look forward to 10x increased Silver Coin awards for matchmaking games, and a 4x Diamond Chest drop rate.
Ubisoft revealed their NFT (non-fungible token) project on December 7th, 2021. Titled Ubisoft Quartz, the goal of the project is to allow players to earn, trade, and sell in-game cosmetic items.
Each item will have a serial number, making them one of a kind. Additionally, the names of all previous owners of each item will be permanently embedded into the details of each item.
The company has made the first three items in the Ghost Recon Breakpoint collection free for all users to claim. This is a great way to get users to familiarize themselves with the new system that is still in beta. Ubisoft has a glossy webpage and Youtube video explaining how the Quartz system works so players interested in learning more or claiming their first batch of free NFTs should check it out.
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