Remember when Ashes of Creation showed up out of nowhere? We sure do, and now it’s hit Kickstarter. It’s also hitting stretch goals left and right after hitting its funding goal quite quickly. We’ve even got a pair of interviews about it, one regarding the game in general and the other covering its CEO’s business past and ambitions. So, yeah, that’s been the big thing this week.
That might be the big centerpiece story, but there are always more things going on in the beta sphere. Heck, a lot of them feel pretty meaty on their own. Check this out:
- Kritika Online is selling founder packs and will kick off its first closed beta on May 24th. I had a chance to play it on the show floor at PAX East and quite liked it, for whatever that’s worth.
- Your character name will be tied to your account name in Crowfall, so let this be a warning to you: If you act like a jerk, people can track you down. Eventually. Probably.
- Some leaks about the next Guild Wars 2 expansion have taken place, and they hint at new maps and new specializations. They might be legitimate or elaborate hoaxes, but we’ll know more in the near future (we hope).
- The next Legends of Aria test has been delayed until May 12th, with a stream on May 8th showing off elements of the next test. So you’ll have to wait a bit longer to speculate about the Knight.
- Albion Online has retooled its Hellgate PvP/PvE maps as part of its preparation for launch. Since they’re meant to be open PvP arenas with lots of roaming monsters, that’s a rather in-depth balancing act.
- Last on the list, Darkfall: Rise of Agon (one of the two revival/reboot projects for the original Darkfall) is launching out of beta today. Let’s see how that one goes over.
That’s it! Oh, except for all of the stuff on the list below. So that’s it for everything not on the list. Also, some of the stuff on the list. Look, just check out the list below and let us know if something slipped into a new test phase while we weren’t looking, all right?
As always, we consider an MMO to be in open testing if it features free, public signups and will server wipe prior to launch. An MMO is marked in closed testing if it’s running a private test phase that cannot freely be accessed by the general public; it’s usually under NDA as well. Early access and crowdfunded MMOs whose tests we deem legitimate will be included. So-called “open beta” soft-launch MMOs with cash shops, no sign of launch in the west, or limited interest for our readers will not be listed; we also do not list expansions, with occasional exceptions.
AdventureQuest 3D: Open beta
Albion Online: Closed beta, launching July 17th
Boundless: Donor alpha
Camelot Unchained:Â Backer alpha
Children of Ur: Open alpha
Cloud Pirates: Early access
Crossout: Closed beta
Crowfall: Backer pre-alpha
Cube World: Closed alpha
DayZ: Early access
Divergence Online:Â Alpha
Edengrad: Early access
Eleven:Â Closed alpha
Ever, Jane: Open beta
Fragmented: Early access
Gigantic: Open beta
Gloria Victis: Early Access on Steam
H1Z1:Â Paid early access, split into two games
HEX:Â Unofficial open beta
Kritika Online: First closed beta May 24th
LawBreakers: Closed beta weekends
Legends of Aria:Â Alpha, formerly known as Shards Online
Life is Feudal: Closed beta
Line of Defense: Early access, removed from Steam
Master x Master: Alpha test
Mu Legend: Closed beta
MyDream: Closed testing open to donors
Origins of Malu:Â Development moving forward on battleground experience, MMO suspended
Osiris: New Dawn: Early access
Paladins: Closed beta
Paragon: Open beta
Pathfinder Online: Subscription “early enrollment”
Project Genom: Closed alpha
Project Gorgon: Free, open testing
SamuTale: Closed alpha
Sea of Thieves: Technical alpha
Secret World Legends: Closed beta
SkySaga: Open beta soft launch approaching, date not yet announced
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
Stash: Backer alpha
The Black Death: Early access alpha
The Culling: Early access testing
The Exiled: Early access; formerly Das Tal
The Repopulation: Closed alpha
Tree of Life: Open beta
Tribal Wars 2: Open testing
TUG: Steam early access alpha
Valiance Online: Alpha testing
Wild Terra: Steam early access
Worlds Adrift: Early access planned for Q1 2017
