Huh, are we really almost there with Tarisland? The game is already out in China, and it’s launching worldwide next week, complete with Lady Paladins? These neverending betas for crowdfunded games have clearly poisoned my brain, so I cannot see that and think it’s anything other than blindingly fast, but I guess when your business model is “actually make a game that people might pay money for” instead of “throw money into a pit based on a dream I had about game design so I might later set it ablaze,” you have more incentive to actually launch.
Speaking of launches and terrible segues, Wayfinder rolled out its large-scale MMO-dectomy Echoes patch. It seems to be all right, actually. We also got a chance to have some hands-on time with Once Human during the Summer Games Fest (no word on what you should do if you’re once, twice, three times a human), and Havenhold came in like a wrecking ball sounding… well… a bit like Wayfinder pre-launch if we’re going to be entirely honest. Let’s see how that goes.
In other news, me sleepy. In other beta news… we have an entire roundup for that just below, so you can check that out for all the beta news this week that’s fit to print. And below that we have our full list of games in testing, which we encourage you to take a look at as well as letting us know if something slipped to a new test phase without us noticing. We will be thankful, but hopefully I will be more thankful after I actually get some sleep. Dare to dream, I know.
Pax Dei releases new in-engine trailer, talks about its business model and housing plots
Pax Dei bluntly outlines what it is – and is not – ahead of next week’s early access release
Star Citizen suspends over 600 accounts over ‘illicitly gained’ credits earned thanks to an exploit
Stormforge is a new multiplayer survival sandbox inspired by D&D and The Stormlight Archive
Tarisland has officially launched in China ahead of next week’s global rollout
Project Gorgon lowers base price, offers new character slot DLC
SGF 2024: Aloft is a cozy Ghibli-inspired PvE-centric survival sandbox in the sky
With June patch inbound, Project Gorgon is safe and will see content through at least early 2025
SGF 2024: Hands-on with PvE-centric sci-fi horror survival shooter MMO Once Human
Kickstarted tiny MMO Book of Travels has launched its promised combat revamp
SGF 2024: Path of Exile 2 is fun and satisfying, but it’s still no cakewalk
Wayfinder returns to Steam today with buy-to-play Echoes update and slick new animated feature
‘Multiplayer conquest adventure’ MMO Havenhold readies an alpha test for next week
BitCraft outlines the Empire system coming in its second alpha as a main source of monetization
EVE Vanguard brings a new map, customizable weapons, and new missions in June 20 test
Progress Bar: Wayfinder is in a much better place as an offline game
SGF 2024: Airship sandbox Echoes of Elysium releases new trailer about the fun of sky captaincy
The Quinfall offers a video overview of farming, animal husbandry, and building a personal plot
Eternal Tombs shares a teaser trailer for its next test, resolves to make it ‘the best MMORPG possible’
Pantheon Rise of the Fallen heralds the arrival of Summoner and Ranger classes in its next test build
Corepunk rallies for another alpha test attempt in July following its borked spring alpha
5v5 hero shooter FragPunk starts taking names for a Steam closed alpha scheduled for June 27
Tibia dev previews guild features for its new zombie MMO Persist Online
Here’s how to get in on Friday’s Monsters and Memories four-hour stress test
Lost Skies recaps shipbuilding, sky bosses, and the damageability of everything in the game
Scars of Honor highlights visual progress on environments, weather effects, and models in June dev update
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 often 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, nor will games that are NFT/blockchain scams; we also do not list expansions, with occasional exceptions. Finally, we’ll mark games “malingering” if they’ve been in a certain tier of development for a long time with no clear path to launch.
Open testing
Closed testing
Paid access
Legit MMORPG
Multiplayer
Malingering33 Immortals: Closed testing
Abyss: Early access
The Adventurer’s Domain Online: Early access
Aero Tales Online: Early access
Age of Water: Early access
Anvil Empires: Intermittent alpha
Arcane Waters: Early access
Arcfall: Pre-alpha
ARK 2: Paid early access
Ashes of Creation: Alpha two in planning
Ashfall: Closed beta
ASKA: Closed beta, early access on June 20th
Battlebit: Early access
Battle Crush: Early access June 27th
Bellatores: Closed testing
Bellwright: Early access, developers of abandoned Last Oasis
Bitcraft: Alpha 2 on June 17th, 2024
Blue Protocol: Launching worldwide in 2024, technical tests starting November 8th
Book of Travels: Early access
Brighter Shores: Launch planned for Q3 2024, MMO scale not yet clarified
Camelot Unchained: Closed beta, planning to launch in late 2025
Chronicles of Elyria: Pre-alpha, again
Chrono Odyssey: Closed testing, plans for 2025
Cinderstone Online: Closed beta
City of Titans: Alpha
Concord: Launch for August 23rd, beta planned but unannounced
Coreborn: Nations of the Ultracore: Early access
Corepunk: Early access planned for 2024, second alpha delayed yet again
Craftopia: Early access
The Crew Motorfest: Closed testing
Dark and Darker: Paid early access, legal troubles.
Dark and Light: Early access (abandoned?)
Darkbind: Closed beta (probably abandoned?)
Dreamworld: Pre-alpha
Dune Awakening: Closed testing, signups now
ECO: Early access, full launch planned in 2024
Eleven: Closed alpha
Enlisted: Reinforced: Early access delayed for an indeterminate time
Enshrouded: Early access
Eternal Tombs: Closed beta in April
EVE Vanguard: Second beta ongoing
Evercore Heroes: Paid testing, updates stopping with a focus on a redesign
EverCraft Online: Weekend-long open test starts April 19th
Final Stand: Ragnarok: Early access (officially, really)
The First Descendant: Final test on May 25th
Fractured Online: Paid early access, launch this summer
Fractured Veil: Early access
FragPunk: Closed alpha June 27th
Frozen Flame: Early access
Havenhold: Second alpha June 20th
Ilysia: Early access
Inferna: Early access
Kurtzpel: Closed beta
Legendarium Online: Paid alpha access
Lost Skies: Pre-alpha
Marvel Rivals: Closed alpha
Monsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha
Mortal Exodus: Closed testing
Nightingale: Early access
Noah’s Heart: Beta
Odd Giants: Alpha
Once Human: Closed beta finally starting after delays
Osiris: New Dawn: Back from the dead, not on Steam any longer
Outlaws of the Old West: Early access
Palia: Open beta
Palworld: Early access
Pantheon: Backer alpha, 247 canceled
Past Fate: Closed testing
Path of Exile 2: Alpha June 2024
Pax Dei: Closed alpha
Perfect New World: Closed beta
Pow Vista: Open beta (mobile)
Predecessor: Free-to-play open beta, yet another Paragon do-over
Project Crawl: Closed testing
Project F4E: Closed testing
Project Genom: Closed alpha (servers offline, abandoned?)
Project Gorgon: Early access beta
Project Loki: Closed beta
Project ST: Closed testing, open event ended
Prosperous Universe: Early access
Quinfall: Beta delayed to 2024
Return Alive: Closed beta
Reign of Guilds: Early access
SamuTale: “Paid closed alpha early access” according to the developer, which is just early access, come on dude
Seed: Active development
Seekers of Skyveil: Continuing alpha testing
Shadow’s Kiss: Early access (but read this first)
Ship of Heroes: Beta testing
Ships at Sea: Early access
Sky: Children of Light: Open early access
Smite 2: Signups open, second alpha weekend ongoing
Soulframe: “Pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha” testing wrapped up
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
Starbase: Early access open alpha
Tarisland: Launches June 21st
Throne & Liberty: Western launch delayed into 2024, live in South Korea
Tombstone: Closed testing, release planned for this year
Tribes 3: Rivals: Early access
Trimurti Online: Stress testing, open beta February 13th
Valheim: Early access
Valiance Online: Closed beta
Vindictus: Defying Fate: Open testing
WalkScape: Closed beta until June 15th
Waven Early access
We welcome additions and corrections to this list; send your info our way via tips!
Yes, MMO gamers, you too can perform the unpaid quality-control work otherwise known as game testing! Check out Massively Overpowered’s Betawatch every week for a run-down of MMOs that are still on the road to launch, even if they appear to have set up a permanent residence in a shed called early access.
