This week has brought some pretty terrible news for fans of Gigantic, as developer Motiga has had to lay off a significant portion of the development staff due to a lack of funds. The studio claims that it’s aggressively negotiating for more capital, with the intent being to rehire those laid off, but only time will tell if this plan comes to fruition.
Depressing, huh? Yeah, let’s move on to other beta news from the past week.
- How do you feel about giant combat robots in hot pink? A Japanese squad-based tactical third-person shooter, Figureheads, will be entering open beta later this month, and you can indeed have a giant combat robot in hot pink. The world is a wonderful place at times.
- “Oh, I don’t want to have a third-person shooter in a robot,” you say? Well, perhaps you’d like to catch up on Eternal Crusade‘s discussion of the Eldar faction.
- “No, I prefer shooters in a more modern era.” Aren’t you picky? At least you can look forward to taking part in The Division‘s open beta once it kicks off on February 19th.
- “That’s a little too modern for me.” What do you want? Do you just want to play Overwatch, is that it? Because that title has just returned to beta with new modes and progression systems.
- “Actually, I think I’d just settle for a foreign traditional MMO.” Fine, then, check out what Bless Online looks like with its current beta endgame.
- “But why aren’t you mentioning Pumpkin Online?” I’m glad you asked, hypothetical reader. This is what’s going on with Pumpkin Online.
That was a wild tour, but there’s still a full list on down below if you’d like to check that out. Did something slip into a new testing state whilst we were paying attention to other things? Well, please let us know in the comments, then.
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.
Albion Online: Closed beta
Ascent: The Space Game: Steam early access
Auto Club Revolution: Closed beta
Beasts of Prey:Â Early access alpha
Black Desert:Â Korean and Japanese open beta, North American closed beta, launch March 3rd
Boundless: Donor alpha
Camelot Unchained:Â Backer alpha
Chronicles: Runescape Legends: Closed beta
Crowfall: Backer pre-alpha
Das Tal: Alpha expected in April
DayZ: Early access
Divergence Online:Â Alpha
Dungeon Fighter Online: Open testing
Eleven:Â Closed alpha
Eternal Crusade: Early access play on Steam
EVE: Valkyrie: Pre-alpha registration for EVE and DUST players
Ever, Jane: Closed beta
Gloria Victis: Donor pre-alpha
H1Z1:Â Paid early access, splitting into two halves
HEX:Â Unofficial open beta
Kingdom Online: Closed beta
Landmark: Paid closed beta, cash shop active
Life is Feudal: Early access beta
Line of Defense: Early access
MyDream: Closed testing open to donors
Nosgoth: Open beta
Origins of Malu:Â Combat module in early access
Otherland: Early access
Overwatch: Closed beta
Paragon: Closed beta
Pathfinder Online: Subscription “early enrollment”
Project Genom: Closed alpha
Project Gorgon: Free, open testing
Shards Online: Pre-alpha
Shroud of the Avatar: Steam early access, backer testing
SkySaga: Ongoing NA and UK alpha events
Star Citizen: Backer pre-alpha
Stash: Backer alpha
The Repopulation: Alpha offline, currently on development hiatus due to Hero Engine issues
Tree of Life: Paid early access
Tree of Savior: English beta testing events
Tribal Wars 2: Open testing
TUG: Steam early access alpha
Valiance Online: Pre-alpha testing
Venus Rising: Closed beta (adult/NSFW), currently on development hiatus due to Hero Engine issues