Things had looked bleak for Gigantic. Setting the game up as being only on Windows 10 and Xbox One hadn’t exactly bolstered its playerbase, and developer Motiga had to go through more than one round of layoffs. But the future of the game does indeed seem secure now that Perfect World has signed on as a publisher, which extends the game’s support to Win64 operating systems as well. Happy news is good news!
We also say farewell to Tree of Savior this week with the game’s official launch as a free-to-play title. Goodbye to one of the most arboreal titles we’ll see all year.
Meanwhile, the rest of the week was… well, lousy with beta news, let’s just say it.
- If you’ve got a hankering for some turn-based antics, Atlas Reactor invites you to come check it out this weekend. Everyone gets in for a small cover charge of absolutely nothing. It’s win-win, except for the people who made bets that the game wouldn’t have an open test this weekend, in which case you should probably stop making ridiculous bets. It’s also already in early access, if that helps motivate you.
- World of Warcraft: Legion has finally hit its beta testing, with launch just a couple of months away. Still, beta! It’s a grand time if you’re invited.
- When will you get to play even the earliest test versions of Pantheon? Not for a thousand upon a thousand generations. Or maybe by the end of the year. Depending on what sort of generations we’re talking about, both might even be true. Like fruit flies.
- The development team behind Crowfall is looking to push some features back and move forward with a soft launch so that more people can get in and play the game while other features get more polished. Which means less testing on the game before you get to start playing, take that as you will.
- As a historical footnote, everyone in the world logged into the Overwatch open beta. And then some pets logged in. Or maybe it was more like 10 million people. Still a lot.
And yes, the list is still down below, as it is every week. Is something wrong on that list? Let us know down in the comments, would you kindly?
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.
Albion Online: Closed beta
Beasts of Prey:Â Early access alpha
Boundless: Donor alpha
Camelot Unchained:Â Backer alpha
Children of Ur: Open alpha
Chronicles: Runescape Legends: Closed beta
Crossout: Closed beta
Crowfall: Backer pre-alpha
Cube World: Closed alpha
Das Tal: Ongoing alpha tests
DayZ: Early access
Divergence Online:Â Alpha
Dungeon Fighter Online: Open testing
Eleven:Â Closed alpha
Eternal Crusade: Early access play on Steam
Ever, Jane: Closed beta
Fragmented: Closed backer beta
Gigantic: Closed beta
Gloria Victis: Donor pre-alpha
H1Z1:Â Paid early access, split into two games
HEX:Â Unofficial open beta
Landmark: Paid closed beta, cash shop active, launching in spring
LawBreakers: Closed alpha
Life is Feudal: Early access beta
Line of Defense: Early access, removed from Steam
MyDream: Closed testing open to donors
Origins of Malu:Â Development suspended
Otherland: Early access
Overwatch: Launching May 24th
Paladins: Closed beta
Paragon: Early access
Pathfinder Online: Subscription “early enrollment”
Project Genom: Closed alpha
Project Gorgon: Free, open testing
Riders of Icarus: Closed beta
Shards Online: Pre-alpha
Shroud of the Avatar: Steam early access, backer testing
SkySaga: Ongoing NA and UK alpha events
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
Stash: Backer alpha
The Black Death: Early access alpha
The Culling: Early access testing
The Repopulation: Alpha offline, moving to the Unreal engine, survival spinoff Fragmented in early access
Tree of Life: Open beta
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
World of Warcraft: Legion: Closed beta, launching August 30th
