If you thought we lost a lot of MMOs in 2014 and 2015, wait until you see 2016’s list.
It’s easy to shrug off some of these, like the non-MMORPGs, the games shutting down in far-flung countries, or even Hellgate, which sunsets and revives at least a dozen times a year now.
But others sting. Asheron’s Call, due to sunset in January, is probably the smallest MMORPG on the list, but it casts a mighty shadow over the genre and will be deeply missed by veterans. The cancellations of EverQuest Next and Revival still stings. PlanetSide had a long and storied run, while DUST 514 may yet live again. And our youngins will now miss out on introductory games like Super Hero Squad Online and LEGO Minifigures.
Farewell, old friends.
Abandoned crowdfunded MMO Greed Monger is apparently back in production - Just when you thought the Greed Monger drama was so 2015, now it's back. The crowdfunded MMO sandbox appeared to have gone belly-up last year when…
Dungeon Striker shutting down for the second time - It might not have the persistence of Hellgate: London, but Dungeon Striker has released and been shut down once before. Alas, its second lease on life…
City of Steam is shuttering on January 31st - In the heady days of yesteryear, we believed that removing the need to download a client would be the key to unlocking more people who wanted…
Hellgate is shutting down its last server in the world - Hellgate is one of those titles that never quite seems to die; the former Flagship title has been resurrected and shut down so many times that…
DUST 514 will sunset on PS3 in May, replaced by new PC FPS - CCP Games has just announced that it will be sunsetting its EVE-universe shooter DUST 514 on the PlayStation 3 platform on May 30th. The company is…
Star Trek Online is discontinuing its Mac client - [AL:STO]Star Trek Online is officially discontinuing support of its Mac client. Perfect World says that following the Mac client's recent struggles and the support required to…
Gunslinger Stratos Reloaded to sunset less than two months after its launch - Call it Gunslinger Stratos Unloaded. Square Enix's colorful action title Gunslinger Stratos Reloaded officially launched in Japan six days ago, and yet it's already been marked…
Return of Warrior, 9 Dragons, and Ragnarok Online China all shut down shortly - Every game is someone's favorite game. They might slip your mind from time to time, but there's someone out there for whom 9 Dragons was a…
Asker Online is closing down next month - Well, that did not last long. Only months after launching, Asker Online announced that it is shutting down on March 22nd. The action MMO featured elaborate…
Scarlet Blade will sunset next month - We're genuinely sorry to report that Aeria Games has announced an impending closure for the notoriously suggestive MMORPG Scarlet Blade. Aeria broke the sad news earlier today: "Scarlet Blade…
RuneScape’s DarkScape will sunset in March - Jagex is retiring RuneScape's DarkScape "experiment" at the end of March. "DarkScape offered an intriguing twist on the traditional RuneScape gameplay, and the experimental mode caught…
Final Fantasy XI prepares to shut down its console service - Stand at attention, players, and pay your respects. Final Fantasy XI is marching down its final weeks of operation on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2…
Daybreak has canceled EverQuest Next, Landmark is launching ‘this spring’ - Daybreak has officially canceled EverQuest Next. President Russell Shanks just broke the news on the official site this afternoon: To Our Daybreak Community, I’m writing today…
Daybreak is shutting down the EQ Worlds mobile app - Daybreak is shutting down its EverQuest franchise mobile app at the end of March. "We will be closing the EverQuest Worlds mobile app at the end…
PlanetSide 2 is shutting down in China - PlanetSide 2's global reach has shortened yet again, as the title will be ceasing operations in China as of May 31st. The MMOFPS launched in China…
The Warhammer curse strikes Dark Nexus Arena MOBA - Another Warhammer game bites the dust today, and it's a MOBA. Whitebox Interactive CEO Jonathan Falkowski told players it will be sunsetting Warhammer 40: Dark Nexus…
Revival’s development has been indefinitely suspended - We're sorry to report this afternoon that indie grimdark sandbox Revival is being put on indefinite hold. Illfonic's Adam "Snipehunter" Maxwell has posted that formal work on…
Nosgoth is shutting down at the end of May - Sad news today for fans of asymmetric vampire shooting games; Nosgoth, the multiplayer shooter based on the Legacy of Kain franchise, will be shutting down on…
Exclusive: Origins of Malu suspends development, seeks investors - These are the days when your job isn't much fun: When you report sad news in the MMOverse. Today's unhappy announcement is that the sandbox Origins…
Magika: Wizard Wars is shutting down in July - Come this summer, there will be one less MOBA vying for your attention. Paradox announced this past week that it will be shutting down Magicka: Wizard…
Square-Enix sunsets Lord of Vermilion MOBA in June - We're sorry to report today that Square-Enix is sunsetting Lord of Vermilion Arena. We first covered the MOBA, which was based on the Lord of Vermilion…
Darkfall has gone… dark - Darkfall -- the official version, not its up-and-coming player-run spinoffs -- has gone offline indefinitely, according to a new post on the official forums. Dear friends, We…
DUST 514 sunsets today - Back in February, CCP announced that it was sunsetting console shooter DUST 514 on May 30th -- and now that day has arrived. Players are saying…
Funcom is sunsetting LEGO Minifigures Online in September - This won't come as a surprise, but it'll still make you sad: Funcom is shutting down LEGO Minifigures Online this fall. The studio made it official…
TERA’s 2016 plans include the largest BAM ever; game to sunset in China - [AL:TERA]One of TERA's tentpole features is its crazy insane fights against plus-sized mobs, which it calls "big-ass monsters" (BAMs). Well if you think you've seen it…
R.I.P. PlanetSide - With barely a whisper in memory of its long-running MMOFPS, Daybreak closed down the PlanetSide servers this past weekend. The studio had previously stated that the…
Atlantica Online closing down, will reopen under new management - It's a sad and somewhat scary day for fans of Atlantica Online: All three of the game's operators, including Nexon, have announced that they are abandoning the…
Wizardry Online to sunset in Japan - Hardcore perma-death MMORPG Wizardry Online just can't catch a break: MMO Culture reports today that the game is shutting down in Japan, five years after its…
Nexon shuts down Sudden Attack 2 right after launch - Sudden Attack 2 is getting a new name: Suddenly Shut Down. Steparu reports that this MMOFPS is facing imminent termination by publisher Nexon Korea, as the servers will go…
Trinium Wars will sunset at the end of the the month - Get your playtime in now, folks: Trinium Wars will sunset at the end of the the month. A spokesperson for InselGames confirmed to us that the game's…
PSA: Claim your EQ and EQII loot before Legends of Norrath closes August 17 - If you have played EverQuest or EverQuest II, chances are you've at least dabbled in Legends of Norrath -- if nothing else for the chance to…
Microsoft pulls the plug on Halo Online in Russia - Sorry, Russia: Master Chief is turning his back on you after all. Announced a year and a half ago, Halo Online had some fans of the…
Mighty Quest for Epic Loot gets execution date - The decision has been made and the order passed down from on high: Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is to be executed on October 25th. The…
Firefall appears to have silently sunsetted (Update: Or maybe not?) - [update]Update, 8:39 p.m. EDT: The game and site are back online now, still with no explanation or clarification from The9 whatsoever. Hopefully it stays up for you folks,…
Webzen is closing down ELOA and ASTA in October - About a year ago, Webzen announced that it was bringing Asta: The War of Tears and Winds over after the game had been shut down in…
Rumor: American McGee ARPG Akaneiro is kaput - Four years ago or so, a number of folks at Massively, including me, had their sights set on Akaneiro: Demon Hunters. It was a co-op ARPG…
Tribes: Ascend’s last patch ushers in maintenance mode - Hi-Rez has implemented several patches since breathing life back into Tribes: Ascend last year. December's patch was its first since 2013, followed by updates in January…
Gazillion to sunset Marvel Super Hero Squad Online in January 2017 - When I first joined the Massively crew back in 2010, the very first long-form piece I did was on Super Hero Squad Online, a Marvel-themed kiddie game…
Civilization (Online) is coming to an end - Remember all the grumbling when XLGames revealed Civilization Online at a big presser in New York and then told us it was launching in East Asia only?…
Asheron’s Call and its sequel will sunset as part of the Turbine/Standing Stone split - I'm sorry to report that Turbine announced today that it will be sunsetting Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2 as part of the transition revealed yesterday…
