It’s not a new phenomenon, because I recall seeing it back in Final Fantasy XI, someone saying proudly that he was happy to be with the current linkshell… until World of Warcraft launched, then he would leave. That isn’t me recounting; that was exactly what he said at the time. He was playing the game, but he was literally as committed as it took for him to keep playing until something else launched.
This hasn’t gone anywhere, either. I see people loudly saying that they’re only playing a game until something else launches. “Oh, I’m in Elite Dangerous until Star Citizen is out.” “I’m just playing Guild Wars 2 until Crowfall launches.” You get the idea.
This has never made a whole lot of sense to me. Playing an endless game with a self-imposed end date just strikes me as weird. It clearly strikes a lot of other people as perfectly normal, though, and perhaps for a lot of people it is. So what about you, dear readers? Do you play MMOs with expiration dates? Do you already plan to leave but want to play an MMO until then just the same?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
