Massively OP’s 2018 Awards: Most Anticipated MMORPG of 2018 and Beyond

December 27, 2018 10:00 AM

Massively Overpowered’s end-of-the-year 2018 awards continue today with our award for Most Anticipated MMORPG of 2018 and Beyond, which was awarded to Crowfall last year – the first time in several years that Star Citizen didn’t top the list. This year’s discussion on most anticipated once again generated a sense of frustration among our writers since a lot of the games we’re picking from here year after year are the same – because they still aren’t out. Don’t forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end!

The Massively OP staff pick for the Most Anticipated MMORPG of 2018 and Beyond is…

Torchlight Frontiers

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): Torchlight Frontiers. It came out of nowhere, but I’m a huge fan of the franchise and will actually break my no-preorders rule for this one. It’s far from the only thing I’m looking forward to, obviously: Camelot Unchained, Star Citizen, Crowfall, New World, Ascent Infinite Realm, the City of Heroes spinoffs, Fractured, Dual Universe, Atlas, even the Re-Evolve game from PWE – they’re all on my watch list too. Plus, of course, there’s the expansions we assume Guild Wars 2 and Elder Scrolls Online will be getting next year.

Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes, blog): Torchlight Frontiers. It has been a dog’s age since I’ve had some time with a Torchlight game and the idea of playing this game with many others at the same time absolutely has me smiling with excitement. I just hope that the mob spawns and kill-stealing aren’t too problematic: those are things I’ve always had to deal with in other MMOARPGs I’ve played. Runner-Up: Crowfall. The number of alphas this game goes through is something that causes one to headtilt, but as far as formation of a playable game, the folks behind Crowfall seem to be refreshingly on task. Maybe this will be the sandbox that gets me into the sand at last.

Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): I’m still excited about Ascent: Infinite Realm, even if there are rumbles that I will end up disappointed; I’m also still excited about Peria Chronicles, though I now doubt I’ll ever see that. But I also have to give a big nod to Torchlight Frontiers, which I’m actually kind of excited for despite, like, not being into Torchlight. That’s something good right there.

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): Torchlight Frontiers. I love the art style, the housing system, and the fact that it’s going to be a full-fledged MMORPG. Bring it on!

Matt Daniel (@Matt_DanielMVOP): Camelot Unchained. As someone who really enjoyed Dark Age of Camelot despite being incredibly late to that particular party, I’m looking forward to seeing how Camelot Unchained translates the signature three-faction RvR gameplay into the modern trappings of the genre. Runner-up: Torchlight Frontiers.

MJ Guthrie (@MJ_Guthrie, blog): While I am interested in checking out some upcoming games, the only one I am really anticipating is Dual Universe. Seriously, every time I get a little bit more info on it and get another tour from devs, I get more excited that this game will have the sandbox and creativity that lends well to RP that I totally crave! I cannot wait for friends to be able to jump in and create an empire with me. A MOP Golden Yacht is totally in the future of this game. It may be sci-fi (which, by the way is great!), but it is what Landmark could have/should have been.

How does Massively OP choose the winner?

Our team gathers together over the course of a few days to discuss candidates and ideally settle on a consensus winner. We don’t have a hard vote, but we do include written commentary from every writer who submitted it on time so that you can see where some of us differed, what our secondary picks were, and why we personally nominated what we did (or didn’t). The site’s award goes to the staff selection, but we’ll include both it and the community’s top nomination in our debrief in January.

Torchlight Frontiers won our award for Most Anticipated MMORPG of 2018 and Beyond. What’s your pick?

Reader poll: Which MMORPG is your most anticipated for 2019 and beyond?