Aw, they grow up so fast. It feels like just yesterday that Bless Unleashed was being announced as a project making everyone ask why another version of the game was being brought into the world; now, as the last surviving title in the not-really-a-franchise, it has gone into open beta. The fact that it’s being developed by Round 8 Studios seems like a joke, but it’s real.
BlizzCon sucked most of the air out of the room, but some beta stuff still went down:
- You can beta test 1.66 on Wakfu, if you’re so inclined! No pressure, though. They’re chill over there.
- The character creation beta for Ship of Heroes is winding down to a close, so hopefully you did all the testing you wanted.
- PlanetSide Arena is adding chat features, proving that it is not simply pining for the fjords.
- Last but not least, Starbase is showing off what it takes to make a… well… starbase, start to finish.
Unfortunately, for all that air-sucked-out-of-the-room from BlizzCon, there were no concurrent beta announcements, so we don’t have any new friends on the list. Fortunately, the list below still has plenty of friends on it as it stands, so you can still take a look at that and let us know if something is either missing or should be moved around on the list.
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.
AdventureQuest 3D: Open beta
Arcfall: Pre-alpha
Ashes of Creation: Alpha one phase one; Apocalypse early access
Bless Unleashed: Open beta
Camelot Unchained: Closed beta one
Children of Ur: Open alpha, further development merged with Eleven
Chronicles of Elyria: Pre-alpha
Crowfall: Backer pre-alpha, alpha now expected in 2020
Cube World: Closed beta since September 23rd
Dauntless: Open beta
Dark and Light: Early access
Divergence Online:Â Alpha
Dual Universe: Alpha
ECO: Early access
Edengrad: Early access
Eleven: Closed alpha
Ever, Jane: Open beta
Kurtzpel: Closed beta
Gloria Victis: Early access on Steam
Global Adventures: Closed beta
Guardians of Ember: Open beta
Life is Feudal: Early access
Line of Defense: Early access, removed from Steam
New World: Closed alpha – back on hiatus
Occupy White Walls: Early access
Osiris: New Dawn: Open beta
Outlaws of the Old West: Early access
Pantheon: Backer pre-alpha
Pathfinder Online: Subscription “early enrollment”
PlanetSide Arena: Early access
Project Genom: Closed alpha, servers offline for restructuring with SpatialOS
Project Gorgon: Early access beta
Prosperous Universe: Early access
SamuTale: Closed alpha
Ship of Heroes: Alpha
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
The Black Death: Early access alpha
The Cycle: Alpha, weekly test cycle
The Repopulation: Early access alpha
Torchlight Frontiers: Closed alpha, no NDA
Valiance Online: Alpha
Yes, MMO gamers, you too can perform the unpaid quality-control work otherwise known as game testing! Check out Massively Overpowered’s Betawatch every week for a run-down of MMOs that are still on the road to launch, even if they appear to have set up a permanent residence in a shed called early access.
