To have something so close, and yet so far away… that is the situation for North American fans of Phantasy Star Online 2 on PC this weekend. The game is coming over, it’s finally in beta testing… on the Xbox One. Sigh. Well, at least we know the game is almost certainly heading to Steam, that’s slightly mollifying.
Other beta news? Aw, heck, we can’t say no to that face:
- Speaking of Japanese MMOs with a distinct style, look at that Blue Protocol with its upcoming closed beta! Why bother worrying about it? Well, there are signs it’s going to be heading this way, too. (Yes, ages ago the publisher said they didn’t have plans at that time. That’s not the same as plans not to do something.)
- All right, let’s leave the Land of the Rising Sun and move over to Book of Travels, which is planning early access in October. That seems quick, but if it managed to actually stick with that schedule it’d be in a league of its own among Kickstarter projects.
- Camelot Unchained kinda hit a rough patch with its own bit of recent news, but Mark Jacobs has owned that disappointment and apologized for it with a recent letter to the community and a promise that more progress on the core MMO is being unveiled.
- The passing of Brad McQuaid has left fans of Pantheon rather shaken, but the development team is still hard at work and promising a look at the upcoming Faerthale gameplay very soon.
Aw, that’s still kind of a depressing ending. We started on a high note. Maybe the games on the list below will help ameliorate any of that cynicism. Of course, if one of them has jumped into another test phase without us noticing it, that might not help matters… just let us know about that in the comments so we can get that trimmed up.
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
Dual Universe: Alpha
ECO: Early access
Eleven: Closed alpha
Ever, Jane: Open beta
Kurtzpel: Closed beta
Gloria Victis: Early access on Steam
Guardians of Ember: Open beta
Hearthstone Battleground Mode: Open beta
Inferna: Early access
Life is Feudal: Early access
Line of Defense: Early access, removed from Steam
Magic: Legends: Beta testing in 2020
New World: CBT in April 2020, launching May 2020
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”
Phantasy Star Online 2: Closed beta on Xbox One (PC version expected)
Project Genom: Closed alpha, servers offline for restructuring with SpatialOS
Project Gorgon: Early access beta
Prosperous Universe: Early access
Saga of Lucimia: Closed alpha
SamuTale: Closed alpha
Ship of Heroes: Alpha
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
Temtem: Early access
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.
