Here’s a sobering but fun tradition we’ve done at the top of the year ever since MOP commenter deekay suggested it back in 2016: argue over which MMO is doing its best to wreck the genre and be the reason we can’t have nice things. It’s not even necessarily the worst MMO, just one that drives the genre in a direction we don’t want it go.
World of Warcraft often bubbles to the top in these discussions since a lot of veteran MMO players consider it chiefly to blame for taking MMOs off course in the mid-aughts. But as we noted last year, while WoW is plenty big, I’m not sure it’s super influential anymore. WoW seems to be borrowing more from other games now than innovating. I mean, do you think New World, Elyon, and Crimson Desert are sitting down and looking at World of Warcraft for their core gameplay loops or monetization policies now? I’m just not seeing it personally.
So let’s tackle the topic now that 2020 is behind us. Which game, MMO or otherwise, made the biggest contribution toward killing the MMORPG genre specifically in 2020?
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!
