Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Most Anticipated MMO

December 29, 2021 11:00 AM

Welcome back to Massively Overpowered’s formal end-of-the-year awards!

Today’s award is for the Most Anticipated MMO, which was awarded jointly to New World and Crimson Desert last year. As has been the case for the last few years, this award has become frustrating since many of the games and expansions we’re picking from here haven’t changed much as we’re still waiting on them. But last year was a bit different, and maybe this year will be too. Don’t forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end!

And the MassivelyOP staff pick for the Most Anticipated MMO for 2022 and Beyond is…

PALIA & GUILD WARS 2 END OF DRAGONS

Andy McAdams: Palia. I voted for Palia here because I’m really excited about the premise of the game, despite the communications and community management being a bit of amateur hour for the studio. I didn’t vote for EOD, but I am really excited for EOD as well, I just think that brand-new game has a tiny bit more excited.

Brianna Royce: Guild Wars 2’s End of Dragons is far and away the most exciting thing on my radar. We asked for Cantha, and we’re getting Cantha. I am not sad to see it share the spotlight with Palia. I’d also add Raph Koster’s sandbox MMO, but it’s hard to hype something without a name. Wagadu Chronicles and Lost Ark also make my list. Daybreak’s Marvel MMO also has my attention. And while I’m not at all interested in Riot’s games, I’m excited for more money and ideas flowing into the genre from new directions.

Carlo Lacsina: The League Of Legends MMO. I’m ready to give this game MMO of the year for 2026. League of Legends has always been an interesting franchise because the success of its music and the esports scene meant that there were fans of the franchise even though they would never in a million years touch the source game for one reason or another. And that’s even more true than ever with the release of Arcane. And let’s not ignore the various Riot Forge games, especially The Ruined King: A League of Legends Story providing massive lore dumps and providing character development to the massive roster of League of Legends. With all this setup, players from all walks of life will be primed to get into this MMO, whatever it may be. I personally cannot wait for Runeterra to call home and make a name for myself there.

Chris Neal: Palia. I want Palia to stick the landing so hard because this genre needs more exploration and genuinely cooperative experiences. It would be SO GOOD to see a sandbox that isn’t just an open murder arena.

Colin Henry: Guild Wars End of Dragons. Guild Wars 2 has taken its sweet time putting out an expansion, the longest period without an expansion since the game came out, so I’m that much more pumped for End of Dragons. What we’ve seen of the expansion zones is gorgeous, the new elite specs have been a blast to play across the four betas, and I’m even unironically excited to try my hand at fishing.

Eliot Lefebvre: Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons. It’s a bit of a cheat, because it’s not a new MMO, but GW2 has needed a new expansion for ages, and this one looks lit.

Justin Olivetti: Palia definitely has me hooked with its concept and style, even though actual information and hands-on testing was stingy this past year. Do this right, people, and it could be my future addiction. Another nod? Corepunk, which I dearly hope exceeds my currently low expectations. A third? Monsters and Memories, which has my vote for best attitude (and title!).

Mia DeSanzo: Palia.

Sam Kash: Guild Wars End of Dragons.

Tyler Edwards: Lost Ark and Palia. Lost Ark is more up my alley, and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played in its tests so far, but Palia is an intriguing new option. I don’t know if these kind of life sim games are really for me or not, but Palia feels like the first one that could hook me in. Having an appealing aesthetic helps a lot. I could never get into Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing because I find the graphical styles off-putting.

Palia and Guild Wars 2’s End of Dragons took our award for Most Anticipated MMO. What’s your pick?

Reader poll: What's your most anticipated MMO of 2022 and beyond?

Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons (13%, 127 Votes)
Palia (9%, 84 Votes)
Riot's Runeterra MMO (8%, 77 Votes)
Raph Koster's sandbox MMO (3%, 26 Votes)
Corepunk (2%, 18 Votes)
Wagadu Chronicles (1%, 11 Votes)
Lost Ark (10%, 96 Votes)
Monsters and Memories (0%, 2 Votes)
Crimson Desert (1%, 11 Votes)
Blue Protocol (4%, 38 Votes)
Ship of Heroes (0%, 3 Votes)
Warhammer Age of Sigmar (1%, 13 Votes)
Daybreak's Marvel MMO (1%, 11 Votes)
Ashes of Creation (11%, 105 Votes)
WoW Retail's next expansion (1%, 11 Votes)
WoW Classic WOTLK (1%, 6 Votes)
ESO's next arc and chapter (3%, 25 Votes)
Pantheon (6%, 59 Votes)
Star Citizen (2%, 23 Votes)
Diablo IV (3%, 26 Votes)
Nightingale (0%, 4 Votes)
Project Gorgon (1%, 6 Votes)
Embers Adrift (0%, 2 Votes)
City of Titans (2%, 17 Votes)
Valiance Online (0%, 1 Votes)
Camelot Unchained (1%, 10 Votes)
Ilysia (0%, 1 Votes)
Ultima Online New Legacy (0%, 4 Votes)
Fractured (0%, 4 Votes)
Dual Universe (0%, 3 Votes)
Daybreak's likely EverQuest 3 (2%, 16 Votes)
Funcom's DUNE MMO (2%, 16 Votes)
The secret MMO CCP is working on (0%, 3 Votes)
The secret MMO Jagex is working on (0%, 3 Votes)
Profane (0%, 1 Votes)
Project TL (1%, 10 Votes)
Mortal Online 2 (1%, 7 Votes)
ArcheAge 2 (0%, 3 Votes)
Path of Exile 2 (2%, 21 Votes)
Mad World (0%, 3 Votes)
V Rising (1%, 5 Votes)
Zenith (0%, 4 Votes)
ZeniMax's secret MMO (1%, 11 Votes)
Blizzard's secret MMO (1%, 6 Votes)
Microsoft's Pax Dei (0%, 3 Votes)
Legends of Aria 2.0 (0%, 0 Votes)
Spry Fox's cozy MMO (0%, 1 Votes)
Project Magnum (0%, 0 Votes)
Something else (tell us in the comments!) (1%, 12 Votes)

Total Voters: 650

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How does MassivelyOP choose the winner?

Our team gathers together to nominate and discuss candidates and hopefully 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.

How does MassivelyOP populate this poll?

Poll options include all MMOs nominated plus a few others we thought should be included.