Wayfinder is just like you and me insofar as the game is still kinda working on getting its stuff together. In this particular case, it’s less like “the game really needs to do the dishes because the sink is full and why haven’t you emptied the dishwasher when the load in there has been clean for like two days” and more like “letting people log in properly,” so that’s different, but the studio is owning it. Compensations are here for the launch mess and people are getting in. Pobody’s nerfect?
Heck, even Palia isn’t perfect. Sure, it had a smoother launch, but if it was so perfect, then why would it have needed a patch? To add content? A likely story. (Also a true one, but hush. You heard me. Hush.)
As long as you’re hushing, why not check out our full list of games in testing just below our roundup of all the beta stories from this week? And then you can chime in down in the comments about the various things going on in betas down in the comments. You can stop hushing then. Unless you want to speculate about the sink being full and the dishwasher not getting emptied. That’s not a real story, it’s not based on anything from my life, you don’t know me, hush up.
Ilysia talks about its testing, what happened with freeforge, and ‘real early access’ plans in Q&A video
Tarisland previews invasion strike content and scribed stone skill mechanics
Why I Play: Palia is cozy and fun, but why is it multiplayer – and where is it going?
Wayfinder compensates players for launch, plans new weapon and quests for first big patch
Cozy solarpunk survivalbox Loftia funded on Kickstarter with over $1.2M US
Ashes of Creation’s latest video walks players through building up a node in Alpha Two
Pantheon Rise of the Fallen promises a focus on updating its ‘old’ and ‘unappealing’ art style
Sea monsters feasted well on 810 delicious pirate players during Skull and Bones’ brief CBT
Palia opens the Maji Market, adds sitting mechanic, and holds a Reddit AMA
NCsoft and Amazon are planning a big western Throne & Liberty technical test in September
Former CIG employee speaks out about Star Citizen’s design trajectory and money burn
Palia game director: ‘We know we’re not there yet on the MMO side for a lot of players’
Blue Protocol interview addresses the western version’s combat, story, and content cadence
Pantheon content creator releases pre-alpha impressions in latest video
Star Citizen crowdfunding hits $600M under the specter of reported layoffs at CIG
Wayfinder’s load handling has improved to the point that there is ‘essentially no queue’
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 often 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, nor will games that are NFT/blockchain scams; we also do not list expansions, with occasional exceptions. Finally, we’ll mark games “malingering” if they’ve been in a certain tier of development for a long time with no clear path to launch.
Open testing
Closed testing
Paid access
Legit MMORPG
Multiplayer
MalingeringThe Adventurer’s Domain Online: Early access
Aero Tales Online: Early access
Age of Water: Paid closed beta
Anvil Empires: Intermittent alpha
Arcane Waters: Early access
Arcfall: Pre-alpha
ARK 2: Closed testing
Ashes of Creation: Alpha two in planning
Ashfall: Closed beta
ASKA: Closed beta
Battlebit: Early access
Bellatores: Closed testing
Bitcraft: Closed alpha incoming
Blue Protocol: Launching worldwide in 2024
Book of Travels: Early access
Camelot Unchained: Closed beta
Chronicles of Elyria: Pre-alpha, again
Chrono Odyssey: Closed testing
Cinderstone Online: Closed beta
City of Titans: Alpha
Coreborn: Nations of the Ultracore: Early access
Corepunk: Closed alpha, open testing scheduled for September
Craftopia: Early access
The Crew Motorfest: Closed testing
Dark and Darker: Paid early access, legal troubles.
Dark and Light: Early access (abandoned?)
Darkbind: Closed beta (probably abandoned?)
The Day Before: Closed alpha (delay drama)
The Division Heartland: Closed testing
Dreamworld: Pre-alpha
Dune Awakening: Closed testing
ECO: Early access
Eleven: Closed alpha
Enlisted: Beta
Evercore Heroes: Paid testing, updates stopping with a focus on a redesign
Fae Farm: Closed testing, launch planned for September 8th
The First Descendant: Beta in September
Fractured Online: Paid beta access
Fractured Veil: Back in closed development
Frozen Flame: Early access
Genfanad: Alpha
Ilysia: Beta two through August 23rd
Inferna: Early access
Kurtzpel: Closed beta
Last Oasis: Early access (abandoned?)
Lost Skies: Closed testing
Monster Hunter Now: Closed beta
Monsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha
Mortal Exodus: Closed testing
Multiverse: Returned to closed testing
Nightingale: Ongoing closed events
Noah’s Heart: Beta
Odd Giants: Alpha
Outlaws of the Old West: Early access
Palia: Open beta
Pantheon: Intermittent backer alpha
Party Animals: Closed testing starting September 1st
Past Fate: Closed testing
Path of Exile 2: Beta June 2024
Pax Dei: Closed alpha
Perfect New World: Closed beta
Pow Vista: Open beta (mobile)
Project F4E: Closed testing
Project Genom: Closed alpha (servers offline, abandoned?)
Project Gorgon: Early access beta
Project Loki: Closed beta
Project ST: Closed testing, open event ended
Prosperous Universe: Early access
Return Alive: Closed beta
Reign of Guilds: Intermittent open beta
SamuTale: “Paid closed alpha early access” according to the developer, which is just early access, come on dude
Seed: Alpha (drama, crypto link and weird comms blockout?)
Shadow’s Kiss: Early access (but read this first)
Ship of Heroes: Beta testing
Skull and Bones: Closed beta
Spellcraft: Alpha
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
Starbase: Early access open alpha
Tarisland: Beta
Throne & Liberty: Korean closed beta, western launch delayed into 2024
Valheim: Early access
V Rising: Early access
Valiance Online: Closed beta
The Wagadu Chronicles: Alpha two
Warcraft Rumble: Soft launching, changed name, everything is fine
Waven Early access
Wayfinder Early access ahead of full launch
We welcome additions and corrections to this list; send your info our way via tips!
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.
