Yes, originally Wayfinder had planned to launch into full free-to-play this year. That isn’t happening now, however, and the plans have officially moved into 2024. That’s probably not the biggest surprise, all things considered; it might be a bit disappointing if you were really planning the back half of your year around it, though. You have our condolences if that was the case.
Meanwhile, Perfect New World has turned beta access into a daily game of spinning the wheel. This is wonderful. What a great choice. 10/10, no notes. What do you mean I sound sarcastic.
Please believe that when I implore you to check out a full roundup of beta news just below and our roundup of games in testing, I am in no way being sarcastic. It’d be cool if you did that. It’d also be cool if you let us know about anything that swapped into a new test phase down in the comments. Sure, the previous paragraph may have been sarcastic, but this one isn’t. You can trust me.
Perfect New World’s ‘equilibrious test’ opens up to normal signups and a daily wheel spin giveaway
Camelot Unchained heralds improved performance for AMD systems, AoE effects, and the patch client
World Eternal Online bizarrely claims it ‘decoupled from the blockchain’ as it launches early access on Epic
Coreborn Nations of the Ultracore studio will work on new games after it ‘fell short’ with early access
Kickstarted VR MMO Ilysia rolls into early access with four servers and FreeForge characters
Fractured Online extends fall playtest to folks without founder packs
Seekers of Skyveil is a fantasy-themed PvPvE extraction RPG heading for closed alpha October 20
Palia’s latest beta patch offers pumpkins, romance, and a challenging obstacle course
Wayfinder looks to 2024 for free-to-play launch and a new weapon type
Upcoming MMO The Quinfall reveals four of its classes plus character creator
Ship of Heroes provides a full playthrough video of its demo’s very first mission
EverQuest releases video and preorders for its December expansion, Laurion’s Song
Fractured Veil delays its early access to next year over infrastructure concerns
Anvil Empires plans a ‘major’ pre-alpha test this weekend – here’s how to get in
Pax Dei discusses classless characters, consensual PvP, and grueling corpse recovery post-death
Wayfinder’s mid-season update today offers new quests and the Call of the Void event
Ship of Heroes’ free demo is live on Steam through next Monday
Lost Skies showcases creatures, materials, ship progress, and player-built islands
Mobile vehicle battler Modern Warships makes its PC crossplay open beta debut
Nightingale shows off more new estate styles, more new POIs, and very shiny minerals
Top-down PvPvE extraction shooter Return Alive brings its open beta back for Steam Next Fest
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
Battle Crush: Closed beta on October 23rd
Bellatores: Closed testing
Bitcraft: Alpha planned for 2024
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: Early access planned for December, next test planned for October
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: Crossplay beta
Fractured Online: Paid beta access
Fractured Veil: Back in closed development, early access delayed to 2024
Frozen Flame: Early access
Genfanad: Alpha
Ilysia: Early access
Inferna: Early access
Kurtzpel: Closed beta
Last Oasis: Early access (abandoned?)
Legendarium Online: Paid alpha access
Lost Skies: Closed testing
Monster Hunter Now: Closed beta
Monsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha
Mortal Exodus: Closed testing
Multiversus: 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
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 Crawl: Closed testing
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?)
Seekers of Skyveil: Closed alpha on October 20th
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
Trimurti Online: Stress testing
Valheim: Early access
V Rising: Early access
Valiance Online: Closed beta
The Wagadu Chronicles: Alpha two
Warcraft Rumble: Full launch November 3rd
Warhaven: Early access
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.
