Hey y’all, Monsters & Memories is throwing a testing party and you’re all invited! You might think that this would make me happy, but this meant I needed to make a new header image for this week’s Betawatch, and do you know how long that takes me? Like five minutes or so, maybe even six. Thus I am deeply enraged and can only sit here, shaking with anger, very decidedly wishing ill on the game for the unimaginable slight of expecting me to do my job. I’m here to drop clever bon mots in the comments, not actually manipulate images!
Speaking of being here for the wrong reasons (ain’t that a segue), The Day Before also gets a spot in today’s summary because… oh, yeah. This is going great. Just absolutely A+ work across the board. Look, if you weren’t at all interested ahead of time, this is kind of the perfect get-your-popcorn-ready outcome.
There is one other change this week that I’m happy to talk about… but it actually belongs in one of our other roundup columns, so I’m just going to slide on ahead to the next day and invite you to take a guess about which one I mean in the comments! We’ve got a whole roundup below, along with our list of games in testing. Go ahead and let us know if something is incorrect down in the comments, while you’re at it. Or just talk about a really good corn beef sandwich you had recently.
Indie Afrofantasy MMO Wagadu Chronicles has opened its early access doors today
Ahead of launch, Fntastic tells players The Day Before is not a scam or an asset flip
MMO sandbox Pax Dei invited over 12,000 players to its first alpha test
Palia’s Winterlights festival – the first part of it, anyway – is live alongside new Asia-Pacific servers
Pantheon Rise of the Fallen updates item drops and crafting, recounts a player-organized pre-alpha boss hunt
Star Citizen tweaks how salvaging works, plans for the activity’s launch in alpha 3.22
Book of Travels is totally overhauling its combat system (yes, it has a combat system)
EVE Online begins its four day-long Vanguard FPS mode test today
Throne & Liberty shows off its Korean interface and shares more music
Aika Online’s global re-launch officially begins today
Monsters & Memories readies a public playtest for this weekend, and yes you’re invited
BitCraft studio co-founder discusses building a societal game and what the MMO’s endgame looks like
First Impressions: Nexon’s THE FINALS blends the best features of Overwatch, Valorant, and Titanfall
Throne & Liberty launches in Korea, still has its eyes on the West for 2024
The Stream Team: A first look at The Wagadu Chronicles
Hawked’s early access on PC is underway with a console crossplay beta this weekend
Destiny 2 plans beta testing of expanded fireteam finder December 6, discusses PvP events, and opens its new dungeon
Nightingale teases 2024 stress test, recaps last playtest, and talks cash shop offerings
The Stream Team: Peeking in on the development progress of Wayfinder
Tarisland beta testers were obsessed with rolling Rangers, dying, and… fishing
Fractured’s devs smacked it with a nerf bat to reduce ‘crazy solo speedy farming’
Wayfinder brings PlayStation 5 version up to par – with the return of crossplay
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
MalingeringAbyss: Closed alpha
The 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: Paid early access
Ashes of Creation: Alpha two in planning
Ashfall: Closed beta
ASKA: Closed beta
Battlebit: Early access
Battle Crush: Beta
Bellatores: Closed testing
Bitcraft: Alpha planned for 2024
Blue Protocol: Launching worldwide in 2024, technical tests starting November 8th
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 end of winter
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: Early Access going great
The Division Heartland: Closed testing
Dreamworld: Pre-alpha
Dune Awakening: Closed testing, signups now
ECO: Early access
Eleven: Closed alpha
Enlisted: Beta
EVE Vanguard: Closed beta running now
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 early access, back on Steam
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: Pre-alpha
Monster Hunter Now: Closed beta
Monsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha, public beta this weekend
Mortal Exodus: Closed testing
Multiversus: Returned to closed testing
Nightingale: Ongoing closed events
Noah’s Heart: Beta
Odd Giants: Alpha
Once Human: Beta on December 7th
Outlaws of the Old West: Early access
Palia: Open beta
Pantheon: Backer alpha, 247 canceled
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
Quinfall: Beta delayed to 2024
Return Alive: Closed beta
Reign of Guilds: Beta event in mid-December, early access planned for 2024
SamuTale: “Paid closed alpha early access” according to the developer, which is just early access, come on dude
Seed: Active development, playtest through October 29th
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
Soulframe: “Pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha” testing in mid-December
Spellcraft: Alpha
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
Starbase: Early access open alpha
Tarisland: Second closed beta
Throne & Liberty: Western launch delayed into 2024, live in South Korea
Trimurti Online: Stress testing
Valheim: Early access
V Rising: Early access
Valiance Online: Closed beta
The Wagadu Chronicles: Early access
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.
