MassivelyOP’s 2023 Awards: Best MMO Housing

December 25, 2023 12:00 PM

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

Today’s award is for the Best MMO Housing, which was awarded to SWG Legends last year. MMORPGs eligible for this award may have launched in any year and still offer player housing; nominees should be judged based on the quality and depth of that feature and that feature alone in 2023 itself. 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 Best MMO Housing of 2023 is…

VILLAGERS & HEROES

Andy McAdams: FFXIV because of the emergent gameplay with clubs and stuff.

Brianna Royce: Villagers & Heroes, Palia, LOTRO. V&H actually did the most for MMORPG housing all year, believe it or not, and this award is supposed to be for housing stuff that happened this year, not just our favorite housing ever. This game is a dozen years old and managed to take its thin housing system, which was really just a clickable storage unit with a farming pen, and turn it into a real housing system with interior spaces and decor. If this tiny little indie MMORPG can do it 12 years after launch, so can the rest of the housing holdouts at the top of the MMO space. I also need to point out how spectacular LOTRO’s new hobbit housing really is. We’d waited a long time for premium hobbit holes, and they were worth it!

Carlo Lacsina: Lord of the Rings Online, Villagers & Heroes.

Chris Neal: Villagers & Heroes. Admittedly I wasn’t really sure about what to vote for here, but after discussion and some digging around, I have to agree that the housing stuff possible in Villagers & Heroes looks extremely impressive. Still gotta give a nod of appreciation in the direction of Palia, though. Even if the chairs don’t work.

Colin Henry: The Lord of the Rings Online, Villagers and Heroes. I was going to abstain from this category, but then I was reminded of the fact that V&H is a game from 2011, which has given players the outside of a house for years for use as storage, finally decided this year to finally let homeowners inside their own dwellings for the first time. The whole thing makes me chuckle. And most importantly, the housing system actually looks pretty good!

Eliot Lefebvre: Villages and Heroes, AdventureQuest 3D.

Justin Olivetti: Fallout 76 doesn’t get nearly enough talk about how amazing some of its player houses end up being — plopped down in the game world itself, mind you. I’m also ecstatic that we got new Hobbit homes in LOTRO in a gorgeous neighborhood. And I’ll toss a nod to New World for really wonderful placement tools and a free starter home. Palia too!

MJ Guthrie: Warframe. I am going to shock everyone and not vote for EverQuest II for best housing this year. Don’t worry, the apocalypse isn’t quite here yet. But this year my vote goes to… Warframe! Surprised? Counting the guild dojo as housing (of course I can still decorate my ship), the decorating options are quite extensive. There are so many styles of rooms and styles of decorations. Want a pustule-filled infected Christmas room? Yeah, I made one. And the fact that the dojo rooms have important functions makes it all better. Fun and function together so it isn’t just about making a space that is never used; I love this aspect. But the top reason I am giving this honor to Warframe this year specifically is the addition of Dagath’s crypt as a dojo room. It is just perfect! Now, you can discount my vote because it isn’t a MMORPG, and that’s ok. It’s still my vote! If you demand a more MMORPG, I’ll give my next nod to Villagers and Heroes for their literal opening up of housing.

Sam Kash: Harry Potter Magic Awakened. Between all the furnitures, paintings, leveling up your space, inviting friends over and getting likes on the space, free form placement. Of course it’s also the only one I’ve played

Tyler Edwards: New World for lack of competition, though it didn’t really do anything special to earn the award this year. Edengrove’s housing was a disappointment.

Villagers & Heroes took our award for Best MMO Housing. What’s your pick?

Reader poll: Which MMO offered the best player housing in 2023?

Villagers and Heroes (6%, 27 Votes)
Palia (8%, 37 Votes)
LOTRO (12%, 54 Votes)
Final Fantasy XIV (13%, 61 Votes)
Warframe (1%, 5 Votes)
Fallout 76 (4%, 19 Votes)
AdventureQuest 3D (0%, 0 Votes)
New World (4%, 17 Votes)
EverQuest II (7%, 31 Votes)
HPMA (0%, 1 Votes)
SWTOR (6%, 25 Votes)
SWG Legends (3%, 14 Votes)
ArcheAge (1%, 6 Votes)
Trove (0%, 2 Votes)
Elder Scrolls Online (15%, 68 Votes)
Albion Online (1%, 3 Votes)
City of Heroes Homecoming (0%, 2 Votes)
Lost Ark (0%, 0 Votes)
RIFT (4%, 17 Votes)
Black Desert (3%, 15 Votes)
Ultima Online (4%, 16 Votes)
DC Universe Online (1%, 4 Votes)
Aion (0%, 0 Votes)
Wurm Online (2%, 10 Votes)
Something else (tell us in the comments!) (4%, 19 Votes)

Total Voters: 378

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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 commentary from writers so that you can see our thought process. 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. Reader poll options include all MMOs nominated plus a few others we thought should be included.