Well, what do you know, Camelot Unchained has declared a launch window of late 2025. It’s going to launch! Can you believe that? Can you? Do you believe that? Because I find it somewhat dubious after a decade! But the newly renamed and investor-bolstered Unchained Studio (fka City State Entertainment) has now declared that it is happening late next year, and it is also insisting that it’s second game is now its first game and it’s going into early access in spite of the fact that it went into early access several years ago, and… my head hurts. Please help me out here.
Speaking of games that have not delivered on what was promised years ago: Star Citizen layoffs have finally been acknowledged (though not really explained in a way most watchers would find satisfactory) by the studio. And the hasty spinoff Zenith: Infinite Realms has gone into full launch, although it’s also seen the source MMO’s reviews tank substantially. Hooray for crowdfunded games!
Many of the games on this week’s beta news list are not crowdfunded, of course, so you can draw your own conclusions there. You can also let us know about your conclusions down in the comments, or you can let us know about your conclusions about our larger beta list down in the comments. And as always, if you notice something slipped into a new test phase without us noticing, you will be thanked for notifying us of that.
10-year-old Camelot Unchained is launching ‘late next year’ following CSE rebrand and investment haul
Ashes of Creation’s newest video explains how its questing system differs from other MMOs
Star Citizen’s CIG admits to rumored layoffs, blaming restructuring and relocation
Star Citizen followers uncover additional layoffs at CIG that reference relocation and restructuring
Choose My Adventure: The Wagadu Chronicles’ worldbuilding is epic, but the gameplay…
Nightingale teases storage and crafting QOL plans as players build away and reviews sit at ‘mixed’
Funcom’s Dune Awakening MMO is finally promising trailers and hype as Dune 2 hits theaters
Pax Dei floods Discord with screenshots of wildlife, continues to promise alpha testing soon
Pantheon Rise of the Fallen marks progress on pet system, combat, visuals, and March 30’s Season 2
Project Gorgon’s February update buffs the in-game map and adds a Hardcore Living skill
Palworld celebrates 25M players in its first month, promises anti-cheat measures, showcases critters
Cozy multiplayer sci-fi life sim Galactic Getaway crosses the Kickstarter finish line
Palworld races to squash bugs and balance gameplay with Patch 0.1.5
Eternal Tombs fka War of Dragnorox announces a closed beta test for April
BitCraft talks up gameplay features and progress for its upcoming closed alpha test
Ship of Heroes demonstrates how its character creator can be used to convey personal stories
Pax Dei marks the first anniversary of its reveal with more screenshots of items, building pieces, and lighting
Waven extends its tutorials and cleans up some guidance with its latest patch
Freaky shooter Once Human aims for a multiplayer beta next month
ASTRA Knights of Veda finally opens pre-registration March 5 – here’s the new trailer
Sandbox MMO Anvil Empires previews chunks of its smithing and weaponcrafting systems
Zenith OARPG Infinite Realms launches today as Steam reviews plummet over MMO development halt
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, planning to launch in late 2025
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 2024
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 Division Heartland: Closed testing
Dreamworld: Pre-alpha
Dune Awakening: Closed testing, signups now
ECO: Early access
Eleven: Closed alpha
Enlisted: Beta
Enshrouded: Early access
Eternal Tombs: Closed beta in April
EVE Vanguard: First beta test concluded
Evercore Heroes: Paid testing, updates stopping with a focus on a redesign
The First Descendant: Crossplay beta
Fractured Online: Paid early access, back on Steam
Fractured Veil: Early access
Frozen Flame: Early access
Genfanad: Beta
Ilysia: Early access
Inferna: Early access
Kurtzpel: Closed beta
Legendarium Online: Paid alpha access
Lost Skies: Pre-alpha
Monsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha
Mortal Exodus: Closed testing
Multiversus: Returned to closed testing
Nightingale: Early access
Noah’s Heart: Beta
Odd Giants: Alpha
Once Human: Open beta planned for March 28th
Outlaws of the Old West: Early access
Palia: Open beta
Palworld: Early access
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 through February 26th, 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
Seekers of Skyveil: Continuing alpha testing
Shadow’s Kiss: Early access (but read this first)
Ship of Heroes: Beta testing
Smite 2: Signups open, wipe-free beta mid-2024
Soulframe: “Pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha” testing wrapped up
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
Tombstone: Closed testing, release planned for this year
Trimurti Online: Stress testing, open beta February 13th
Valheim: Early access
V Rising: Early access
Valiance Online: Closed beta
The Wagadu Chronicles: 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.
