Everyone was a little suspicious when MultiVersus shut down and promised it would be back again some day, since we were all pretty sure we’d heard this song before and we know how it goes. But to our great shock, the game is coming back after all, complete with a targeted launch date of May 28th! Of course, it is also apparently completely rebuilt, so whether or not this is good news for existing fans is a bit of an open question. Like, is this a “still the same game but it works better” rebuild, or is it a “wearing the game’s name like a skin suit” rebuild?
Speaking of things you will believe when you see them, Star Citizen promises it will actually start laying out a path to launch after it outlines a path to alpha 4.0 after it outlines a… y’know, it’s Zeno’s Paradox all the way down. Final Stand: Ragnarok is hitting early access again but for real this time (just read that article; it is convoluted). Also CCP Game’s blockchain-based thing is… actually, that’s it. That’s all I need to say about it. You stopped reading it there.
This week’s big beta news all makes me kinda want to just turn off my internet connection forever, but there’s a lot of beta stories in the roundup just below. And there are a whole lot of games in our list of games in testing below that, some of them new this week. As always, if something slipped into a new test phase without us noticing, let us know down in the comments so we can correct us. Or just let us know about how your own beta testing is going, that’s cool too.
Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts confirms development is moving to a full 1.0 release
Star Citizen finally posts its 2022 fiscal report, acknowledges Squadron 42 can’t be in ‘part finished form’
CCP Games’ blockchain EVE Online spinoff Project Awakening plots next test phase for May
First impressions: Final Stand Ragnarok is not Camelot Unchained, but it’s a fun romp anyway
Raph Koster’s Playable Worlds enlists ‘AI-powered’ character platform Popul8
Besieged by bitcoin bots, BitCraft reiterates that it’s not a crypto or NFT MMO
Jagex co-founder announces Brighter Shores MMO, launching free-to-play in Q3 2024
World of Warcraft-inspired Scars of Honor’s latest video sure is something
MultiVersus is back and launching May 28 with a ground-up rebuild and PvE mode
Camelot Unchained prequel Final Stand Ragnarok launches into early access – again – today
TitanQuest 2 teases handcrafted gameworld and its unique twist on Sparta
Vampire survival game V Rising is finally launching out of early access on May 8
Nightingale expounds on its roadmap and why the offline mode is a medium-term project
The Stream Team: Making a quick jaunt into Final Stand Ragnarok
The Gigantic revival reveals two new maps coming with its April 9 relaunch
Enshrouded’s 2024 roadmap promises dungeons, farming, functioning chairs, biomes, and water
Vindictus’ sequel, Defying Fate, has kicked off its pre-alpha test phase
Predecessor, another MOBA built from the bones of Paragon, plans March 28 open beta while still in early access
Abyss MMO begins testing on Mac, plans early access for April 18
Extraction MOBA Seekers of Skyveil drops new video and opens March playtest signups
Pantheon recaps updates since beginning season one ahead of this weekend’s test wave
Tribes 3 Rivals hits early access, lays out a roadmap through the second quarter
Craftopia releases its spring update with future technology, mithril, and more
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, early access starts April 18th
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 April 2nd, 2024
Blue Protocol: Launching worldwide in 2024, technical tests starting November 8th
Book of Travels: Early access
Brighter Shores: Launch planned for Q3 2024, MMO scale not yet clarified
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, full launch planned in 2024
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
Final Stand: Ragnarok: Early access (officially, really)
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: Full launch on May 28th
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)
Predecessor: Early access, open beta on March 28th, yet another Paragon do-over
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, open testing some time in March
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
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
Tribes 3: Rivals: Early access
Trimurti Online: Stress testing, open beta February 13th
Valheim: Early access
V Rising: Early access, full launch May 8
Valiance Online: Closed beta
Vindictus: Defying Fate: Open testing
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.
