We aren’t exactly thrilled with the way that Palia’s development team has been dancing hither and yon around the title of beta recently, but that sure as heck doesn’t mean any of us wanted to see that 35% of the development team at Singularity 6 got laid off. That’s just awful news. Our condolences to the developers working on the game affected by the layoffs. No opprobrium here.
Now, we can apply some opprobrium elsewhere. Like Greg Street showing concept art like it’s a first look at the game he’s making. Or Derek Smart promising that Alganon is going to have alpha testing this year and relaunch next year. (It’s always next year.) Or even just the kinda tricksy one-day beta test for Eternal Tombs. I got nothing negative to say about Reign of Guilds at the moment, but maybe if I really try I could come up with something for its early access launch?
Nah, that’s not worth it, that’s just looking for things to be angry about. I have enough upsetting things in my life, I’m just going to go rest while you check out the full beta news roundup and then check on the list of games in testing just below. As always, if you notice something slipped into a new test phase and we missed it, let us know down in the comments.
Derek Smart’s Alganon is planning a 2025 relaunch following alpha this year
Palia studio Singularity 6 has been hit by layoffs – 35% of the team impacted
Greg ‘Ghostcrawler’ Street’s Fantastic Pixel Castle delivers a prototype peek of Project Ghost
Final Stand Ragnarok releases 1.0 update with updated maps and hero models
EverQuest II announces a new 2006-era progression server called Origins, hitting beta in May
Jump Ship is a ‘mission-based co-op PvE space adventure’ headed for early access this year
Tarisland’s latest class preview video is all about the bow-firing Ranger
Throne & Liberty’s next global beta remains under NDA, tests combat and trading
Starship Simulator is a Kickstarter new multiplayer space game about exploring a Milky Way replica
Eternal Tombs opens a one-day playtest on Steam – here’s how to get in and play
MMO sandbox Anvil Empires previews homesteading upgrades and new crafting stations
Once Human finally enters its latest closed beta for PC after a couple of delays
Tarisland’s latest beta preview video showcases the male Paladin class
Pax Dei previews the ‘minimum viable product’ of its next alpha build’s PvP area
Gigantic Rampage Edition throws a spotlight over the second previously unreleased character Kajir
Crossplatform gacha MMO Astra Knights of Veda has officially launched as Steam reviews turn red
Chrono Odyssey pitches its time travel format, announces that it’s coming to the Epic Store
Monster & Memories has only cost $70K to date – from the devs’ pockets
Co-op roguelike Inkbound pushes its exit from early access a day ahead of schedule
EverCraft Online is a boxy pre-alpha MMORPG that seeks a return to the ‘classic roots’ of the genre
The Quinfall drops new gameplay overview videos, closes CBT applications April 10
Age of Water will launch on consoles at the same time its PC early access starts
Ready or not, PvP sandbox Reign of Guilds has launched into early access
The Stream Team: Taking a friend along for a ride in the Starship Simulator demo
Pax Dei’s upcoming 100K-player alpha announces server info to help groups and guilds plan
Palworld summons a raid boss and adds new items, Craftopia introduces a gathering drone
Fight or Kite: Predecessor’s open beta brings back MOBA action and a heap of nostalgia
Albion Online kicks off European server closed beta for founder pack buyers
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, early access April 18th
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: Second global 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: Reinforced: Early access delayed for an indeterminate time
Enshrouded: Early access
Eternal Tombs: Closed beta in April
EVE Vanguard: Second beta ongoing
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
Marvel Rivals: Closed alpha in May
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: Closed beta finally starting after delays
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: Alpha June 2024
Pax Dei: Closed alpha, week-long public test in April
Perfect New World: Closed beta
Pow Vista: Open beta (mobile)
Predecessor: Free-to-play open beta, 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: Early access
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.
