Like Oscar Isaac folding his arms and lowering his head with an exasperated sigh, we must report to you that somehow, World of Warcraft testing has returned. If you consider testing for the next expansion to be the equivalent to full beta tests for new games, which I don’t, but it does mean that there will be very few mysteries about the game now because people are going to datamine the heck out of it. You know, exactly like has happened every single time over the past decade or so.
Elsewhere, Life is Feudal has somehow also returned with its relaunch on Steam. Then we’ve got Age of Water which has delayed its own early access period by a week, which means that you’re going to be waiting a little longer for the title, and somehow Legends of Aria is claiming that it’s going to be relaunching in a classic form? This week could have just been summarized by the Somehow Palpatine Returned meme. I could have saved so much time.
Heck, this column is basically that meme anyway. Somehow, our list of games in testing has returned. Although the roundup below is new, because it’s covering things from the last week, so that didn’t really return so much as it was just there. The concept has persisted. Somehow, we are encouraging you to read the full list and let us know if anything changed down in the comments. Somehow, we will appreciate it.
Star Citizen pushes back alpha 3.23’s new hangars and cargo missions, adds in water physics instead
Chronicles of Elyria’s Jeromy Walsh holds a ‘fireside chat’ that’s long on promise but short on timelines
Space exploration sandbox Starship Simulator successfully funds at over $497K
Metaverse MMO Avalon gets $10M investment, talks up its game features, AI tools, and Web3
Whatever happened to Wildcard’s pirate-themed sandbox MMO Atlas?
Post-layoffs, Palia is celebrating its alpha anniversary with a new buyable bundle
Life is Feudal MMO continues its comeback with a relaunch on Steam
Fractured adds new playable demon races and cash shop with its May 8th Invasion update
Kickstarted MMORPG Legends of Aria is relaunching as Legends of Aria Classic on May 9
Abyss is open now for playtesting ahead of its early access launch, delayed to May 7
Ghost dev Brian Holinka broadly discusses the MMO’s combat model
Tarisland answers player questions about classes and PvE features
The Quinfall will let you dress up your horse and have a hornet for a pet
Kickstarted cozygame Solarpunk didn’t make its Q1 alpha, but devs say they’re ‘making significant progress’
Past Fate projects early access launch sometime in the third or fourth quarter of this year
Last Oasis, four years in early access, finally releases its modkit and teases season 6 (again)
SMITE 2’s founder’s editions will get you into this spring’s alpha tests
Siege Camp’s Anvil Empires plans a four-day alpha this weekend – here’s how to sign up
World of Warcraft opens beta signups for The War Within
Gaijin’s ocean adventure MMO Age of Water delays early access a week
Tarisland answers more questions about PvP, monetization, economy, and cross-platform progression
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: Open preview, early access starts May 7th
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
Bellwright: Early access April 23rd, developers of abandoned Last Oasis
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, second alpha delayed yet again
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
EverCraft Online: Weekend-long open test starts April 19th
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
Sky: Children of Light: Open early access
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.
