Last year, I assembled a list of 10 former MMOs that not only have ceased to exist but have ceased to be remembered (for the most part). With so many deceased projects littering the past, unfortunately it’s a list that can easily be expanded.
So today we’re going to dip into yet another batch of 10 MMOs that have all but disappeared from the public consciousness. Maybe in our revisiting of them, we might revive a fond memory or two, eh? Or, at the least, spark an “oh yeah, that was a thing that happened!”
Elyon
Bluehole’s Elyon started with strong promise in 2021, melding fantasy with a touch of sci-fi and a whole lot of gorgeous visuals. It was actually a lot more promising when it was called Ascent: Infinite Realm (AIR) and had much more of a steampunk bent. That’s perhaps why the title cratered after about a year in the west, as it was watered down to be yet another generic Korean import rather than a title that offered a bold new vision.
Crowfall
In the annals of Kickstarter MMO disappointments, Crowfall may not lead the pack, but it’s pretty high up there. This spiritual successor to Shadowbane had a whole lot going for it, including an audacious PvP design, many game modes, and one of the best rosters of fantasy races we’ve seen in a long time. But the title dithered too long in development and limped out of the game with a half-baked and unexciting product. It technically went into indefinite hiatus, but don’t kid yourself — it’s not coming back.
Defiance
Syfy’s Defiance was actually a respectable TV series, running from three seasons from 2013-15 with an intriguing premise and some fully realized alien races. It was also notable for having a companion MMORPG running alongside of it. Trion’s Defiance did OK — it was always more of a cult favorite than a mainstream hit — but it struggled to stay relevant when the TV show went off the air. It did make it to two different versions and the year 2021 before it gave up the ghost.
Master X Master
Yeah I’m going to fudge a bit on the MMO-nature of a couple of these entries just because they have to be mentioned. NCsoft pumped a whole lot of resources and effort into making its MOBA Master X Master a serious contender to League of Legends when it came out in June 2017. However, its arrival was too late to muscle in on a well-cemented field, and the writing was on the wall almost immediately after launch. The studio pulled the plug on this project by January of the following year.
The Repopulation
The full saga of The Repopulation is too lengthy and full of bizarre twists and turns to condense into a single paragraph. Suffice it to say, what once began as an honest spiritual successor to Star Wars Galaxies got bogged down in development hell, traded to a wholly different studio, and never realized its promise or premise. By January 2023, this project was as completely dead as any could ever be, with years upon years of work tossed into the trash.
HEX
From now through forever, HEX will be catalogued in my brain as “that weird Kickstarted hybrid card/MMO that MJ was crazy about.” Perhaps that’s as good an epitaph as one could ever aspire, but it also highlights how this title took one risk too many and couldn’t break into the mainstream.
Revelation Online
Speaking of mental categories, where else to slot Revelation Online than wherever you think about typically beautiful but generically irrelevant Korean imports? This title rode off into the sunset on March 13th of this year, and I guarantee you that nobody was thinking about it on the 14th. Goes to show that you’ve got to have brains with your beauty if you want to make it in this industry.
Battlestar Galactica Online
Back when the Syfy channel was actually producing sci-fi and not shark-infested tornadoes, it enjoyed a breakout hit with Battlestar Galactica. This in turn prompted the creation of a lesser-known browser MMO that ran from 2011 to 2019 (yes, eight years!) and enjoyed an initial interest in the millions. It was kind of lackluster dogfighting in space, but it still allowed players to live out their fantasies of being in the show.
Magic Legends
At one point in time, Cryptic was an MMO Good Idea Machine, with fun and enjoyable (if janky) games set in fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero universes. So we were understandably excited to hear about a new title from this firm, especially once we heard that it was going to be an MMO adaptation of Magic: The Gathering. Alas, the end product — Magic Legends — was some sort of odd MMOARPG that crashed and burned so fast that it didn’t make it seven months into open beta. RIP 2021-2021.
Anthem
Wanting to take a bite of that lucrative Destiny market, BioWare came out hard with 2019’s Anthem. And despite this sci-fi third-person shooter (with jetpacks!) racking up 5M sales and some strong reviews, BioWare couldn’t make this fly. The studio tried to reinvent the game in 2020, eventually giving up completely and shutting the title down in early 2021.
Everyone likes a good list, and we are no different! Perfect Ten takes an MMO topic and divvies it up into 10 delicious, entertaining, and often informative segments for your snacking pleasure. Got a good idea for a list? Email us at justin@massivelyop.com or eliot@massivelyop.com with the subject line “Perfect Ten.”
