Massively Overthinking: The top three MMOs we played in 2024

I know from experience that when I list out the MMOs I want to play in a given year, it is an aspirational list. What I actually get around to and make time to play is another story – and I bet I’m not alone! For this week’s Massively Overthinking roundtable, I’m asking our writers and readers to tell me about the three MMOs they played they most in 2024. What were they, and why did they resonate so strongly with you this year?

Andy McAdams: This year was a little bit… uninspired when it comes to MMOs, at least for me. I played the new Final Fantasy XIV expansion but got bored before I finished the MSQ. I’m playing World of Warcraft again after about a year. I also made a stop into Guild Wars 2. Those are the ones that jump to mind. Maybe some City of Heroes too.

But I feel like I spent less time in MMOs this year than in years past. Part of that has been that’s been kind of a wild year (switched jobs at seven years, moved four states away, and just general craziness of life related to those two things). But I think it’s also like there was a lot happening this year with the same old faces – even the new games that launched are games we’ve been watching for years and years. I would love to see someone truly new come onto the scene.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna.bsky.social, blog): I think people will be surprised at what I played the most! At least, I am.

Guild Wars 2 – It’s not that I never played GW2; on the contrary, I’ve played it a lot off and on since launch. But never with this much excitement and depth, and not generally for five months straight. And it’s not housing that did it, ironically; it was modernizing my builds, switching to a different toon, and falling in love with exploration again.

City of Heroes – I spent the first part of the year playing all the City of Heroes, thanks to the fact that NCsoft granted Homecoming an official license and everyone else was in there too. I also got obsessed with the building and modding systems in the game, which is always a surefire way to get me to overstay my welcome.

Lord of the Rings Online – I fell in love with my Lyndelby house, and that sucked down a ton of time as I hacked away at leveling my Hunter yet again and then almost immediately got distracted by alts (my Champion and Mariner got equal time, followed by my Warden and then my Loremaster in duos). I didn’t hit my Hunter’s goal for the year because of that, but I had a ton of fun.

I logged a little time in Star Wars Galaxies Legends early on in the year when I finally picked up a Bespin apartment and toured the new player city additions, and I played it in smaller spurts over the year, especially summer, but not enough to crack into my top three. I was declining in there in 2023 too. I still love it, but I was running out of intrinsic motivation to keep crafting and stocking when I’m having more fun exploring in other MMOs.

Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes.bsky.social, blog): Final Fantasy XIV was my biggie because, well, it’s my home game, and that’s not going to be changing anytime soon. It’s where my family and friends are. I ain’t leavin’.

After that, things get a bit more flighty in terms of time spent, and I’m going off of guestimated time instead of actual. With those asterisks marked, I recall a lot of time spent making alts and alts and alts in City of Heroes Homecoming (that’s what the game is, it’s an alt manufactory) and casually dabbling about in Elder Scrolls Online because I have my first-ever high level character and she’s a good kitty girl that deserves all of the necromantic power in Tamriel.

Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): Final Fantasy XIV was my big game this year, but honestly amidst everything else going on in my life I didn’t really hop around a whole lot… except when City of Heroes came back, when you know I devoted a bunch of my time and energy to that. (The columns are right there to attest to it!) It’s been an absolute blast seeing that the game still holds up and is still fun even as my own playstyle has changed in the years since when it waved farewell (unfortunately).

Beyond that, though, it’s been a lot of less-massively games this year, and I honestly would kind of give the nod here to Satisfactory – the game finally fully launched, and while it does have its weaknesses (especially in the later stages), it’s a really fun factory game through and through.

Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): Since I keep track of these things, this is the easiest Overthinking I’ll do this year! Lord of the Rings Online remained my “home” game as I wrapped up Corsairs of Umbar, ventured into the new Legacy of Morgoth, and rolled a Captain on the fresh progression server. World of Warcraft had me in its thrall all year as well, thanks to Pandaria Remix this summer and The War Within this fall. And finally, WoW Classic sucked me back in, big-time, with its 20th anniversary edition. As weird and janky as it is, WoW Classic still holds up in 2024!

Sam Kash (@samkash@mastodon.social): My most played and enjoyed MMO was Harry Potter Magic Awakened. I literally played every single day until it went offline. It just filled the time and content niche I needed.

Second is maybe Rabbit and Steel, which is MMO-adjacent, really. I’ve logged into that and played the local multiplayer several times as my family just loves those cute heroes.

Last up is Throne and Liberty, which is still fairly new to me; however I am most hopeful that it will take a good chunk of my time in the future. I can see it landing as a great co-op to play.

Tyler Edwards (blog): World of Warcraft and New World were the only MMOs I sunk significant time into this year. I also dabbled in The Secret World, and I might have played some GW2 early in the year (honestly can’t remember if that was late 2023 or early 2024), but mostly it’s been WoW and NW.

The only really noteworthy story here is that I returned to WoW after quitting at the end of Legion and really not expecting to ever come back. It was the promise of the Worldsoul Saga’s story that drew me in, but delves, the death of Pathfinder, and a generally more laidback feel around the game’s endgame design that have really hooked me.

Every week, join the Massively OP staff for Massively Overthinking column, a multi-writer roundtable in which we discuss the MMO industry topics du jour – and then invite you to join the fray in the comments. Overthinking it is literally the whole point. Your turn!