To balance out our traditional Daily Grind on MMOs that contribute to the death of the genre, it seems only fitting to do one on the MMOs that push the genre forward too. In fact, this is one of the categories that pops up every year as a possible formal award, but it’s often sidelined by things like “best indie,” since let’s face it, a lot of the genre’s innovation is happening in indies. And a lot of those indies aren’t done yet. Not even close. So they’re not up for many awards.
That brings us to the question of the day then. I’m not talking about your favorite MMORPG, here, mind you. I’m talking about the individual ideas they’re bringing to the whole genre. Camelot Unchained, for example, has the potential to revolutionize large-scale combat and AI. Pantheon’s perception system is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in an MMORPG (the closest cognate is maybe WildStar’s paths). And Torchlight Frontiers is trying to make housing cool again.
What was the most innovative MMO of 2018, launched or not – and why?