Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best MMO Housing

December 25, 2021 12:00 PM

Welcome back to Massively Overpowered’s formal end-of-the-year awards!

Today’s award is for the Best MMO Housing of 2021, which was awarded to EverQuest II and Elder Scrolls Online last year. MMORPGs eligible for this award may have launched in any year as long as they are still alive (and legal) and still offer player housing; nominees should be judged based on the quality and depth of that feature and that feature alone. Don’t forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end!

And the MassivelyOP staff pick for the Best MMO Housing of 2021 is…

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Andy McAdams: EverQuest II yet again. Maybe Elder Scrolls Online, but it always looks like I need to be cleaning something in ESO. I like housing in ESO, but I haven’t felt as connected to a house in a game as I have in my EQII house in New Halas. ESO has a lot going for it; I just hate that everything constantly looks dirty and dingy. I just want a nice balance between “clean and pristine” and “the maid flipped the bird and stormed out 15 year ago and I promise I’ll get around to dusting some day.”

Brianna Royce: The same handful of MMOs always win this award in rotation, which isn’t a ding on them; it’s a ding on all the games that still haven’t got housing at all, let alone adequate housing. Since we must vote for a live MMO, I always throw a nod to RIFT, EverQuest II, and Elder Scrolls Online. I’d add New World to the list this year too, and frankly I had a blast on my Albion Online islands as well. I’m slightly grumpy about the idea of giving best housing to MMOs where the housing is chiefly a cash-shop tool, but even I must admit ESO’s housing is gorgeous. I mean seriously, I wish I were made of money to snag all of these.

Carlo Lacsina: Animal Crossing. Hands down. Yes, I count Animal Crossing as an MMO. This game is nothing but player housing, and it’s so calm and well-built, and most of all, there’s a strong community playing it!

Chris Neal: Trove. Two words: Club Worlds.

Colin Henry: LOTRO. It kind of flew under the radar, but LOTRO’s recently revamped hook system makes the aging housing system much more flexible and intuitive.

Eliot Lefebvre: I’d vote for you if you weren’t so stingy with your housing, Final Fantasy XIV. As it stands, I’d rather toss the nod to Star Wars: The Old Republic because I at least find the housing there fun and not horribly cash-shop reliant. That’s worth a poke.

Justin Olivetti: Elder Scrolls Online and RIFT — and MJ can just shush on that EverQuest II nonsense. Actually, she’s a pretty great interior decorator, so maybe listen to her instead of me.

Mia DeSanzo: No Man’s Sky.

Tyler Edwards: SWTOR.

Elder Scrolls Online took our award for Best MMO Housing. What’s your pick?

Reader poll: Which living MMO offered the best housing in 2021?

Elder Scrolls Online (21%, 164 Votes)
EverQuest II (7%, 57 Votes)
RIFT (5%, 37 Votes)
No Man's Sky (3%, 22 Votes)
SWTOR (9%, 73 Votes)
New World (5%, 37 Votes)
LOTRO (6%, 46 Votes)
Animal Crossing New Horizons (2%, 18 Votes)
Trove (1%, 11 Votes)
ArcheAge (4%, 31 Votes)
Black Desert (3%, 21 Votes)
Albion Online (2%, 16 Votes)
Ultima Online (2%, 18 Votes)
Wurm Online (1%, 7 Votes)
Crowfall (0%, 1 Votes)
Final Fantasy XIV (21%, 165 Votes)
DC Universe Online (1%, 4 Votes)
Aion (0%, 1 Votes)
Shroud of the Avatar (0%, 2 Votes)
Villagers and Heroes (0%, 0 Votes)
Fallout 76 (2%, 18 Votes)
Something else (tell us in the comments!) (3%, 22 Votes)

Total Voters: 669

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How does MassivelyOP choose the winner?

Our team gathers together to nominate and discuss candidates and hopefully settle on a consensus winner. We don’t have a hard vote, but we do include written commentary from every writer who submitted it on time so that you can see where some of us differed, what our secondary picks were, and why we personally nominated what we did (or didn’t). The site’s award goes to the staff selection, but we’ll include both it and the community’s top nomination in our debrief in January.

How does MassivelyOP populate this poll?

Poll options include all MMOs nominated plus a few others with housing we thought should be included.