Betawatch: SMITE 2’s first alpha, Legends of Aria’s Classic beta

    
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Breathe.

Good morning, SMITE 2. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to enter your first testing phase this weekend. Your continuing mission is to justify your status as a sequel and delight your fans. Your other continuing mission is to have more bizarre crossovers like turning Odin into a ninja turtle (disclaimer: I don’t remember who got the ninja turtle skins, that’s not the point). Then we have another mission in here about something called “bofa” that I’m not reading. This message will self-destruct in about forty years, give or take.

Elsewhere in the Betaverse, Legends of Aria Classic is running a surprise beta this weekend because this time will be different. We also gave our first impressions of Pax Dei as a title during its current test phase, so if you’re curious about how that’s going but aren’t in testing… we tried it for you! We’re like the Test Interveners. Wait, that’s a terrible name, never mind.

To help you not mind, we’ve put a whole list of beta stories for the week just below, as well as our usual list of games in testing. Now, as we make jazz hands and move toward the exits, we implore you to let us know down in the comments if something slipped into a different test phase without our noticing. Fun for the family! (If you have a weird family, anyhow.)

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 Open testing
Closed Testing Closed testing
Paid Access Paid access
Legitimate MMORPG Legit MMORPG
Multiplayer Multiplayer
Malingering in Perpetual Testing Malingering

Open TestingLegitimate MMOAbyss: Open preview, early access starts May 7th
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOThe Adventurer’s Domain Online: Early access
Open TestingLegitimate MMOAero Tales Online: Early access
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOAge of Water: Early access
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOAnvil Empires: Intermittent alpha
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOArcane Waters: Early access
Open TestingLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingArcfall: Pre-alpha
Closed TestingMultiplayerARK 2: Paid early access
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOAshes of Creation: Alpha two in planning
Closed TestingMultiplayerAshfall: Closed beta
Closed TestingMultiplayerASKA: Closed beta, early access on June 20th
Paid AccessMultiplayerBattlebit: Early access
Closed TestingMultiplayerBattle Crush: Second global beta
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOBellatores: Closed testing
Paid AccessMultiplayerBellwright: Early access, developers of abandoned Last Oasis
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOBitcraft: Alpha planned for April 2nd, 2024
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOBlue Protocol: Launching worldwide in 2024, technical tests starting November 8th
Paid AccessMultiplayerBook of Travels: Early access
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOBrighter Shores: Launch planned for Q3 2024, MMO scale not yet clarified
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingCamelot Unchained: Closed beta, planning to launch in late 2025
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingChronicles of Elyria: Pre-alpha, again
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOChrono Odyssey: Closed testing
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOCinderstone Online: Closed beta
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingCity of Titans: Alpha
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOCoreborn: Nations of the Ultracore: Early access
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOCorepunk: Early access planned for 2024, second alpha delayed yet again
Paid AccessMultiplayerCraftopia: Early access
Closed TestingMultiplayerThe Crew Motorfest: Closed testing
Paid AccessMultiplayerMalingering in Perpetual TestingDark and Darker: Paid early access, legal troubles.
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingDark and Light: Early access (abandoned?)
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingDarkbind: Closed beta (probably abandoned?)
Closed TestingMultiplayerThe Division Heartland: Closed testing
Paid AccessLegitimate MMODreamworld: Pre-alpha
Closed TestingLegitimate MMODune Awakening: Closed testing, signups now
Paid AccessMultiplayerECO: Early access, full launch planned in 2024
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingEleven: Closed alpha
Open TestingMultiplayerEnlisted: Reinforced: Early access delayed for an indeterminate time
Paid AccessMultiplayerEnshrouded: Early access
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOEternal Tombs: Closed beta in April
Closed TestingMultiplayerEVE Vanguard: Second beta ongoing
Paid AccessMultiplayerEvercore Heroes: Paid testing, updates stopping with a focus on a redesign
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOEverCraft Online: Weekend-long open test starts April 19th
Paid AccessMultiplayerFinal Stand: Ragnarok: Early access (officially, really)
Open TestingMultiplayerThe First Descendant: Crossplay beta
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOFractured Online: Paid early access, back on Steam
Paid AccessMultiplayerFractured Veil: Early access
Paid AccessMultiplayerFrozen Flame: Early access
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOIlysia: Early access
Open TestingLegitimate MMOInferna: Early access
Open TestingLegitimate MMOKurtzpel: Closed beta
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOLegendarium Online: Paid alpha access
Closed TestingMultiplayerLost Skies: Pre-alpha
Closed TestingMultiplayerMarvel Rivals: Closed alpha in May
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOMonsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOMortal Exodus: Closed testing
Closed TestingMultiplayerMultiversus: Full launch on May 28th
Paid AccessMultiplayerNightingale: Early access
Open TestingMultiplayerMalingering in Perpetual TestingNoah’s Heart: Beta
Open TestingLegitimate MMOOdd Giants: Alpha
Closed TestingMultiplayerOnce Human: Closed beta finally starting after delays
Paid AccessMultiplayerMalingering in Perpetual TestingOsiris: New Dawn: Back from the dead, not on Steam any longer
Paid AccessMultiplayerMalingering in Perpetual TestingOutlaws of the Old West: Early access
Closed TestingMultiplayerPalia: Open beta
Paid AccessMultiplayerPalworld: Early access
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOPantheon: Backer alpha, 247 canceled
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOPast Fate: Closed testing
Closed TestingMultiplayerPath of Exile 2: Alpha June 2024
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOPax Dei: Closed alpha
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOPerfect New World: Closed beta
Open TestingLegitimate MMOPow Vista: Open beta (mobile)
Open TestingMultiplayerPredecessor: Free-to-play open beta, yet another Paragon do-over
Closed TestingMultiplayerProject Crawl: Closed testing
Closed TestingMultiplayerProject F4E: Closed testing
Closed TestingMultiplayerProject Genom: Closed alpha (servers offline, abandoned?)
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOProject Gorgon: Early access beta
Closed TestingMultiplayerProject Loki: Closed beta
Open TestingMultiplayerProject ST: Closed testing, open event ended
Open TestingMultiplayerProsperous Universe: Early access
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOQuinfall: Beta delayed to 2024
Closed TestingMultiplayerReturn Alive: Closed beta
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOReign of Guilds: Early access
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOSamuTale: “Paid closed alpha early access” according to the developer, which is just early access, come on dude
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingSeed: Active development
Closed TestingMultiplayerSeekers of Skyveil: Continuing alpha testing, open testing some time in March
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOShadow’s Kiss: Early access (but read this first)
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOShip of Heroes: Beta testing
Open TestingLegitimate MMOSky: Children of Light: Open early access
Closed TestingMultiplayerSmite 2: Signups open, first alpha May 2nd
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOSoulframe: “Pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha” testing wrapped up
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingStar Citizen: Backer alpha
Paid AccessMultiplayerStarbase: Early access open alpha
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOTarisland: Second closed beta
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOThrone & Liberty: Western launch delayed into 2024, live in South Korea
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOTombstone: Closed testing, release planned for this year
Paid AccessMultiplayerTribes 3: Rivals: Early access
Open TestingLegitimate MMOTrimurti Online: Stress testing, open beta February 13th
Paid AccessMultiplayerValheim: Early access
Paid AccessMultiplayerV Rising: Early access, full launch May 8
Paid AccessLegitimate MMOMalingering in Perpetual TestingValiance Online: Closed beta
Open TestingMultiplayerVindictus: Defying Fate: Open testing
Closed TestingLegitimate MMOThe Wagadu Chronicles: Early access
Open TestingLegitimate MMOWaven Early access
Closed TestingMultiplayerWayfinder 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.

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