Alphas & Betas

MMOs in various stages of testing and crowdfunding, playable and… not. Don’t forget to follow our Betawatch and Make My MMO columns for a weekly rundown. [Follow this category’s RSS feed]

Stars Reach’s Raph Koster: ‘We’re going into space, and it’s going to be awesome’

19
Playable Worlds' Raph Koster is back with yet another batch of Stars Reach game pillars, the driving concepts behind the MMORPG sandbox's design. We've...
Swanky.

LOTRO invites everyone to play Hide-and-Seek on the new Mordor server today

1
If you're awake and have had your second breakfast already, you might be in time to check out an afternoon stress test for Lord...

Here’s what to expect from New World’s two-phase Aeternum console beta tomorrow

3
All right finally here we go: Amazon has just pushed out a big post on what exactly gamers can expect from New World's first...

X-LEGEND is bringing a classic yet ‘fully upgraded’ version of Grand Fantasia to Steam

3
It's been a little bit since Grand Fantasia crossed our collective minds, so that means we need to review for a moment: The anime...

‘Adaption shooter’ Ascendant is plotting an August open beta – with transmedia ambitions

0
What the heck is an "adaption shooter"? That was my first and really only question upon first hearing about Ascendant (fka Ascendant Infinity), PlayFusion's...

Ultima Online sets its first New Legacy open beta for this weekend

1
On the MassivelyOP podcast this week, Justin and I were speculating on when the Ultima Online New Legacy beta is happening - surely it...

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen posts an early access FAQ, says periodic wipes may happen

9
Have you wrapped your head fully around the fact that Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is coming to early access by the end of...

Scars of Honor’s July dev stream showcases the continent and races of Irongarth

0
A place that's named Irongarth kind of suggests a rugged land with rugged people living rugged lives, but as Scars of Honor pointed out...

Anvil Empires offers a look at combat updates, territory control, and the Underworld

0
Work on the medieval persistent war MMO Anvil Empires continues, which means that once again developer Siege Camp is providing another monthly development update...

Starbase dates its returning in-game ship building Eos Con showcase for July 26

0
Are you ready for two days of spaceship? Then you're going to want to punch your non-existent ticket to Eos Con, the in-game showcase...

VR MMO Ilysia performs a top-down overhaul of its core systems

1
It's been a good stretch since we last checked in with Ilysia, a Kickstarted virtual reality MMO that went into early access last fall....

Stars Reach’s Raph Koster argues that a persistent virtual world is ‘too powerful an idea’ to dismiss

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Those watching the online gaming genre with a growing sense of dismay at everything drifting away from large, persistent MMO worlds may find solace...

Grab a New World Aeternum PS5 console beta key from MOP and Amazon – EU version

1
After a brief delay, MMORPG players - and non-MMORPG players, as Amazon hopes - will finally be getting their first look at New World's...

Grab a New World Aeternum PS5 console beta key from MOP and Amazon – NA version

4
After a brief delay, MMORPG players - and non-MMORPG players, as Amazon hopes - will finally be getting their first look at New World's...

Throne & Liberty KR’s upcoming new skill system update is reportedly headed for global release

3
Were you among those who found the combat in Throne & Liberty's ongoing open beta to be a bit blasé? Then perhaps you'll want...
Did you know there was an IP here?

Betawatch: Holy crap, Throne & Liberty actually entered open beta in the west

3
Yes, at long last, that headline is true. Throne & Liberty has begun its open beta, with some issues along the way as well...

PvPvE medieval extraction RPG Dungeonborne begins its free-to-play Steam early access

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Last week we cast our eyes to Dungeonborne, a first-person multiplayer PvPvE extraction RPG that lets solo players or teams band together to delve...

The Stream Team: Hopping in to the open beta of Throne & Liberty

1
It's time for MOP's Chris to once again to start on another open beta adventure! This time his destination is NCsoft's and Amazon's Throne...
So what now?

Raph Koster’s Stars Reach will offer shorter play sessions specifically to boost stickiness

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Playable Worlds' lengthy blog post on Stars Reach's middle quad of pillars earlier this week wasn't long enough, or so Raph Koster suggests, as...

Throne & Liberty’s open beta wrestles with login issues and EU server problems, showcases early access bundles

18
The past day of open beta for Throne & Liberty has gone about as one might have expected, which is to say that the...