No type of game hits quite like an MMO. That’s not to say that it’s the best style of game; there is no best style. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all that. But there’s something special about an MMO, about sharing a world with so many other people with the same interests.
There are quite a fewliving and breathing MMOsthat are around right now for you to enjoy, like Elder Scrolls Online, DC Universe Online, Eve Online and more; but what of the future? What’s on the horizon that’s going to be the next world we lose ourselves in?
8Stars Reach
Planned Full Release In The First Half Of 2026
Stars Reach might be the most ambitious game on this list, created by Playable Worlds, who are led by the designer of Star Wars Galaxies and Ultima Online. It’s a sci-fi MMORPG, which is surprisingly rare for a genre that should lend itself extremely well to the format. But the setting isn’t necessarily what sets Stars Reach apart.
Stars Reach intends to let players define the one galaxy the game is set in. Players will build their own settlements, control the economy, run their own stores, create and sell their own ships, and more. It has pretty much everything you want in a sci-fi MMORPG, and I’m very excited to see if it’ll stick the landing.
7Chrono Odyssey
Planned Release In Q4 2025
Chrono Odyssey is being developed by Chrono Studio on the Unreal 5 engine. It’s an MMORPG set in a more traditional setting, and with the kinds of character classes you would expect in a fantasy setting, like Assassin’s, Paladin’s, Sorcerer’s, etc.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Chrono Odyssey sounds like the time-traveling aspect, allowing you to go back in time to a location when it might have been quite a lot different than it is now. If they can pull it off, it could add some interesting, unique mechanics to a genre that sees far too little of those.
6Untitled Lord Of The Rings MMO
Unknown Release Date
Amazon is working on a Lord of the Rings MMO; no, not the onethat they canceleda few years ago, but a new one. It’s still too early to gleam much information about the game. It’ll likely take some of the things that work the best about New World, but it’s going to have to do some new things to stand out from the crowd, too.
Its biggest boon will obviously be the LOTR world that it will get to make use of; if they can make that world half as interesting to explore in the game as it is in the booksand movies, then the game is almost certainly going to be some level of a success.
5Soulframe
Unknown Release Date, Planned 2025
Soulframe is coming from Digital Extremes, who have worked magic on Warframe, making that one of the most consistently popular games of the last decade. They’re taking their talents away from sci-fi and heading into a fantasy setting, while still clearly keeping their signature touch on the world and the designs.
Soulframe has a bit of gameplay footage out there, and from what I’ve seen, it looks like it’s going to have some of the best combat in an MMORPG since DC Universe Online, which is unsurprising considering the developer. If they can manage to create a gameplay loop with that combat and set it in an interesting world, this could be one of the most promising MMORPGs of the near future.
4Light No Fire
My personal most-anticipated game on this list is on the way from Hello Games. I’m the guy who liked No Man’s Sky back when it launched, but has utterly fallen in love with it in recent years. Light No Fire is their next huge undertaking, and the technologies that they’ve been developing for it have been steadily trickling into No Man’s Sky itself.
If NMS is any indication, Light No Fire is going to have a long tail after release. I have faith that after the launch of NMS they understand the expectations behind the launch of Light No Fire, but whatever state the game launches in, we can reasonably have faith that they are going to continue to meaningfully support it well past launch.
3Ashes Of Creation
Ashes of Creation is being developed by Intrepid Studios, who appear to be dedicated to taking their time to ensure what they deliver meets expectations, with alpha tests continuing throughout the year and no date set in stone for beta or release.
What Ashes of Creation seems to be aiming for is a traditional MMORPG in flavor, but done to such a high quality that the polish sets it apart from the crowd. On paper, many of the ideas when it comes to the gameplay and the world seem ambitious, but not inherently unique. But in practice, if all of those mechanics come together as planned, it could be something special.
2Monsters And Memories
Early Access Q1 2026
Monsters and Memories plans to take things old-school, with a monthly subscription, but absolutely no microtransactions or paid expansions past that. While I understand part of the need for microtransactions, the thought of a game entirely devoid of them does make my heart skip a beat.
Monsters and Memories has a smaller volunteer development team, including a former EverQuest and DC Universe Online developer. While it is a small-budget MMORPG, the quality of what’s there matters more than anything. And if they can manage to replicate that old-school feel, the old-school look might actually work to their benefit, rather than be a drawback.
1Untitled Riot MMO
Finally, Riot has an MMO set in the League of Legends universe. While that universe might not have the pedigree of something like Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Universe, it’s still a world that millions of people have already invested their time in, making it a great choice to explore further.
There’s next to nothing known about what the MMO is going to be like, apart from the general setting. Riot has understandably kept things very close to the vest on it thus far, and likely has not wanted to announce much about the game until more of it is set in stone.
