Are MMORPGS Dead?

[Mad Thumps]

So, serious question I've noticed most MMOS have been around for somewhere about 10 years that've got any content or really dedicated playerbase. Is this the expectation or is the industry waiting for the next big thing? What other games will replace giants like FFXIV, ESO, GW2? New World definitely was NOT it. Just trying to figure it out if I should go back to these older games or wait patiently for the new big thing.

[william_es]

Kinda.

Few people want to devote that much time to an MMO anymore. They are massive time sinks, and always have been. People want bite sized experiences, with drop in/out playtime.

A lot of the newer MMO's have failed massively because NOTHING was planned for after the game was launched. They shipped the game out like it was an old school product in a box you put on a shelf in a game store. They "finished" it, and moved on to another project. That's not how MMO's work (or at least should).

One of the first things I do for a newly announced or launched MMO is go check around for any evidence they are hiring for support staff: Community manager, gm's, etc. If I can't find any evidence they're planning for the continued growth of that MMO, it's usually one that fails and dies almost instantly.

[𝒞𝒶𝓉𝓎𝒶♡]

Originally posted by Mad Thumps:

So, serious question I've noticed most MMOS have been around for somewhere about 10 years that've got any content or really dedicated playerbase. Is this the expectation or is the industry waiting for the next big thing? What other games will replace giants like FFXIV, ESO, GW2? New World definitely was NOT it. Just trying to figure it out if I should go back to these older games or wait patiently for the new big thing.

The game genre as a whole is not perhaps what it once was, but i feel lot of that is of old players nostalgia feelings. When their friends did quit, went for careers, they also might have less time to play and real world stuff to deal with, so they only remember the "good old times" with friends and the memes, so anything and everything feels less fun when has that nostalgia about certain times.

But as someone who started to play GW2 last year? I am loving it and feel sort of re-energized to whole MMO gaming thanks to it, even it's old game. It just has that special something for me. Combat and loot model (and how i can farm gold and buy cash shop stuff for free with the gold conversion it has and not be ripped off like in other games) is fun for me and i am totally addicted to Guild Wars 2 now. Yes, i have become a true fangirl, and not even shamed about it.

For me personally GW2 feels more fresh and original (and decently looking for over a decade old game, no Unreal Engine 5, but all the particle effect gear/weapons and the world look awesome to me in max settings and i play in 2k, so even in that resolution the game is pretty enough, because MMO limitations anyways what comes to graphic assets) even if it is old game, 1800 hours in clocked while played now 1 year. :)

So very much enjoyable as someone who joined in as a new player and the game is very much alive. Then open world gameplay is actually way more active with people everywhere in GW2 than in any other MMO i have played (and i have played FF14 for 3 years and ESO for 5 years, ESO i did quit fully tho, it has too many problems they never gonna fix, like the performance).

Next big thing? Probably Ashes of Creation. In like 3-5 years when it comes out most likely. Most MMO enjoyers are wishing that game will be good and the "next big mmo" (and it will be, at least like 1-3 months at launch, then depends how much endgame content it has at launch and how good gameplay loop and the pvp structure it has to keep people playing before new content arrives, or it will suffer same fate as New World..

New World started as PVP oriented game, they changed focus to PVE, the game started to die.. sad times. It cannot/could not compete with FF14 and WoW, those are already the Kings of instanced raiding, so any new MMO imho that comes to market better focus on other things, like really well done open world gameplay and/or (prefer AND) pvp that has meaning impact on the pve side of the game also, AoC looks like it will be just that. But the launch will show how it is, hope they have enough content for all types of players when it comes.

But, Ashes of Creation is now heading to Alpha 2 soon, and by how it looks, it's still probably like 3-5 years from launch as said.. So yeah, as MMO player, i will play the best picks from the old games until then. And i play FF14 personally for instanced raiding AND GW2 for it's chill and fun open world gameplay and WvW mode.

So yes, better just kinda accept playing the old "classics" for a while still tbh. And for me GW2 has been pure enjoyment and game i fell in love with. And now at 1 year mark, i feel i value the things it has even more. It has become sorta my 2nd life lmao, and has very cool people (new friends) in the community.

And yes, personally hyped for next expansion, has things i am interested in and even the new area we get to explore was something i wanted to explore when looking at the map and wishing i could go there too. Soon i can. ^^

I wish all GW2 friends & enjoyers awesome summer day!

[Soul Reaver]

a game with many players in a single map is not an impressive thing anymore. most mmos require a huge time investment and commitment from the community, they're too grindy and very expensive to make as well.

im sticking to GW2 because it got the mmo feeling and it respects my time, stopped playing all other mmos.

[Daniel]

It’s not that MMOs have died per se, it’s just that the environment in which they have to compete for people’s spare time has drastically changed.

[william_es]

Originally posted by Daniel:

It’s not that MMOs have died per se, it’s just that the environment in which they have to compete for people’s spare time has drastically changed.

Yeah, you kind of nailed it there. There are just far far far more games out there. And they're all competing to monopolize your time/hands/eyeballs. Battlepasses, limited time events, etc.

This is probably what kills most new mmo's now. It's like how older established trees block out the sunlight and prevent saplings from even growing under their canopies. People switch to a new MMO, play for a bit, and if it's NOT 110% a perfect magical experience, they just go back to other games. It's the whole feast/famine cycle. And the famine part kills new MMOs. They can't weather the dropoff.

When I was much much younger, there were only a handful of games that you could even remotely call "online" or "massive multiplayer". There were a few big breakouts like world of warcraft and everquest (often called "evercrack" for the way it destroyed some people's lives). And those early games were definitely NOT respectful of time. I remember sitting around for 5-15 minutes regenning health as a warrior in everquest. That was just considered normal. You ate food buffs, applied bandages, and then watched paint dry as your health bar slowly crawled up like a tortoise with 4 broken legs. And this was after a fight with _normal_ mobs, not a boss or anything.

There were no built in healing abilities in all classes like we have today, or your health recharging to max in 2 second while out of combat.

As as far as grinding goes... the new games don't even hold a candle. I read all the requirements for unlocking a scalebane mount in guild wars, and just shrugged. Seen worse, done worse in other games. I remember spending real world months camping certain dungeons in everquest for rare drops. Bone blade claymore. The name alone makes me shudder even nowadays. The old games had hellish grinds.

[naapsuland]

play these old games

[💜 Velvet]

most new MMORPGS are dead or dying but older games like gw2 are still doing well... i think

[Tiberius]

Those survival and battle royale games have replaced the need for mmo

[MangorushZ]

I think most people just stick to the MMO's they first started with which is being WoW, FF14, GW2 and ESO on PC/Console.

[Hefutoxin]

Originally posted by Mad Thumps:

So, serious question I've noticed most MMOS have been around for somewhere about 10 years that've got any content or really dedicated playerbase. Is this the expectation or is the industry waiting for the next big thing? What other games will replace giants like FFXIV, ESO, GW2? New World definitely was NOT it. Just trying to figure it out if I should go back to these older games or wait patiently for the new big thing.

I think some players are waiting for the next big thing. The MMO genre has been more or less the same.

FFXI, DDO, BDO, PSO2, SWtoR, and Destiny 2 are still getting updates.

Throne of Liberty, Pax Dei, Once Human, and Dune Awakening are close to launch.

Quite a few others are hanging on, like various Cryptic MMOs (Champions Online, STO, Neverwinter Online).

But that's been more or less the Genre since MUDs.

[Cyanmurder]

I been playing DCUO since release and its still a popular game. I use to play Marvel Heroes Online, but they went bye bye.

[Eminem]

More choices these days so everyone spread out. duh

[1970. Gen X >:)]

Best game ever was Final Fantasy 11 (XI) the most grind I ever played. Still the most adventure iever had in mmorpg. They did stray a lot over time to make game more single player friendly but i do wish games like that with that much character building as that did. Every weapon and spell you could lvl and the gear! just amazing and hundreds of variations on builds. I do miss it. The game is still online getting new players to have their own experience. A lot different than old school players but they are having thier own fun with the new systems and changes. Of course those changes killed it for vets so I am sure there is a entire different way to play it now. If you played it then you know what Im trying to say about that game. GW2 is NOTHING like FFXI But it is in the same lane .. kida. Not near as much for weapon lvling, cant increase your spell casting or upgrade any of that but it has some..if mild adventure. Id say half old school and some new school ( new as of 2013 style game play) a bit more instant rewarding than FFXI, but all in all a fun game, runs good and GW2 is far from GW1 which is closer in lane with FFXI being same era. I played a lot of GW1 and GW2, just reactivated my GW1 account ( love it honestly) and reinstalled this gem. my budds have reinstalled GW1 also ( we r old so yes we like it lol) but we play GW2 and like it too. Good game, good times, meet random folks having laughs and some times running for our lives. Nothing like running from a big monster while holding a coffee smoking a joint screaming into team speak. ( lol yes team speak! I am old i told you already) lol
naw we do all that on discord now, still screaming and running. GW2 is just fun times. and makes me be reminded of the old games i still love. I might even redo FFXI later this year.
But first replay of GW2. see you server side, the guy running by being chased by crap is me.

[󠀡󠀡]

Originally posted by Mad Thumps:

So, serious question I've noticed most MMOS have been around for somewhere about 10 years that've got any content or really dedicated playerbase. Is this the expectation or is the industry waiting for the next big thing? What other games will replace giants like FFXIV, ESO, GW2? New World definitely was NOT it. Just trying to figure it out if I should go back to these older games or wait patiently for the new big thing.

Nothing will replace the giants as they are bringing so much revenue per year. Games like WoW, ESO, FFXIV, BDO aren't going anywhere.

Smaller games after having a rough couple of years like GW2 are in all kinds of trouble which leads the playerbase into making existential questions about the whole genre when in fact, the genre is perfectly fine but their dying game isn't. Subjective perception is a helluva drug, if their game is dead, then the whole genre must be dead. Otherwise, it does not compute. It doesn't add up. Since people who're playing dead games don't usually realize how dead the game actually is. Then it must be some other cause right? Well, no. It's healthier to just accept and even seek help to avoid wasting more time/money on a dead online game. It will work wonders on your perception of reality in the long run.

GW2 the "giant mmo" has a very small playerbase, barely gets any updates (10 minute borefest content every 4 months) and it's not even the profitable admitted by their parent company and proven by financial statements. Although it's very fun to watch the big three swallow GW2 whole year after year, it's gonna end eventually. GW3 will replace it and then all the whale revenue will be going with it.

[Ixx]

I know the subject is technically "Guild Wars 2", but the question is open enough for me to a some perspective for people who think WoW was the first MMO.

EverQuest was released in 1999 and was the first open world, with first person graphhics and characters and classes derived from the original board games. Most MMO's after EverQuest not only went out of their way to pick the best pieces out of EQ, but also look and feel different enough.

EverQuest in 2024 is not a pretty game, but for sheer content, originality, depth and complexity it easily holds it's own against any later "MMO".

PUG is NOT a swear word in EQ, people who play it today to it for a passion of it's uniqueness and most people are 10-20+ year veterans who love to share their favourite game with others.

Playing EverQuest in 2024 presents you with basically 3 choices:

1. Playing on the original live servers, where some charachers are as old as 25 years, guilds are very tight knit and max level passed 110 long ago. It's a world where multi boxing is common and grouping has been replaced with mercenaries to let you play alone.

2. Next up is TLP servers (Time Lock Progression), which start up fresh every few years, releasing expansions in order and let players progress through the levels as the level cap goes up. It has the same (care bear level) quality of life features as live servers and are usually very busy and easy to find groups on.

3. The last one is an odd one, it's called Project 1999 and is built on the idea that EverQuest was at it's peak after the 3rd expansion (Velious). P99 will never go past that expansion and never add later features. This is the place where you find the most hardcore, passionate EQ players. Exp is very slow, boxing is prohibited and all trading/selling is done in person between characters.

EQ in 2024 is not for everyone, the graphics are dated, it's deep and complex in many ways and can be very unforgiving to unprepared players used to newer games.
However, for sheer player value, not many experiences will top the exitement of dungeon crawling one of the many, deep, dangerous dungeons in EQ with a group barely high enough to survive.