Electronics

Upcoming MMORPGs: 2011 and Beyond

MMORPGs to Watch for in 2011

By Dave Spohn, About.com Guide

May 29 2011

Although World of Warcraft continues to dominate the MMORPG scene, the genre is growing steadily and developers are experimenting with a wide variety of settings and game mechanics, with mixed results. There are a few big titles due 2011, like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2, so here's a look ahead at what we might be playing in the upcoming months or years.

Guild Wars 2

NCsoft

The first iteration of Guild Wars very nearly dispensed with the rulebook on how to make an online RPG and moved away from many of the characteristics that define "massively" multiplayer games, with considerable success. The plan for Guild Wars 2, however, is to go for more of that persistent world feel while retaining a lot of the stuff that made Guild Wars so popular, like story-driven content and PvP tournaments. They also intend to stick to the same revenue model, which means no subscription fees.

Guild Wars 2 Screenshots

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Lucasfilm Ltd.

It's curious that no sci-fi MMORPG to date has really succeeded in becoming a smash hit. A few have arguably come quite close: notably Star Wars Galaxies and Eve Online, but sci-fi games just haven't managed to get the same sort of traction as their fantasy counterparts. If any game has the IP, funding, and development team to change that, it's Star Wars: The Old Republic. Although it is Bioware's first MMORPG, they have vast experience making both RPGs and Star Wars games.

The Old Republic Screenshots

Firefall

Red 5 Studios

Red 5 Studios first game will be Firefall, a team-based online shooter where players fight for Earth's survival against an evil enemy force known as "The Melding." Judging from early screens and gameplay footage, there are overtones of the old Tribes series in Firefall, which is understandable given that Scott Youngblood, the lead designer of Tribes, has joined Red 5. It looks like the game will have expansive play areas and a flexible class system that incorporates different "battleframes." They're also planning to use a F2P revenue model.

Firefall Screenshots

ArcheAge

Korean developer XLGames has been working on ArcheAge since late 2006 and they have some ambitious next-generation ideas for the title. It uses a fantasy setting with Elves and cat-like Ferres, along with the mandatory anime-influenced art direction. The class system looks fairly unique, and they intend to incorporate naval battles as well as ship building into the game. Other plans include player-crafted housing and vegetation that grows, making it possible to cultivate plants. Unlike many recent MMOGs, it seems as though ArcheAge is striving to be more of a sandbox than a theme park.

Tera Online

Bluehole Studio

A number of games have tried to bring action-game combat mechanics to the massively multiplayer format, without a whole lot of success, apart from maybe PlanetSide. Bluehole Studio plans to turn that all around with Tera Online, a fantasy MMORPG with an action-based, console-style combat system. The character models could almost be right out of Lineage 2 or Aion, which is to be expected given that there are several of NCsoft veterans heading up the development team, and Bluehole Studio is based in Korea. The graphics are very stong, but Korean games often struggle to gain widespread appeal in North America and Europe.

Tera Online Screenshots

Jumpgate Evolution

Along with Lego Universe, NetDevil is quietly developing a sequel to their Jumpgate spaceship MMORPG. Jumpgate Evolution will continue their tradition of offering twitch-based combat and a convincing flight model. Three playable nations are planned for the game, and the idea is to have large-scale PvP battles in space. If you've been hankering to break out your joystick and head-tracker for some action reminiscent of Wing Commander or FreeSpace, Jumpgate Evolution is a game to keep your eye on.

Secret World

True to its name, Funcom's upcoming horror-themed MMORPG, Secret World, is still mostly a secret, but there are a few things they have revealed. The game is using the same graphics engine as Age of Conan, and it will be set in real-world locations including New York, London and Seoul. Secret World will have no classes or levels, and it revolves around the premise that there is truth to a variety of myths and conspiracies, like vampires, zombies, and so on. They've released a couple of short trailers with really nasty-looking monsters in them.

Titan (Project Name)

We know that Blizzard's next big MMOG is already in development, but it doesn't yet have an official name or website. Very little has been revealed about the project at this stage, except that it will be an entirely new franchise with new lore and art, rather than a sequel to one of their current titles. The genre of the game has also been kept a secret, but Blizzard has said that some of their most experienced developers are working on this game, which is clearly still several years away from release.