Classic MMORPGs are becoming extinct. After the West, Asian developers are increasingly focusing on MMO hybrids or “MMO Lite” variants. A hit from 2025 and a game already released in China show what this new MMORPG future looks like.
Last year, while playing Where Winds Meet with great fascination, I already sensed: This could be the future of the MMORPG genre. The RPG hit from China clearly focuses on the single-player experience, but also offers an optional MMO mode and corresponding content like raids, PvP, and guilds.
Sure, the multiplayer mode of WWM still feels rather forced and has various quirks. For example, the MMO variant of the world seems very empty, with many contents not available. However, the enormous global success of the RPG has likely caught the attention of other developers and publishers.
And behold: With Honor of Kings: World, another game from China is already coming this year, which further develops the structure of WWM and is expected to provide a significantly better MMO experience without losing the single-player focus. There, the characters of other players appear as phantoms (similar to Dark Souls) in your own game world, and you can interact with them directly if you wish.
Are you currently looking for free MMORPGs that we can recommend in 2026? Then feel free to check out the MeinMMO channel on YouTube or enjoy the following video:
The Future Belongs to MMO Lites
“MMO Lites” of this kind are not a completely new phenomenon. Even in the 2010s, various Western developers tried to press the service blueprint of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft into other genres without taking on the huge risk or the high costs of maintaining a persistent MMO world.
Destiny from 2014 is one of the original forefathers of “MMO Lites” with its shared-world concept. Later, in addition to Destiny 2, games like The Division (2016) or Anthem (2019) followed.
Players gather in hub areas and in small numbers in the world. It never really gets “massively”. Instanced content like dungeons, raids, and PvP tends to be relatively small and focused. Features like guilds, chats, and trading form the social glue that is supposed to lure players back into the world.
The fact that this trend has also not passed Asian developers by is demonstrated by a Genshin Impact from 2020, which garnishes its single-player focus with a co-op option and MMO-like progression systems. Nevertheless, Korea, China, and Japan have formed a significant counterbalance to MMO fatigue in the West with the MMORPGs regularly produced there in recent years.
This weight is now likely shifting increasingly towards “MMO Lite” through games like Where Winds Meet and Honor of Kings: World. This aligns with the new direction of upcoming MMORPGs like Chrono Odyssey or ArcheAge Chronicles, which present themselves as online action RPGs and place a much greater focus on PvE content for solo players and small groups than was previously the case with earlier Asian MMOs.
Unlike the first ArcheAge, the sequel heavily focuses on PvE content for solo players and small groups – here is the trailer:
Good Reasons for the Lite Format
As a neutral observer, I can understand anyone developing an “MMO Lite” instead of a full-fledged MMORPG. There are several good reasons for this:
- “MMO Lite” fits better in today’s world: The MMORPG enthusiasts of the past are older now, have less time, and are therefore looking for games with shorter play sessions and the option to experience them either solo or in multiplayer.
- “MMO Lite” is often cheaper: For an MMORPG, many genre fans expect an extensive content package that can compete with WoW and Co. “MMO Lites” can instead fully focus on the single-player experience upon release and gradually add multiplayer content organically over time. And the server load is a completely different matter when only a few players really meet in the world.
- “MMO Lite” fits better with consoles and mobile: Castle sieges, like in Throne and Liberty, involving up to 1,000 players, are challenging to implement on mobile devices and consoles. Variants like those in Where Winds Meet, Genshin Impact, or Honor of Kings: World, however, should run smoothly on all platforms (of course also depending on the optimizations made by developers and the hardware demands of the utilized engine).
- “MMO Lite” appeals to a broader audience: With a single-player focus, a colorful mix of PvE and (optional) PvP content, the optional opportunity for multiplayer, releases on various platforms (including mobile), and a Free2Play model, you can reach the largest possible audience today. There is theoretically something for everyone here.
MMORPG veteran Jack Emmert told me in January 2026 that it is almost impossible today to obtain sufficiently high and reliable financing for an ambitious MMORPG. His canceled Warhammer MMORPG is the perfect proof of this: an extremely strong brand, an experienced team, noticeable progress in development, and yet, investor NetEase turned off the tap.
In his view, you have to start with a smaller, more focused project these days, which you can gradually build into a real MMO through updates and expansions if successful. He mentioned Warframe as an example, which is now a very different game than it was at the beginning, or a Helldivers 2, which could easily be turned into an MMO.
The MMORPG Fan in Me Mourns
Just to clarify: I have nothing against “MMO Lites”. Where Winds Meet is among my top games of 2025, after the fantastic Kingdom Come 2 and Clair Obscure: Expedition 33. I am sad because there are more and more games with half-baked MMO experiences, but no new MMORPGs that come anywhere near the potential and unique “massively” fascination of the genre.
Apart from the long-standing genre representatives we have been playing for a decade or two, there is a lack of fresh, modernly staged MMORPGs that set new accents and avoid past mistakes, yet are true MMORPGs at their core. With worlds where hundreds or even thousands of players meet. With game systems that promote cooperation and competition without getting frustrating.
With hits like Where Winds Meet and Genshin Impact, along with failures like Blue Protocol or Tarisland, such MMORPGs will unfortunately become increasingly rare from Asia. In the context of our MMORPG theme week in 2024, I had once put on paper what my dream MMORPG would look like today: If someone announces such an MMORPG, I will take a front seat on the hype train.
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