Actually, online role-playing games are a time-consuming hobby, especially if you want to be among the best of the best. However, if you are satisfied with smaller goals, you will now find many modern MMORPGs that casual players can enjoy a lot.
When I discovered my love for MMORPGs with World of Warcraft in 2005, my daily routine changed for years. Suddenly, I wanted to spend almost every free minute in Azeroth. So I turned on the PC as soon as I got home from training and regularly scheduled WoW for whole weekends.
I did this voluntarily, but in a way, it was also a requirement for me to be an important part of a successful PvP core group and an ambitious raid guild. We often spent 5 nights a week in the current raid instances. I could achieve PvP rank 11 only through frequent and regular visits to the battlegrounds.
Update from January 5, 2026: We have updated the article for the new year.
Today, with family and a job, all of this wouldn’t be possible. However, not only has my life changed over the years, but also the lives of many other genre fans – and thus the direction of modern MMORPGs that still want to appeal to this target group.
In this list, I will introduce you to my top 5 best online role-playing games that can be a lot of fun even if you don’t have much time. The following factors are especially important to me:
- How much focus is there on mandatory cooperation in the content, and how many contents can be approached solo or without a fixed group?
- How long does it take for newcomers to reach the current content? Can this be done in a relatively short time frame, even if you can’t play every day?
- How many contents are completely inaccessible to casual players? Do the developers offer different difficulty levels, so that one can experience as much content as possible even with relatively little time?
If you have further recommendations that are very casual-player friendly concerning these factors, feel free to share them in the comments!
Guild Wars 2
Developer: ArenaNet | Platform: PC | Release Date: August 28, 2012 | Payment Model: Free2Play
Guild Wars 2 is not only one of the currently most popular MMORPGs that you can still play today, it has also earned the reputation of being the perfect game for casual players, MMORPG enthusiasts with little time, solo players, and collectors.
The next expansion of Guild Wars 2 is already on the way:
While many other MMORPGs primarily focus on increasing character strength through progression systems and better gear (vertical progression), Guild Wars 2 has taken a different, horizontal path from day one.
As many contents as possible should be accessible to as many players as possible – and this applies to every expansion and all updates. The focus is on experiencing the story, exploring the game world of Tyria, and collecting achievements.
Many group contents, such as major world bosses or events in the open world, can be done spontaneously with the players you meet on-site. The dungeon and raid area is rather optional but can also be completed quite unorganized if desired.
Due to the fair Free2Play model, you also don’t have any financial pressure to play a lot to justify any investments. If you want to give it a try, check it out here: Guild Wars 2 Beginner’s Guide
