It has already become apparent: Chrono Odyssey will not meet the planned release aimed for the end of 2025 after the difficult beta. MeinMMO reveals the new plans.
What is the new plan for Chrono Odyssey? In the new financial report from publisher Kakao Games, the ambitious MMORPG from Chrono Studio has been pushed from the end of 2025 to the fourth quarter of 2026. A global launch on PC as well as consoles is still planned.
Additionally, it seems that ArcheAge Chronicles has also been slightly delayed internally. The last status was that the successor to ArcheAge was supposed to be released in the financial year 2026, but likely in the first half of the year. However, the current report mentions the third quarter of 2026.
Why the delay? Those who have read my preview from the beta know that I suggested to the developers to delay it until 2026. There are simply too many issues that need resolution, which will take considerable time and lead to further tests.
The developers clearly see it this way, as demonstrated by the two very extensive developer updates regarding the to-dos for the coming months. The head honcho even admitted in the meantime that it is unclear whether the next beta will even take place this year.
How is the community reacting to the announcement? On Reddit, the relevant discussion has not yet attracted too many participants, but many of those who express their opinions support the move.
- Caiden_The_Stoic writes on Reddit: “Honestly? This is a good sign. The demo had potential, but they need to invest a lot more work. This is good of them.”
- nzre criticizes the publisher on Reddit: “Good, but it would have been better if Kakao hadn’t been so out of touch to consider a release for 2025 before the beta.”
- Useful-Ad1880 praises and laments on Reddit: “This is a clever move; it takes time. Unfortunately, there’s now little left to test. I hope Blue Protocol releases soon.”
A Year of MMORPGs to Forget
What does this mean for the MMORPG year 2025? With Chrono Odyssey, the last major genre release has now been pushed into the next year. What is still left? Mainly smaller projects and the final launches of current early-access games:
- the superhero MMORPG Ship of Heroes – release on August 18, 2025 on Steam
- Start of Phase 3 of Alpha Two of Ashes of Creation on August 26, 2025
- the anime MMORPG Blue Protocol: Star Resonance – which is supposed to release shortly after the beta in August for PC and mobile
- the sandbox MMORPG Pax Dei, which is supposed to leave early access in autumn
- the retro MMORPG Brighter Shores, which was originally supposed to leave early access sometime in 2025
- the retro MMORPG Apogea – planned release in the third quarter of 2025 on Steam
- AI MMORPG Epitome – expected planned release in 2025 on Steam
- Reign of Guilds – aims to leave early access in autumn
- Corepunk – aims to leave the current early access phase in the fourth quarter
- Camelot Unchained – planned release in the fourth quarter of 2025
- 2D MMORPG Anseion – planned release on Steam in December 2025
- retro MMORPG Elderwood Online – planned release on Steam in December 2025
- the retro MMORPG Drakantos – planned release on Steam in 2025
- indie MMORPG Grimrain – aims to enter early access on Steam in the fourth quarter of 2025
- action-combat MMORPG Eternal Tombs – aims for a release on Steam in 2025
- the MMORPG shooter Ashfall – aims to actually start early access in 2025 on Steam
What stands out about this list: There aren’t too many concrete dates. And whether, for example, Camelot Unchained will actually be released this year, we will only believe when it actually happens after the current development hell.
Plus: There are many small MMORPG projects in the list that aim to provide a retro or nostalgic experience and will therefore only appeal to a very niche audience (and all somehow also look very interchangeable). The current early-access titles that are steering towards their final launch have not been able to convince so far.
Long story short: A difficult MMORPG year 2025 has become even sadder with the absence of Chrono Odyssey. However, one can also view this positively: The coming year is likely to be significantly more exciting for fans of the genre. Which new releases the MeinMMO community is most looking forward to, you can find out here: The Lord of the Rings is such a strong brand that even Amazon Games can’t harm it – Here are the MMORPGs you are most excited about
