In May, the first public playtest for Scars of Honor took place. For our Grindfest theme week 2026, we contacted the developers afterward to ask questions about the lessons learned, the Early Access originally planned for 2026, and the funding of the MMORPG.
How was the playtest? If you read my preview report of Scars of Honor, you know: I started the playtest on Steam with great anticipation and curiosity, which was however abruptly tempered by the still very raw state of the MMORPG. Many systems appeared unfinished. The PvP battlefields were unplayable. My conclusion in May:
“Despite the visible potential, there are still issues at every corner, enough that I would strongly advise the developers against an Early Access launch this year.”
This was not just a cliché. I have been in contact with the team for several months and was able to ask some questions after the playtest. They focused mainly on the points that currently worry me the most regarding Scars of Honor: the state of the game during the playtest, the planned Early Access for late 2026, and the unclear external funding of the project. And they responded!
During this week, you can expect exciting articles every day about MMORPGs. Included: nostalgic retrospectives, exciting analyses from renowned industry veterans, previews of upcoming online role-playing games, and entertaining streams.
Here’s the program for the great MMORPG theme week 2026 from MeinMMO
The trailer for the playtest of Scars of Honor on Steam:
Despite a weak first impression, a successful test
MeinMMO: The first public test has wrapped up, and you’ve surely had time to dig into the statistics and community feedback. How satisfied are you with how the test went, and what are the one or two biggest takeaways or eye-openers for the team moving forward?
Scars of Honor: As you know, this is not our first test, but it is indeed the first public test on Steam, following the major overhaul we started back in mid 2024. Looking back, I would say the test was a success, not because everything went perfectly, but because it achieved exactly what a technical test is supposed to achieve – it exposed issues, generated massive amounts of data, and gave us valuable feedback from real players.
What genuinely surprised us was the level of interest. We expected somewhere around 20 – 30k sign-ups, but we ended up with more than 200k. Naturally, that created challenges around server stability, Steam invite distribution, and a few other issues that frustrated players. While that wasn’t the experience we wanted for everyone, it’s important to remember that this was a technical test, not a beta or an early access launch.
One of our biggest takeaways is definitely communication; we need to do a better job of setting expectations and keeping the players informed when things aren’t going as planned. As another takeaway, I would say, that we won’t underestimate the amount of interest Scars of Honor can generate in the future, the community is absolutely craving for a new proper MMO.
As for eye-openers, the test showed what we already had in mind – Expand the QA pipeline. That is why we will be taking measures to reinforce the QA team, maybe create a community focus testing group, and do NDA tests for additional validation, before going public again.
The amount of feedback we received was incredible. We read forum posts, social media comments, bug reports, surveys, even the smallest pieces of feedback matter because they help us understand where we need to improve.
The good news is that we’re no longer guessing. We have the data, we have the feedback, we’ve already made some decisions based on what we’ve learned, and our direction is clear. This test was just the first step, and we’re moving forward with full speed.
Scars of Honor could play very differently in the next test
MeinMMO: To help playtest participants better contextualize what they experienced: Roughly what percentage of completion did the showcased region represent? What updates or additions will this first region see before the Early Access launch, and how many regions are planned in total for the final version of the game?
Scars of Honor: I think it would be premature to talk about percentages of completion based on this playtest. In reality, what players experienced should not be viewed as representative of the final Scars of Honor experience.
Of course, internally we know how many regions, maps, and locations we plan to build, but I don’t think those numbers tell the full story. What really matters is whether the world feels alive, engaging, and fun to explore.
To give you a concrete example, what players experienced wasn’t really a region in the traditional MMORPG sense. Yes, it was a map with enemies, quests, bosses, and points of interest, but it wasn’t a living ecosystem. The NPCs were there primarily to support testing, not to deliver the full experience we envision for the game.
The main purpose of the playtest was to evaluate our combat systems, gather player feedback, and collect technical data under real conditions. We wanted to see how players interacted with the world, how the servers performed under load, and what aspects of the gameplay resonated most with the community.
Players could fight enemies, defeat bosses, compete with others, play mini-games, and explore parts of the map, but they were not experiencing a finished region. Because of that, I would expect significant changes and additions moving forward. In fact, by the time players revisit that area in future tests or in the final game, there’s a good chance they won’t even recognize parts of it.
Probably no Early Access this year
MeinMMO: My personal impression is that while Scars of Honor shows a lot of potential in this early build, I would personally advise against an Early Access launch this year – there are simply too many rough edges at the moment and there is only one chance to make a great first impression.
Of course, it’s easy for me to say that as an outsider who doesn’t have to manage or fund the development. So, where do you stand: Are you sticking to your plan for an Early Access release in late 2026? Alternatively, what is your defined minimum goal for Scars of Honor to be considered ready for Early Access?
Scars of Honor: Game development has always been unpredictable, and MMORPGs are probably the holy grail of things that can break, change, or delay your plans. There are simply too many interconnected systems that even small changes can have a huge impact.
As much as we originally aimed for an Early Access launch in late 2026, based on everything we’ve learned from our recent testing and the work still ahead of us, we currently believe that 2027 is a more realistic target. That said, we’re continuing to evaluate our progress and won’t commit to a specific date until we’re confident the game is ready.
We only get one chance to make a first impression, and that’s something we take very seriously. Running technical tests is one thing, but launching into Early Access is a completely different commitment.
For us, Scars of Honor will be ready when all of the core systems and gameplay loops are implemented, stable, and most importantly, fun. Early Access should be about expanding and refining the experience together with the community.
Our focus right now is to build the best possible foundation for the game and launch Early Access when we feel confident that players will get the experience they deserve.
Have you already checked out our MeinMMO channel on YouTube? There are regular videos about the best genre in the world. A few days ago, for example, we looked at the duel between Aion 2 and Guild Wars 3, which both focused on the Summer Game Fest 2026:
An investor makes the dream of an MMORPG possible
MeinMMO: Speaking of financing: In your Kickstarter campaign, you mentioned two successful investment rounds from 2020 and 2021 that raised just over $2.5 million. On one hand, that’s a lot of money, but in the context of ambitious MMORPG development, it’s a tight budget. Unfortunately, the Kickstarter campaign itself was not successful, and no other funding sources were found during my research.
At the same time, your team has grown noticeably over the past few years. Therefore, I have to ask: Is the funding for the development of Scars of Honor secured all the way through to the final release? Especially after watching the journey of Ashes of Creation, or the recent cancellations of Jack Emmert’s Warhammer MMO and Greg Street’s Project Ghost, everyone in the industry knows just how incredibly difficult and expensive it is to fund an MMO nowadays.
Scars of Honor: Funding is always one of the biggest challenges in MMORPG development, so I would never say it’s something we take for granted. That said, we have been fortunate to have an amazing private investor who has been with us since day one and has given us the freedom to build Scars of Honor the way we believe it should be built.
As for the Kickstarter campaign, we were realistic about our chances. Crowdfunded MMORPGs have earned a lot of skepticism over the years, and understandably so. There have been projects that failed to deliver, which makes players much more cautious today. For us, Kickstarter was never a make-or-break situation. It would have been great to succeed, both for the visibility and as a strong signal to potential future partners, but the future of the project was never dependent on the campaign.
One thing I’d like to clarify is the investment timeline on the Kickstarter page, because it can be a little misleading. The 2020 and 2021 entries weren’t different investors joining the project, or the last and final investment that we received.
The funding has always been provided in stages, by the same investor, rather than all at once. As the project grows, the team expands, and the needs of development change, we evaluate what is needed and receive additional investment accordingly. That process has continued every year up until today.
As things stand today, we are in a good position and remain fully focused on delivering Scars of Honor. At the same time, like most studios, we continue to explore additional investment opportunities. Not because the project depends on them, but because additional res
Scars of Honor is an exciting MMORPG project that initially resembles World of Warcraft in various aspects (colorful comic look, the 2 factions, classes, and races), but also brings some unique features. These include the extensive class talent trees and the namesake Scars system. A more detailed description of the game can be found here: Scars of Honor could become the perfect MMORPG for anyone looking for an alternative to World of Warcraft
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