2021 was the year of new MMORPGs, as 7 new games were released here in the West. However, by the end of the year, they are not doing well. This is partly due to issues within the games themselves, but also because of us players. Many of us are too demanding and hope for a second first love, which remains denied.
2021 was a very interesting year for MMORPG fans. A total of 7 new games have been released:
- New World
- Crowfall
- Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis
- Swords of Legends Online
- Bless Unleashed
- Elyon
- Wild Terra 2
Actually, MMORPG fans should be leaving the year in good spirits. But that is not the case.
Many of the new games have been heavily criticized and have lost player counts. Especially New World has been targeted by players and the press as if it were the worst game ever released.
And of course, there are valid reasons for the criticism. All MMORPGs released this year had technical or content issues. However, I personally feel that these problems are being blown out of proportion. I have the impression that many players go into new games with unrealistic expectations and write them off too quickly.
MMORPGs are in demand, but no one wants to play the new games
With the exception of Crowfall, all new MMORPGs have been released on Steam. This allows us to track player counts quite precisely.
The interest in new games is relatively high at first, but none of the 6 games were able to maintain their numbers for long, as these examples show:
- Swords of Legends started on Steam with a peak of 18,806 players. In the last 24 hours, there were only 787 peak online. This left a good 4% of the players. However, there is still a Gameforge client, so the real player numbers will be higher.
- Bless Unleashed peaked at 76,377 players at release, but reached just under 7,000 in the last 24 hours. This left a good 9% of the players from the peak.
- New World launched with 913,634 players at its peak and has recently dropped to 122,808 players. This left around 13.5% of the players.
Elyon, PSO2, and Wild Terra 2 have also lost a lot of players after release.
Crowfall itself also does not seem to be in a better position, as the developers have already revealed that they are making losses and are at least considering a shutdown.
The rejection of the new games has various reasons.
SOLO was immediately labeled as a grindy Asian MMO due to its graphics and therefore did not get a fair chance at release. Despite eliminating mechanics like destroyed equipment when upgrading or Pay2Win, which are usually the biggest problems with Asian games. Upon a closer look at the game a month after release, it was also noticed that there were too few endgame contents. While players had fun, there was not enough to do.
Bless Unleashed also did not get a fair chance from many because Bless was on the cover. The flop from 2018 has left a mark on the minds of many MMORPG fans. However, Bless Unleashed did several things right, such as the challenging world bosses with real MMO feeling and the dungeons.
And New World is being torn apart everywhere, whether on Reddit, in forums, or on other gaming sites. Especially the rapidly declining player counts and the many bugs are repeatedly a topic.
Criticism is justified, but it often reminds me of ESO and GW2 – and those are now popular
Basically, there is nothing wrong with the criticism mentioned above. Every player is free to criticize the games and many points are absolutely justified. SOLO has an incredibly dull start and lacks endgame. New World heavily focuses on grinding in endgame and launched with an extreme number of bugs.
However, the criticism of New World and SOLO always reminds me of the release period of ESO. Because that MMORPG was also heavily criticized at the beginning. An unfamiliar combat system, a semi-open world with phasing, and somehow too few endgame contents. Even I laughed at ESO back then.
But today ESO gets a lot of praise and ranks among the most popular MMORPGs ever. I enjoy playing it because it has undergone an extremely good development. And that is also my core criticism:
- No MMORPG is perfect at release
- None had a good endgame right away
- No game after WoW has withstood the huge hype at release
I still remember how many players quit Guild Wars 2 just two months after release because there was simply too little to do. I remember the criticisms of RIFT or SWTOR, which were both labeled as inferior WoW clones. Even the developers of SWTOR criticize that they had to work too closely to WoW.
But besides the problems of the MMORPGs themselves, players have also become too demanding.
MMORPGs are the ultimate class of games, but players are ruining them
MMORPGs are the most elaborate games that can be developed. They require several years of development, localization into multiple languages, and a suitable server structure. During the development period, no income is generated for several years, and even criticism follows if the chosen monetization system is not correct.
MMORPGs are a big risk, which is why many large developers are rather cautious. A huge part of this can be attributed to us as players.
MMORPG players are the biggest divas in the gaming world. No player group is harder to please, which is also due to the fact that there are simply dozens of player types, including:
- Solo players who like to experience everything alone but still want to encounter other players
- Casual players who cannot handle content that is too hard
- Hardcore raiders who cannot have content that is hard enough
- PvP fans who want an arena with a leaderboard
- Hardcore PvP players who would prefer full-loot in the open world
- Sandbox fans who would like to build a business empire
In between, there are still numerous nuances and other types that would break this list. It is absolutely impossible to get them all under one roof.
Moreover, every player has certain criteria through which a game is immediately excluded without giving it a chance. Some, for instance, do not play Asian games at all, simply due to the graphics. Others do not touch sandbox games at all, as they often do not have proper quests. Sometimes these prejudices are even based on bad experiences with a game.
This is exactly what makes it so difficult for new MMORPGs to even get a foot in the door, as players are the core of this genre. Without players, no MMORPG can survive for long.
Players hope for a second first love
What also bothers me are the often exaggerated expectations of a new MMORPG. Because players compare the feeling of gaming with the good memories they have of their first game.
Back then, everything was perfect, the problems in the game were not serious enough, and the content was still so new and undiscovered. However, the memories of the good moments of the “first love” often overshadow the problems that this game had.
I started with Guild Wars 1 in 2006 and spent over 10,000 hours playing it. My best gaming memories are connected with this game. Again and again, I wish I could experience the time of back then once more.
In doing so, I completely overlook the problems of the game, such as lacking PvE content, the sometimes really dull story, the many invisible barriers in the game world, or the fact that the balance was total nonsense. And I had already started when Guild Wars 1 released its first addon and was shortly before the release of the second expansion.
It became really clear to me in 2014 when I played the predecessor again with friends from Guild Wars 2. They didn’t know Guild Wars 1 and basically tore everything apart about the game. And rightly so.
I, on the other hand, only had the nice moments in my head, which were also often connected with the people and simply my life situation back then. As a teenager, I could game much more during school, it was much easier to make online friendships, and it didn’t matter if I stayed up all night.
A similar phenomenon was also described by the YouTuber Josh Strife Hayes in a video where he explains why players nowadays no longer have fun with MMOs:
The best cost-benefit ratio and yet complaints
What personally frustrated me in 2021 were players who returned New World after 200, 400, and sometimes over 500 play hours. Amazon was accommodating due to the many bugs, and the 40 Euros were refunded.
However, I simply cannot understand such behavior. If I have spent over 500 hours in a game, I must have at least had some fun. How can I not be willing to give the developers 40 Euros?
Especially Buy2-Play and Free2Play MMORPGs have the best cost-benefit ratio for players of all games and probably the worst ratio for developers. Nevertheless, the demands are currently the highest here.
Lower expectations and also look right and left, then you will have fun with MMORPGs again
I generally recommend not rejecting new games simply because someone else has said something bad about the MMORPG. It is important not to let oneself be guided by prejudices and also to reconsider one’s exclusion criteria, especially when the games are free.
The most fun I had besides New World this year was with Bless Unleashed, even though I dropped out after about 60 hours of gameplay. But for a Free2Play game and a transitional solution over the summer, it was completely sufficient.
In New World, one has to make one’s own experiences because it is not a classic theme park MMORPG, but mixes in a lot of survival and some sandbox elements. It is not a copy of WoW or ESO, but it also does not want to be. Many had hoped for exactly such a thing.
Moreover, it can be worthwhile to try lesser-known MMORPGs like Swords of Legends or Project Gorgon, one of the most popular MMORPGs on Steam.
In the end, one must always make compromises for MMORPGs, because the perfect game does not exist and will never exist in the future. This is also due to the fact that the development of new games is a significant risk. We as players should not rush to condemn every new game and scare off the developers. Because the last few years have shown that even bad games like ESO and FFXIV at the beginning can make a turnaround.
By the way, it can also be worthwhile to give established MMORPGs another chance. For me, there are actually too many good games right now, and I find it really hard to choose:
I never thought I would say this, but: ‘We currently have too many good MMORPGs’
