It is time for our MeinMMO format “MMORPG News in 5 Minutes”. We summarize the most important news around the best genre in the world. You can expect several birthdays, the comeback of a historically great WoW expansion, and a new era for Elder Scrolls Online.
Highlights of the Week:
- In a long livestream, the developers of The Elder Scrolls Online presented their plans for 2026. There was hardly anything to see. However, all fans of the MMORPG can expect a flood of – partly surprising – innovations.
- The community of ESO has reacted mixed to the announcements. While the new payment model around battle passes is heavily criticized, players celebrate many of the gameplay-related innovations.
- Finally, there’s a date for WoW: Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary Edition! On January 13, 2026, the preparation patch goes live, and on February 6, 2026, the final launch follows. All further details can be found on blizzard.com. In a survey from 2022, TBC actually ranked 3rd among the best WoW expansions.
- With Dreadmyst, the next indie MMORPG launched on Steam on January 9, 2026. But players are actually warning about the solo developer, because they know him.
What else happened? The Sauercrowd event of the German Twitch landscape in WoW Classic Hardcore continues to enjoy great popularity. Meanwhile, various participants are level 60, the streamer Hahn managed to achieve this feat first. Also nice: Smaller streamers like the WoW legend behind “Allimania” are currently benefiting enormously from the project’s visibility.
MMORPG Dreadmyst shows action-packed battles in the release trailer
Despite DDoS attacks to World First Kill
What happened with the big MMORPGs:
- The developers of WoW have reached out to the community with a service reminder: Legion Remix is about to end, spend your bronze before January 21, 2026, to get the best deals! More on blizzard.com.
- A Twitch streamer has been playing WoW for less than a month, has already put in over 200 hours and impresses one of the heads at Sauercrowd.
- The so-called Sauercrowd guild enjoys high popularity in the community and more content creators want to join. New applications were accepted this week, and one is particularly creative.
- On January 6, 2026, the hardcore Savage version of the current Arkadion raid started in Final Fantasy XIV. Due to a persistent issue, many players had little joy in the fresh challenge. Nevertheless, the World First Kill already occurred: The guild Lucrezia managed to complete the raid after 27 hours (Source pcgamesn.com).
- Anyone wanting to try the new content of Final Fantasy XIV for free can do so from January 9, 2026, to February 9, 2026, for 96 hours. All details about the free login event can be found on finalfantasyxiv.com.
- On January 8, 2026, the new update for Black Desert went live. Included: the Rabam talents for the Seraphia class, guild boss improvements, and more. You can find the German patch notes on playblackdesert.com.
- In the new episode of Eye On Arkesia, there was a preview of new content like Thaemine Extreme or the new Ark Pass, set to appear next week in Lost Ark. You can watch the episode on YouTube or below.
What happened with the small MMORPGs:
- The anime MMORPG Blue Protocol: Star Resonance was able to achieve a good start on Steam in 2025. But quickly, player numbers dropped again, and there was criticism. Now the new season is coming, and players are sure it has to deliver.
- A fan of Final Fantasy XI is wondering, why World of Warcraft, even 21 years after its release, casts a shadow over all MMORPG competitors. The community provides several reasons.
- DC Universe Online celebrates its 15th anniversary with gifts for the community and various event content. You can find all the details on dcuniverseonline.com.
- And another birthday: Tibia is turning 29 years old. From January 14 to February 12, 2026, you can challenge the First Dragons in this venerable MMORPG. More on tibia.com.
- All good things come in threes: RuneScape is celebrating its 25th year with special activities, special capes, and more. There was also a preview of upcoming changes for the treasure hunt. Where? On runescape.com.
- Legend of YMIR is criticized due to its mobile roots and aggressive monetization, but that does not diminish the popularity of the game: The developers had to open 4 new worlds, two for Asia, one for North America and Europe, and one for South America. This brings the MMORPG to nearly 100 servers (Source: mmorpg.org.pl).
- Is Blade & Soul coming to an end soon? After Blade & Soul Heroes announced the end in South Korea, there was now an announcement that Blade & Soul and Blade & Soul NEO are set to go offline in Japan on March 11 (Source: bns.ncsoft.jp).
- The Nintendo Switch will receive a “new” MMORPG on January 13, 2026: Wizard101 has been available on Steam since September 2008 and has an 82 percent positive rating there. You can also play the online role-playing game on Xbox and PlayStation. You can find the official console FAQ on wizard101.com.
- Due to the continuing popularity of Final Fantasy XI, the developers announced a series of innovations for 2026 in their New Year’s message. Included: a better gaming experience for solo players, fresh combat content, and a story replay function. You can find the full list on playonline.com.
Past Fate shows in the trailer what an old-school MMORPG looks like in 2026
What happened with the MMORPGs in development:
- Working your way up from a clumsy peasant to a noble knight was probably a dream held by many centuries ago. In the new MMORPG Past Fate you can now relive it starting this week on Steam. The early access version is struggling with many issues.
- Although Project: Gorgon has been in early access on Steam for more than 7 years and is one of the best-rated MMORPGs on the platform, it only gets few players. Perhaps the release announced for January 28, 2026, will change that.
- The developers of Ashes of Creation have taken strong action against a group of professional gold farmers. The head of the MMORPG makes it clear: those who buy or sell gold for money risk their accounts.
- Almost 10 years ago, the Kickstarter campaign for Chronicles of Elyria started. Now the man behind the project explained why there was little progress in 2025 and how it will continue this year.
- In an interview with the game producer of Chrono Odyssey, Yoon Sang-tae, revealed new information about the upcoming MMORPG. Performance was a major topic.
- With The Story Page, a new indie MMORPG is set to launch on Steam in February 2026. Unlike many other solo projects, The Story Page does not rely on nostalgic iso/pixel graphics, but on third-person 3D action.
- Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen received the first patch of 2026 on January 7. The patch notes on pantheonmmo.com mainly contain bug fixes and adjustments for NPCs, items, and other areas of the game.
More on MMORPGs:
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10 MMORPGs from popular franchises like Fallout or Warhammer that you unfortunately never got to play
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5 MMORPGs that you can play in 2026 even if you have little time
That summarizes the most important things that have recently happened in the world of MMORPGs.
What did you enjoy this week? What upset you? Let us know in the comments. For a comprehensive overview of the history of online role-playing games, you can find it in this comprehensive special: The history of MMORPGs – From Habitat to Throne and Liberty, and everything in between
