Time for a look at the 5 major subscription MMORPGs in Spring 2016.
MMORPGs are not dead, they just smell a bit weird. In State of Play, we regularly look at where the “big subscription MMORPGs” stand.
This is expressly not about free-to-play games, and we also leave out all the “Yes, with difficulty, it’s somehow an MMORPG, but not really” games.
We focus on the 5 most important titles that can be classified as “subscription” MMORPGs. Here, we have both subscription MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV, as well as three buy-to-play MMORPGs with Guild Wars 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, and now new “Black Desert.”
No longer part of the State of Play is WildStar, which has switched to free-to-play. The Chua still waves from the cover image, but that’s about it.
Final Fantasy XIV – quiet year
Final Fantasy XIV has not achieved much yet in 2016 after the busy year 2015 with the release of Heavensward. After Heavensward, a longer break was taken to catch up on vacations. It seems that they still haven’t really woken up in 2016, although there were already 1 content patches in 2016 and the next 3.3 is coming. However, in the content patches, it’s more of the same: New tutorials are added, the onboarding experience is improved, and details are adjusted; it doesn’t really seem like the game is progressing.
Things are still completely quiet on the “When will the next expansion come?” front. Instead, they are grappling with unfamiliar problems. While the content machinery continues to run, with raids, side quests, main quests, what’s in store for crafters and much more, the mood seems to have shifted a bit in the last few months:
Fans often say it’s all too grindy, not well thought-out. After the weapons in A Realm Reborn, now again upgrading new Anima weapons in countless runs? Repeating old patterns diminishes players’ motivation. A troubling MMORPG truth shines through too clearly: “All efforts only count until the next item reset, and that’s definitely coming.”
Additionally, the team seemingly has to spend more time fixing problems than in previous years. Some problems arose with the exploration islands in the Diadem.
A structural fundamental problem plagues FF14
The structural fundamental problem of Final Fantasy XIV becomes clearer year by year. Final Fantasy XIV is going in a completely different direction than the rest of the market.
While most other games have action elements in the mix, FF14 is classically with tab-target and a cooldown combat system. It follows a very classic MMORPG direction. If genre newcomers, hooked by Witcher 3 or a Dark Souls, want to turn to an MMORPG, it is probably rarely Final Fantasy XIV. But perhaps Final Fantasy XV will bring some new arrivals or at least shine a spotlight back on the franchise.
Generally, although this sounds critical: Final Fantasy XIV continues to offer players regular new content, stories, reliably brings fresh features, and seems not to be slacking off. However, the train to become a “mainstream phenomenon” in the West seems to have left the station. Heavensward apparently couldn’t change that.
The door to the mainstream remains closed. It is and remains a niche game, but that seems to be doing quite well.
