MMORPGs are multiplayer titles. And what do you need for a multiplayer? Right, many players. We at MeinMMO are looking at which MMORPGs have the most players in November 2021.
How was the list created? For the list, we took a look at the average number of players of the MMORPGs in the last 30 days. For this, we use the website Steamcharts, which tracks, evaluates, and prepares these numbers.
In most cases, however, this number does not reflect the exact value of players. Many MMORPGs use their own clients in addition to Steam, the numbers of which we cannot see. The total numbers will therefore be higher for many of the games than the mentioned Steam figures.
Nevertheless, the list gives a good guideline for which games are currently being played and popular, and what changes occurred compared to the previous month October.
We also have a list for you with the 15 MMORPGs that are considered most relevant according to Google in 2021.
These are places 10 to 4
- Place 10 – EVE Online (3,596 players)
- Place 9 – RuneScape (4,294 players)
- Place 8 – Albion Online (5,434 players)
- Place 7 – Star Wars: The Old Republic (5,820 players)
- Place 6 – Elyon (6,344 players)
- Place 5 – Bless Unleashed (6,437 players)
- Place 4 – Black Desert (15,510 players)
Place 3 – The Elder Scrolls Online
- Focus of the MMORPG: Story and world exploration
- Player count: 16,228 average players in the last 30 days
- Player counts trend: Declining in 2021
- Business model: Buy2Play and optional subscription
- Developer: ZeniMax
What kind of game is this? The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online has been around for 7 years and allows its fans to experience the worlds of Elder Scrolls together with others.
The game is continuously expanded during its lifetime and receives large expansions and smaller DLCs. Just recently, the DLC Deadlands was released as the last expansion of 2021.
In addition to these expansions and DLCs, ESO repeatedly offers exciting events and content that you might not be used to. One event, for example, featured a challenge where you had to be as ‘Heavy Metal’ as possible.
If you’re out in ESO, you can expect exciting stories and tricky raids in PvE, in a world that invites exploration and consists of both familiar areas from other Elder Scrolls titles and completely new locations.
For PvP enthusiasts, the MMORPG offers thrilling battles in various modes and with different numbers of players, although PvP is rather a smaller part of the game.
Who is it interesting for? The Elder Scrolls Online is aimed at players who:
- Like to lose themselves in a world and explore places
- Want to explore in first-person as well
- Prefer quests and tasks over the often usual grind
- Prioritize PvE over PvP
- Can deal with technical issues
ESO is a good alternative to story and world-centric MMORPGs like Guild Wars 2 or FFXIV, but those looking for a grinder like Black Desert or Metin might not find it enjoyable.
Where can you play outside of Steam? ESO is available on many platforms and offers almost everyone a way to join in. In addition to the PC, you can also play ESO on PS4 and 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series, as well as through Google Stadia.
Place 2 – Final Fantasy XIV
- Focus of the MMORPG: Theme park, story and raids
- Player count: 26,788 average players in the last 30 days
- Player counts trend: Strongly rising in 2021
- Business model: Base game Free2Play, subscription and Buy2Play for expansions
- Developer: Square Enix
What kind of game is this? In 2010, Final Fantasy XIV originally launched but quickly shut down due to heavy criticism. The developers took three years and re-released the game under the name ‘A Realm Reborn’.
Since 2013, the MMORPG has been one of the most popular representatives of the genre and impresses with its strong focus on its emotional story. In the endgame, you can expect tons of exciting PvE content such as challenging raids and encounters.
For this, you only need a single character in FFXIV, because the classes are called jobs, and those who have plenty of time can level each of them on the same character.
The combat system is based on tab targeting, which feels rather sluggish at first but significantly improves the more skills you unlock.
You can play the game for free up to level 60, but afterward, you will need to purchase an expansion and subscribe to continue gaming.
New expansions are regularly released which continue the story and add tons of new content. In just a few weeks, the next expansion called Endwalker, which we have already presented in detail.
Who is it interesting for? FFXIV is primarily aimed at players who:
- Can focus on the story and want to experience a gripping narrative
- Prefer tab-targeting over action combat, which can feel too fast
- Seek a challenge in PvE endgame
- Can immerse themselves in the initially rather strange setting
- Don’t necessarily need many PvP modes
You also notice the age of the game primarily in its user interface. Many things are unnecessarily clunky or complicated. If you are looking for a top-modern, clean interface and want to jump around wildly, FFXIV is not for you.
Where can you play outside of Steam? You can also use your own launcher on PC if you don’t want to play through Steam. The game is also available for MacOS. You can also play on PS4 and PS5, but an Xbox release is still pending.
The MMORPG also offers crossplay between platforms if you play on the same data center as your friends.
Place 1 – New World
- Focus of the MMORPG: Crafting, exploration and PvP
- Player count: 253,146 average players in the last 30 days
- Player count trend: Declining
- Business model: Buy2Play
- Developer: Amazon Games
What kind of game is this? New World has only been around since September 28, 2021, and was able to attract almost a million people simultaneously to the MMORPG at release. This secured the game a top position on Steam at launch.
Unlike many other games on this list, New World was released exclusively on Steam. The player numbers here are therefore more accurate than for the other representatives on the list.
New World was originally intended to be a pure PvP game but has changed its direction during development and is now an MMORPG with survival aspects, such as a strong focus on crafting.
While PvE awaits you with dungeons, bosses, and an open world, a focus of New World remains PvP. Open-world PvP is optional, but duels between players are also possible.
The core of the PvP consists of territory wars, where 50 players from each side face off against each other. The PvP mode “Outpost Rush” is also a central point in New World’s endgame.
The combat system is very streamlined compared to other MMORPGs. You must actively aim and dodge and have access to only three different skills. There are no classes; you switch skills by equipping a different weapon.
New World also makes headlines time and again for its quirky and disruptive bugs. A HTML bug made it possible to crash the game from other players.
Who is it interesting for? New World is aimed at players who:
- Enjoy collecting and crafting and have no problem that it is a central gameplay element
- Are looking for a new combat system for an MMORPG
- Don’t want to be tied to classes and like to experiment
- Prefer exciting PvP battles over regular PvE content
However, those who prefer to follow a linear story and are not keen on PvP may find New World only partially enjoyable. Many bugs and occasionally tedious side quests make the game unattractive for PvE fans.
Where can you play outside of Steam? New World has not yet appeared on other platforms or consoles. Whether it will ever do so is also not known. Currently, you can only travel through New World on Steam.
Bonus – MIR 4
What kind of game is this? Already in our lists in September and October, MIR4 received this bonus rank. Although they call themselves an MMORPG and could also make it with an average of 64,584 players to rank 2 on this list, the game has many problems.
- Players can farm a cryptocurrency in MIR 4, which is why most use it “only to make money”.
- MIR 4 is a mobile game ported to PC, and its roots are very noticeable. It relies heavily on auto-play and plays practically by itself.
- On Steam, it barely reaches the 50% mark in positive reviews. Even many reviews marked as positive are sarcastic and essentially negative.
For those who want to take a closer look at the game despite this, here is a more detailed presentation of the MMORPG:
New MMORPG Mir4 – Release in August 2021 for Steam, iOS, and Android
