Project Ghost – The Ghostcrawler MMORPG
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Fantastic Pixel Castle | Platform: PC | Model: Unknown
What kind of game is this? Project Ghost is supposed to be an exciting mix of theme park and sandbox, developed by veterans of the genre. The head behind it is Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street, who has been involved in the development of WoW and the LoL MMORPG.
With him are more former WoW developers, including Brian Holinka, Graham Berger, and Candace Thomas, who previously worked at Amazon on New World.
Together, they want to create a game that draws from WoW in its dungeons and raids, but sets new standards in exploration and world gameplay. You can expect a variety of classes, different playable races, and a story that will be told in regular chapters.
What makes it so interesting? You start in the game world in a large city. From there, you see dozens of islands in the sky that can all be explored. They are divided into two types:
- The Red Shards are typical MMORPG areas. There you’ll find quests, bosses, dungeons, and raids. Here you rely heavily on fellow players, and this is where you receive the most important upgrade materials.
- The Blue Shards, on the other hand, are bound to you and your group. They are supposed to resemble small survival games. There will also be enemies and bosses here, but everything is tied to you. Here, you can build, design the shards, and everything you do remains permanent. Each player thus has their own unique worlds.
Depending on what you feel like doing or how many friends are online, you can jump back and forth between the shards. If you’re on your own, you can kill solo bosses, farm mats, or focus on housing by visiting the Blue Shards. If you fancy dungeons, raids, and generally group content, then the red worlds are your destination.
Ghostcrawler also emphasized that the appearance of characters will play an important role. There will be skins with which you can “peacock”. This means you can proudly display yourself like a peacock in the big capital and have others admire you. However, getting the rarest skins won’t come easy. You will need a lot of skill, time, and some luck. “We think exclusivity is cool,” the head emphasized.
First concept arts for the game:
How has the development gone so far? Ghostcrawler announced in March 2023 that he would leave Riot Games and build his own studio. This studio was presented in more detail in October and first details were revealed in a QnA in November.
Nonetheless, players should be able to get their hands on the new game early. In the livestream, it was mentioned that the first testing groups will be quite small. “Not everyone will be able to test the game this year,” explained Kristina Swanenburg. However, that a first test is set to take place in 2023 is impressive.
How likely is the release in 2024? 0%. The MMORPG will take a few more years. However, there is a high chance that you will be able to test certain content next year.
Honorable Mention: The LoL MMORPG
Why is the LoL MMORPG not on the list? When you ask players which studio could really create a huge MMORPG, many would likely name Riot Games at the top. And indeed, the developers of League of Legends are working on such a title.
However, currently too little is known about it, and there is no information about the content, let alone gameplay to see.
While the LoL MMORPG is highly anticipated by many, it is still too early to include it in the ranks of games mentioned here. But if you’re interested in what’s known so far, you can find everything important here: Everything we know about the new MMORPG for LoL in 2023.
What do you think of the list? Did we forget a major title? And which MMORPG are you most looking forward to?
The combat system of Blue Protocol is very action-packed. You must actively target enemies, dodge hostile attacks, and have only a few but powerful abilities.
What makes it so interesting? Blue Protocol focuses entirely on PvE. The story plays an important role and is accompanied by cinematic cutscenes. You follow various quests that bring you closer to the story, as well as numerous side quests that you can complete.
In the mid and endgame, dungeons and raids await you, which you must complete together with other players. To ensure replayability and a bit of competition among players, there will be leaderboards for the dungeons and raids.
However, the MMORPG opts out of gear as drops. Instead, you receive resources that are important for crafting. With them, you improve your gear and thus your character.
If you want to experience PvP, you are completely wrong in Blue Protocol. There aren’t even instanced arenas or battlegrounds. In the open world, players cooperate rather than compete. However, only about 40 players can be in one area at the same time. The world is very strongly instanced, similar to Guild Wars 2 or ESO.
How has the development gone so far? Blue Protocol was first mentioned in 2018 and held a major beta in Japan in 2019. Many Western creators, such as TheLazyPeon, participated and were impressed by the gameplay, but also had some criticisms.
From 2020 to the end of 2022, things were very quiet about the game. Some even feared that the title had already been canceled. In October, however, a trailer was shown in Japan, along with an announcement for the next test in spring 2023.
The Western version had its big reveal at the Game Awards 2022 when Amazon officially announced the publishing. However, it took nearly a year, until November 2023, for Amazon to start the first beta test.
In the meantime, Blue Protocol has already been released in Japan and has received three major updates, including a new class, new areas, new dungeons, and a new level cap.
How likely is the release in 2024? Almost 100%. The MMORPG has been running in Japan since June and is now being brought to the West by Amazon. Like Throne and Liberty, there have recently been tests in the West. A release is scheduled for spring.
