The End of the High Phase until ESO and Wildstar
The cheerful release cycle should not decrease in the coming years. From 2010 to 2014, there were at least two highlight new releases every year, plus many other smaller ones. The pattern was similar to that of the years 2005 to 2009.
Many MMORPGs used well-known licenses like Star Trek, Final Fantasy, DC, Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons or Elder Scrolls, and they relied on a content and financial framework known from the genre king World of Warcraft. As a result, there were hardly any innovative gameplay features. On the contrary, games like Rift (2011) felt like a “Best of” already known MMORPG content.
One of the trailers for the MMORPG Rift:
In detail, however, quite a lot still changed. For example, the quests became increasingly diverse. MMORPGs with almost exclusively “Kill X Enemies” missions like Tera (2011) became rarer. Instead, fans could look forward to highlights like the fantastic quests from The Secret World (2012).
More and more MMORPGs distanced themselves from the long-used tab-target combat system of World of Warcraft, where you switch between targets with the namesake tab key to attack the intended opponent with skills and auto-attacks.
Instead, more and more developers opted for dynamic, action-packed battles with combos and active defensive maneuvers – in this category, the already criticized Tera by Bluehole Studio could shine, just like Blade & Soul by NCsoft (2012) and Black Desert by Pearl Abyss (2014).
Moreover, there was a lot going on with the presentation and quality of the stories. Here, especially Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011) and The Elder Scrolls Online (2014) set new standards. Over time, the storylines of Final Fantasy 14 also became increasingly exciting – with emotional highlights during the expansions Shadowbringers and Endwalker.
In addition, the content for large raids became increasingly unimportant. The trend shifted towards challenges for solo players and small groups that could ideally be consumed in manageable bites. The reason: The MMORPG fans of yesteryear, who were often students with a lot of time, now have jobs, families, and hardly any time.
While most MMORPGs focus on increasing character strength through progression systems and better equipment (vertical progression), Guild Wars 2 took a different, horizontal approach in 2012: All content should be open to as many players as possible – and this also applies to upcoming expansions and updates.
In GW2, it is therefore not about the hunt for better equipment, but about experiencing the story, exploring the game world, and collecting achievements. Since there was also no monthly subscription and from 2015 onwards even a free-to-play access, Guild Wars 2 established itself as the perfect game for casual players, MMORPG enthusiasts with little time, solo players, and collectors – and remains one of the most popular genre representatives to this day.
The Exceptions: Final Fantasy 14 and Elder Scrolls Online
By the way: When FFXIV first launched in September 2010, it had a similar crash landing as many other MMORPGs before it. To avoid damaging the important Final Fantasy brand, Square Enix made a historically unique decision: They took the game offline, appointed a new manager, and created a noticeably improved version with significant effort.
This launched in August 2013 as Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn and has since been gradually improved through extensive patches and expansions. The reward for the risk and enormous effort: Today, FFXIV is among the most important and best MMORPGs on the market.
The trailer for the current update 7.2 of Final Fantasy XIV:
Something similar has only been achieved by Bethesda and Zenimax with Elder Scrolls Online, which also started with many issues. ESO was never offline for an extended period, but it received comprehensive improvements in essential areas such as endgame and character progression. As a result, it has attracted 26 million players to Tamriel.
Aside from the many release disappointments, there were also a number of MMORPGs developed for a long time that never saw the light of day. For example, the Blizzard MMORPG Titan (the cessation of development was announced in September 2014), Stargate Worlds (2010), World of Darkness (2014), or EverQuest Next (2016).
Did you know that development on a Fallout Online started in 2006? Financial and legal issues prevented its release in the 2000s. By 2011, the project’s end was certain. Later, Bethesda released a hybrid MMO with Fallout 76.
Many MMORPGs for the Second Row (or the Trash)
Many other studios could or did not want to invest that much energy and money into their MMORPG to turn a difficult start through long-term and comprehensive efforts into a great success. Nevertheless, by July 2025, only two major games from this era had to go offline: Wildstar (2014) and ArcheAge (EU Release: 2014).
Both had their advantages. ArcheAge with its freedom-loving sandbox and the plots right in the game world. Wildstar with its humor, the punchy group challenges, and the many options of the housing system.
The majority of other MMORPGs that were released with certain ambitions between 2010 and 2014 adapted more or less quickly to the market and gradually changed their payment model, content plans, and team size. Here are the most important games from this phase, aside from ESO, FFXIV, ArcheAge, Guild Wars 2, and Wildstar:
- Star Trek Online (February 2, 2010): The fourth MMORPG from Cryptic sends you to the infinite reaches even today and lets you repeatedly encounter familiar characters from the series and movies. The gameplay is divided into ground missions, which play very classically, and space passages, where you steer your spaceship.
- DC Universe Online (January 11, 2011): The superhero MMORPG from Dimensional Ink Games and Daybreak Game Company relies on the popular license of DC Comics, allowing you to meet various well-known heroes and villains and explore famous places like Gotham City. You can still play it today on all current platforms.
- Rift (March 1, 2011): The MMORPG from Trion Worlds had probably the smoothest launch in the genre to date and could therefore focus early on regular content updates. The namesake rifts that appeared throughout the world were one of the highlights of Rift.
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (December 20, 2011): Gameplay-wise, SWTOR presents itself classically. However, it managed to make a mark with its entertaining class stories. It’s a pity that the endgame consisted for far too long of interchangeable content like dailies, raids, and PvP.
- The Secret World (July 3, 2012): The third MMORPG from Funcom shone with a thrilling, rather unused setting and innovative quests. Like Age of Conan and Anarchy Online, the game came to market with many issues.
- Old School RuneScape (February 16, 2013): The classic version of RuneScape still ranks among the highest-rated MMORPGs on Steam, partly because the community is allowed to participate in deciding future content.
- Defiance (April 2, 2013): The MMORPG shooter from Trion Worlds was supposed to be in constant interaction with the titular TV series. Unfortunately, the plan did not work out. The game also struggled with issues at launch. Nevertheless, a modified version named Defiance 2025 was released in 2018. Both versions went offline in 2021. On April 18, 2025, there was a comeback under new ownership.
- Neverwinter (June 20, 2013): The fifth MMORPG from Cryptic is based on the world of Dungeons & Dragons and places a strong emphasis on story and accessible action that also works on consoles. The game world is divided into many instanced areas and dungeons.
Flankiert wurden diese bis heute relevanten Genre-Vertreter von zig weiteren Releases. Hier nur eine Auswahl: Allods Online (2010), Mortal Online (2010), Vindictus (2010), Battlestar Galactica Online (2011), Realm of the Mad God (2011), Drakensang Online (2011) RaiderZ (2012), Ragnarok Online 2 (2012), Echo of Soul (2013), Age of Wulin (2013), Dragon’s Prophet (2013), Trove (2013), Wizadry Online (2013) oder auch Aura Kingdom (2014).
