It is time for our MeinMMO format “MMORPG News in 5 Minutes”. We summarize the most important news concerning the best genre in the world. You can expect a big party in Middle-earth, trouble in Azeroth, and exciting MMO projects of the future.
Highlights of the week:
- The Lord of the Rings Online is celebrating its 19th birthday! The celebrations run from April 23 to May 12, 2026. At the festival in Middle-earth, you can expect special quests and rewards. You can find the guide to the event at lotro.com. The party is accompanied by Update 48, which brings accommodations in Rivendell, the glorious hunt quests, and more to the servers. Here are the official patch notes.
- The Korean MMORPG Aion 2 will be released in 2026 – also for players in the West, after it has already been a mega-success in Asia. For the global release, they want to limit themselves to just one platform – namely the PC.
- For Aion 2 to be a sustainable success in the West, NCSoft will need to make some adjustments – our MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz is sure of that.
- WoW patch 12.0.5 is here and causing a lot of trouble – for example, with the new hiding mini-game. So far, the developers have apologized for the faulty state of the update. The plan to bring content faster during Midnight without negatively affecting the quality has failed.
- With the return of Jack Emmert and other industry veterans, there is a noticeable new beginning at Cryptic. MeinMMO was able to interview two developers of the MMORPG studio about plans for the future of Star Trek Online and Neverwinter.
What else has happened? With Honor of Kings: World, the probably biggest MMORPG of the year was released in China on April 10, 2026. Preparations for the launch in the West are underway. But how much MMO genre is actually in the new spinoff of Honor of Kings? Actually less than initially thought.
A last sign of life from New World
This happened with the big MMORPGs:
- All fans of housing in World of Warcraft should perk up now: You have about a month to secure a cute decoration item for your home.
- After Blizzard’s comparison with Turtle WoW, the developers of the server for WoW Classic have to shut down their business. They have now officially announced the end.
- World of Warcraft is confusing. One of the Rocket Beans shows how convoluted a single class can be at its core.
- Players of Final Fantasy XIV can currently look forward to the new fan festival series, starting the weekend of April 24 and 25 in the USA. As part of this, there are expected to be finally first information about the anticipated new expansion 8.0. We have everything that was known until April 24, 2026, at 1:18 PM here. Any announcements from the fan festival in Anaheim will be provided today or in the coming days.
- For the remaining time until the shutdown in January 2027, the developers of New World are loosening various restrictions, such as for the weekly limit of Umbral Crystals or your gold. You can find the details on X.
- The weekly update for Black Desert included, among other things, a new difficulty level for the Altar of Blood – The 1st Illusion of the Abyss. You can find the patch notes at playblackdesert.com.
- Update 3.31.0 was released on April 22, 2026, for Throne and Liberty. Included are mainly minor changes for content such as battlegrounds, Abyss Stone guild battles, Path of Ascension, and more. You can find the patch notes at playthroneandliberty.com.
- On the public test server of Elder Scrolls Online, you can currently test Update 50. You can find all information about it on the official MMORPG website.
This happened with the small MMORPGs:
- As mentioned in the interview with Cryptic, there is a kind of reboot coming for the MMORPGs of the studio. It starts with several events, thanks to which you can jump in immediately with high-level characters. You can find details about the quick start event for Neverwinter at playneverwinter.com. You can find out how to secure a Jem’Hadar Vanguard and another character slot for Star Trek Online at playstartrekonline.com. And those who follow the instructions at playchampionsonline.com will receive a level 30 hero.
- In the MMORPG EVE Online, the largest battle ever since release recently took place. Not only have two records been broken, but a lot of money has also been destroyed.
- On Old School RuneScape, the servers are running hot. Over 250,000 players are currently playing the MMORPG, despite developers having recently raised prices.
- ODIN: Valhalla Rising is celebrating its 1st anniversary with a trailer on YouTube and a new class: the Bard, who takes a harp into battle – gameplay can also be seen on YouTube.
- The medieval MMORPG Reign of Guildes is apparently fighting for survival. According to a report from mmorpg.org.pl, the team is said to have shrunk from 10 to 2 employees, and the boss bid farewell to the community on Steam at the end of March. Additionally, the worlds for the US, EU, and Russia have been merged into one server.
- Albion Online is now playable on Xbox! The launch is accompanied by special rewards that you can secure through the Game Pass. You can find all information at albiononline.com.
- MapleStory is having a party too, as the MMORPG is turning 21. The celebrations will take you to the campus of Maple University. All details can be found at nexon.com.
Which 12 free MMORPGs are really fun in 2026? We reveal it to you in our new video below. More moving images about the best genre in the world can be found on our MeinMMO YouTube channel, check it out!
This is what happened with the MMORPGs in development:
- The people at Amazon Games are advancing their strategic shift and may soon have nothing to do with MMORPGs at all. They have now removed the last hint of the Lord of the Rings MMORPG from their website.
- With “Embers of the Uncrowned”, Nexon wants to bring its own isometric MMORPG to Steam and strikes just when Lost Ark is weakening.
- Speaking of: the mind behind Lost Ark is working on a new project for Smilegate, which could be the successor to the popular MMORPG.
- The new MMORPG Farever on Steam focuses on cooperative fun in the style of Valheim and forgoes typical MMO features like those in WoW.
- ZEUS: GOD OF ARROGANCE is a new MMORPG from Korea that is developed in Unreal Engine 5, offers a PC-centric cross-platform experience, and aims to highlight Greek mythology. You can view the first screenshots at invenglobal.com.
- From May 20 to 27, 2026, the open beta for Ragnarok Zero: Global will run. Those who wish to participate can download the revamped MMORPG classic at mygnjoy.com.
- Closed beta for Loftia started this week. You can find all information about the first test, where the public is allowed onto the servers, at Steam.
- The developers of Monster & Memories have postponed the Early Access launch to October 1, 2026. The additional time is intended to improve certain areas of the game for the EA launch. The official announcement can be found at monstersandmemories.com.
- The development of Stars Reach is gaining momentum. The team wants to bring more systems and features to the servers in the new phase, which may lead to increased instability in the alpha. To ensure new testers are not immediately scared off by the rough player experience, there is currently a pause on invitations. You can find all details at starsreach.com.
- The anime MMORPG Aero Tales Online: The World will launch on May 1, 2026, on Steam out of Early Access. There was another big update for the final release. The reviews since 2022 stand at only 69 percent positive. The few reviews from the past 30 days are significantly more positive.
More about MMORPGs:
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The 12 Best Free-to-play MMORPGs 2026 in Comparison
With that, we have summarized the most important things that have happened recently in the world of MMORPGs.
What made you happy this week? What annoyed you? Let us know in the comments. If you’re looking for an overview of the history of online role-playing games, you’ll find it in this comprehensive special: The History of MMORPGs – From Habitat to Throne and Liberty, and everything that has happened in between
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
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