World of Warcraft is still one of the most successful MMORPGs worldwide, even though it was released in 2004. Since its release, dozens of new games have been released, some of which have since been discontinued.
What is the list about? In this list, we want to introduce you to 17 MMORPGs that were released after the launch of WoW and have since been discontinued.
The list includes many well-known games, but also some titles that have remained relatively unknown. The enumeration makes no claim to completeness; there may well be other games that came out and died during that time.
City of Heroes
- Release Date: April 28, 2004
- Discontinued: November 30, 2012
City of Heroes was a superhero MMORPG from developer Cryptic Studios and publisher NCSoft. It launched with English, German, and French servers in Europe and was very popular.
In the USA, the MMORPG sold 330,000 copies by August 2006 and was among the top 60 best-selling games from January 2000 to August 2006 (Edge).
Over the course of 8 years, City of Heroes received 23 major updates, including the paid expansions City of Villains and Going Rogue. In November 2012, it was over for the game.
Now there are only private servers for the MMORPG. They became well-known in 2019 and were overrun by players.
Dark and Light
- Release Date: June 6, 2006
- Discontinued: 2008
Dark and Light was a fantasy MMORPG by NPCube, for which you were supposed to pay a monthly fee. There were 12 races and 14 different classes to choose from, which was a huge number.
A special approach was that you could earn experience points in three different areas:
- Combat – For defeating enemies
- Crafting – For creating items
- Social – For joining a guild and completing guild quests
The work on the MMORPG began as early as 2002. Due to “pressure from investors and the community,” it was released incomplete in 2006. Poor reviews then led to the discontinuation of the service, although there was never an official statement about the shutdown.
The studio Snail Games secured the rights to Dark and Light and turned it into a survival MMO in 2013.
Pirates of the Caribbean Online
- Release Date: October 31, 2007
- Discontinued: September 1, 2013
The game is a browser-based MMORPG set in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean. It was developed and published by Disney Online in collaboration with SilverTree Media.
Although the film series is very popular, the game never really managed to convince. One problem was several delays in the release date and the funding model, where Free2Play players were early excluded and pushed towards a subscription model with banner advertising.
Pirates of the Caribbean Online managed to achieve a score of 60/100 on Metacritic. Nevertheless, other Disney MMOs were more successful, and the pirate MMO was discontinued in September 2013.
StarQuest Online
- Release Date: 2007
- Discontinued: 2014
StarQuest Online was a space sandbox MMO where you could join one of four factions.
The focus was on your own ship, which could be controlled by one or more players. This way, you could take on the role of a tactical officer, a helmsman, or even the captain.
StarQuest Online offered you a world with more than 17,000 star systems and over 100,000 planets. Fights were fought against NPC pirates, as well as players from other factions.
The first 30 days in the MMORPG were free, after which you had to pay 9.99 Euros. Despite very poor graphics, the game managed to last for 7 years but was discontinued in 2014.
Tabula Rasa
- Release Date: November 2, 2007
- Discontinued: February 28, 2009
Tabula Rasa was a science fiction MMORPG by Destination Games and NCSoft. Famous faces from Ultima Online were involved in its development, including Richard Garriott, who most recently worked on Shroud of the Avatar.
In Tabula Rasa, players fought together against a group of aliens. The game utilized a mixture of action and shooter combat systems. It is considered one of the first MMORPGs where missions were not static but dependent on the course of battle.
In addition to a story and the PvE in the game world, the MMORPG also offered PvP in so-called Wargames.
The development of Tabula Rasa began as early as May 2001. After about a year, Garriott announced his departure from NCWest. Shortly thereafter, there was a mudslinging match between the company and Garriott.
It apparently harmed the game, as just a few months later, Tabula Rasa was discontinued.
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
- Release Date: January 30, 2007
- Discontinued: July 31, 2014
The fantasy MMORPG Vanguard: Saga of Heroes by Sigil Games Online and Sony aimed to mix theme park and sandbox and actually succeeded in many ways.
It featured a large crafting system, 15 very different classes, and challenging dungeons in which you could face great challenges with a group. Some bosses could only be defeated if a specific class was present, trying to keep all classes relevant.
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes also offered a housing system for 5,000 accounts per server.
Development of the MMORPG began in 2002. Unfortunately, it was released shortly after World of Warcraft and faded away.
Even the switch to Free2Play in August 2012 could not save Vanguard. In July 2014, it was over.
