MMORPGs and MMOs with live service actually have one thing in common: you collect more and more progress over long play periods and can, for example, possess items in World of Warcraft that are over a decade old. However, some games handle it differently and make you start over again and again.
Imagine you are playing your favorite MMORPG and grinding as much as you can. Materials, equipment, reputation – everything is being collected, resources are being stored, dozens of quests are checked off.
However, every 6 months there is an event in the game, a so-called “wipe”. All progress is deleted, nothing remains. All twinks are gone, the bank is empty, your account is bare.
Scary thought? Perhaps. But there are actually games that operate under such a concept and are very successful with it. MeinMMO shows you the appeal of this and wants to know what you think about it.
In the dinosaur game ARK, server admins like to go for regular wipes. Here is an impression of the survival title:
First everything is crazy – Then everything is gone
What games do this? The most well-known are probably the hardcore shooter Escape from Tarkov and the survival title Rust.
What happens during a wipe? Let’s focus on the example of Escape from Tarkov. Here, wipes are an integral part of the gaming experience.
This also applies to Rust, which forces all servers to restart with each update for those who want to play the new update. However, one can start on a fresh server at any time and get the newbie experience.
Escape from Tarkov has a different server infrastructure that functions more like a lobby shooter.
In the hardcore shooter, events run before each wipe that turn the gaming experience upside down for a few days. During the last wipe event in June 2022, a surge of airdrops with strong loot rained down from the sky. The drop points became popular spots that were heavily contested. This allows a game like Escape from Tarkov to be experienced in a completely different way.
On wipe day, all progress is then deleted. Only the starter inventory remains, which depends on the purchased game version.
It’s like a restart – But years after release
What is the appeal? An established game suddenly feels just like it did in the first hours of gameplay. More than that – all players experience the game as if it were their first hours again.
While you already know your way around better, you know about the mechanics, maps, and gameplay styles. But the feeling of a “fresh start” prevails, which was already fueled by the pre-wipe events.
Escape from Tarkov brings a wipe every 6 months on average and manages to convey a sense of “reset” with every new start.
Many MMORPGs already do something very similar with their expansions – a current example is World of Warcraft with Dragonflight.
There is a new level to achieve, new equipment to farm, and fresh content. With season 4 of Shadowlands, they even brought a kind of pre-wipe event, trying out new things – raid rotation, fated loot, or old dungeons at a new level.
But what if WoW wiped all old progress with every expansion? Do you think that would enhance the feeling of a “new beginning”? Do you want that at all? Do you play a game that has regular wipes?
Participate in our survey and/or share your thoughts with us in the comments:
Escape from Tarkov is a fascinating phenomenon. Despite high entry barriers, regular wipes, and being shot at from unknown directions, the hardcore shooter has managed to attract a large player base.
Moreover: Tarkov even forms the basis for an entire shooter subgenre: A whole new gaming genre is emerging – What are EFT-likes?
