In 2024, there are many new MMOs that players can look forward to. However, there are also MMOs that we have to say goodbye to this year. MyMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen continues the tradition of listing which MMOs might struggle this year.
How was this list created? Former colleague Alexander Leitsch has looked into the crystal ball in recent years and predicted which MMOs could die in the current year. I followed the same principle in 2024.
The list only includes games that have a reason to believe that their servers might close in 2024. Many MMOs are said to already be dead, even though many players are still active on the servers. The MMOs on this list have serious problems or massive player loss.
Just because the MMOs appear on this list does not mean they will shut down this year. However, there is a significant chance that the titles will close their doors in 2024. We determined the player numbers using the website Steamcharts.
If you want to know how many games my predecessor Alexander Leitsch predicted correctly, you can find the answer on the very last page of this article.
RIFT
Genre: MMORPG | Developer: Trion Worlds | Platform: PC | Release Date: March 1 | Model: Free2Play
What kind of game is this? Rift has a lot in common with World of Warcraft. It started as a subscription model, then switched to a Free2Play model with an optional subscription on June 12, 2013. The developers from Trion Worlds still bring new content to the game.
The title features dungeons, raids, and random events where players must repel planar invasions or fight titans. The rifts offer a novel twist compared to World of Warcraft.
In 2016, Rift struggled financially. They took away some advantages from Free2Play players to encourage them to switch to the paid subscription. Paying players receive a 50% discount on auction house fees, for example. This led to significant discontent in the community.
Here is a look at Rift:
How is Rift currently doing? Rift has struggled in the past with dwindling budgets and declining player counts. This situation has not improved in 2023. There is no new content: The initial plan to bring smaller updates instead of major expansions has failed.
In the last 30 days, an average of only 147 people played Rift on Steam. Since March 2018, the player count has never exceeded 1,000 concurrent players. Reviews also paint a clear picture: The recent reviews on Steam are only 54% positive.
Players criticize the lack of updates. The only thing that changes in the game would be the sales offers.
That’s why I believe Rift will die: Rift has not produced any good headlines in a long time. For years, the MMORPG has been predicted to die, yet the game is still hanging on.
As player numbers continue to decline, it is only a matter of time until the German publisher gamigo sells or shuts down the title.
