What exciting things will happen in the MMO genre in 2022? We show you the most exciting upcoming MMOs in an overview.
About a year ago we wrote that 2021 would be a better MMO year than 2020. Well, how good it actually turned out to be with the problematic release of New World and the postponement of Lost Ark, you’ll probably have to decide for yourself.
But what is the forecast for 2022? We’ve done some research for you and picked out the most promising MMOs for the coming year. There are some exciting candidates that you either already know about thanks to postponements or perhaps haven’t even noticed yet.
Table of Contents
Guild Wars 2
(Developer: ArenaNet – Platform: PC – Release: 2017 (Path of Fire) – Cost Model: Free2Play (Extensions paid)
What is it? Guild Wars 2 is the sequel to the 2005 MMO of the same name and is set about 250 years after the events of the first part. Instead of waging war against other races, you join forces with them to fight the primordial dragons. You will experience the story in a personally narrated story and through dynamic events.
What makes it special? In addition to the main story and the various events, Guild Wars 2 shines above all through its well-attended and mature PvP system. If you value PvP brawling alongside good PvE content, Guild Wars 2 is for you.
What can you expect in 2022? In February 2022, the third expansion End of Dragons will be released, inviting you to the continent of Cantha. There you will once again have to avert a catastrophe in the form of the collapsing dragon cycle. In addition to new legendary weapons, you can also look forward to a fishing feature, siege turtles and the elite specialisation Virtuoso.
Lost Ark
(Developer: Smilegate – Platform: PC – Release: February 11, 2022 – Cost Model: Free2Play)
What is the? The Korean action role-playing game is about what many Diablo fans are currently wishing for. The visually very pretty ARPG convinces with classic strengths such as dungeons, boss opponents and selectable classes.
What makes it special? We already said it: Lost Ark takes over many strengths from Diablo, but focuses a bit more on skills than its Blizzard competitor. You can choose several different bonuses per skill and combine them cleverly with each other. This way, especially the tinkerers among you will get their money’s worth.
What can you expect in 2022? Lost Ark was supposed to be released in the West in 2021, but was then postponed to 2022. Accordingly, in 2022 you can finally look forward to the release on 11 February. Yay!
Odin: Valhalla Rising
(Developer: Lionheart Studio – Platform: PC – Release: 2022 – Cost Model: Free2Play)
What is the? As the name suggests, Odin: Valhalla Rising is a Viking MMO that deals with the Norse saga world. The MMORPG is distributed by the Korean publisher Kakao Games, who were already active for Black Desert Online.
What makes it special? The focus on Norse mythology and the Unreal Engine 4 give the MMO a very special touch. So far there are four confirmed classes (warrior, rogue, priest and sorceress). In addition, you can play it on PC and on your smartphone thanks to crossplay.
What can you expect in 2022? Hopefully a concrete release date for the West. Because currently Odin: Valhalla Rising is only available in Korea. (According to the developers) it is supposed to be released in Taiwan in the first quarter of 2022 and will be released worldwide directly after that.
Pioneer
(Developer: Lionheart Studio – Platform: PC – Release: 2022 – Cost Model: Unknown)
What is the? Pioner is a genre mix of classic MMO, survival elements and first-person shooter gameplay. As a former Speznas agent, you must survive on an island in the post-apocalypse against all kinds of monsters and other dangers. Your goal is to rescue your lost companions and investigate a mysterious MOGILNIK station.
What makes it special? The mix of post-apocalypse, shooter elements and first-person view make Pioner a special candidate. Basically, the MMO is designed more for PvE content than for PvP. You can optimise your weapon and join different factions. You will also be able to experience a story. At first glance, the MMO looks more like The Division 2 or Stalker, which is why it will be exciting to see how much MMO is actually in this genre mix.
What can you expect in 2022? According to the official homepage, Pioner will even be released in 2022. There really isn’t much information about the shooter MMO yet, which is why you should be cautiously optimistic.
Outlook: These MMOs you should keep on your radar after 2022
For many developments and projects, an exact release date has not yet been set. Nevertheless, you should keep an eye on these MMOs.
Ashes of Creation
(Developer: Intrepid Studios – Platform: PC – Release: unknown – Cost Model: Subscription)
What is the? The sandbox MMO Ashes of Creation is a mix of fantasy and medieval and is currently still in the pre-alpha phase. The standalone survival game Ashes of Creation: Apocalypse has already appeared in Early Access as a prequel to the MMORPG.
What makes it special? Ashes of Creation wants to stand out from other competitors by means of a reactive world in which the world reacts to your actions and changes. This is supposed to happen through a complex economic system, as well as dynamic quests and castle sieges. We took a look at how well this works so far in a first preview:
Ashes of Creation: All about release, classes, alpha and more
What can you expect in 2022? Probably not a full release, because currently there is still a lot of work to be done to make Ashes of Creation a well-rounded MMORPG. The alpha testers expect a release in 2023 or even 2024. But there could be further test phases next year. In any case, you can expect further developer updates on the development of the game.
Project TL (Lineage Eternal)
(Developer: NCSoft Korea – Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox X – Release: Unknown – Cost Model: Unknown)
What is the? Formerly known as Lineage Eternal, Project TL wants to take Diablo as a model. Actually, the project was supposed to be released in 2016, but developer NCSoft threw everything over again shortly before and started anew.
What makes it special? Project TL also relies on Unreal Engine 4 and bombastic scenes, which makes it stand out visually. Unfortunately, not much is known about the project, but we expect similar gameplay to Lost Ark.
What can you expect in 2022? So far, unfortunately, we don’t know much. (According to a statement from NCSoft’s chief financial officer), Project TL 2022 might finally be looking towards a release in the second half of the year. So there is no official announcement on this. Again, you should be cautiously optimistic. Especially because we haven’t seen or heard anything about Project TL for a very long time.
The Ragnarok
(Developer: NetEase – Platform: PC – Release: unknown – Cost model: Free2Play)
What is this? The Ragnarok, formerly known as Project Ragnarok, will be an MMORPG in a Norse mythological open world. It is being developed by the Chinese company NetEase, who have announced the MMO as a AAA production.
What makes it special? In an interview with the colleagues from MeinMMO, the developers revealed that The Ragnarok wants to be strongly oriented towards God of War in terms of the battle system. In addition, dynamic movement such as climbing, flying, gliding and riding will make the journey through the open world exciting. You can get an idea of what this will look like in the MMO in the trailer embedded above.
What can you expect in 2022 So far we know almost nothing about this MMO – except that it is being developed with a focus on mobile gaming. Furthermore, according to an interview with the colleagues from Wccftech, a small beta phase was planned, but apparently it was not (publicly) carried out. Since the release of the new trailer, the developers have gone quiet.
Into The Echo
(Developer: Etlock Studios – Platform: PC – Release: Unknown – Cost Model: Unknown)
What is the? Into The Echo sees itself as a time travel MMO and is set on the planet Raava, where the inhabitants are affected by an as yet unspecified ability called Quen. In addition to classic MMO parts such as fighting and crafting, time travel is also supposed to be possible. However, we don’t yet know how this will look in detail.
What makes it special? Into the Echo will not have a classic experience point and progression system. The developers’ vision envisages a dynamic approach where you don’t all have to follow the same path to progress in the MMO. Sounds vague? So far it is, because there is no gameplay footage of it. But the developers have outlined their idea of the (Progression System) in writing.
What can you expect in 2022? Probably no release. Currently Into The Echo is in a pre-alpha phase, in which some interested people could already participate. Maybe you’ll get to see the first gameplay footage in 2022
These MMOs have already been released, but will get exciting updates in 2021
Since MMOs naturally (should) keep us busy for quite a while, there are of course also quite a few already released genre representatives that want to get their groove on with new content and updates in 2022. Here, too, we have taken a look around for you and picked out the most exciting MMOs.
The Elder Scrolls Online
(Developer: ZeniMax Online Studios – Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One – Release: 2021 (Blackwood) – Cost Model: Buy2Play)
What is this? The Elder Scrolls Online has been considered one of the best MMOs for single-player and role-playing fans for years, after all it is directly descended from one of the most popular role-playing series of all time and opens up the entire world of Tamriel to us piece by piece – which may well become a challenge for Elder Scrolls 6.
What makes it special? ESO already offers role-players a range of fully-dubbed and varied quests in the base game, and the numerous add-ons add even more areas, stories and quest series. This way you can create your own personal ESO experience.
What can you expect in 2022? After completing the story of the Gates of Oblivion in 2021, we can only guess where the journey will take us now. So far there is no official info.
World of Warcraft
(Developer: Blizzard Entertainment – Platform: PC – Release: 2020 (Shadowlands) – Cost Model: Subscription)
What is the? World of Warcraft is now 17 years old and only broke the record for the most successful expansion when Shadowlands was released. The eighth WoW expansion was released on 24 November 2020 and initially caused a lot of excitement, the current situation at Blizzard, as well as the very late patch 9.1 caused a lot of displeasure in the community.
What makes it special? WoW is one of the MMO heavyweights and has significantly shaped the genre. Thanks to its huge world and ever new content updates, it still captivates millions of players.
What can you expect in 2022? You can definitely expect the second major content patch for Shadowlands. Patch 9.2 has already been presented in a first preview video, which we have embedded for you above, and should also be applied to the live servers in early 2022. It is less clear, however, whether a patch 9.3 will follow after that, because the developers have already talked about 9.2 ending the first WoW book. So it could be that Blizzard will break with its traditional patch scheme and come up with a new expansion in late 2022 or early 2023.
Final Fantasy 14
(Developer: Square Enix – Platform: PC, PS4, PS5 – Release: 2021 (Endwalker) – Cost model: Subscription)
What is it? Final Fantasy 14 is the MMORPG spin-off of the Final Fantasy series and has existed since 2011 under the improved version Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. Since then, numerous players have remained loyal to it, not least because of its extensive fantasy story, the numerous dungeons and the never-ending flow of content.
What makes it special? Final Fantasy 14 shines with its varied classes and jobs, its successful Final Fantasy universe and its sheer scope. But above all, despite its age, it still offers something for the eye compared to other MMOs, as the characters and different worlds have been designed with incredible attention to detail.
What can you expect in 2022? After the latest expansion Endwalker concludes the big story about Hydaelyn and Zodiark, a completely new story in the Final Fantasy 14 universe will begin in 2022 with Patch 6.1. However, we don’t know what it will be about yet.
The Lord of the Rings Online
(Developer: Turbine Entertainment – Platform: PC – Release: 2013 (Helm’s Deep) – Cost Model: Free2Play)
What is this? And although The Lord of the Rings Online was launched back in 2007 and you can unfortunately see that in the aging graphics, it doesn’t have to hide from the other MMO heavyweights – especially since the latter might change with the upcoming graphics update.
What makes it special? Lord of the Rings Online has been a community favourite for many years for a reason and is still maintained by the developers with regular addons. After all, it creates an incomparable Lord of the Rings atmosphere at the time of the books and films – with well-known characters such as Frodo, Gandalf and Legolas. Our colleague Sören explains why The Lord of the Rings Online is still a fantastic place to start in 2021:
The Lord of the Rings Online: Why it’s worth playing in 2021 more than ever
What can you expect in 2022? As announced in an investor presentation, Lord of the Rings Online will receive its first major comprehensive graphics and tech upgrade in 2022. And it will come shortly after the launch of the Lord of the Rings series, to take advantage of the breath of fresh air that the Lord of the Rings brand has to offer.
New World
(Developer: Amazon Game Studios – Platform: PC – Release: 2021 – Cost Model: Buy2Play)
What is this? The sandbox MMO from Amazon relies on a mix of PvE content such as raids and dungeons, as well as large PvP battles and sieges. On the fantasy island of Aeternum, you can also pass the time by crafting or leveling up professions.
What makes special? New World does without fixed class corsets and instead gives you a whole bunch of weapons that you can level up as you wish. This way you can flexibly change your play style and try out different things.
What can you expect in 2022? So far there is little information about New World’s plans. It is rumoured that new content patches could continue the rudimentary main storyline and lead you to the Quarry Mountain, which was certainly not presented to you in a cinematic way in the tutorial for nothing. However, there is no official confirmation of this.
