OPINION: The MMORPG Drought

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OPINION: The MMORPG Drought

The last AAA MMORPG was released in 2015. Nick examines this issue with the MMO genre and reflects on the past, present and future of the genre.

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Groqstrong

I think the strategy of developers of mmorpgs is flawed. They are looking to build a grande mmorpg and release it all at once. This will cause 2 major problems. Time and money. For example look at SC and CU, both have taken way too long and one has consumed an obscene amount of money.

I will say its ok for your scope of the game to be large, however with the requirements today to make a modern mmorpg is too big to handle within a reasonalble amount of time.

I purpose the sub model come back to provide steady funding and large scale mmos be sliced like a pizza pie. Released in smaller installments ie lvl 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80. This would solve your time problem.

Think on it while your game is being played 1-20, you are wrapping up 21-40, and moving on to 41-60. If this style is adopted I believe mmorpgs will make a comeback.

I will also admit that there is one major downfall to this model and that would be keeping your content hunger players satisfied.

Veiled_light

Been 16 years since the last one I liked released, after WoW the genre died.

Portz

That's the reason I didn't upgrade my PC since like 2015

xpsync

Drought???

More like full on scorched earth.

xpsync

Portz said:

That's the reason I didn't upgrade my PC since like 2015

Same i'm usually rotating every 3 on average, this is a new record, and mainly becasue there is no need, so why?

Maybe spend a super stupid amount on the top tier hardware and cross my fingers i might be able to play GTA5, or Red Dead, or 2077 maxed to the t's

Which we all know is like betting against the house.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Nova700et2

Ashes of Creation will literally save the genre by itself

blazingcut

The last great mmo i played was Maple Story 2. Sad that developers prefer MS1 more and shut it down. No other games interest me anymore.

Wizardry

I strongly disagree that ANY of these devs are trying to make a "grand" game.They are instead just copying SIMPLE ideas and spending all their time trying to pull off the assets and animations and behind the scene code.

Part of me believes many of these studio leads really couldn't make a AAA mmorpg even if they had the money and manpower.I could draw up a template of what the basic mmorpg should be like and NONE of the mmorpg's are even close to that.

So gaming is all about money,a business first and game development second.Part of me also believes a lot of these studios/leads are just incompetent.If the team is dysfunctional,a bad lead,they will end up spending way more money and way more time than should be and still likely end up with a bug ridden game.

I know you might think i am biased or whatever but i truly beleive only ONE studio could make a AAA mmorpg IF they wanted to but NONE of them want to,they see it as being too costly and taking too much time.That one studio is Square Enix and that is because they built their business on rpg's,their passion is and always has been with rpg's.SE is also the only developer i have found to actually be creative,introduce NEW unique ideas to the rpg landscape.

Problem is it is all business,even their flagship FFXIV was rushed because it was taking too long,costing them too much money and they had several issues with the new and then again new game engine.IMO they will NEVER go through that again,so that leaves us with ZERO,not one developer i would trust to make a AAA mmorpg.

Wizardry

This is why i have given up on mmorpg's,they became stagnant after FFXi,just a bunch of yellow markers over npc's with a race to end game raiding/loot.
The RIDE,the ADVENTURE,the discovery is simply NOT THERE,The WORLD and feeling like you are in a world with world interaction is simple NOT there.
We don't even have ONE mmorpg that has an ECO system,how sad is that?We do not have one mmorpg that allows you to build a house,i mean BUILD not just inhabit some prefab structure or instance zone.

It is of course FAIR to allow developers TIME,to advance their trade skills and for the most part we were seeing a steady advancement in mmorpg design,then it just ended abruptly.Introduce $$$,cash shops,crowd funding,loot boxes,card packs etc etc,instead of better games we got new monetization.

ultimateduck

I think MMOs will make a comeback as soon as one is made for VR. Something that may seem run of the mill on a standard monitor is made completely different in VR causing the entire dynamic of a game to change.

Even the idea of an "Oasis" environment without MMO qualities seems appealing to a lot of people.

xpsync

Wizardry said:

This is why i have given up on mmorpg's,

Or in my case i picked two, which pretty much went full circle in how it all started for me, two mmorpg's, enjoy.

Back in the day

EQ2 and SWG

Today

wow r/c and SWG:L

If Pantheon wants to step up and be the eq2 (04-08 rip) replacement for me, i wont stop you. for now wow r/c is the eq2 replacement minus the depth ofc.

Amathe

The timeline is off.

"The last AAA MMORPG was released in 2015."

"The last AAA MMORPG was released in 2014."

"It wasn’t until 2016 that the next major MMORPG was released."

Sort of a big oopsie when the timing of major mmorpgs is the point.

But otherwise a good article.

Nick_Shively

Sort of a big oopsie when the timing of major mmorpgs is the point.

There was a typo that has been fixed regarding the 2014/2015 issue. WildStar was the last AAA MMORPG and was released in 2014. There had been a major MMORPG released each year until 2015 (meaning 2015 didn't have one). BDO was still a big MMORPG release (2016) but isn't AAA quality. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Professor78

Whoever first releases a playable half decent game next will suck up a huge number, its prime time at the minute during the drought.
Just like when WOW released at point of internet accessibility rapidly growing, just right timing, and people draw in people.

Cuddleheart

Nice article!  Wildstar's devs calling the fact that if Wildstar failed it would be the last Western AAA MMO for a long time seemed pretentious at the time.  Talk about calling a shot...

Sovrath

tzervo said:

ultimateduck said:

I think MMOs will make a comeback as soon as one is made for VR. Something that may seem run of the mill on a standard monitor is made completely different in VR causing the entire dynamic of a game to change.

Even the idea of an "Oasis" environment without MMO qualities seems appealing to a lot of people.

If that's the case why is E:D not a smashing success? I see people claiming its VR implementation is good. E:D has decent success but is nowhere near being the next big thing.

Then you have Orbus VR...

I think VR on its own is not enough to propel a game.

I think VR has a slight more way to go but might be enough to sell a game in the future.

Why not yet?

Well, for example I LOVE my VR headset. I bought specifically to play games that have it implemented.

Have I mentioned I love it? For 10 minutes. If that. Then I get very nauseous.

If they can solve that issue, I think it will be a smash hit for future games.

Mendel

VR is only one possibility.  No one has really tried to abstract another social system, such as politics or religion.  Those could extend the basic formula beyond the core of combat (and magic) and crafting.  These kind of improvements have the advantage that they don't require new technology to be purchased (and drastically improved... see @Sovrath's motion sickness issue, above -- I'm in the same boat).  Even the inherent nature of "massively multiplayer" and "role playing" which should be the strength of the genre aren't.  Social media does massively multiplayer better, and single player RPGs still provide the bulk of the RP experience.

But as for a new MMORPG, there hasn't been anything that has advanced the genre since WOW.  Everything since can be considered a WOW-clone of some kind, or some kind of throwback to the first generation.

Scorchien

Bloated or Drought .. which is it ..

  Some will tell you there are to many MMOs ..

  Does not matter what else releases some will never find an MMO home or be satisfied..

cameltosis

tzervo said:

ultimateduck said:

I think MMOs will make a comeback as soon as one is made for VR. Something that may seem run of the mill on a standard monitor is made completely different in VR causing the entire dynamic of a game to change.

Even the idea of an "Oasis" environment without MMO qualities seems appealing to a lot of people.

If that's the case why is E:D not a smashing success? I see people claiming its VR implementation is good. E:D has decent success but is nowhere near being the next big thing.

Then you have Orbus VR...

I think VR on its own is not enough to propel a game.

E:D has had a lot of success, but it's not an MMO.

VR has not had much success, mostly because as it stands, it's mostly a gimmick. It's not even virtual reality, it's just virtual eyesight. When we get proper virtual reality, then things will really take off! (i spend too much time daydreaming about such a day!)

As to the main thrust of the article, yes, it's sad that there has been such a long drought for new MMOs. I haven't been able to find an mmo I enjoy since 2013.

I blame the drought on lack of innovation and quality implementation, but mostly on a lack of research. When I see studio after studio repeating the same mistakes of their predecessors, i am not surprised they keep failing to attract or retain enough players. MMO devs have just never really adopted the right attitude for building RPGs in a massively multiplayer environment. The challenges and possibilities are vastly different from the single player world, yet devs keep replicating what we find in single player games. It may be less risky to do so, but it misses the point and potential of the entire genre!

Utinni

Veiled_light said:

Been 16 years since the last one I liked released, after WoW the genre died.

If by died you mean has more players than ever before, nailed it!

FrodoFragins

Professor78 said:

Whoever first releases a playable half decent game next will suck up a huge number, its prime time at the minute during the drought.
Just like when WOW released at point of internet accessibility rapidly growing, just right timing, and people draw in people.

Well it better have a loved IP and a trusted/loved developer (like blizzard was when WOW launched).  It takes more than a "half decent" MMO to even break even.

You are also underestimating the fact that WOW removed the biggest issues that kept players away from EQ and UO for instance.  Hell, even SWG didn't provide what most potential players wanted, namely starting as Jedi/Sith and space battles.

ray12k

When AI's start coding we will get a mmorpg worth playing.

TwistedSister77

(Developers walk into mmorpg forums for some ideas... see all the disagreements and bashing of games... walk out deciding to make a shooter for 1/10 the cost and 10 times the audience)

goozmania

I can easily attribute this to 2 main reasons; which are oddly at odds with each other. The emphasis on "action combat" has created nothing but flops. What devs and sheep call "action combat," which is actually no more or less action than tab-targeting, does not work in a MMORPG setting.

MMORPG get their longevity largely from equipment and number formulas, which become less interesting in games like Tera. Dodge/Parry/Defense?etc... numbers mean less in those kinds of games.

The other main reason is a rush to completely copy World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft still exists; trying to copy it down to its very core is a fast track to failure. There needs to be a balance in keeping what works, but pursuing your own identity... this just = "risk" to most businesses, though.