Was hoping to find some hidden gems in this thread. Disappointment.
That's because, as far as I can tell, they do not exist.
These are dark days for western MMORPGs. Development houses became convinced that the only way to beat Blizzard was to copy them, squandered millions (perhaps even over a billion net?) on development, only to have their games predictably fail.
The answer, of course, wasn't to try to out-World of Warcraft WoW; it was to do something so unique and fresh that people couldn't possibly continue to dine on Blizzard's McDonald's-style faire -- they'd HAVE to at least try this new game everyone is talking about. But no: we got a succession of Warcraft clones, and when those tanked, nobody wanted to invest anymore. Enter the dark ages.
The industry has it all wrong. An AAA western MMO can still work; still be built on the subscription model and succeed with flying colors. But it can't just be another Azeroth retread.
I'm still hoping someone will surprise us and announce something that will come out soon after.
I've had enough of the "announce the concept and release the game years later trend". they all tend to suck.
Know what I'm tired of? Crowdsourced, indie garbage. If you can't make the sale of a game to a real publisher? Then that should be it. It's like everyone with a degree in computer graphics is suddenly designing half-ass content that they can then turn around and sell to a few thousand suckers.
Black Desert (a lot of people say it's insanely easy and devoid of all noteworthy endgame)
Yep, it's pretty much like every Korean MMO ever made.
20% fancy graphics 20% meaningless easymode solo action combat 20% soft porn 20% of the playerbase still left after 2 months 20% Korean developers promising in broken English that the Western update that has been out in Korea for about 6 years, is coming soon
Know what I'm tired of? Crowdsourced, indie garbage. If you can't make the sale of a game to a real publisher? Then that should be it. It's like everyone with a degree in computer graphics is suddenly designing half-ass content that they can then turn around and sell to a few thousand suckers.
None of these people have degrees in computer graphics. They won't get invited to Siggraph anytime soon.
They know as much about graphics as he knows about being a spy.
I'm still hoping someone will surprise us and announce something that will come out soon after.
A MMO that takes years to make?
Heck, even AAA single player games don't get announced, and then released right away. No company is going to hide a multi-million dollar projects until it is ready ... just because.
The "western" AAA MMO's that you can play right now are the ones that you will be able to play in 2016. There's nothing new coming for the next few years.
I would love it if The Division was a success, but I suspect it will vanish off the radar soon after launch. Besides, it's more FPS than MMO by all accounts.
Most of the "small budget" or indie MMO's currently in the works are heavily slanted toward PVP. That shouldn't come as a surprise, seeing as PVP games are the easiest and cheapest to make. Most of them will probably keep a few thousand players after the initial launch rush.
If you like asian MMO's, then 2016 will be a bumper year (just like every year before it). They churn them out faster than you can say "cookie cutter"...
I will be playing ESO in 2016, but most of my time will go to single-player games. Many of my favourite franchises seem to be delivering in 2016: Mass Effect, Dishonered, Deus Ex and I've not even scratched the surface of moddable Fallout 4 yet. Star Citizen's single-player component (Squadron 42) will most likely also launch next year...
Well, maybe no tripple A but Shards is at least made with an acceptable budget (not a great budget but acceptable) by vet devs. And yes, it have FFA full loot hardcore PvP shards but it also have PvE only shards so it at least shouldn't be crossed off the list and it might actually release late 2016.
There is also Pantheon that is PvE focused but I have a feeling that one is a few years away.
I'm still hoping someone will surprise us and announce something that will come out soon after.
A MMO that takes years to make?
Heck, even AAA single player games don't get announced, and then released right away. No company is going to hide a multi-million dollar projects until it is ready ... just because.
Well, there is one game that was announced 4 years ago and got a AA budget and experienced devs: Undead labs/Microsofts "Class 4". I havn't heard anything about it in the last 2 years though so it could be cancelled but lead designer Jeff Strain (Diablo, WC3, GW 1 & 2) can sometimes keep projects really low on the radar (Guildwars came out of nowhere) and the company have other none MMO game that gets the marketting at the moment.
Anyways, it is actually possible that one could pop up. It is probably more likely that it is on hold though or been cancelled in silence.
Otherwise, really few companies could and would keep something like a huge budget MMO secret and the ones that do tend to make single player games or FPS so beside C4 I doubt anything could just pop up from nowhere.
Well, I am launching my Sci Fi Space MMO game "Barons of the Galaxy" in 2016! Of course it's a browser turn based kind of game and I am biased about it being "Gem-worthy" but consider this: I have many of the same complaints you all have when it comes to MMO games, and I'm making one. HOW BAD CAN IT BE
I'm still hoping someone will surprise us and announce something that will come out soon after.
A MMO that takes years to make?
Heck, even AAA single player games don't get announced, and then released right away. No company is going to hide a multi-million dollar projects until it is ready ... just because.
Just of the top of my head. How long before being released was Fallout 4 announced?
June 2015 ... but how many AAA games have such short notice?
I see a lot of Korean MMORPGs on the table. I'm not sure how to feel about Black Desert (a lot of people say it's insanely easy and devoid of all noteworthy endgame), and, after looking over Blade and Soul extensively, I can go ahead and rule this one out given that it's an MMO built around dueling, which just isn't my scene.
Beyond these two, and some oddball newcomers like The Division (I haven't seen enough to judge -- the premise looks cool, but I don't know if this one doesn't stray too far into the FPS category to sate my needs), what else is there? It really seems like 2016 is going to be the year without a flagship "WoW Killer" -- and I know we're all tired of that term being used, but at least it represented a company's latest attempt to unseat Blizzard (and no, I'm not interested in playing Legion, before someone name drops that -- I've had my fill of Azeroth).
So... what am I missing?
I am really hoping that Camelot Unchained does well. Gamers need a taste of old school and how it used to be.
I understand it's an alpha, but the graphics in that game make me want to vomit blood.
Everyone hyped about BD just like they were for archeage. Then when it finally releases, most people start whining because the image of a perfect game they created in their mind isn't matched by the actual game. Cycle repeats.
To answer the question, I'm looking forward to steamVR so I can play ED:Horizons with it for all eternity. VR headsets are pretty much the only thing that can make MMOs interesting to me again. That is until some random hillbilly like Dean Hall comes along who actually has the balls to stray away from design choices that everyone else considers mandatory.
This MMO market is comparable to real world interior design market. If you let a professional interior designer design your home for you, more often than not it will follow the strict mold of what that person learned in school, and your home will have a castrated and super-safe boring design. On the other hand people who don't have some interior design degree are much more capable of thinking outside the box and coming up with unique designs. It's almost funny to see how scared these professional game developers are to take a step away from the standard design choices as if it is illegal to do so.
People forget the often talked about EQN,i would say that game is coming out for certain in 2016 unless they just give up.
I think we will see a few other early Beta looks somewhere late in 2016 like Pantheon to name one.
The problem with the market is NOBODY is releasing games,they are calling them Alpha Beta Early access forever as a crutch for selling unfinished games.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
People forget the often talked about EQN,i would say that game is coming out for certain in 2016 unless they just give up.
I think we will see a few other early Beta looks somewhere late in 2016 like Pantheon to name one.
The problem with the market is NOBODY is releasing games,they are calling them Alpha Beta Early access forever as a crutch for selling unfinished games.
EQNext appears to have forgotten about EQNext. Just saying: the reason it's fallen off the radar is because they stopped talking about their own game.
I am really hoping that Camelot Unchained does well. Gamers need a taste of old school and how it used to be.
I understand it's an alpha, but the graphics in that game make me want to vomit blood.
I am looking forward to Camelot Unchained as well. However, I agree with you, I am not excited with the graphics and the look of the races so far. I'm hoping for some changes in the graphics, but if the game is fun and it has a good community then I can get used to the graphics.
Graphics? Have you watched citystategames twitch stream? Yesterday the trees looked real, deep deep almost unnecessary bark and limb detail. You'll have to check it out.
Comments
These are dark days for western MMORPGs. Development houses became convinced that the only way to beat Blizzard was to copy them, squandered millions (perhaps even over a billion net?) on development, only to have their games predictably fail.
The answer, of course, wasn't to try to out-World of Warcraft WoW; it was to do something so unique and fresh that people couldn't possibly continue to dine on Blizzard's McDonald's-style faire -- they'd HAVE to at least try this new game everyone is talking about. But no: we got a succession of Warcraft clones, and when those tanked, nobody wanted to invest anymore. Enter the dark ages.
The industry has it all wrong. An AAA western MMO can still work; still be built on the subscription model and succeed with flying colors. But it can't just be another Azeroth retread.
I'm still hoping someone will surprise us and announce something that will come out soon after.
I've had enough of the "announce the concept and release the game years later trend". they all tend to suck.
20% fancy graphics
20% meaningless easymode solo action combat
20% soft porn
20% of the playerbase still left after 2 months
20% Korean developers promising in broken English that the Western update that has been out in Korea for about 6 years, is coming soon
They know as much about graphics as he knows about being a spy.
Heck, even AAA single player games don't get announced, and then released right away. No company is going to hide a multi-million dollar projects until it is ready ... just because.
There is also Pantheon that is PvE focused but I have a feeling that one is a few years away.
Anyways, it is actually possible that one could pop up. It is probably more likely that it is on hold though or been cancelled in silence.
Otherwise, really few companies could and would keep something like a huge budget MMO secret and the ones that do tend to make single player games or FPS so beside C4 I doubt anything could just pop up from nowhere.
I would bet money on "on hold" or "cancelled". But again, that is just a guess.
http://baronsofthegalaxy.com/ An MMO game I created, solo. It's live now and absolutely free to play!
To answer the question, I'm looking forward to steamVR so I can play ED:Horizons with it for all eternity. VR headsets are pretty much the only thing that can make MMOs interesting to me again. That is until some random hillbilly like Dean Hall comes along who actually has the balls to stray away from design choices that everyone else considers mandatory.
This MMO market is comparable to real world interior design market. If you let a professional interior designer design your home for you, more often than not it will follow the strict mold of what that person learned in school, and your home will have a castrated and super-safe boring design. On the other hand people who don't have some interior design degree are much more capable of thinking outside the box and coming up with unique designs. It's almost funny to see how scared these professional game developers are to take a step away from the standard design choices as if it is illegal to do so.
I think we will see a few other early Beta looks somewhere late in 2016 like Pantheon to name one.
The problem with the market is NOBODY is releasing games,they are calling them Alpha Beta Early access forever as a crutch for selling unfinished games.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.