Opinion: Why Is The MMO Genre Dying? | MMORPG.com

System · October 17

Opinion: Why Is The MMO Genre Dying? | MMORPG.com

Over the years there have been many theories as to why the MMO genre feels like it's dying to many out there. Mitch offers his thoughts on why it feels this way, and how the modern internet might have something to do with it.

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GlacianNex · October 17

As much as I appreciate the nostalgia.

I think saying that internet is killing the genre is over board. The truth is thing have to change, and evolve as technology and society progresses. I think MMOs just didn't do a very good job at evolving with time.

As much as I love UO, EQ, and original-WOW - those experiences are gone, they can not be re-created because they existed at a particular point in time.

I hope the new generation of studios / developers will find a way to re-invent the genre to make it interesting again. If not.... well, same way Iceboxes gave way to Refrigirators, MMOs will give way to somethin else.

Slapshot1188 · October 17

I disagree on a few points there. Firstly, games are ABSOLUTELY being made "easier" today. Between simplified combat and skills, fast travel, minor to no death penalty, and things like instant respec...

But most of all I disagree that there is no going back. We will go back. It will happen when we have real, immersive VR. Not what we have today, but real VR where we can REALLY see, hear, feel (and maybe smell or taste) the world we explore. When we step foot in that new world, we will get those same feelings we got when our little avatars started exploring years and years ago. Its just grown a bit stale and boring now while we wait for the next revolution.

It's not a matter of if... just when.

Angrakhan · October 17

I think it's way simpler than that. I think it's that the OG crowd who were willing to dedicate themselves to a game and a guild for months or even years of their lives largely aged out of MMOs because they got careers, families, and responsibilities that don't allow for investing a part time job's worth of time into a video game. The next generation of highschool kids and college age young adults that should have stepped into the gap to take up the MMO torch grew up on Instagram and TikTok and are conditioned to getting their dopamine hit every 30 seconds and MMOs just aren't built to deliver that. That's why they like Fortnite and extraction shooters, MOBAs, and POE. They can get in, get their fix, get out and get on to the next thing, or even get round 2 in their game.

The idea of standing around for an hour or more just trying to form your raid so you can begin the raid that's going to take another 3-5 hours to complete just doesn't work for very many people anymore. People have lives and responsibilities or they just don't give enough of a shit to put up with that anymore when they can log into Helldivers or something and be playing in under a minute.

Sarla · October 17

Angrakhan said:

I think it's way simpler than that. I think it's that the OG crowd who were willing to dedicate themselves to a game and a guild for months or even years of their lives largely aged out of MMOs because they got careers, families, and responsibilities that don't allow for investing a part time job's worth of time into a video game. The next generation of highschool kids and college age young adults that should have stepped into the gap to take up the MMO torch grew up on Instagram and TikTok and are conditioned to getting their dopamine hit every 30 seconds and MMOs just aren't built to deliver that. That's why they like Fortnite and extraction shooters, MOBAs, and POE. They can get in, get their fix, get out and get on to the next thing, or even get round 2 in their game.

The idea of standing around for an hour or more just trying to form your raid so you can begin the raid that's going to take another 3-5 hours to complete just doesn't work for very many people anymore. People have lives and responsibilities or they just don't give enough of a shit to put up with that anymore when they can log into Helldivers or something and be playing in under a minute.

Yeah I think you hit the nail on the head with this statement To add to that, I won't even start playing a game these days if the end game is just large raiding groups. I don't mind the waiting around for them to start, but the elite that run them are complete douchebags and killjoys imo

Wargfoot · October 17

Final Fantasy is dying?

ShinyFlygon · October 17

In short, while technology has evolved and allowed the creation of better-looking, more complex games, the game design of MMOs remains mired in the RPG tropes of the past.

It's not just the social aspects of MMOs that need a reboot. The role trinity (which, I should note, is not even needed in tabletop RPGs) needs to go. Leveling needs to go. Scripted battles need to go, to be replaced by emergent gameplay and enemies controlled by competent AI.

Until these things happen, we cannot expect any better than WoW clone after WoW clone.

Vagabondo · October 17

I do not know for everyone but, as far as i am concerned, i just can not play a MMORPG as i used to do.

Many factors why, all i can say is that i am enjoying Jrpg´ s as i used to do over twenty years ago.

Maybe the MMORPG genre is something i am done with, for the moment.

Passing the torch

IceAge · October 17

What a weird ..opinion.

No, that's not why the MMO genre is dying. Actually is not dying at all. We had Lost Ark release with over 900 thousand players concurrent users (!!!) and now Throne and Liberty with over 300 thousand. That's insane.

I remember Aion when released in Korea that they were so happy for having 140-150k concurrent players and in EU/NA having .. NCsoft: Aion open beta hits 170000 concurrent users : https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ncsoft-aion-open-beta-hits-170-000-concurrent-users - and you say the genre is dying?

If anything, is because the dev haven't yet found a way to actually "break free" from the traditional mmo and actually to come up with a better version for today's .. needs.

Yes! Gamers have evolved. Including me and many more others. If I watch a stream on twitch, doesn't mean I am not playing the said game. For the most part I play all the games I watch on twitch.

For the most part I played Throne and Liberty, actually it felt so much more a MMO than other releases that talking in Dungeons or asking questions while fishing and such was something old .. but new and fresh.

Internet brings people together, not "parting" them, including in games.

So yea! I think you are a very nostalgic player which refuses to adapt ( to each his own ) and now he throws his frustration to the internet..the same internet why you have a job.

Bad "article".

Alverant · October 17

LiveServices is a factor. These days we're expected to devote our spare time to one game. It used to be MMOs, now it's the CoD or other LiveService game with heavy monitization. We're seeing a video game crash from excessive corporate greed, but I expect games like WoW to continue because it has a loyal fanbase.

uriel_mafess · October 17

I don't think MMO is dying. They had a huge spike due to the pandemic and things have been going back "to normal" but the genre still has more people in it's orbit than ever.

Other thing is that nothing that it's launched attracts enough of those orbiting people because gaming quality is off a cliff since 201X.

So back where I started. MMO isn't dying. Millions of people play everyday to games launched 10-20 years ago. Game development is dying.

Lithuanian · October 17

MMOs are not dying. They may be evolving, but not dying.
Author is just seeing old time memories and then complains: "Thou knowst, kids, in time of mine sun was brighter, youth was kinder and now everything roth, youth hath no respect for us oldies and Apocalypse is at hand, amen".
Many MMOs are easier. Many MMOs are more solo-friendly. That's not the sign of death.
Yes, modern technologies made in-game chats almost obsolete. Why use ingame chat when there is Discord and lots of other software?
MMORPG as genre may die, because of Role Play. I personally see roleplay as very niche thing in our days. MMOs (without rp) would thrive.
Maybe it would evolve more into "cozy game", where there is almost no violence. Maybe most mmos would become even more solo-themed. Genre itself would continue and prosper.

deniter · October 17

Angrakhan said:

I think it's way simpler than that. I think it's that the OG crowd who were willing to dedicate themselves to a game and a guild for months or even years of their lives largely aged out of MMOs because they got careers, families, and responsibilities that don't allow for investing a part time job's worth of time into a video game. The next generation of highschool kids and college age young adults that should have stepped into the gap to take up the MMO torch grew up on Instagram and TikTok and are conditioned to getting their dopamine hit every 30 seconds and MMOs just aren't built to deliver that. That's why they like Fortnite and extraction shooters, MOBAs, and POE. They can get in, get their fix, get out and get on to the next thing, or even get round 2 in their game.

The idea of standing around for an hour or more just trying to form your raid so you can begin the raid that's going to take another 3-5 hours to complete just doesn't work for very many people anymore. People have lives and responsibilities or they just don't give enough of a shit to put up with that anymore when they can log into Helldivers or something and be playing in under a minute.

You really think people had no lives or responsibilities back in 2004-2005? And now something has changed all of a sudden? You poor whippersnappers... *shakes head*

Valentina · October 17

Angrakhan said:

I think it's way simpler than that. I think it's that the OG crowd who were willing to dedicate themselves to a game and a guild for months or even years of their lives largely aged out of MMOs because they got careers, families, and responsibilities that don't allow for investing a part time job's worth of time into a video game. The next generation of highschool kids and college age young adults that should have stepped into the gap to take up the MMO torch grew up on Instagram and TikTok and are conditioned to getting their dopamine hit every 30 seconds and MMOs just aren't built to deliver that. That's why they like Fortnite and extraction shooters, MOBAs, and POE. They can get in, get their fix, get out and get on to the next thing, or even get round 2 in their game.

The idea of standing around for an hour or more just trying to form your raid so you can begin the raid that's going to take another 3-5 hours to complete just doesn't work for very many people anymore. People have lives and responsibilities or they just don't give enough of a shit to put up with that anymore when they can log into Helldivers or something and be playing in under a minute.

Pretty much this. I also don't think the MMO genre is going to die, I just think there will a hand full of big MMO's per generation and they will mostly be based on franchises rather than original material because there are built in player bases in an established franchise people want to spend more time with. Warcraft, Final Fantasy, League of Legends/Runterra, etc. MMO's won't die, they will just adapt and eventually a generation will come around craving something they aren't getting from other genres and MMO's will become the big thing again. Every trend in entertainment is cyclical and returns at some point.

MMOExposed · October 17

So you believe by restricting more content to Guild based gameplay would have recovered the MMO genres decline? Really? ....

ollieno · October 17

It's a little more tahnt just 'Flavor fo the month', 'Twitch', 'Discord' ....

More and more games became Pay to win systems , and with that the respect for other players was lost.

How many games with NO RULES PVP, where you can buy all the bonuses , and be a god compared to other players, whom you handle their ass in 2 sec flat ...

no rules, no respect, only the basest instincts of the human are the focus of those games...

Shit on the other players heads.. and be your god (even if your a god for only 2k people and for 3 months ... )

ollieno · October 17

Angrakhan said:

The idea of standing around for an hour or more just trying to form your raid so you can begin the raid that's going to take another 3-5 hours to complete just doesn't work for very many people anymore. People have lives and responsibilities or they just don't give enough of a shit to put up with that anymore when they can log into Helldivers or something and be playing in under a minute.

Easy to fix...

Open areas with grants to everyone in the zone, even non grouped , and dont let the dungeon reinit upon leaving ...

It would be easier , and more "collabrative" than having arrogant insolent 12 YO, who stole their grandpas Card (and threatens you, when you best them with no cheat).

Gorwe · October 17

Tbh? I never truly liked it, but it had several of my IPs(Warhammer Fantasy, LoTR, Conan, Star Wars RPG) tied to itself, so I had to endure through elements I didn't like.

Quizzical · October 17

If secrets being handed out easily were the cause of death of MMORPGs, then the genre would have died 20 years ago, before WoW even launched. That can't be right.

Splattr · October 17

MMOExposed said:

So you believe by restricting more content to Guild based gameplay would have recovered the MMO genres decline? Really? ....

No, not at all. I am saying that people joined guilds out of necessity and stayed in games because of the friendships they made. Now, with those same relationships being formed outside of the game, they are no longer committing to a game well past the time they grow tired of it. They just move on with their friends to the next thing.

Lobotomist · October 17

Pretty much on the point

Splattr · October 17

Lithuanian said:

MMOs are not dying. They may be evolving, but not dying.

Author is just seeing old time memories and then complains: "Thou knowst, kids, in time of mine sun was brighter, youth was kinder and now everything roth, youth hath no respect for us oldies and Apocalypse is at hand, amen".

Many MMOs are easier. Many MMOs are more solo-friendly. That's not the sign of death.

Yes, modern technologies made in-game chats almost obsolete. Why use ingame chat when there is Discord and lots of other software?

MMORPG as genre may die, because of Role Play. I personally see roleplay as very niche thing in our days. MMOs (without rp) would thrive.

Maybe it would evolve more into "cozy game", where there is almost no violence. Maybe most mmos would become even more solo-themed. Genre itself would continue and prosper.

Oh my god, no. You completely missed my message here. I am not pining for the days of old. In fact, I haven't played an MMO made before 2020 since before 2020, except when playing to write an article. I don't want to go back to the "olden days", and the games weren't better.

What I am saying is that MMOs flourished in the early days of the internet because of the communities that grew in them. MMOs were worse than other games of the time both visually and technically, but no other games had that online presence and community.

Now, every game has an online presence, whether it is multiplayer or solo, in the form of Discord, Twitch, etc. MMOs are still inferior products that offer the same thing they did in 2005. At the same time, gamers, myself included, crave better games and don't need to put up with MMOs just to get some sort of community thanks to how the internet has grown.

Elidien_ga · October 17

Splattr said:

MMOExposed said:

So you believe by restricting more content to Guild based gameplay would have recovered the MMO genres decline? Really? ....

No, not at all. I am saying that people joined guilds out of necessity and stayed in games because of the friendships they made. Now, with those same relationships being formed outside of the game, they are no longer committing to a game well past the time they grow tired of it. They just move on with their friends to the next thing.

I entirely agree. Before the game was the community and the foundation of the friendship, Even if you had real life friends join you, you made friends in the game from all over the world. Now I do not need the game. I have social media and Discord and everything else. The game itself is not needed so any desire to keep playing or whatever was needed to have that community is gone.

RemyVorender · October 17

Two things:

1. Tired rinse and repeat mechanics across most if not all MMORPG games.
2. The novelty of playing with other people online has long since passed, and I think that was a major draw for the genre intially.

Splattr · October 17

IceAge said:

What a weird ..opinion.

No, that's not why the MMO genre is dying. Actually is not dying at all. We had Lost Ark release with over 900 thousand players concurrent users (!!!) and now Throne and Liberty with over 300 thousand. That's insane.

I remember Aion when released in Korea that they were so happy for having 140-150k concurrent players and in EU/NA having .. NCsoft: Aion open beta hits 170000 concurrent users : https://www.gamesindustry.biz/ncsoft-aion-open-beta-hits-170-000-concurrent-users - and you say the genre is dying?

If anything, is because the dev haven't yet found a way to actually "break free" from the traditional mmo and actually to come up with a better version for today's .. needs.

Yes! Gamers have evolved. Including me and many more others. If I watch a stream on twitch, doesn't mean I am not playing the said game. For the most part I play all the games I watch on twitch.

For the most part I played Throne and Liberty, actually it felt so much more a MMO than other releases that talking in Dungeons or asking questions while fishing and such was something old .. but new and fresh.

Internet brings people together, not "parting" them, including in games.

So yea! I think you are a very nostalgic player which refuses to adapt ( to each his own ) and now he throws his frustration to the internet..the same internet why you have a job.

Bad "article".

Lost Ark released with over 900000 players. Two years later, it has how many? 90K was the peak this year, with an average hovering around 30K. If WoW had those type of numbers in 2007, we would never have seen WoW killers in 2008.

I'm not frustrated by the type of MMOs we have today. I am currently playing Throne and Liberty and enjoying it very much. That said, I think it is inferior to other solo and online genres, and I doubt I will still be playing it in 2025.

As for the comment about "is because the dev haven't yet found a way to actually "break free" from the traditional mmo and actually to come up with a better version for today's .. needs", that is pretty much a more winded version of my last line, "and unless a new MMO comes out that can take advantage of what the internet has become, the MMO genre will die."

So, thanks for agreeing with my bad article.