No one can credibly argue that DAoC, which launched in late 2001, doesn't deserve a place in the annals of MMOG history. Mythic's creation is, of course, most notable for its three-faction PvP, an element that, in numerous players' opinions, has never been implemented as well either before or since. Set in an appealing world combining Arthurian, Norse, Celtic and high fantasy influences, the title also showed what a small independent studio working with a tiny budget (reportedly about $2.5 million) could accomplish.
DAoC wasn't instantly “big” the moment it was announced. It did benefit from the fact that there weren't nearly as many MMOGs vieing for attention as we've since gotten used to. However, the target audience was much smaller than it is now, both numerically and as a proportion of all gamers. In any case, Mythic was able to build up substantial interest leading up to release thanks in large part to a strong emphasis on engaging and communicating with the game's community.
While it's generally unrealistic to expect an MMOG to live up to its pre-launch hype, DAoC fared much better than most. Overall, it was very well-received by players and in reviews. This reportedly helped it grow from an estimated player population of around 50,000 at release to roughly a quarter million within half a year or so. The game peaked in the latter vicinity. It's widely believed that the inevitable slow long-term decline started fairly soon after the Trials of Atlantis expansion went live in late 2004.
Given that more than a decade has passed since then, it's natural that DAoC's market presence isn't what it once was. That said, the game is on this list because it has become almost invisible except for mentions in articles like this one, where the focus is on the past. In terms of the present, a rather interesting comparison can be made with EverQuest, which retains a good deal more of its market mojo even though it's some two and a half years older.
Released in May of 2008 as Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Funcom's game went F2P and adopted its current name just over three years later. Conceptually, it didn't lack for appealing elements. As an example, the team's interpretation of the gritty world created by author Robert E. Howard was thematically mature / adult enough to draw an unprecedented “M” rating. For many, the interactive combat system was even more intriguing, and the solo early play also garnered a lot of interest.
AoC shipped over a million copies, and overall, the first wave of reviews it received was fairly favorable. However, it lacked sufficient polish to meet the level of anticipation it had generated among its early purchasers. As a result, the game immediately struggled with retention. Among those who left, many seemed to recognize that the title still had promise. It wasn't uncommon to see people say they would come back after various issued had been addressed. However, despite their good intentions, many apparently moved on, never to return.
Interest in AoC did seem to ramp up somewhat when it converted to F2P, although it's difficult to assess either how much immediate impact the change had then or what the ongoing effect has been. That said, the game is on this list because it had meaningful potential to stand out from the crowd. If it hadn't somehow lost its mojo along the way, it could have become a far more significant factor in the market than it actually did.
Based on an IP that wasn't and still isn't well-known outside the pen and paper community, Champions Online is a superhero MMORPG that entered service in the fall of 2009. Factoring in when it launched, I suspect it gained the lowest market share among the games on this list. Nonetheless, it has fared well enough to be with us nearly six years later. Depending on your perspective this may be either thanks to or in spite of converting to a version of F2P in the early part of 2011.
Developed by Cryptic, the studio had previously brought us City of Heroes, CO has some similar strengths, the most obvious being tremendous flexibility in character creation and customization. Another notable element is the action-oriented combat in fast-paced battles against powerful supervillains, fearsome aliens, imposing monsters, nefarious organizations and more. The nemesis system, which lets players create their own archenemies, is novel and intriguing.
For reasons that I'll probably never understand very well, CO never attained the market traction that the others on this list did. As a result, anyone who feels it doesn't belong won't get much of an argument from me. Part of why I chose it is my belief that it could and perhaps have become more prominent – not once, but twice. The first time was during development, when I felt it was given far less exposure than I expected. The other was in 2012 when CoH shut down. It seemed like CO made no real effort to fill the resulting void.
Indeed, it feels as if the game has been neglected or even forgotten by Cryptic's new parent, Perfect World, which acquired the studio in mid-2011. I see no reason to think this situation will change. So, CO seems doomed to continue fading away into a less than memorable sunset, slowly losing the last vestiges of the disappointingly low level of market mojo it once had.
