5) Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade
Anytime an MMO shuts down is a sad day and the day that Age of Reckoning ended was no different. The previous game had a lot of shortcomings and rather than trying to rebuild and recreate the past experience, Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade is instead taking a much different path. Eternal Crusade is incorporating a heavy PvP focus, which has become an emerging market for MMOs as of late, especially with large siege mechanics and big warfare situations. A new Warhammer MMO is exciting, so hopefully we will be playing this one sooner rather than later.
4) Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward
An MMO’s first expansion is pretty big news, but when your MMO was launched, killed, and relaunched before receiving the expansion, it’s something else entirely. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward has it all; from a higher level cap, a new playable race, several new jobs, new classes for each role, new dungeons, new areas, new quests, airships, flying mounts, and so much more are in store for FFXIV players.
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3) Landmark
Counting Planetisde 2, this is the second Daybreak, former SOE, game on the list. Part of the anticipation comes from sheer curiosity in whether or not the game will suffer from the corporate shuffling. Landmark has been in alpha testing for quite a while and should be hitting an open beta stage very soon. A huge sandbox world with players constructing truly marvelous creations isn’t a new concept these days, but with large company backing and the impending launch of the next MMO in one of the biggest franchises of the genre, is naturally a big deal. Just advance to open beta already!
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2) Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
Out of all the modern MMOs of the post-WoW era, Guild Wars 2 is one of the most successful. By relying on a different business model and redefined gameplay elements, it’s simply a different experience in almost all facets. Seeing as the game had been out for well over two years before an expansion was finally announced, it’s naturally a huge deal. Heart of Thorns will introduce a huge, brand new region with new maps, a brand new profession, new types of content, a revamped end-game progression method called The Mastery System, Guild Halls, profession specializations, and tons of updates to PvP and WvW. The hype is real for Guild Wars 2 once again.
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1) The Division
Other than The Secret World, there really aren’t that many modern-day semi-realistic MMOs out there. With The Division, they have been careful to not promote the term “MMO” that often and have instead opted for “online, open-world RPG” similar to Destiny, which is probably a bit more accurate, but The Division shares so many elements with traditional MMOs it needed to be included on this list. The Division is aiming for a big multi-platform release, which is great, but the special task force mechanics and realistic New York City has the makings for a special game the industry could really benefit from right now.
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Conclusion
What do you think about this list? Are there any big omissions that you expected to see? Are you just waiting on MMOs that release in 2016 and beyond instead? Let us know your thoughts down below!
