Early access approaches for both Aloft and Pantheon, although on different dates. Pantheon is hitting early access (and Steam, incidentally) on December 13th, while Aloft is just about a month later on January 15th. (Yes, that’s in 2025, naturally.) Still, it means that it’s just about time for the earliest of accesses. Will one game be good and the other bad? Will both be good? Both bad? We’ll have to just wait and confer, folks.
We will also just have to wait and confer on Aion 2 because that’s being teased for 2025 and maybe this is the time when people realize they were absolutely thirsty for the game. Or perhaps everyone could realize they are intensely thirsty for Nightingale, which has the developers promising more complex systems while also insisting that there are absolutely no plans for the game to shut down. That’s good, but can you blame people for worrying? (Don’t answer that one. Seriously.)
And was there more beta news? Oh, my friend, you know there was more beta news. That additional beta news is right down there in our usual roundup, along with our full list of games in testing. As always, if you notice something that is missing from the list or a game sneakily slipped to another testing stage without us catching it, let us know down in the comments!
Star Citizen launches a new multi-stage Save Stanton event to pad the time until alpha 4.0
NCsoft Q3 2024: NCsoft teases Aion 2 for 2025, says Throne & Liberty sales ‘surpassed internal projections’
Blockchain MMO EVE Frontier extols the expanded galaxy and gameplay mechanics of its latest test build
Post-Proving Grounds, Pax Dei is already planning another crafting and gathering rebalance
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen launches into early access on December 13 – plus it’s coming to Steam
Star Citizen brings more new ships in latest PTU build and discusses alpha 4.0 server meshing progress
MMO Hype Train: Into the Echo and the wish for a time travel MMO
Stars Reach says it ‘heard you loud and clear on graphics improvements’
Say hello to Ruckus, the team behind your new favorite co-op smash-and-grab survival game
Nightingale promises a focus on deeper systems and has ‘zero intention’ to shut down
Brighter Shores bans multiboxing and adds single-click actions in today’s update
Adorable multiplayer life sim Dinkum is headed to mobile devices with Dinkum Together
Sci-fi vehicle battler Sand reports a 200K playtest, promises backend improvements
Skygard Arena is a turn-based tactical battler headed for Steam early access November 18
PvE co-op survivalbox Aloft confirms its early access launch for January 15
Crema Games’ Temtem Swarm is officially available in early access now
PSA: Monsters & Memories’ next stress test is Saturday, November 30
We consider an MMO to be in open testing if it features free, public signups and will server wipe prior to launch. An MMO is marked in closed testing if it’s running a private test phase that cannot freely be accessed by the general public; it’s often under NDA as well. Early access and crowdfunded MMOs whose tests we deem legitimate will be included. So-called “open beta” soft-launch MMOs with cash shops, no sign of launch in the west, or limited interest for our readers will not be listed, nor will games that are NFT/blockchain scams; we also do not list expansions, with occasional exceptions. Finally, we’ll mark games “malingering” if they’ve been in a certain tier of development for a long time with no clear path to launch.
Open testing
Closed testing
Paid access
Legit MMORPG
Multiplayer
Malingering
33 Immortals: Closed testing, early access delayed to 2025
Abyss: Early access
The Adventurer’s Domain Online: Early access
Aero Tales Online: Early access
Age of Water: Early access
Aloft: Early access on January 15th, 2025
Ammo and Oxygen: Early access starts November 7th
Anvil Empires: Intermittent alpha
Arcane Waters: Early access
Arc Raiders: Tech beta live, launch planned for 2025
Arcfall: Pre-alpha
ARK 2: Paid early access
Ascendant: Open testing in August
Ashes of Creation: Alpha two
Ashfall: Closed beta
ASKA: Early access
Battlebit: Early access
Bellatores: Closed testing
Bellwright: Early access, developers of abandoned Last Oasis
Bitcraft: Third alpha starts the week of November 11th
Blue Protocol Mobile: Closed beta in China, full game is shutting down
Book of Travels: Early access
Brighter Shores: Early access
Camelot Unchained: Closed beta, planning to launch in late 2025
Chronicles of Elyria: Pre-alpha, again
Chrono Odyssey: Closed testing, launch planned for Q4 2025
Cinderstone Online: Closed beta
City of Titans: Alpha
Coreborn: Nations of the Ultracore: Early access
Corepunk: Fourth alpha, early access planned for November 26th
Craftopia: Early access
The Crew Motorfest: Closed testing
Dark and Darker: Paid early access, legal troubles.
Dark and Light: Early access (abandoned?)
Darkbind: Closed beta (probably abandoned?)
Dawn of Defiance: Early access
Destiny Rising: Closed alpha starts November 1st
Dreamworld: Pre-alpha, transitioning to Steam on October 10th
Dune Awakening: Closed testing, signups now
Dungeonborne>: Early access
ECO: Early access, full launch planned in 2024
Eleven: Closed alpha
Enshrouded: Early access
Eternal Tombs: Pre-alpha resumes October 11th
EVE Vanguard: Early access planned post-November
Evercore Heroes: Paid testing, updates stopping with a focus on a redesign
EverCraft Online: Weekend-long open test starts April 19th
Final Stand: Ragnarok: Early access (officially, really)
Fellowship: Closed testing on August 15th
FragPunk: Closed alpha
Frozen Flame: Early access
Havenhold: Second alpha June 20th
Homestead: Open alpha
IfSunSets: Early access
Ilysia: Early access
Inferna: Early access
Kurtzpel: Closed beta
Legend of Ares: Open testing ahead of relaunch
Legendarium Online: Paid alpha access
Lost Skies: Pre-alpha
Marvel Rivals: Closed alpha
Mecha Break: Open beta concluded, launching 2025
Midnight Murder Club: Closed testing this weekend
Monsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha
Monster Hunter Wilds: Open beta
Mortal Exodus: Closed testing
Necesse: Early access
Nightingale: Early access
Odd Giants: Alpha
Osiris: New Dawn: Back from the dead, not on Steam any longer
Outlaws of the Old West: Early access
Palia: Open beta
Palworld: Early access
Pantheon: Backer alpha, early access planned for December
Past Fate: Closed testing
Path of Exile 2: Early access December 6th
Pax Dei: Early access
Perfect New World: Closed beta
Pow Vista: Open beta (mobile)
Project Crawl: Closed testing
Project F4E: Closed testing
Project Friendship: Beta signups open now
Project Genom: Closed alpha (servers offline, abandoned?)
Project Gorgon: Early access beta
Project Loki: Closed beta
Project ST: Closed testing, open event ended
Prosperous Universe: Early access
Quinfall: Third closed beta has ended
Return Alive: Closed beta
Reign of Guilds: Early access
Rodent Rumble: Launching next year, playtest on October 11th
SamuTale: “Paid closed alpha early access” according to the developer, which is just early access, come on dude
Scars of Honor: Next test October 26th
Seed: In pre-release, test run starts October 24th
Seekers of Skyveil: Continuing alpha testing, closed beta in September
Ship of Heroes: Beta testing
Ships at Sea: Early access
Sky: Children of Light: Open early access
Smite 2: 24/7 closed alpha for paying members
Soulframe: Open pre-alpha planned for 2025
The Spell Brigade: Early access
Spellfarers: Early access
Supervive: Open testing November 20th
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
Starbase: Early access open alpha
Stars Reach: Pre-alpha started
Temtem Swarm: Early access
Tombstone: Closed testing, release planned for this year
Tower of Aghasba: Early access planned for November 19th
Tribes 3: Rivals: Early access, development slowing/stopping
Trimurti Online: Stress testing, open beta February 13th
Valheim: Early access
Valiance Online: Closed beta
Vindictus: Defying Fate: Open testing
WalkScape: Closed beta until June 15th
Waven Early access
We welcome additions and corrections to this list; send your info our way via tips!
Yes, MMO gamers, you too can perform the unpaid quality-control work otherwise known as game testing! Check out Massively Overpowered’s Betawatch every week for a run-down of MMOs that are still on the road to launch, even if they appear to have set up a permanent residence in a shed called early access.
