You may have heard that the MMORPG genre is dying, and you know what, that may be true, but it isn’t dead yet! There are still a ton of amazing MMOs that you can play. That’s not even mentioning the ones that are coming out in the near future. What should you be playing if you want to play the best? Here’s our list of the 10 best MMORPGs in 2020.
10. Guild Wars 2
Despite recent displeasure from longtime fans of the game Guild Wars 2 is still one of the best AAA MMORPGs available on the market. ArenaNet is developing another game and many feel that is reflected by the smaller content patches. But, the game that already exists is fantastic. It has had two expansions which are still popular to this day. Just don’t rush through all the content expecting to get more frequently or you may end up disappointed.
9. ArcheAge
Last year ArcheAge got a huge boost to life with the release of ArcheAge Unchained. The new business model brought in new players and older ones who had previously left citing irritation with the monetization of the game. While reviews of the game on Steam are mixed closer inspection shows that the vast majority of complaints are about difficulties accessing the game and not problems with the game itself. The game is being praised as being enjoyable and fun to play. Quite a feat for a game that is going on 6 years old.
8. Phantasy Star Online 2
It may not be expected to launch until Q2 this year but we can already say without a doubt that Phantasy Star Online 2 is going to be one of the best MMORPGs you will play this year. The game has been running consistently in Japan since 2012. In that time it has expanded to be available on PC, PS Vita, PS4, and in 2018 Nintendo Switch. Here in the West, the release will be limited to North America and only be for PC and Xbox One but we’re sure that this much sought after MMORPG will be the talk of the gaming community once it releases.
7. Bless Unleashed
We don’t yet know when Bless Unleashed will be leaving beta, but the fact that it has been doing open beta testing suggests that it’s quite close. Bless Unleashed is the game that Bless Online should have been, something that I’ve seen repeated over and over by people who have played in the beta. It is a vast improvement to the game with completely new combat and a number of other big changes. Most notably, it isn’t even made by the same studio. Bless Unleashed is an amazing game, but, it has to get past the stigma and misunderstanding of what the game is. This isn’t just a repackaging of the same game but now it’s free or anything like.
6. City of Heroes
It has almost been a year since City of Heroes made a comeback with a bunch of fan-run servers and we are expecting to start seeing new content from the largest of these servers sometime this year. But, that isn’t the reason City of Heroes makes our list. Despite the game being 15 years old and not having any new content for a number of years thanks to it having been offline, it is still one of the most playable MMORPGs on the market right now. This is thanks to the massive amount of content that already existed for the game and just how alt friendly it is. It is also a fantastic game for roleplayers, something of a rarity these days.
5. Runescape
This year Runescape is 19 years old but it is still going strong. In fact, 2019 was the best year the Runescape games have ever had! Jagex is also planning something big for the big 20th anniversary next January. So, if you want to try out the game that introduced a large chunk of the internet to MMOs, now might just be the best time to give Runescape a try. Throughout this year Jagex is also going to be hiring 100 new employees, which means that the new content is going to keep rolling in for a long time.
4. EVE Online
EVE Online is another one of those games that just keeps getting better with age. This year they’ll be celebrating their 17th birthday! Sure, if you ask the player base there might be some concerns about the game growing stale and yes, the population of the game has been declining. But behind all the current drama there is an incredibly solid game and there is nothing else on the market quite like it.
3. World of Warcraft
"Don't ask what happened to the first one -- Mechagon Technology is still Gnome technology!"
When it came to picking the top 3 MMORPGs in 2020 it wasn’t easy. The three games are all on pretty equal ground and it really just depends on personal taste which one you like more. For the sake of this list, however, we let the general hype levels of the game decide. World of Warcraft is still going strong and, while the hype may not be quite as strong anymore for WoW Classic, there are still oh so many who swear by it. 2019 may not have been an amazing year for WoW but it is on such a high pedestal that it can afford to have a bad year and still be one of the best.
2. ESO
If you think back to the launch of Elder Scrolls Online it might come as a complete surprise that ESO has come so far. Despite the rough launch, the game has jumped from strength to strength. It’s a solid game through and through that somehow gets forgotten fairly regularly. Right now is a great time to jump in as they’re starting a year-long story that will stretch over several DLCs released throughout 2020.
1. FFXIV
2019 was an amazing year for Final Fantasy XIV. Even if only one thing had happened in the game the entire year, the release of Shadowbringers, it still would be number one. Why? Shadowbringers has often been praised as the best MMO expansion of all time. The fact that six months on from the release of the expansion players are still singing its praises is also something of a wonder these days. There is no doubt that as of the time of writing it, in January 2020 Final Fantasy XIV is the best MMORPG, period.
