New MMORPGs Launching in January 2023 | What MMO Should You Play?

We’ve entered the first month of 2023 – January. This is the first, and arguably most important opportunity for companies to release a new MMO – there is no other competition, and everyone is on the lookout for something fresh to begin the new year with.
People are finishing their vacations, they’re celebrating. Well, we’re not. How we celebrate is by destroying our enemies in PvP. By running the most difficult competitive raids.. with PUGs, of course, because none of us have any friends to play with.
I’m here today in an attempt to satiate that hunger you might have by showcasing every new MMO releasing after the new year, and what form that release will take.

Social MMOs aren’t really my thing. I love completive games – engaging enemies in PvP, running difficult dungeons and raids. Although I am really interested in playing Palworld when it launches in 2023…. but I digress.
Polity is a social MMO, developed and published by Jib Games. Players, according to the devs, can choose to rule their very own country, or become citizens of other players’ countries, establishing your own country allows you to customize it, set your own rules, allow for different professions, providing ample opportunities for customization.
The game entered Closed Beta testing back in 2021, and finally entered Early Access via Steam as of December 30th, a couple days ahead of schedule.
Looking at the Steam page, the reviews are definitely Mixed, with 68% being positive. However, Polity is also fully and completely free to play, meaning there is no premium price tag associated with playing. You can just download and play it – and if you don’t like it, uninstall and move on.
It is unconfirmed how long it will remain in Early Access for.

I know what you’re thinking. “Wait, Stix, Blue Protocol? What? Isn’t that launching in the 2nd half of 2023?” Yes. Yes it is.
While Amazon Game Studios are in charge of publishing Blue Protocol Globally at an undisclosed point in the 2nd half of 2023, Japan is holding their final Closed Beta on January 14th through 16th, with a full release early in 2023.
Pre-registration for the Japanese Beta has been concluded, meaning you cannot get in unless you’re invited by someone that got accepted. With that in mind, I will be streaming it over on Twitch during the Beta test period as I was provided access!
Amazon have not confirmed when the Global Closed Beta will take place, and other than “Spring 2023,” we don’t know when the full Japanese launch will be. Nevertheless, Blue Protocol is a full, action Anime MMO that is going to show the world what a AAA budget Anime MMO should look like. Take notes Tower of Fantasy.

Mad World is an interesting MMO. It was originally conceived as a browser-compatible PC MMO, but later on added mobile functionality.
Jandisoft, the developers, proceeded to partner with Netmarble back in 2019, and after spending years in development, when it came time to launch, they decided – for reasons that are not public, to sever ties with Netmarble.
This meant they would self-publish the game, which seems to be a little bit more difficult than they were likely anticipating, as the game, which was scheduled to release in 2022, has been pushed into 2023, but only slightly.
According to Jandisoft, Mad World is actually complete. Fully complete. Which means.. the game could launch any day now. It was confirmed that Mad World would launch on PC, followed by a mobile version at some point in the future – within a few months.

Corepunk sure has seen its fair share of delays since it was first revealed. The most recent being completely unavoidable, unfortunately. Nevertheless, the studio has soldiered on, making immense progress towards a fully playable version of the game.
And while a Beta was scheduled for 2022, the devs confirmed via Discord that the Closed Beta test that was scheduled was delayed – but not by a very large margin. According to the Discord message, they are “close” to a functional test phase.
While we don’t have a definitive Beta release date, it is nevertheless expected to take place within the next month or two. The devs have confirmed they’ll have brand new footage to showcase as we move towards the first fully public Beta.
Honestly, the devs have been nothing but communicative, and very friendly. I even have the merch they sent me years ago as a thank you for covering the game. I genuinely hope to be able to play the test phase when it’s available – hopefully in January.

Every couple months, WoW and Final Fantasy XIV release their next large patch, introducing a slew of new content. Story, dungeons, raids.
January 10th sees Final Fantasy XIV releasing their much coveted patch 6.3, which includes – as always, additional main scenario quests, sidequests, Hildibrand adventures. More Manderville weapons were promised, new Tribal quests.
There’s a new dungeon, like always, a new Trial, a new Unreal Trial along with a new Alliance Raid and at some point Ultimate Duty 5 Omega Protocol. I don’t raid competitively in Final Fantasy XIV, but know for a fact Mrs Stix is going to be there day 1 participating in all of it as she most definitely does raid competitively.
People always wonder how these 2 MMOs alone are able to warrant their premium purchase and subscription fees.. and this is the answer. No other MMOs have quality updates of this caliber, this frequently.

The Adventurer’s Domain Online is an MMO I was just made aware of. It’s an MMORPG entering Early Access on January 26th, aiming to provide players an “old-school, classic experience.” Players will occupy a shared open world, playing with tens of other players.
I say “tens,” because while many upcoming MMOs look promising, I have this sinking feeling in my gut that this is an asset flip.
Just looking at the gameplay – and seeing “Early Access” makes me incredibly suspicious of the game, to the extent that I wouldn’t put my computer in potential danger by downloading and installing it.
Nevertheless, they promise an extensive class system, plenty of ways to level, a functional naval system, PvP. It’s an MMO that you can also play solo.
Which you’ll probably need to do, since nobody else will – haha, okay maybe that’s being a little too mean. Be weary of this one, but don’t completely disregard it. Your best bet is to just watch it closely if you’re at all interested.

And finally, Throne and Liberty isn’t launching or holding a Beta test phase in January, but I did want to make sure you were all aware it WILL BE holding test phases very soon, as NC confirmed the game would be launching in the first half of 2023.
While I know this could essentially be June, it could also be March, if the Beta tests go over smoothly. If you’re interested in learning more about Throne and Liberty, I have a 20 minute video discussing everything you need to know about it up on the channel.