New Upcoming MMORPGs in 2017 You Should Look Forward To!

So with the recent cancellation of Bless Online in the West, and the fact that Revelation Online bombed hard, we’re left with a.. slightly more uncertain future with regards to MMORPGs.

With both of the big Eastern MMORPGs being off the radar now, that doesn’t leave a lot in terms of upcoming MMORPGs to be excited for. Nevertheless, together, we shall press on through these uncertain waters and find some MMORPGs to actually look forward to this year, damnit! Because there are some good ones out there. I promise!

Yes, we will be listing expansions here as well. Why? Because every time we make a top 10 we get asked why we didn’t include upcoming expansions in the list. So here we are, one of, if not the most popular expansion for an MMORPG this year: Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood.

The second expansion for the MMORPG titan – Stormblood takes you to new lands, bring in new classes, and further increases the scale people had grown accustomed to.

I mean, Stormblood is adding swimming, diving, underwater mounts, a new primal, dungeons, raids, gear, a new residential district, a new Red Mage and Samurai class, new jobs, and.. I mean you get the point.

The expansion is absolutely ridiculous. Final Fantasy XIV is definitely worth getting into at this point with the insane influx of new players, if you haven’t already.

So Pantheon is a little different. I’m sorry in advance for the bluntness, but it’s not a visually stunning MMORPG, nor is the action combat exceptional. And that is perfectly fine.

Pantheon doesn’t need nor does it pride itself on its intuitive combat or amazing visuals. Instead, Pantheon is attempting to create a solid MMORPG that goes above and beyond your traditional “pretty” MMORPGs.

Being touted as an “intensely social open sandbox MMORPG” where every action and interaction is meaningful and has purpose to simulate a real world environment. Whether or not that pans out well remains to be seen, but nevertheless, it sounds like it could a very fun aspect of the game.

An MMORPG completely about and only revolving around endgame.

Yes, strangely, unlike most MMORPGs you don’t have to grind up from the ground up. You essentially begin the game fully loaded with everything you need to begin dominating the game world.

One thing Western MMORPGs seem to be targeting lately is the whole “Player driven economy” system. A system where the entire economy of a game is based solely around the playerbase. Which if you think about it seems fantastic.. until the population continues to dry up. Upon which it becomes much more of a burden. Crowfall is attempting to be an MMORPG Game of Thrones with regards to its detailed political system where players are given the opportunity to form alliances, gain ownership of territories, and essentially win the throne itself.

Crowfall is ambitious.. and if it pays off, then it could be one of the most entertaining MMORPGs out there.

If you’ve been living under a rock, then allow me to elaborate on what Ashes of Creaton is: Literally the most hyped MMORPG of the year entire year, Ashes of Creation is the MMORPG that the entire genre is betting on to save it. Having raised over $3.2 million dollars in fan funding, proves that there is quite a few people anticipating it. Once again, Ashes of Creation is utilizing the player driven economy aspect of the game. I feel as though personally this can potentially make for a lot of problems in the future but nevertheless, it’s a feature that a lot of MMORPGs are using now. In Ashes of Creation, the world grows and changes alongside you. This is a feature I’m really interested in but at the same time could be an absolute disaster. Allow me to elaborate. You, as a player, have the ability to build up the world around you. However, as you are capable of building it up, other players are capable of tearing it down. So in theory, you are able to both attack people’s homes, people’s bases, all the while defending your own. Sound cool? Of course it does. But there are downsides to that as well. While Ashes of Creation has some amazing features like player housing, an ever growing world, huge PvP such as castle sieges and more.. and it very well could be an absolutely groundbreaking MMORPG.. we have to be careful not to kill it with hype.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind
Another large expansion coming for another large MMORPG.

An absolute personal favorite of mine, having loved The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind more than almost any other RPG ever in my entire life. So getting the ability to go back to it in The Elder Scrolls Online is an absolute treat. The Morrowind epxansion adds a new class, Warden, along with the traditional Vvardenfell continent, new towns, characters, 4v4v4 battlegrounds, modes, and more.

Vvardenfell also happens to be the largest zone in all of The Elder Scrolls Online. Which is awesome, considering how much content they’re no doubt going to have to cram into it if it hopes to live up to the original Morrowind game.

Although not a traditional MMORPG in the sense of the word, Lost Ark nevertheless looks absolutely freaking amazing.

Not an insane amount of information is known about Lost Ark yet, but from what I can see and tell it is more or less similar to Diablo, although unlike most clones, Lost Ark looks incredibly well done. Lost Ark has a very strong PvP component, with varying types of arenas, for both large scale battles, small scale skirmishes, or guild wars!
Peria Chronicles
The only Anime MMORPG on this list, surprisingly. Lots of new information has been released on Peria Chronicles this past six months and it has excited me to no end. Being a huge Anime fan, this MMORPG right here is up my alley.

Reallllly far up there. Some of you guys may hate it, but it is one of the best looking MMORPGs for me. No joke. But all bias aside, Peria Chronicles looks like the spiritual successor to Mabinogi. It’s a strange MMORPG for sure. Offering players the ability to craft their own maps, towns, quests, and cutscenes which can then be added to the main game and enjoyed by the whole community. Peria Chronicles offers a unique card battle system along with the ability to fight with and tame monsters providing what is probably the most unique combat system in any MMORPG in this list.

This MMORPG, much like the other western games I’ve listed, is a socially driven MMORPG, with a player driven economy. Chronicles of Elyria takes a new approach to how you progress through the game, whilst it is a sandbox, like Black Desert, allowing you to freely do whatever it is you want, when you want to do it, there’s a catch. Your character in Chronicles of Elyria doesn’t just level up, like in other more traditional MMORPGs, but it also ages, and will, given enough time, eventually die. Which is a rarely found feature (if used at all) in Non MMORPG titles let alone an actual MMO. But death isn’t the end for your journey in Chronicles of Elyria, as you can have a child before your pre-mature demise. Said child inherits everything you’ve gathered over your long (or short) life span, whether or not it keeps your levels or skills remains to be seen however. Chronicles of Elyria is taking a bold step towards an MMORPG that actually feels alive. And that is but one of the many reasons why so many people are looking forward to it. Granted not as many as some of the other MMORPG on this list, thus the reason it’s a Honorable mention, but plenty enough, never the less.

There sure is a lot of western MMORPGs coming out isn’t there? Which I am perfectly happy with, as we’ll finally get a chance to play whatever class we want without having to worry about gender locks. Moving onto what Albion Online is all about, or at least a brief summery. So, it’s an open sandbox MMORPG, created in the image of older MMORPGs that you may have heard of, or even played, like Ultima Online or Mortal Online. Much like the other MMORPGs on this list Albion Online is once has a player driven economy. Albion also boasts having an in-depth crafting system, open world PvP, player housing, or if one house isn’t good enough for you guys.. build a city! But be warned as other guilds my try and take it from you! And lastly no actual classes, as you can wield any weapon or equip any armor. You get to choose what your character is, and how it plays. Sounds fun right? Sure does.