The Best Looking Upcoming MMORPGs CONFIRMED for 2021 and 2022.

Today’s a little different. Today, we’re talking about my 10 favorite action MMORPGs. Not free-to-play MMOs. Not upcoming MMOs. My favorite action titles right now, that you can go right ahead and download and play.
Some of these are free games, some of them are paid games, some are open-world, some are hub-based. We got a variety here – and I believe that’s what’s key to a good selection of games: variety. If they’re all the same type of game, then you have no real options, right?

Now, I know some of you might disagree with one of more of these titles, but remember, this is purely subjective. So if you have your own games you’d like to point out, please go ahead and include them in a comment below!
I’d love to know why you think the game deserves to be in a list like this and would love to potentially include it in a list next time!

Phantasy Star Online 2 was probably the biggest release of 2020. People were ecstatic to finally get to try the game out after having waited almost a decade since its release in Japan.
Yet at the same time, many players ended up disappointed by how limiting the game was. The game utilized smaller-scale instanced zones as opposed to large segregated areas or open-world zones.
So when New Genesis was announced – an entire overhaul of PSO2 with a plethora of new content set to run concurrently with PSO2 – players couldn’t contain their excitement.
It was confirmed that New Genesis would have significantly more open areas for players to explore, and would allow for much larger groups of players to explore areas together. No more limiting the game to a handful of players. No more small-scale, linear environments to run through.
Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is a brand new upcoming Anime MMORPG – it’s more than just an overhaul. It’s an entirely new game. Not only will it feature a larger, more open world, but they’re completely overhauling the graphics – utilizing a new engine entirely.
And the game looks absolutely stunning from the trailers we’ve seen thus far. Your characters look incredible, the environments look gorgeous, and the special effects on abilities are flashy and feel impactful.
Speaking of the abilities, they’re also improving the combat, as can be seen in the trailers released for the game. The combat in PSO2 was already good, so knowing they’re taking this another step forward is going to be a hell of an experience, I guarantee you that much.
This is #5 on the list – by only a very small margin. I cannot wait to play New Genesis and see what PSO2 can be with current generation graphics and combat.

Anyone that comes to our streams – or has come to our streams over the last 4 to 5 months will know that Lost Ark has been one of the MMOs we progress through regularly. That’s for 2 reasons: 1, not many people outside of the regions it’s released in can play it, and 2, it’s just really fun.
Yes, Lost Ark isn’t released currently but Amazon Game Studios confirmed that they had the license to not only publish the game over in the West, but they also had every intention of releasing it in 2021.
It’s uncertain if they plan on releasing the entire game, all the way up to the current Season 2 content or they’ll release it and patch it along at a faster rate to catch up to the South Korean version of the game, but people are excited.
We’ve been waiting years to finally get our hands on this game and let me tell you, after streaming over a hundred hours of the game I can assure you – this not only looks incredible, but it also plays much better than any MMO of its type.
Yes, Lost Ark is a top-down isometric action MMORPG. The game utilizes segregated zones like Blade & Soul or Final Fantasy XIV. There’s a deep story that pushes the game along – so much so that at times we spent over an hour in unskippable cutscenes and a scenario that took an entire stream to make it through.
Honestly, Lost Ark isn’t going to appeal to everyone. I’m well aware that top-down isometric MMOs are definitely not everyone’s cup ‘o tea, and I fully understand why. I’m not that big a fan of them myself. Yet Lost Ark is good enough that it doesn’t feel like what I’d normally expect out of the genre.
This game utilizes a fast action combat system, has a plethora of different classes all linked to the same base class, is absolutely stunning, and is packed with content.
This is #4 on the list – but much like New Genesis, it’s only by a small margin as well. I can’t wait to finally be able to understand what’s going on in this game.

I’m not sure if this is going to be free to play or buy to play like Black Desert Online.. I’m gonna go ahead and assume it’ll be a paid title though, purely due to the history of the developer and publisher.
Now, I’m sure you’re all incredibly excited for the game after seeing the brand new trailer for it during the 2020 Game Awards, right? There was quite a bit of gameplay shown and it made me more excited for it than I already was.
However at the same time I’m not 100% certain of the type of game Crimson Desert is. I don’t think anyone really has any definitive idea of what kind of game this is. See, some websites claim it’s an MMO with “deep, single-player story elements.” Others claim it’s a “deep single-player game with MMO elements.”
And the developer hasn’t cleared that up for us yet which leaves us.. wondering exactly what it is. I’m of the opinion that it’s an MMO with a deep single-player story, kind of like how Final Fantasy XIV handles things. It makes no sense for it to not be an MMO, right? They’re still marketing it as one.
Crimson Desert is using Pearl Abyss’s own game engine, and while there were definitely some FPS issues present in their trailer, the game looks absolutely stunning.
Not only is the game world evidently larger than Black Desert’s, but there’s more terrain-interaction available which provides additional methods to explore the world.
And the combat looked incredible. A darker, grittier version of BDO’s combat system with less fantasy and less suspense of disbelief.
This is #3 on my list because – just look at it. This is what Black Desert Online should’ve been – a lore-rich world filled with story, incredible combat, an expansive open world to explore at your own pace and immeasurable freedom.

This is undoubtedly, undeniably one of the two MMOs I’m most looking forward to. I’m a fan of Anime games and Anime MMOs alike, so when I first saw the trailer for this I was highly intrigued. Not quite sold, but definitely intrigued.
Then months later they revealed a follow-up trailer showcasing in-game footage, combat, and other players running around the world participating in content together. And that’s what I like to see: A world full and populated with other players.
This is a game with a heavy emphasis on both story and exploration. It allows for direct interaction with the world, climbing, gliding. Allowing for players to explore every facet of the game and provide endless opportunities to gain the upper-hand over their enemies.
Grappling down from a mountain top, descending onto either the players or the NPCs below, unleashing absolute hell. Speaking of, the combat is pretty good. It’s definitely not as good as Lost Ark or Crimson Desert, but considering this is an Anime title, I’d say it’s going in the right direction.
Abilities are very artsy – they’re flashy and look as though they have quite a bit of impact behind them. I hate when you swing your weapons and it feels like you’re smacking enemies with blow-up balloons.
And I mean.. you get to ride hoverboards. They’re channeling some serious WildStar vibes here.
I’m really hoping to get into the next Beta test for the game as I really want to try this out ahead of its launch over in the West. I’ve been watching other people play it and I’d love to test it for myself.
This is at #2 primarily due to the fact that it’s going to be cross-platform compatible between PC and mobile devices, but after having seen footage of the game.. it looks too good to be true. The “Genshin Impact” of the MMO scene. What Genshin could’ve been if it were an MMO.

I mean.. let’s be real here: This is the MMO everyone’s waiting for, right? Not only is Blue Protocol being developed by a large AAA developer with a long history of successful titles (I know they have some that crashed and burned as well, no developer is infallible after all,) but it has a studio of over 100 people working on it every single day.
That’s more than the majority of MMOs slated for release over the next several years. It’s more than the majority of MMOs that have released over the last several years. And you know what? It’s going to be completely free to play, even with the large financial investment Bandai Namco have put into the game.
Blue Protocol utilizes an action combat system – it’s one of the few Anime MMOs that actually doesn’t make use of a tab-target combat system, and while the special effects for the Archer’s abilities–at least during the first Beta test were.. underwhelming? The Mage on the other hand.. ohhhh man.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the Mage class and see the kind of destruction I get to wreak. Seeing the enormous flaming meteors descending from the sky, engulfing your enemies was probably the coolest thing I’ve actually seen in a while.
The world itself is large but makes use of segregated zones, much like Blade & Soul and Final Fantasy XIV. They were filled with players, with enemies, with items to loot and craft with. The areas looked absolutely stunning. This is by far the best looking Anime MMO – Anime game on the horizon.
I’ve not seen an Anime inspired game – except maybe Tales of Arise, which funny enough is also developed by Bandai Namco look as good as Blue Protocol does.
There’s plenty of customization over your character, there’s a deep story that your character is actually a part of as opposed to the normal “non verbal protagonist” we typically get in MMOs.
The sheer size of this game – the diversity in scenery – the quality is just.. The last time I played an MMORPG that felt as good as this, as polished as this was back when I played Final Fantasy XIV. Not that I don’t currently, but.. I’m currently on a hiatus until the final Patch 5.5 comes out in a few months.
That’s the reason that this is my most anticipated MMORPG of 2021. There’s no other reason other than this looks like it’ll be the biggest potential hit in the genre until.. well, another large AAA developer releases something that can rival it.
Maybe that’ll be PSO2 New Genesis, maybe it’ll be Crimson Desert. Heck, it might be New World or Ashes of Creation – who knows. Well, I mention Ashes of Creation, but that isn’t releasing for at least a few more years so I don’t think it’s a fair comparison at this juncture.

And those are my 5 most anticipated upcoming MMORPGs of 2021.
These are games that are all confirmed to be coming out in some form next year – at some point next year and I cannot be more excited to be able to get in-game and try them all out.
The genre right now is in a very weird state. On the one hand, there hasn’t been a really good MMO release in a while. Well, there hasn’t really been all that many releases over the last couple years to warrant a “really good MMO,” but there have been quite a few MMO announcements recently.
Enough where the genre legitimately feels alive and kicking for the first time in a long while. And it’s good to see. For years we’ve had nothing but disappointment, and while disappointment will likely follow with some releases – there’s no doubt of that – we’re guaranteed to get some good out of all this.
There’s no way all of the games slated to release over the next couple years are going to suck, right? What kind of cruel joke would that be?

I’m looking forward to other games as well, like Scarlet Nexus and Tales of Arise, and even some indie games like Sea of Stars and Eiyuden Chronicle – all of which look like incredibly quality RPGs coming out over the next year or two.
There are tons of amazing games coming and I’m blessed to be able to actually play through and stream them as a career. This is an opportunity I never thought I’d ever have – and that’s all thanks to you guys. Without you all here, as part of this amazing community we’ve built this wouldn’t be possible for me.
You guys are all incredible, and I hope I can continue to be a source you can all trust or at least laugh along with as we continue to push into the 2020s, with new MMOs, with new RPGs and.. well, just new games in general.
We’re closing in on 300,000 subscribers – it’s right around the corner! This is a monumental achievement and I’m humbled knowing there are so many people out there taking the time out of their day to watch the garbage Mrs Stix and I make. Well, that I make. Mrs Stix actually makes much better videos than I do!

2021 looks like it’s gonna be an awesome year for this genre, and I can’t wait to see you all in-game somewhere. Here’s hoping the year lives up to expectations, and 2022 is even better!