Our editor-in-chief will be quick to point out that if Nightingale has been stress-testing anything up to this point, it has been her patience with its numerous delays. However, the good thing is that it’s preparing signups on Steam for its stress test in 2024. As that’s also the year it’s currently slated to launch, might it be that it finally brings joy instead of stress?
Speaking of delays, Skull and Bones – remember that one? Yeah, it’s now targeting a February 2024 launch. Supposedly. At this point I am not going to entirely believe that launch date even if it releases and I have a physical copy in-hand and it’s April. You have burnt through your credibility, Ubisoft. It wasn’t much, but you burned it all the same.
Originally I was going to also delay our full list with about two dozen paragraph spacers, but I was told I’m not allowed to do that for site formatting reasons. So I guess we’ll just leap right into a rundown of this week’s beta news followed by our full list of games in testing. If our updates on one of those games has itself been unintentionally delayed, let us know about that down in the comments. With or without delay, whatever works for you.
CCP Games’ EVE Online-adjacent blockchain game Project Awakening confirms a December 6 playtest
Skull and Bones is now targeting February 2024 for its launch following eleventy billion delays
Guild Wars 2’s weapon proliferation beta has begun as ArenaNet ungates SOTO for alts
Ship of Heroes buffs up its travel powers in the service of this weird thing called ‘fun’
Ashes of Creation offers an hour-long look at its current gathering and crafting gameplay
Palia teases its winter festival rollout and puzzle-oriented Temple of the Gales
BitCraft delicately balances social interactions and private ownership with its player housing
Soulframe targets ‘pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha’ testing for mid-December, lets you pet the dog
Eternal Tombs demos low-level melee and magic combat ahead of next test
Bossa Games’ post-Worlds Adrift co-op game, Lost Skies, heads into pre-alpha
Nightingale opens Steam stress test signups ahead of 2024 launch
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
MalingeringAbyss: Closed alpha
The Adventurer’s Domain Online: Early access
Aero Tales Online: Early access
Age of Water: Paid closed beta
Aika Online: Open beta
Anvil Empires: Intermittent alpha
Arcane Waters: Early access
Arcfall: Pre-alpha
ARK 2: Paid early access
Ashes of Creation: Alpha two in planning
Ashfall: Closed beta
ASKA: Closed beta
Battlebit: Early access
Battle Crush: Beta
Bellatores: Closed testing
Bitcraft: Alpha planned for 2024
Blue Protocol: Launching worldwide in 2024, technical tests starting November 8th
Book of Travels: Early access
Camelot Unchained: Closed beta
Chronicles of Elyria: Pre-alpha, again
Chrono Odyssey: Closed testing
Cinderstone Online: Closed beta
City of Titans: Alpha
Coreborn: Nations of the Ultracore: Early access
Corepunk: Early access planned for end of winter
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?)
The Day Before: Closed alpha, delayed until December
The Division Heartland: Closed testing
Dreamworld: Pre-alpha
Dune Awakening: Closed testing, signups now
ECO: Early access
Eleven: Closed alpha
Enlisted: Beta
EVE Vanguard: Closed beta for subscribers on December 7th
Evercore Heroes: Paid testing, updates stopping with a focus on a redesign
Fae Farm: Closed testing, launch planned for September 8th
The First Descendant: Crossplay beta
Fractured Online: Paid early access, back on Steam
Fractured Veil: Back in closed development, early access delayed to 2024
Frozen Flame: Early access
Genfanad: Alpha
Ilysia: Early access
Inferna: Early access
Kurtzpel: Closed beta
Last Oasis: Early access (abandoned?)
Legendarium Online: Paid alpha access
Lost Skies: Pre-alpha
Monster Hunter Now: Closed beta
Monsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha
Mortal Exodus: Closed testing
Multiversus: Returned to closed testing
Nightingale: Ongoing closed events
Noah’s Heart: Beta
Odd Giants: Alpha
Once Human: Beta on December 7th
Outlaws of the Old West: Early access
Palia: Open beta
Pantheon: Backer alpha, 247 canceled
Past Fate: Closed testing
Path of Exile 2: Beta June 2024
Pax Dei: Closed alpha
Perfect New World: Closed beta
Pow Vista: Open beta (mobile)
Project Crawl: Closed testing
Project F4E: Closed testing
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: Beta delayed to 2024
Return Alive: Closed beta
Reign of Guilds: Beta event in mid-December, early access planned for 2024
SamuTale: “Paid closed alpha early access” according to the developer, which is just early access, come on dude
Seed: Active development, playtest through October 29th
Seekers of Skyveil: Closed alpha on October 20th
Shadow’s Kiss: Early access (but read this first)
Ship of Heroes: Beta testing
Skull and Bones: Closed beta
Soulframe: “Pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha” testing in mid-December
Spellcraft: Alpha
Star Citizen: Backer alpha
Starbase: Early access open alpha
Tarisland: Second closed beta
Throne & Liberty: Korean closed beta, western launch delayed into 2024
Trimurti Online: Stress testing
Valheim: Early access
V Rising: Early access
Valiance Online: Closed beta
The Wagadu Chronicles: Early access on December 4th
Warhaven: Early access
Waven Early access
Wayfinder Early access ahead of full launch
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.
