The gaming genre known as the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) offers the largest, most expansive community experiences in the industry. This article reviews the most popular MMOs today, ranked by the population of players.
These titles allow players to enjoy worlds on a massive scale with never-ending content and take on both solo and multiplayer objectives to achieve awards that millions of people from around the world can recognize. They’re also the most expensive projects in the industry to build, maintain, and update over time.
World of Warcraft
- Original release: November 2004
- Total players: ~133M
Blizzard Entertainment revolutionized the industry of MMOs when it decided to adapt its Warcraft universe of real-time strategy (RTS) games into what became the most commercially successful massively multiplayer game of all time: WoW.
It took all the features of major titles at the time, including Everquest, Lineage, and Dark Age of Camelot, and refined and polished the experience.
In addition to the cartoony graphics that allowed the game to run on a wide variety of computer hardware, WoW became an unstoppable force that could be marketed and sold to anyone, regardless if they are gamers.
With more than 12 million subscribers at its peak during the onset of the third expansion, Cataclysm (2010), WoW has managed to thrive above all other competition to this very day.
FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn
- Original release: August 2013
- Total players: ~49M
The iconic Final Fantasy series that cemented Japanese role-playing games as an industry staple released its second MMO, Final Fantasy XIV, in 2010. Unfortunately, the original version was a colossal failure, plagued with interface issues, gameplay problems, and people complaining it felt largely unfinished.
In response to the negative reception, developer Square Enix shut down the servers and replaced the game with a brand new version: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, under the leadership of Naoki Yoshida.
This completely new experience overhauled all the problems of the original and rapidly rose the ranks to become the greatest competitor to WoW that has ever existed, with many gamers calling it the new champion.
Old School RuneScape
- Original release: February 2013
- Total players: ~45M
Developer Jagex created an entire fantasy MMORPG exclusively for browsers in 2001 with RuneScape. Eventually, the game underwent significant graphical and gameplay overhauls. Now, the current version, RuneScape 3, is played with a dedicated client.
Old School RuneScape is a classic revival of the original browser experience, with the same old mechanics of times past. It’s based on an August 2007 version of RuneScape and is far more popular than the modern version.
Unlike other titles that required subscriptions at the time of RuneScape’s release, Jagex gave players the ability to enjoy much of the game with a free account, keeping certain exclusive benefits for those who chose to upgrade to member accounts.
The point-and-click movement, along with a complete progression system for a single character that can maximize all the stats they want, makes the experience incredibly addicting and fun.
Destiny 2
- Original release: August 2017
- Total players: ~45M
Destiny 2 is an open-world first-person shooter made by Bungie, the veteran developer of the Halo franchise.
Although the Bellevue-based company never wanted to label its Destiny franchise as an MMO, their approach to ongoing content updates and endgame challenges like PvP in the form of Crucible and PvE in the form of raids and strikes have established its presence and identity in this genre.
Warframe
- Original release: March 2013
- Total players: ~35M
Set in the distant future, Warframe is a free-to-play MMO in which players control various aliens of the Tenno race. To fight various enemies, these Tenno wear bio-mechanical suits called Warframes that channel unique abilities.
Support for cross-save and cross-platform play exists for the game, and it has grown substantially over the years.
World of Warcraft Classic
- Original release: November 2019
- Total players: ~32M
When World of Warcraft released its first expansion, The Burning Crusade (2007), it immediately gave new and returning players rewards that trumped those that could only be attained through the original version’s hardest challenges. Many people felt betrayed by this, but Blizzard insisted that the game tells an ongoing story. Therefore, the meta is on a schedule.
To solve the problem of preserving legacy content in a way that maintains the rewards, difficulty, and overall experience of the content, Blizzard released World of Warcraft: Classic. This game offers individual legacy servers for past expansions, including vanilla, The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and soon, Cataclysm.
Path of Exile
- Original release: October 2013
- Total players: ~32M
Grinding Gear Games created the dark fantasy action RPG known as Path of Exile, which borrows much of its design from the Diablo series. Many critics have gone as far as calling it Diablo’s spiritual successor.
For more replayability of the world, the majority of the areas are procedurally generated, giving players a different experience every time.
The Elder Scrolls Online
- Original release: April 2014
- Total players: ~23M
With The Elder Scrolls Online, ZeniMax Studios opens up the entire world of Tamriel to fans of the franchise. In addition to being able to explore everything featured in the mainline games, from Morrowind to Cyrodiil to Skyrim, players now have the opportunity to check out Elsweyr, Black Marsh, Summerset Isles, High Rock, and Valenwood.
Classes exist in the game, and combat is performed primarily from a first-person perspective, though players can also enjoy the game in third-person as well.
RuneScape
- Original release: January 2001
- Total players: ~19M
In its current iteration of v3, modern RuneScape is Jagex’s premier MMO. After its original browser version underwent several redesigns, the game was released on a standalone client back in 2016.
Its long lifespan and loyal, dedicated fanbase have seen it recognized as the largest free MMO in the official Guinness World Records.
Guild Wars 2
- Original release: August 2012
- Total players: ~19M
ArenaNet, a studio formed by ex-Blizzard developers, created the popular MMO known as Guild Wars.
What made this series stand out from other competitors, aside from its incredible quality and instanced gameplay, was its business approach that abandoned the once-traditional subscription fee in favor of a standalone one-time purchase.
Guild Wars 2, the successor, evolves the franchise to new heights with a dynamic event system that substitutes the tried-and-true approach to questing and gives players more freedom in how they explore the world.
Lost Ark
- Original release: December 2019
- Total players: ~16M
Lost Ark is a free-to-play Korean MMO that recently skyrocketed on the Steam charts this year. It offers a top-down perspective similar to Diablo but has the standard interface and gameplay of traditional MMORPGs like World of Warcraft.
Made in Unreal Engine 3, the game offers tiered endgame content in the form of dungeons and raids, during which point all progress is tied to the player character’s gear score.
Black Desert Online
- Original release: December 2014
- Total players: ~13M
Black Desert Online is a Korean MMO that offers an expansive and rich fantasy world. One of the standout features is its unparalleled character creation system, allowing players to meticulously customize their avatars with an unprecedented level of detail, from facial features and body proportions to hairstyles and tattoos.
The game also boasts a player-driven economy, with a robust trading system, crafting, and housing elements that contribute to a dynamic in-game world.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
- Original release: December 2011
- Total players: ~12M
As a successor to Star Wars Galaxies and a way to tell the ongoing story that began with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare Austin has created the definitive MMO in a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader in the mainline films, this game allows players to embody all character fantasies in the franchise with deep, rich storytelling and fully voiced characters. Fight as a Jedi, Sith, Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, Republic Trooper, or even an Imperial Agent.
It is one of the most expensive and ambitious projects in the history of the industry, with a budget of nearly $500 million.