Top Upcoming Free to Play MMORPGs 2021 and Beyond
Are you ready for our Top Upcoming Free to Play MMORPGs 2021 and Beyond? That’s right, this is a big one and you should take notes, because there’s plenty to be excited about. Obviously, there’s going to be a bit of personal bias here, but that’s just how every top goes, right?
I had to begin this top talking about the game with enough potential to be the most hyped MMORPG of the decade. That’s right, the League of Legends MMORPG that many were hoping for – and Riot took its sweet time to confirm – has all the makings of a number one worldwide hit. Riot can’t screw this one up, or they’ll have over 100 million players knocking at their door. And you know how the League of Legends community has a reputation of being toxic, so…
There isn’t anything solid about the game so far, but Riot is recruiting for it. My guess is that we won’t be playing it before 2024 or 2025, so that’s more than enough time for all the other League of Legends milkage… er, I mean spin-offs to come out: a Street Fighter-style fighting game, an action RPG, and a dating sim…
Nah, I’m joking on that last one. Although… I’m betting some fans wouldn’t mind that.
Moving on to another hugely anticipated game and probably the most promising anime MMO right now. Bandai Namco’s Blue Protocol looks amazing, and it doesn’t play too shabby either. I’m not jumping on the “it’s like a Genshin Impact MMORPG” bandwagon because that’s quite far from the truth, but I’m surely excited about it. With the Japanese release expected for late 2021 and a global launch officially planned, I advise you to follow Blue Protocol very closely.
Speaking of Genshin Impact, which I’m addicted to since before it launched, there’s a game in the works that can rightfully be called the Genshin Impact MMORPG. That game is Tower of Fantasy and the similarities are undeniable. Sure, the lore and setting is different, leaning toward sci-fi, but it’s undeniable that the colorful art style and the fast-paced combat remind us of miHoYo’s blockbuster. The bonus of a massively multiplayer core and the promise of player versus player modes are just a few things that help Tower of Fantasy to become its own thing. Besides, there’s a deep character creation system, with no fixed classes in sight – you play according to your weapons of choice.
There’s no global release date for Tower of Fantasy… yet. Seeing that it’s Perfect World on publishing duties, we’re likely seeing this PC and mobile cross-platform MMO available in English in a couple of years.
Behind the delicious codename of Project BBQ beats the heart of a brawler. This 3D MMORPG is part of the Dungeon Fighter Online franchise, but it isn’t a sequel – it’s more of a spin-off set in an alternate timeline. Fans will recognize key classes and locations, but there isn’t a strict bond with the original. I guess this gives Nexon room to breathe and experiment, taking the characters into new and hopefully exciting directions.
The trailers released so far are jaw-dropping. The Unreal Engine 4 character models and environments look stunning, combat is fast paced and flashy, and the bosses seem varied and resourceful. It could be the action MMORPG that we’ve wanted for years.
This should be the year that we, poor sad westerners, get Lost Ark. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Feels like that old friend that told us we should grab dinner sometime and then disappeared for five years straight. Screw him, right? Well, I’m willing to give Lost Ark a pass, because it still plays and looks good, and there isn’t much in the way of competition. Besides, by then we’ll have tons of post-launch content, one of the main complaints by Korean players.
My only worry is that Amazon Games is the Lost Ark global publisher. Besides canceling a few games and delaying New World into eternity, there is nothing telling us how good or bad they are at managing an MMORPG. Keep your fingers crossed.
I know many of you aren’t big mobile MMORPG fans, but bear with me. Noah’s Heart is a little hype of mine, it’s the next big game from the makers of Dragon Raja, which I’ve enjoyed a lot. It takes us into a virtual world, mixing sci-fi with fantasy and open world exploration, and it promises to deliver a vast and seamless landscape.
Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds is expected to release globally by early 2022. This spin-off of the popular Level-5 series is going full sci-fi, as you step into the shows of a game tester. Very appropriate, don’t you think? The game looks gorgeous, but we’re yet to see if the gameplay brings anything new. I’m curious to see the wonderful environments and hopefully hop between the two worlds: the in-game fantasy and reality.
I’m not quite sure what to think about Gran Saga yet. It looks good, I guess, and you can switch between characters just like in Genshin Impact, but that’s where comparisons end. It looks like it is going down the auto-play trap, which is not good. But it’s an MMO and has some interesting ideas such as the gran weapon system… we’ll see. Npixel is also working on Chrono Odyssey, which is another MMORPG of seemingly bigger ambition.
You can satiate your Pokémon thirst with Pearl Abyss’ next MMO, the colorful creature-collecting game DokeV. It’s been a while since we’ve had news on this game, so there isn’t much to go on about. Still, the short tech demo looks impressive and I can see the team behind Black Desert delivering a terrific Pokémon-like MMO… who knows, it may end up being the Pokémon MMORPG that no Pokémon game ever managed to be.
Odin: Valhalla Rising is looking very promising indeed, and it’s nice to see that the Night King from Game of Thrones is still getting work after the disappointing finale. Odin looks terrific, even more considering that it is coming out on PC and mobile with cross-platform, so I guess concessions will be made. Still, fingers crossed and let’s hope that it doesn’t turn out to be a generic epic fantasy MMO.
I’ll end this top with a few honorable mentions. You know, promising games that deserve our attention but are yet a bit of a mystery quality-wise. Not that others aren’t as well – I’m looking at you, League of Legends MMORPG. I’m pretty sure you could add a few names to this list as well, so head over to the comments and do it.
The first mention is Summoners War Chronicles, the MMORPG inspired by the intensely popular hero collector game. There’s the community and the drive to make a successful spin-off, but I’m hoping they don’t play it too safe and by the numbers, or they’re toast.
Let’s add Marvel Future Revolution to the pile, as this could turn out to be one interesting Marvel game, and you know how we desperately need one after the failure of Marvel’s Avengers. Developed by Netmarble, here’s hoping this is a proper superhero MMO and not a simple reskin.
Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis and the Blade and Soul Unreal Engine 4 upgrade might not be new games, but they will give a couple of fan favorites the graphical and mechanical overhaul that we deserve.
This Top Upcoming Free to Play MMORPGs 2021 and beyond list is getting huge, and I don’t want to add any games that we don’t really know if they’re going to be decent. We’re purportedly leaving some games out because they’re not going to be free-to-play, such as New World or Elyon, even Crimson Desert, which isn’t an MMO anymore. You can check other names in the video description that you should keep an eye out for. Brace yourselves for a few great years of gaming and have fun!
