The summary of ‘Most Played MMOs 2024 MIDYEAR UPDATE – Sorted By Active Players’

00:00:00

In this segment of the video, the focus is on reviewing the most played MMOs based on active player base size, not quality. At number 15 is ‘New World,’ which is currently experiencing its worst month and a significant decline in player numbers, partly due to its ongoing transition to console and lack of new content for endgame players. Despite these issues, ‘New World’ is recognized for its fair monetization, seamless open world, and strong crafting progression. It features challenging group content, although finding groups is difficult with the current low player count.

Moving to number 14, ‘EVE Online’ is highlighted as an old yet actively supported MMO from 2003. It’s a space-themed game where players build and upgrade spaceships to control profitable sectors of space. ‘EVE Online’ is free to play but has an expensive optional subscription, which many consider essential for a full experience. The game’s focus is on ship management rather than character visibility.

00:03:00

In this segment, the video discusses various MMOs, starting with “EVE Online,” where players form alliances and engage in high-stakes PVP battles, losing their ships permanently if destroyed. CCP Games has added an integrated spreadsheet feature to help players track materials and costs. Despite its niche status, “EVE Online” remains popular after two decades. Next, “Star Wars: The Old Republic” (SWOTR) is covered. Launched in 2011, it offers an optional subscription that unlocks all game zones permanently, even if only subscribed for a month. SWOTR is known for its immersive, voice-acted class stories with multiple endings. Though mainly a single-player experience now, it’s still appealing to Star Wars fans. The game’s future is uncertain after a developer change. Lastly, “Wizard101,” released in 2008 and aimed at children, is still active with regular updates, though much of its content requires a subscription.

00:06:00

In this part of the video, the host discusses moving up one spot in rankings from number 12 to number 11, highlighting Albion Online. They then introduce the sponsor, “Neverness to Everness,” a new fast-paced urban RPG built in Unreal Engine 5. Players can explore a supernatural metropolis, participate in live events, and customize homes and cars. The game boasts high-quality graphics, developed by Hot Studio under Perfect World Games, and pre-registration is promoted. Returning to Albion Online, the video notes it as a free-to-play but pay-to-win fantasy sandbox MMORPG with full loot PvP, a massive progression tree, and an optional subscription to reduce grind. Its population has steadily increased, leading to its rise to the number 11 spot on the most-played MMOs list.

00:09:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the state of World of Warcraft Classic (WoW Classic) and RuneScape, focusing on their popularity trends and player engagement. WoW Classic has seen a significant population decline since its peak during the launch of Season of Discovery, mainly because players have exhausted the new content. The game originally launched to great success, offering a pure MMO experience reminiscent of its early days without controversial updates like cash shops or raid finders. The future of WoW Classic might require a new direction to retain long-term players. Meanwhile, RuneScape 3, originally released in 2001 as a browser game, remains highly popular. The game has evolved significantly, now operating primarily on a standalone client since 2016, and features unique gameplay where leveling up is tied to specific activities like fishing or magic, providing a vast amount of content for players to engage with.

00:12:00

In this segment of the video, the discussion revolves around the differences and player trends between RuneScape and its counterpart, old school RuneScape. The original RuneScape introduced a cash shop with pay-to-win elements, which was not well received by the community, leading to a preference for the classic, cash shop-free version, ultimately resulting in a larger player base for old school RuneScape. The segment also highlights the enduring popularity of Guild Wars 2, which launched in 2012. Known for its robust free-to-play model, lack of a subscription system, extensive exploration, unique questing experience, and impressive world events, Guild Wars 2 continues to attract players. Recent updates, such as an improved new player experience and early access to mounts, contribute to its sustained popularity and slight growth over the years.

00:15:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses two MMOs: Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) and Lost Ark. For ESO, released in 2014, the focus is on its attractive features such as its well-received Gold Road expansion, voice-acted quests, and action combat. It caters to both casual and dedicated players, offering a variety of content and difficulty levels. The game is celebrated for maintaining a healthy player population through its mega servers. On the other hand, Lost Ark, a free-to-play top-down MMORPG from the East, has recently seen its player base decline sharply. Despite being pay-to-win, Lost Ark allows players to access the entire game for free, albeit with a heavy grind and monetization strategy.

00:18:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the gear progression and gambling mechanics in “Lost Arc,” which includes dungeons, raids, sailing, and character power enhancement. The game’s strengths are satisfying combat and a variety of classes, while its weaknesses are pay-to-win monetization and bot infestation. The video then compares “Lost Arc” trends, noting its initial popularity surge in 2022, and discusses “Black Desert Online” (BDO)’s open-world, grind-heavy gameplay, always-on PvP at level 50, improved monetization, and steady player population. Finally, “Maple Story” is highlighted for its resilience and significant player base despite controversies about item drop rates, being a foundational MMO for many players with over 260 million users and $3 billion in revenue.

00:21:00

In this part of the video, the focus is on the enduring popularity and unique qualities of old school RuneScape, an MMO that has maintained significant player interest despite its age. It highlights how the game offers 42 different classes, is highly accessible with minimal system requirements, and contains two decades of content. The video discusses how old school RuneScape outperforms newer MMOs like RuneScape 3 and Guild Wars 2 in popularity. It explains that the game’s low requirements allow it to be played on most modern devices, including phones. Additionally, it emphasizes that old school RuneScape is driven by player decisions, with significant changes being voted on by the community. The segment also touches on its sandbox nature, various skilling options, and the benefits of AFK skilling. Despite its clunky interface and combat system, the game’s slow pace and detailed quests attract many players. The video also notes that old school RuneScape’s player base has grown so large that it surpasses the player counts of retail RuneScape and other MMOs, highlighting its impressive performance on Google Trends. Lastly, the segment mentions the notable shift in the MMO rankings, with World of Warcraft temporarily dropping to the second position, and discusses its recent developments and community expectations.

00:24:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses the expansions set to release for World of Warcraft later this year, emphasizing the game’s longstanding appeal and seamless integration of expansive environments. World of Warcraft’s sustained popularity is attributed to its impressive design, engine overhauls, and enduring art style. The game supports the classic MMO trinity of tank, healer, and DPS, offering 13 unique classes and extensive single-player content along with challenging dungeons and raids.

The video also compares World of Warcraft to other MMOs, noting its dominant position in the early 2000s and highlighting Final Fantasy 14’s recent rise to prominence. Final Fantasy 14 is praised for its strong focus on quality content, community engagement, and comprehensive story integration. With two new classes and a continuation of its storyline, Final Fantasy 14 claims the top spot among MMOs today, offering a generous free trial that includes the first 70 levels and two expansions for free, after which a subscription is required.

00:27:00

In this segment, the speaker discusses the current status of Final Fantasy 14, emphasizing its success in 2024 without pay-to-win elements or loot boxes and boasting hundreds of earnable cosmetics and mounts. The major talking points include its ongoing competition with World of Warcraft (WoW) for the top spot in the MMO rankings and the impact of WoW’s upcoming “War Within” expansion set to release on August 26th. The speaker also mentions significant expansions from other MMOs such as ESO and Final Fantasy 14. Finally, there is an encouragement for viewers to comment on their predictions for future MMO rankings, and an invitation to subscribe and join the channel’s private Discord for more content.