The 27 Best MMORPGs of All Time

Subscription giants, free-to-play sandboxes and servers long since switched off are all in play, so nostalgia gets a vote alongside current player counts.

1. 1
   World of Warcraft

   Blizzard's 2004 fantasy MMORPG that peaked above 12 million subscribers and defined the genre for two decades.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Star Wars Galaxies

   The 2003 sandbox MMORPG with player-run economies, still mourned years after its 2011 shutdown.
   832pts
3. 3
   Star Wars: The Old Republic

   BioWare's 2011 story-driven MMORPG with fully voiced class campaigns set millennia before the films.
   786pts
4. 4
   New World

   Amazon Games' 2021 MMORPG set on a supernatural island, which drew over 900,000 concurrent players at launch.
   756pts
5. 5
   Final Fantasy XIV

   Square Enix's MMORPG, relaunched as A Realm Reborn in 2013 after a disastrous debut and praised for its story.
   708pts
6. 6
   Guild Wars 2

   ArenaNet's 2012 subscription-free MMORPG known for dynamic events and open-world exploration.
   654pts
7. 7
   The Elder Scrolls Online

   ZeniMax's 2014 MMORPG set across Tamriel, a millennium before the events of Skyrim.
   604pts
8. 8
   Wizard101

   KingsIsle's 2008 family-friendly MMORPG of turn-based card duels at a school for wizards.
   593pts
9. 9
   Warhammer Online

   Mythic's 2008 MMORPG of large-scale realm-versus-realm battles in the Warhammer universe.
   593pts
10. 10
    The Lord of the Rings Online

    Turbine's 2007 MMORPG that lets players walk the length of Tolkien's Middle-earth.
    524pts
11. 11
    RuneScape

    Jagex's long-running browser-born fantasy MMORPG, launched in 2001 and still updated.
    524pts
12. 12
    City of Heroes

    Cryptic's 2004 superhero MMORPG, beloved for its costume creator and revived by fans after shutting down.
    524pts
13. 13
    Black Desert Online

    Pearl Abyss's 2014 Korean MMORPG known for action combat and deep life-skill systems.
    523pts
14. 14
    Lineage

    NCSoft's 1998 Korean MMORPG that drew millions of subscribers and made PC bangs a national pastime.
    443pts
15. 15
    Toontown Online

    Disney's 2003 cartoon MMORPG where players fought corporate robots with gags, later revived by fans.
    443pts
16. 16
    EverQuest

    Sony's 1999 3D fantasy MMORPG, nicknamed EverCrack for how much of players' lives it consumed.
    443pts
17. 17
    EverQuest II

    Sony's 2004 sequel set centuries after the original, with deep crafting and housing.
    443pts
18. 18
    Old School RuneScape

    The 2013 revival of RuneScape's 2007 version, whose updates are decided by player polls.
    349pts
19. 19
    Lost Ark

    Smilegate's isometric action MMORPG that drew over a million concurrent players on its 2022 Western launch.
    349pts
20. 20
    Guild Wars

    ArenaNet's 2005 original, which proved an online RPG could thrive without a monthly fee.
    349pts
21. 21
    Final Fantasy XI

    Square's 2002 online Final Fantasy that put console and PC players on the same servers.
    349pts
22. 22
    Aion

    NCSoft's 2008 MMORPG of winged combat and faction warfare between two warring races.
    349pts
23. 23
    Ultima Online

    Richard Garriott's 1997 sandbox world, the game that popularized the term MMORPG.
    238pts
24. 24
    EVE Online

    CCP's 2003 single-shard space sandbox whose player wars and heists make real-world headlines.
    238pts
25. 25
    Ragnarok Online

    Gravity's 2002 Korean MMORPG with sprite art based on a manhwa, a staple of Asian internet cafes.
    238pts
26. 26
    Lineage II

    NCSoft's 2003 sequel, famed for massive clan wars and castle sieges across Asia and beyond.
    0pts
27. 27
    Albion Online

    Sandbox Interactive's 2017 cross-platform MMORPG with a player-crafted economy and full-loot PvP.
    0pts

Comments