# The 36 Greatest MMOs of All Time

> Some of these worlds shut down years ago and still have fans running private servers; others are shipping expansions this year. Nostalgia and endgame grind make strange bedfellows here.

*By YPB Team · Published October 27, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-36-greatest-mmos-of-all-time*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **World of Warcraft** — score 1000/1000
   Blizzard's 2004 fantasy MMORPG that took the genre mainstream and peaked at over 12 million subscribers.
2. **Final Fantasy XI** — score 746/1000
   Square's 2002 MMORPG, the first to let PC and console players share the same servers.
3. **Final Fantasy XIV** — score 712/1000
   Square Enix's MMORPG, rebuilt from a failed 2010 launch into the acclaimed A Realm Reborn and its expansions.
4. **RuneScape** — score 653/1000
   Jagex's browser-born 2001 fantasy MMORPG, one of the most-played free online games ever.
5. **Toontown Online** — score 653/1000
   Disney's 2003 family MMO where players fought corporate robots with cartoon gags, revived by fans after closing.
6. **Lost Ark** — score 631/1000
   Smilegate's isometric action MMORPG, a 2019 hit in Korea whose 2022 Western launch drew over a million concurrent players.
7. **Aion** — score 614/1000
   NCSoft's 2008 MMORPG with flight-based combat and a war between two winged races.
8. **Rift** — score 614/1000
   Trion Worlds' 2011 fantasy MMORPG built around dynamic rifts tearing open across the world.
9. **Black Desert Online** — score 570/1000
   Pearl Abyss's 2015 action MMORPG known for its striking visuals, deep life skills and real-time combat.
10. **ArcheAge** — score 570/1000
   XL Games' 2013 sandbox MMORPG with naval combat, farming and player housing.
11. **Warhammer Online** — score 521/1000
   Mythic's 2008 MMORPG of the Warhammer world, remembered for its public quests and realm-versus-realm war.
12. **Albion Online** — score 521/1000
   Sandbox Interactive's 2017 cross-platform sandbox MMORPG with a fully player-driven economy and full-loot PvP.
13. **Star Wars: The Old Republic** — score 521/1000
   BioWare's 2011 story-driven Star Wars MMORPG with fully voiced class storylines.
14. **Star Wars Galaxies** — score 521/1000
   Sony's 2003 sandbox MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe, loved for its crafting economy and player cities.
15. **EVE Online** — score 466/1000
   CCP's 2003 single-shard space MMO, famous for player-run empires, heists and record-breaking battles.
16. **PlanetSide 2** — score 466/1000
   Daybreak's 2012 massively multiplayer shooter where thousands fight for territory on one continent.
17. **Lineage II** — score 466/1000
   NCSoft's 2003 3D sequel built around clan warfare and large-scale castle sieges.
18. **Mabinogi** — score 466/1000
   Nexon's 2004 life-sim MMORPG of music, cooking and Celtic myth, still beloved by a dedicated community.
19. **Asheron's Call** — score 404/1000
   Turbine's 1999 MMORPG, one of the big three of its era, praised for its seamless world and monthly story updates.
20. **City of Heroes** — score 404/1000
   Cryptic's 2004 superhero MMO with a celebrated character creator, kept alive by fans after its 2012 shutdown.
21. **The Elder Scrolls Online** — score 404/1000
   Bethesda and ZeniMax's 2014 MMORPG set across Tamriel, revived after a rough launch.
22. **Anarchy Online** — score 404/1000
   Funcom's 2001 science-fiction MMORPG and one of the first free-to-play experiments in the genre.
23. **Ultima Online** — score 333/1000
   Richard Garriott's 1997 sandbox MMORPG, the game that popularized the term MMORPG and player-driven worlds.
24. **The Lord of the Rings Online** — score 251/1000
   Turbine's 2007 MMORPG that lets players walk the length of Tolkien's Middle-earth.
25. **TERA** — score 251/1000
   Bluehole's 2011 MMORPG that brought action combat with free aiming to the genre.
26. **Tibia** — score 251/1000
   CipSoft's 1997 top-down German MMORPG, one of the oldest online worlds still running.
27. **New World** — score 251/1000
   Amazon Games' 2021 MMO set on a cursed 17th-century island, which drew over 900,000 players at launch.
28. **Old School RuneScape** — score 251/1000
   The 2013 relaunch of the 2007 version of RuneScape, voted into existence by players and now bigger than its parent.
29. **Dark Age of Camelot** — score 251/1000
   Mythic's 2001 MMORPG that built its endgame around three-realm player-versus-player warfare.
30. **EverQuest II** — score 251/1000
   Sony's 2004 sequel to EverQuest, still running two decades later with yearly expansions.
31. **Ragnarok Online** — score 155/1000
   Gravity's 2002 Korean MMORPG with anime sprites, based on a manhwa and huge across Asia and Latin America.
32. **EverQuest** — score 155/1000
   Sony's 1999 3D fantasy MMORPG, nicknamed EverCrack, that defined raiding and group play for a generation.
33. **Guild Wars 2** — score 155/1000
   ArenaNet's 2012 buy-to-play MMORPG known for dynamic events, world-versus-world battles and no subscription.
34. **MapleStory** — score 155/1000
   Nexon's 2003 side-scrolling free-to-play MMORPG that became a first online world for millions of kids.
35. **Meridian 59** — score 155/1000
   The 1996 pioneer often credited as the first 3D MMORPG, later relaunched as open source.
36. **Guild Wars** — score 0/1000
   ArenaNet's 2005 instanced online RPG that proved an MMO could thrive without a monthly fee.

Tags: fantasy, games, rpg, mmo, online