The best new MMORPGs of the last 5 years on Steam

Since 2018, some MMORPGs have come onto the market that many of you don’t even have on your radar (anymore). We take a look at the gems of the last 5 years of MMORPGs on Steam and explain where they are right now.

How did this list come about? The following titles are MMORPGs that have been released in the last 5 years. They must also be playable via Steam and have received a full release. So we deliberately omit Early Access titles from this list.

The titles have been handpicked by our MMORPG expert, Mark Sellner, who has been in the genre for over 15 years and has played some of them for over a hundred hours.

Albion Online

Setting: Fantasy | developer: Sandbox Interactive | platform: PC, Android, iOS | release date: July 17, 2017 | Model: Free2Play

What kind of game is this? Okay, before you say anything, 2017 was a little longer than 5 years. But the game didn’t get its Steam release until May 2018 and with good will we’re just about to let it go.

Albion Online is an iso perspective fantasy MMORPG, similar to Lost Ark. However, the graphics are based on a more comic-like style. Albion also scores with a large sandbox and many options for your character.

So there are no fixed classes and you are always just what you are wearing. Crafting and collecting play a major role in the world of Albion Online so that you can also deal with it flexibly.

what is so special about that? Above all, Albion impresses with its implementation of a sandbox world in which you can really do a lot of things. But the system of your equipment also makes the MMORPG interesting.

Because while your gear is sacred in many games and everything you’ve farmed for the last thousand hours, in Albion it’s a much more resource. You can and will lose your equipment in different ways and then have to reinvent yourself.

What sounds daunting at first glance works great in the gameplay loop. It creates a similar feel to classics like EVE Online, in which your starships are more of a consumable, just like your armor in Albion.

Also, the game features endgame territory wars between guilds and open-world PvP that’s actually fun instead of frustrating. Our MMORPG author Mark Sellner even called it “the best sandbox MMORPG you’ve never played”.

How’s it going since the release? Nothing less than outstanding. Albion Online manages to steadily increase in players since its release. With new content updates and the recent release in Asia, the MMORPG has 9x more players today than when it was released.

Albion only got the last big update “Knightfall” in May and since then it has also been playable with WASD, which is quite untypical for ISO games, but is great. Apart from that, new content is also added regularly so that the players don’t get bored.

Since you can play Albion via Steam, its own launcher and on mobile devices, don’t be put off by the comparatively low player count on Steam. Albion is full of players and by the 1st city at the latest, everyone really knows that.

Who is it interesting for? Albion Online is interesting for all players who don’t mind open-world PvP and can live with the comic-like graphics. You get a solid MMORPG with a great deal of content, and most of it is available to Free2Play.

But if you really want to immerse yourself in the game, you need at least the optional subscription, which brings you various advantages for around 10 euros. If you don’t have a problem with that and generally enjoy sandbox MMORPGs, you can confidently get a taste of Albion.

Is it still worth starting in 2023? Yes absolutely. With MMORPGs you often ask yourself whether you can somehow catch up 5 years later. Albion is one of those games where that’s rarely a problem.

In just a few days, you’ll have decent endgame armor and enough silver to see you through. Since the game is a sandbox, you set your own goals from there. But you are not denied content. In theory, you can go out with veterans very quickly, or even defeat them in PvP.

Tower of Fantasy

Setting: Anime/Sci Fi | developer: Hotta Studio | platform: PC, Android, iOS, Xbox, PlayStation | release date: December 16, 2021 | Model: Free2Play

What kind of game is this? Tower of Fantasy has had an exciting development period. First announced, the Genshin Impact-style MMORPG was set to be released globally, but only in the Asian market for now. The developers later revised this statement and a western release was no longer planned.

Then the big turning point, Tower of Fantasy comes to us. And with a big bang, for the release in December 2021, the MMORPG really hit us. Shortly after it was released, it was even the biggest MMORPG on Twitch, ahead of World of Warcraft or Lost Ark.

The game itself is, as colleague Alexander Leitsch says after playing it: “The MMORPG that Genshin should have been”. It relies on a very similar look, a colorful world with a sci-fi setting instead of fantasy and on different characters that you come across via the gacha system.

what is so special about that? It is quite unusual for an MMORPG that you play many different characters more or less simultaneously. It relies on a concept that is very similar to Genshin Impact.

In Tower of Fantasy, too, you pull different equipment and new characters from gacha packages, which you can either buy with in-game currency or real money.

Aside from that, the game relies on a large, open world and lots of exploration. Especially at the beginning of the MMORPG you can expect a lot of story content and relatively little multiplayer. But that changes at the latest when it comes to the action-packed fights.

These play a little faster and have a lot more action than the Genshin Impact model. You must dodge with perfect timing to create a dome that freezes enemies. So the whole group benefits from a lot of skill.

How’s it going since the release? That’s difficult to answer. Tower of Fantasy only appeared on Steam several months after its original release, where there are traceable numbers. Later it came to the consoles.

So only the developers know exactly how many people are playing Tower of Fantasy right now. Nevertheless, since the release, at least on Twitch and Steam, there has been a clear decline in fans.

On the positive side, however, it must be mentioned that the MMORPG receives continuous content updates. New areas, characters and features are added at very regular intervals. Also, the game’s story continues to be told with each major update.

Who is it interesting for? Tower of Fantasy is exciting for all fans of anime optics. Especially now that we have to wait until 2024 for Blue Protocol to appear. The MMORPG offers a successful and fast combat system and can really score with PvE and story.

On the other hand, it is not suitable for people who have a problem with the gacha system. As in the Genshin Impact model, it is actually unavoidable. For PvP fans, the MMORPG offers the so-called Apex League, but according to some reports on reddit, it is not in the best condition.

However, since Tower of Fantasy is Free2Play and available on virtually every platform, you don’t lose anything by just checking out the MMORPG for yourself and deciding if it’s something for you or not.

Is it still worth starting in 2023? If the game itself is something for you and you don’t mind being a little behind, then yes, absolutely. However, Tower of Fantasy largely does without catch-up mechanics that let you catch up with veterans.

Although you can draw legendary equipment and heroes from the current banner and are then theoretically on a similar level as people who have been playing since release, but appearances can be deceiving.

Because Tower of Fantasy relies on weekly time gates in many places, especially with important currency and upgrade material. There is currently no catch-up mechanic for this, so if you start today you will be many weeks behind the veterans.

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