Despite some MMO's having a grueling first few hours, most gamers tend to stick around for the fascinating lore and impeccable social aspects, yet sometimes, the overall playability and enjoyment can gradually decrease over time, causing a decline in those who revere the title to remain loyal.
As one may imagine, the very heart and soul of this sociable genre is rooted within its devoted players, yet if this key component if taken out of the mix, the game itself will inevitably crumble. With a drastically dwindling player count, and a vicious contrast to their former glory days, this band of once popular MMOs are on the cusp of going obsolete.
5 Age Of Conan: Unchained
|
Launch Date |
Launch Player Count |
Current Player Count |
|
2013 |
1,250* |
200* |
Set in the barbarous world of Hyboria, Age Of Conan: Unchained encapsulates its players with everything MMO, from an intense combat system to a vast roster of classes. Although the current player count shows a clear-cut sign of this title's archaic nature, gamers were once entranced with the immense list of intriguing quests, engaging dialogue, and even fierce guild wars, relishing in an action-packed title that granted incessant hours of joy.
Donning a frivolous launch, Age Of Conan: Unchained was once a respected and prominent name in the MMO scene, homing in on hundreds of daily active players, however, their brighter days are in the past, as now this historical time piece merely exceeds over two hundred dedicated fans, relinquishing its gripping premise and social attributes to be forgotten and renamed as almost dead.
4 Rift
|
Launch Date |
Launch Player Count |
Current Player Count |
|
2011 |
11,700* |
250* |
Having its players thrusted into the dangerous yet beautiful realm of Telera, the renowned MMO Rift utilizes a heavily customizable character system in order to captivate its fans, allowing them to mix and match abilities and factions. From fending off the Elemental Planes' vicious creatures to trading with fellow comrades, Rift definitely solidified its legacy as a memorable MMO.
Despite its vividly sociable and profoundly entertaining debut, Rift's active player count has taken a blow over the past few years, barely surpassing the two hundred mark, yet those who still partake in its exhilarating raids, challenging dungeons, and satisfying combat system still hold hope for the future, making sure their beloved title doesn't go under or be dubbed as a dearly departed name.
3 Ragnarok Online
|
Launch |
Launch Player Count |
Current Player Count |
|
2002 |
1,000* |
50* |
Definitively revolving around Norse mythology is the mesmerizingly animated Ragnarok Online, a title in which 2D players traverse and battle their way through a 3D recreation of Midgard. Not only is there a harsh terrain gamers must navigate, but also heinous monsters too, encouraging most Ragnarok Online fans to take their chances with dedicated friends as opposed to by themselves.
Although brandished as a free-to-play MMO, game developers Gravity couldn't have predicted the immense decrease in popularity over the coming years, as their active player count has decayed significantly since its launch. With roughly fifty devoted gamers still enjoying this enthralling title, it is clear Ragnarok Online's demise is soon to come, designating this once cherished game as almost deceased.
2 Star Conflict
|
Launch Date |
Launch Player Count |
Current Player Count |
|
2012 |
5,000* |
300* |
Similar to Ragnarok Online with its free-to-play selling point is the skirmish MMO Star Conflict. Engaging, chaotic, and downright action-packed are all aspects Star Conflict fans would use to describe this futuristic title, launching them into the center of a destructively conflicting space battle against not only NPCs (Non-Playable Characters), but players too.
With such an enticing plot at hand, it is a no-brainer Star Conflict's launch was distinctively lucrative, amassing over five thousand spaceship pilots at once. Nevertheless, their gigantic playing arena seemingly fell through, as now, this once eminent game struggles to allure over three hundred active players a day, tarnishing its successful journey entirely, and appointing its status as almost dead.
1 Skyforge
|
Launch Date |
Launch Player Count |
Current Player Count |
|
2015 |
3,500* |
100* |
Being one of the more recent MMOs to have lost their fans' attention is the sci-fi based Skyforge, a title in which players are tasked with defending the jaw-dropping planet of Aelion from belligerent forces of evil. Offering up a plethora of unique classes to choose from, a highly dynamic fighting system to mater, and an astonishingly deep lore to delve into, Skyforge has cemented its name within the grounds of MMO's alike.
In spite of its fruitful first appearance onto the MMO scene, Skyforge's overall playability and satisfaction clearly took a plunge within its opening years. Although an impressive number of active players once relished in this fantastical Sci-Fi crossover, the current count of committed fans barely exceeds one hundred, diminishing and characterizing this once-popular MMO as almost lifeless.