Playing an MMORPG is like having a second life. Unlike a conventional game, the numerous MMORPGs available on the market cannot be completed in several hours. Their vast worlds and big content doesn't allow that. World of Warcraft is the best and most popular in this type of genre.
For as good as WoW is though, its medieval setting can sometimes get boring, leading many players to look elsewhere. Filled with alien races, advanced weaponry, addictive gameplay, good graphics, and vast worlds, these are the best sci-fi MMORPGs for those craving an adventure that's a little more out of this world.
Updated August 14, 2022, by Tom Bowen: Although the sci-fi and MMORPG genres may seem like a match made in heaven on paper, there are surprisingly few of them around. Many developers have tried and failed to perfect the recipe over the years, but very few have had much luck when it comes to their games actually taking off after launch. Thankfully, though, not all of the sci-fi MMORPGs released over the past decade or two have gone down in flames, with a decent selection still available for those with big dreams of role-playing their way through outer space.
18 Neocron Evolution
After almost eight years of service, the team over at Reakktor Media finally shut down the Neocron 2 servers in late 2012. Rather than simply leaving the game to die, however, they instead opted to hand the keys to the kingdom over to a small team of fans who re-branded the game as Neocron Evolution and have kept it running smoothly ever since.
Over the past decade, the new developers have worked tirelessly to tweak and modernize the experience, with newly created high-resolution textures really helping the game to shine. The player base is relatively small when compared to other MMORPGs, but there are still more than enough people playing the game to help its cyberpunk-inspired world feel alive and worthy of exploration.
17 The Repopulation
Although the development of The Repopulation has stalled somewhat in recent years, the building blocks required to create an excellent sci-fi MMORPG are still there for all to see. The writing is strong, the monetization is minimal and there's a fantastic selection of skills and abilities for players to unlock and level up as they play.
Whether or not the game will ever escape from early access remains to be seen, but even in its current state, there is an awful lot to like. The biggest problem is finding people to play online with, but with a few friends and a little coordination, this can be remedied easily enough. It's arguably worth it, if only to see what might have been.
16 Star Citizen
Another game that's taking its sweet time to arrive is Star Citizen, which is currently stuck in the Alpha stage despite the game first being announced almost a full decade ago. It's also one of the most well-funded video games of all time, with more than $400 million being raised since October of 2012. Despite this, however, there's still no sign of a concrete release date.
From what little of the game has been shown, it's shaping up to be one of the very best sci-fi MMORPGs of all time. The Alpha looks great and, for the most part, has been well-received by both critics and backers. That said, some of the latter group were a little unhappy about having to pay a one-time fee to check it out while others have requested refunds due to the constant delays.
15 Prosperous Universe
Prosperous Universe is a free-to-play browser game that borrows a lot of its ideas from EVE Online. There are no fancy graphics to be found here though, with the game instead opting for a text-based approach to gameplay and a heavy emphasis on political and economical development.
Though it sounds a little dry on paper, the game is actually quite a lot of fun and is fairly deep considering its modest budget. Those looking for fast-paced space dog fighting should definitely look elsewhere, but anybody with an interest in the logistics of space civilization could definitely do a lot worse. As a bonus, it can also be played on mobile.
14 Zenith: The Last City
Zenith: The Last City is one of the most underrated sci-fi MMORPGs in recent memory, with fewer than 3,000 people having reviewed it on Steam at the time of writing. Those who have reviewed the game have typically been very positive, praising its simple mechanics, fun gameplay, and ambitious design choices.
Available on both PC and PS4, Zenith is one of only a handful of virtual reality sci-fi MMORPGs, thus making it a somewhat unique proposition. It's still in early access at the moment but continues to receive regular updates, with new features and mechanics being added into the game all the time. It may well be one for the future but is well worth checking out in the present as well.
13 Elite Dangerous
Elite Dangerous just might be the most ambitious MMO space sim game ever made, thanks largely to its realistic 1:1 scale depiction of the Milky Way galaxy. The universe in which the game takes place is absolutely massive as a result and much of what each player does while exploring it can have a noticeable impact on the game's overarching narrative.
The game started life as a Kickstarter campaign back in late 2012 and was released for PC just a few years later. Since then, it has been ported to both the PS4 and the Xbox One and is reported to have generated more than $140 million in revenue during its lifetime. Critics also responded well to the game, with many praising the incredible depth of its exploration and its well-realized trade and combat systems.
12 Skyforge
Skyforge borrows elements from both the sci-fi and fantasy genres and blends them all together into a well-presented and thoroughly enjoyable game. It's completely free to play as well, and, although it is possible to buy small stat boosts and cosmetic items, spending money is in no way required to enjoy everything that Skyforge has to offer.
Combat feels fluid and is easy to pick up and the game looks and sounds fantastic throughout. The Switch port is a little below par, however, so those thinking about checking it out would be better served picking it up on one of the other systems if possible or only playing the game while docked if the Switch is their only option.
11 Entropia Universe
Developed and published by Swedish studio MindArk, Entropia Universe is a highly interesting and original game that offers great freedom to players in almost every way. The game offers six planets as the playing ground where the player, among other things, can hunt, mine, craft items, and trade.
It is free to play, but spending money allows additional significant options. It uses a micropayment business model meaning the items in the game have real value. The game even managed to enter the Guinness World Records book for the most expensive virtual object ever sold when Jon Jacobs sold a club called Club Neverdie for $635,000.
10 Perpetuum
Published in 2010, the game has an interesting and very original title, Perpetuum. That doesn't reveal much about the game or specifically her content, which is based in 2208 in the war between humans and the robotic alien race for the energy sources.
The player is able to play by piloting customizable robots on various islands connected by teleports. The game is highly interactive, and while some tasks can be completed solo, for the majority it's best and easier to be completed in cooperation with other players. Perpetuum has no subscription option, and the player can start playing the game after buying it.
9 Warframe
In Warframe the player controls members of the Tenno, a collection of long-forgotten fighters who have emerged from a kind of cryosleep only to find themselves at war with different factions. Upon release, the game didn't receive many players nor it was critically well-received, but the situation changed over time and now the game counts more than 50 million players.
The game was first published for Microsoft Windows in 2013, and later ported to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and it is planned for the game to be ported to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X once they come out.
8 Anarchy Online
Originally published in 2001, Anarchy Online is one of the oldest MMORPG games still played. It was one of the first sci-fi games created and featured a desert planet called Rubi-Ka where players fought for control over resources, and military and political power.
The game starts in the year 29475 after the peace treaty between two fractions and the player assumes the role of new colonists on the planet where the whole adventure will unfold. As mentioned earlier the game is old, apart from graphics where that can be seen, it can also be seen in the number of players who are shrinking - there is only one available server left.
7 Secret World Legends
Developed by Funcom, the same studio that created Anarchy Online, and originally published in 2012 as The Secret World, it was relaunched five years later as Secret World Legends. The game is MMORPG set in the modern-day world under the attack from occult forces like ghosts, vampires, ghouls, zombies, and other creatures, and the player assumes the role of one of the members of the world controlling societies.
The game received average reviews upon release and faced fierce competition from Diablo 3, Guild Wars 2, and World of Warcraft: Mist of Pandaria who all were published the same year.
6 Phantasy Star Online 2
Developed and published by Sega initially in 2012, Phantasy Star Online 2 received a release in Europe and North America only this year. The gameplay is heavily action-oriented, with diverse playstyles and weapons. As with any RPG. the player can customize its character by choosing its appearance, gender, and race with the option to choose one of the nine starting classes.
The story focuses primarily on the organization known as Oracle which seeks new planets for potential colonization in addition to the presence of Fallspawns that want to destroy the universe. The game also received an anime adaptation in 2016.
5 DC Universe Online
The number one revenue-generating free-to-play title on PlayStation 3 and 4, with more than 18 million registered users, DC Universe Online is not a classic sci-fi game but it does contain enough those elements to be classified as such.
As the title says, the game features heroes and villains from the DC universe, and at the beginning of the game, the player is requested to create his character with classic customization options such as gender or race, but also the opportunity to be a villain or a hero. Once that is completed the player will experience the vast and massive DC Universe, with the first being on a spaceship-Brainiac from which players must escape.
4 Fallout 76
When it was first released in late 2018, Fallout 76 was a bit of a mess. The game was severely lacking in content, had a plethora of issues with item cloning, and, in true Bethesda fashion, was full of bugs and glitches. To the developer's credit, though, Fallout 76 is now a very different game and is finally starting to live up to its status as a Fallout MMORPG.
Much like No Man's Sky, which embarked on a very similar post-release journey, Fallout 76 is a lot of fun to play these days. It's somewhat unique too when compared to other sci-fi MMORPGs, in that despite the game being set in the future and featuring sci-fi elements, a lot of the technology that players have at their disposal is actually pretty dated on a count of the whole nuclear war thing.
3 EVE Online
EVE Online is set in the year 21000 when the human civilization colonized the close parts of the universe. Upon release, it received mixed reviews but later gained a more favorable reception.
It is renowned for the complexity and the scale of its world where payers can engage in warfare, trade, piracy, economic competition, and political schemes. All that is best seen in Bloodbath of B-R5RB a battle that is one of the largest and most expensive pvp battles in video game history with more than 7,000 players participating.
2 Star Trek Online
Set in the 25th century, twenty years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, the alliance between Federation, and the Klingon Empire has collapsed and they are once again at war, while The Borg has once again re-emerged as a threat. The player starts the adventure as a captain of one of the Federation ships.
First published for Microsoft Windows it was later ported to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with a short time availability on OS X before being discontinued on that platform. Star Trek Online also received four expansions. It received mixed reviews upon release but is worth mentioning that includes original voice acting by actors from the TV series.
1 Star Wars: The Old Republic
Star Wars is a worldwide phenomenon. Star Wars: The Old Republic is set 3,600 years before the events of the original Star Wars movies and the player can play on the side of the Sith or Republic, after choosing one of the eight available classes.
Developed by BioWare, the company that knows how to create a good RPG better than anyone, Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the most expensive games ever made. It is also the best sci-fi MMORPG game on this list. The game managed to get one million subscribers in the first three days of its launch making her the fastest-growing MMORPG game ever. The game was a big, both commercial and critical, success.