As you probably know, most tops featuring MMORPGs and online games usually are made by copying others or simply by slapping on games that are trending. This top isn’t going to be like that; it will be a very personal, very intimate look at ten potentially terrific games that should release during the next two to three years, but you’ll surely see that there’s something for everyone.
The matter here is that every single one of these games have something that truly appeals to me, and I’m going to tell you why. I’ve played some, but most of them aren’t yet available. Still, there are very good reasons for you to keep them on your radar, because a couple of the best and most popular games (which are very different things) may just happen to be in the list below. Welcome to our Top Ten Upcoming Games That You Just Can’t Miss 2022 ~ 2024.
This project is probably the farthest from release in this list. This is the next big MMORPG from Wemade, makers of Mir4, a game that managed to amass a huge player base despite – or due to? – the introduction of blockchain technology, such as cryptocurrency and NFT. Still, even without those assets, it remains an incredibly solid game that truly shines after a few hours of playtime, when Mysteries, Requests, and the like join the fray, requiring your actual intervention.
Legend of YMIR could be considered a Mir4 spiritual sequel, or more adequately a spin-off, because it is a reinterpretation of said game but trading the Asian design for a Nordic mythology theme, in the words of the developers themselves. Technically speaking, it is powered by Unreal Engine 5 and should include most of the aspects that made Mir4 so successful. Personally, I’m very excited about it, and if I get to explore terrific fantasy-drenched landscapes with Odin, Thor, Heimdall or Loki making an appearance, then I’m all for it. Legend of YMIR is coming to PC and mobile and the global release is already confirmed.
Legend of YMIR Global Launch: Confirmed
Legend of YMIR Release Date: TBA (Prediction: 2024)
This is another personal favorite of mine and for a very good reason – I’ve enjoyed the heck out of Dragon Raja, Archosaur Games’ previous MMORPG. The fantastic graphics, characters with great backstories, and an abundance of events, including Anecdotes, made me spend hundreds of hours with Erii, Luminous, NoNo, and the rest of the students.
As for Noah’s Heart, it places you in a virtual world called Noah, but it looks very fantasy-themed on the surface. The biggest draw is that you have a full spherical open world to explore with no loadings (unless you teleport), something that remains very rare for an MMORPG, especially one designed for mobile devices. A PC client is also available, great news for those looking forward to this game. Noah’s Heart has a classless system, survival elements, anecdotes (called Encounters), and great graphics.
Noah’s Heart Global Launch: Confirmed
Noah’s Heart Release Date: TBA (Prediction: 2022)
This one came out of nowhere in January 2022 and left me baffled. I was looking at the cast from The Seven Deadly Sins as if they had dropped into Genshin Impact, and despite the saturated comparisons between miHoYo’s hit and other games, this one absolutely rings true. This looks like it’s the way Netmarble chose to further explore the success brought by The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross – to place them in an open world.
Meliodas, Elizabeth, Hawk and others will feature in this anime RPG and the trailer looks a bit too good to be true, in all honesty. Still, let’s believe it’s not pre-rendered and that we’re looking at actual gameplay. From what we could see there’s gathering, gliding, rock climbing, swimming underwater, looking for treasure chests, fast-paced action combat, and you can summon the help of other characters in some situations, such as Diane to create a bridge by conveying a huge boulder. We can only speculate on how the multiplayer works, but I’m led to believe that it is going to be a cooperative mode for up to three or four players maximum.
I have to say that The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin has tons of potential. In a few years we’ll see if Netmarble nails this Genshin Impact like and builds another hugely successful game after The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Global Launch: To Be Confirmed
The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Release Date: TBA (Prediction: 2023)
With Genshin Impact still going strong, I’m very much looking forward to the Tower of Fantasy global release, which was finally confirmed once and for all in March 2022 with the opening of the official global website. There was a bit of a turmoil over the unverified English social media pages that opened some weeks before, but for once the hype turned out to be real.
Perfect World is one of the first to create a proper Genshin Impact MMORPG, as many like to call it, and the China version received some acclaim, but also some criticism here and there. It’s understandable that development team Hotta Studio wanted to solidify the domestic launch before marketing a western release, and the confirmed 2022 release sounds great in my book. Remember that we only got Lost Ark this year and you can make a proper comparison.
By now you surely know what Tower of Fantasy is all about. It’s a game that looks like Genshin Impact but it’s massively multiplayer, you can create your avatar using an in-depth character customization tool, there’s an open world ripe for exploration, and weapons or super rare characters for you to summon and use in combat. It’s good stuff and entirely worthy of a global release.
Tower of Fantasy Global Launch: Confirmed
Tower of Fantasy Release Date: 2022 (Prediction: Q4 2022)
When miHoYo talks, I listen. Since Honkai Impact 3rd that the Chinese studio has proved its worth, and Genshin Impact didn’t deserve the amount of flak that it got before release, with all the silly accusations of being a Breath of the Wind copycat. Even the recent otome game Tears of Themis is a masterclass in production values and storytelling.
And now, Honkai Star Rail. Mixing exploration and turn-based combat, it is bound to become another big hit for the company. At this point I’m not entire aware of the scope of the game – perhaps it’s a smaller project than Genshin Impact -, but from what I could gather there’s a lot to see and do. I’m looking forward to trying this one for myself.
Honkai Star Rail Global Launch: Confirmed
Honkai Star Rail Release Date: TBA (Prediction: late 2022 or early 2023)
From MMO to single player with cooperative elements just like Genshin Impact, DokeV may have shifted focus but remains one of the most appealing games in the making. Pearl Abyss knows how to deliver stunning games with their engines, and DokeV marks a drastic artistic change for the team – from the gritty fantasy subject of Black Desert Online to the cartoonish, family-friendly feel-good nature of DokeV.
The Pokémon aspect of DokeV lies at the core of the game. You, as a kid, will go out exploring and collecting creatures, the Dokebi, and using them in battle. It sounds like the true evolution for Pokémon games, one that Nintendo just refuses to do, instead recycling the same stuff over and over again – unpopular opinion for sure, but that’s just what it seems to me.
DokeV Global Launch: Confirmed
DokeV Release Date: TBA (Prediction: 2023)
This one is just for a bit of fun, but oh what kind of fun it will be. If Destiny Child and Girls Frontline had a baby, it would be Nikke: Goddess of Victory. From some of the makers of the former, Nikke is at heart a simple mobile shooter where the girl collecting element is the highlight.
Obviously, that’s what is going to interest players the most, with Live2D truly shining for the more than 60 characters known as battle androids. The least that I’m expecting from gameplay is to be fun in a very shallow, very immature, very old-school arcade shooter, with a hefty dose of alluring artwork to keep you coming back for more.
Nikke: The Goddess of Victory Global Launch: Confirmed
Nikke: The Goddess of Victory Release Date: 2022 (Prediction: Q3 2022)
Project BBQ / Project AK / Dungeon Fighter Online 3D
Many years after the announcement in late 2018, Project BBQ remains without an official name or a release date. We like to call it Dungeon Fighter Online 3D, but your guess is as good as any. It is a Dungeon Fighter Online spin-off featuring a huge open world and a combat system that could be groundbreaking, judging by the initial gameplay trailers and the legacy of the series… or at least it was.
In a surprising twist set in March 2022, Nexon announced that Project BBQ is now Project AK and has turned into a Souls-Like game in development for consoles, and apparently PC (Steam) as well. Quite a shocking turn of events, but we're curious to see how the game turns out.
We're not sure why they took this route, but perhaps it had to do with the fact that Neople is developing Dungeon Fighter Overkill as well, and this could be considered the real Dungeon Fighter Online sequel. Then there's the one-on-one beat'em up DnF Duel from Arc System Works. The next years will be very interesting for the franchise, although it hurts me to realize that Project BBQ is never going to happen.
Project AK Global Launch: To Be Confirmed (but highly likely)
Project AK Release Date: TBA (Prediction: 2024 and beyond)
Summoners War is the kind of game that has gotten so big that it was inevitably going to turn into a franchise. Summoners War: Lost Centuria tried the same formula bit with a different approach artistic and mechanics-wise, but what most players are looking for is new takes on the same universe.
Summoners War: Chronicles is the game that could do just that. It’s a 3D MMORPG featuring familiar (monster) faces and strategic battles that you can tackle with your friends on PC, Android, and iOS. It sounds somewhat old-fashioned but if Com2uS delivers a polished adventure, it could be more than enough to convince fans and naysayers alike. We’re not too sure on the integration of blockchain technology though, with the words “play to earn” sounding like they could turn a decent game into a bot paradise. We’ll have to wait and see.
Summoners War: Chronicles Global Launch: Confirmed
Summoners War: Chronicles Release Date: 2022 (Prediction: Q4 2022)
What is that I spy with my little eye? Another miHoYo – I mean, HoYoverse – game? The makers of Genshin Impact are really ramping it up for the coming years, with at least a couple of potential hits in the anime RPG genre. Zenless Zone Zero changes the location, placing players in a post-apocalyptic urban setting, but keeps the action fast and frantic, along with a bunch of wacky characters in the style of what the studio has gotten us used to.
I have little doubt that this game is going to be big, so keep an eye on it if you enjoyed Genshin Impact or Punishing: Gray Raven.
Zenless Zone Zero Global Launch: Confirmed
Zenless Zone Zero Release Date: TBA (Prediction: 2023)
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