Who here likes sand? If you like sand, this is your week for Betawatch because first and foremost there are reports that Dune Awakening is sending out beta invitations. Is that sandy enough for you? The game is literally based on Dune; that’s got to be enough sand for dedicated sand-lovers. But if you really want some sand, you can look at Abyss, which is currently sitting at a heck of a lot of negative reviews after players tried the game and apparently told the developers to pound sand.
Do you need yet more sand? Then have some Sand, which is an upcoming game about robot walkers on sand. No word on beta dates or anything yet, but it is still sand-related! Corepunk also wants people to fight over a potential alpha invite, perhaps on a bloody and sand-filled arena? And SMITE 2 has its second alpha weekend starting next week, which is… I mean… some of the deities involved are in sandy places? Sure. That’s almost plausible.
Is that not enough for you? Are you going to be a real Anakin Skywalker about all this sand? Well, that’s disappointing, but we do have some completely sand-free stories in this week’s beta roundup all the same. And there’s a whole list of games in testing below that, some of which likely have only a tenuous connection to sand if any. Seriously. As always, if you notice something in that list which has slipped to a new test phase you can let us know in the comments.
Sand.
Abyss Online devs warn gamers not to buy the game right now owing to ‘absolute chaos’ in early access
Sand is an open-world PvPvE game where players build stompy robot bases to explore an alien planet
EVE Online blockchain spinoff Project Awakening begins Phase III and ‘hackathon’ testing today
Dune Awakening reportedly begins sending out closed beta invites
Co-op multiplayer RPG Wuthering Waves makes its global release on PC and mobile tonight
Shroud of the Avatar execs expand on Slayscape, a procedurally generated battle royale RPG
Tarisland talks up its ‘misc PvE gameplay’ content in latest video
‘No more punching trees and building shacks,’ says multiplayer survivalbox Echoes of Elysium
Star Citizen debuts the new Ironclad heavy hauler and shares an update on the Polaris capital ship
Tarisland says male mages and female paladins are the next step in gender-unlocking
Palia is prepping an economy patch to smooth out gold generation and skills
Corepunk proposes its 500,000 test hopefuls comment for a chance at 10,000 alpha 2 invites
Tencent recaps plan for Tarisland’s game performance, combat hit feel, and fishing
Age of Water receives middling player reviews as it addresses problems with mob spawns, rewards, and more
Nightingale’s offline mode and QOL-laden 0.3 update are now live
Nightingale outlines the benefits and limitations of today’s offline mode release
Town-management survivalbox ASKA releases new vid ahead of demo and early access
Scars of Honor shares development work on character models, graphics, UI, and its game world
Solarpunk showcases an overhauled merchant platform in its latest development update
Palia’s new teaser video hints at housing upgrades and Black Market hotpot
Tarisland previews the male elven Bard in its latest class deep-dive video
33 Immortals preps weekend closed beta for the ‘distillation of the MMO raid experience’
Nightingale recaps its new character creation additions – including its starter loadouts and ‘extravagant’ digs
Corepunk previews deep dish progression systems for its weapons and heroes
Nearly 6500 people tried out sandbox MMORPG BitCraft’s last alpha – the next is coming in June
Bellwright touts 200K unit sales and high concurrency following ‘terrifying’ release
Pantheon Rise of the Fallen provides an in-progress look at the upcoming Summoner class
We consider an MMO to be in open testing if it features free, public signups and will server wipe prior to launch. An MMO is marked in closed testing if it’s running a private test phase that cannot freely be accessed by the general public; it’s often under NDA as well. Early access and crowdfunded MMOs whose tests we deem legitimate will be included. So-called “open beta” soft-launch MMOs with cash shops, no sign of launch in the west, or limited interest for our readers will not be listed, nor will games that are NFT/blockchain scams; we also do not list expansions, with occasional exceptions. Finally, we’ll mark games “malingering” if they’ve been in a certain tier of development for a long time with no clear path to launch.
33 Immortals: Closed testing
Abyss: Early accessThe Adventurer’s Domain Online: Early access
Aero Tales Online: Early accessAge of Water: Early accessAnvil Empires: Intermittent alphaArcane Waters: Early access
Arcfall: Pre-alphaARK 2: Paid early accessAshes of Creation: Alpha two in planningAshfall: Closed betaASKA: Closed beta, early access on June 20thBattlebit: Early accessBattle Crush: Second global betaBellatores: Closed testingBellwright: Early access, developers of abandoned Last OasisBitcraft: Alpha 2 on June 17th, 2024Blue Protocol: Launching worldwide in 2024, technical tests starting November 8thBook of Travels: Early accessBrighter Shores: Launch planned for Q3 2024, MMO scale not yet clarifiedCamelot Unchained: Closed beta, planning to launch in late 2025Chronicles of Elyria: Pre-alpha, againChrono Odyssey: Closed testing, plans for 2025Cinderstone Online: Closed betaCity of Titans: AlphaCoreborn: Nations of the Ultracore: Early accessCorepunk: Early access planned for 2024, second alpha delayed yet againCraftopia: Early accessThe Crew Motorfest: Closed testingDark and Darker: Paid early access, legal troubles.Dark and Light: Early access (abandoned?)Darkbind: Closed beta (probably abandoned?)Dreamworld: Pre-alphaDune Awakening: Closed testing, signups nowECO: Early access, full launch planned in 2024Eleven: Closed alphaEnlisted: Reinforced: Early access delayed for an indeterminate timeEnshrouded: Early accessEternal Tombs: Closed beta in AprilEVE Vanguard: Second beta ongoingEvercore Heroes: Paid testing, updates stopping with a focus on a redesignEverCraft Online: Weekend-long open test starts April 19thFinal Stand: Ragnarok: Early access (officially, really)The First Descendant: Final test on May 25thFractured Online: Paid early access, back on SteamFractured Veil: Early accessFrozen Flame: Early accessIlysia: Early accessInferna: Early accessKurtzpel: Closed betaLegendarium Online: Paid alpha accessLost Skies: Pre-alphaMarvel Rivals: Closed alphaMonsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alphaMortal Exodus: Closed testingMultiversus: Full launch on May 28thNightingale: Early accessNoah’s Heart: BetaOdd Giants: AlphaOnce Human: Closed beta finally starting after delaysOsiris: New Dawn: Back from the dead, not on Steam any longerOutlaws of the Old West: Early accessPalia: Open betaPalworld: Early accessPantheon: Backer alpha, 247 canceledPast Fate: Closed testingPath of Exile 2: Alpha June 2024Pax Dei: Closed alphaPerfect New World: Closed betaPow Vista: Open beta (mobile)Predecessor: Free-to-play open beta, yet another Paragon do-overProject Crawl: Closed testingProject F4E: Closed testingProject Genom: Closed alpha (servers offline, abandoned?)Project Gorgon: Early access betaProject Loki: Closed betaProject ST: Closed testing, open event endedProsperous Universe: Early accessQuinfall: Beta delayed to 2024Return Alive: Closed betaReign of Guilds: Early accessSamuTale: “Paid closed alpha early access” according to the developer, which is just early access, come on dudeSeed: Active developmentSeekers of Skyveil: Continuing alpha testingShadow’s Kiss: Early access (but read this first)Ship of Heroes: Beta testingSky: Children of Light: Open early accessSmite 2: Signups open, first alpha May 2ndSoulframe: “Pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha” testing wrapped upStar Citizen: Backer alphaStarbase: Early access open alphaTarisland: Second closed betaThrone & Liberty: Western launch delayed into 2024, live in South KoreaTombstone: Closed testing, release planned for this yearTribes 3: Rivals: Early accessTrimurti Online: Stress testing, open beta February 13thValheim: Early accessValiance Online: Closed betaVindictus: Defying Fate: Open testingWaven Early accessWayfinder Early access ahead of full launch
We welcome additions and corrections to this list; send your info our way via tips!
Yes, MMO gamers, you too can perform the unpaid quality-control work otherwise known as game testing! Check out Massively Overpowered’s Betawatch every week for a run-down of MMOs that are still on the road to launch, even if they appear to have set up a permanent residence in a shed called early access.
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