Apparently Skull and Bones is now in closed beta. According to the game’s “official Twitter account” and “sources familiar with the matter,” anyhow. Do you believe that? Because I don’t, not any more. Look, we have years of not believing in Skull and Bones backlogged at this point. This is when we let them all out.
Meanwhile, Corepunk is starting its next test on December 16th (tomorrow) and it’ll run through December 20th – without an NDA, marking “the first time [the studio] openly show[s] the game.” Palia is also on the Switch now, that’s neat! And The Day Before is… oh, hoo boy. Y’know, just drag back through that tag. Everything is going super over there, I tell you what.
Did we put a bunch of other games in testing in our roundup below? Yes. Do we have a list of games in testing below even that? Also yes. Would we love it if you let us know if anything is listed incorrectly on that list of games in testing in the comments? Absolutely, three for three. Am I doing all right? No, definitely not. But thanks for asking, hypothetical reader.
The Day Before dev studio announces its closure, claims the game ‘failed financially’
‘Shit happens,’ The Day Before devs tell disgruntled players as mass-refunds continue
Tarisland addresses genderlocking and pay-to-win, boosts raiding over crafting
Post-apoc shooter Once Human aims for 20,000 players with this month’s closed beta
EVE Online adds new ice refinery heists and AIR daily goals, calls its first Vanguard test ‘a massive success’
Following its alpha test, Pax Dei addresses building freedom and crafting mechanics
Wayfinder has stealth-launched a gigantic patch ahead of its winter holiday event Friday
V Rising plans end of early access in 2024 with a new zone, endgame events, and gameplay tweaks
World of Warcraft starts internal dev testing of The War Within
Palia has launched into free-to-play early access on the Nintendo Switch as of today
Ship of Heroes’ latest dev blog talks up its attempts to make combat smoother and more enjoyable
Book of Travels adds new rooms to snoop around in and new quests to follow in latest patch
Siege Camp’s Anvil Empires pre-alpha begins testing housing interiors, player markets, and pack animals
Massively on the Go: Palia’s Nintendo Switch version works on the go, but it’s still better at home
Fantasy sandbox Myth of Empires aims for a February 2024 release
Star Citizen brings three new vehicles, updated salvage, and more derelict settlements in alpha 3.22
PvPvE extraction RPG Seekers of Skyveil continues closed alpha tests and reveals more characters
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.
Abyss: Closed alpha
The Adventurer’s Domain Online: Early access
Aero Tales Online: Early accessAge of Water: Paid closed betaAnvil Empires: Intermittent alphaArcane Waters: Early access
Arcfall: Pre-alpha
ARK 2: Paid early accessAshes of Creation: Alpha two in planningAshfall: Closed betaASKA: Closed betaBattlebit: Early accessBattle Crush: BetaBellatores: Closed testingBitcraft: Alpha planned for 2024Blue Protocol: Launching worldwide in 2024, technical tests starting November 8thBook of Travels: Early accessCamelot Unchained: Closed betaChronicles of Elyria: Pre-alpha, againChrono Odyssey: Closed testingCinderstone Online: Closed betaCity of Titans: AlphaCoreborn: Nations of the Ultracore: Early accessCorepunk: Early access planned for end of winterCraftopia: Early accessThe Crew Motorfest: Closed testingDark and Darker: Paid early access, legal troubles.Dark and Light: Early access (abandoned?)Darkbind: Closed beta (probably abandoned?)The Day Before: Early Access going greatThe Division Heartland: Closed testingDreamworld: Pre-alphaDune Awakening: Closed testing, signups nowECO: Early accessEleven: Closed alphaEnlisted: BetaEVE Vanguard: First beta test concludedEvercore Heroes: Paid testing, updates stopping with a focus on a redesignFae Farm: Closed testing, launch planned for September 8thThe First Descendant: Crossplay betaFractured Online: Paid early access, back on SteamFractured Veil: Back in closed development, early access delayed to 2024Frozen Flame: Early accessGenfanad: BetaIlysia: Early accessInferna: Early accessKurtzpel: Closed betaLast Oasis: Early access (abandoned?)Legendarium Online: Paid alpha accessLost Skies: Pre-alphaMonster Hunter Now: Closed betaMonsters & Memories: Intermittent pre-alpha, public beta this weekendMortal Exodus: Closed testingMultiversus: Returned to closed testingNightingale: Ongoing closed eventsNoah’s Heart: BetaOdd Giants: AlphaOnce Human: Beta on December 7thOutlaws of the Old West: Early accessPalia: Open betaPantheon: Backer alpha, 247 canceledPast Fate: Closed testingPath of Exile 2: Beta June 2024Pax Dei: Closed alphaPerfect New World: Closed betaPow Vista: Open beta (mobile)Project 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: Beta event in mid-December, early access planned for 2024SamuTale: “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 testingSkull and Bones: Closed betaSoulframe: “Pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha” testing in mid-DecemberSpellcraft: AlphaStar Citizen: Backer alphaStarbase: Early access open alphaTarisland: Second closed betaThrone & Liberty: Western launch delayed into 2024, live in South KoreaTrimurti Online: Stress testingValheim: Early accessV Rising: Early accessValiance Online: Closed betaThe Wagadu Chronicles: Early accessWarhaven: Early accessWaven 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.
Advertisement
