Top 10 MMOs Since WoW

World of Warcraft changed the MMO landscape on November 23rd, 2004, but 174 MMOs have come out since that fateful day. We rank them in this completely and totally subjective list.

#10 – Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

Launched by SOE on January 30th, 2007, Vanguard has overcome a lot to snag the last spot on this list. It definitely didn’t do itself any favors out of the gate. It barely made it out the door. Amid development problems, SOE scooped it up after former publisher Microsoft dropped it and despite a strong ad campaign and some impressive initial box sales, the game just wasn’t strong enough to retain the initial flood of players.

Since then, SOE has quietly been working on Vanguard and worked to iron out the kinks that plagued it. The game’s performance has always been an issue, but time and diligent work by SOE have made it much less of a burden. It’s also not quite as hardcore as it was initially and has finally delivered on some of that massive hype and become a real treat for someone willing to give an MMO a second chance.
They pushed through and survived to be a decent title, if not the massive hit that had once been projected. Hopefully, for their sakes, list omissions like Warhammer Online and Age of Conan can eventually chart a similar course.

#9 – Fallen Earth

It’s tough to list a game that just launched a couple weeks ago, but Icarus Studios became one of the first independent American studios to launch a new game in quite some time. Fallen Earth has the deck stacked against it. It’s not fantasy. It’s not class based. It’s not traditional level driven. But what it is, at least so far, is a good bit of fun.

Will it succeed in the long term? Hard to say, but all indications are that Fallen Earth is off to a strong start. It has received vocal player support, a decent ranking on our MMORPG.com game list and what early reviews are in seem to be quite positive.

It offers players something different, which is rare on a list where almost every game you’re about to read about is fantasy. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic future, boasts a skill based system, and is one of the few true sandbox style MMOs out there.

#8 – Atlantica Online

Set to turn one just before Halloween, Atlantica Online from NDoors has emerged as one of the most solid free to play, imported MMORPGs in the Western market. The game is generally well translated and adapted to the North American audience and seems to have faired quite well.

Our game list is jammed with imported MMOs, but this one has capitalized on some innovative features, such as the ability to control up to eight NPC mercenaries, to set itself apart from the crowd.

It came third in our reader voting for 2008 Game of the Year and seemed to pick up far more awards after launch than before it, which is testament on its ability to deliver a quality product without a heck of a lot of hype. Right now, it ranks second on our Top Rated Launched MMOs list.

#7 – Pirates of the Burning Sea

Seattle’s Flying Lab Software put Pirates of the Burning Sea out quietly on January 22nd, 2008 and in nearly two years of commercial operation, the game has found its stride.

It may never take down WoW, but fans of a fully produced pirate experience have remained loyal and the game, like so many others, has really begun to find its sea legs after a few missteps.

The team recently announced the game’s first full – and free – expansion Power and Prestige and have diligently worked to shore up many of the generally issues that have plagued it since launch. They’ve reworked land combat entirely, for example.

#6 – MapleStory

One of only two 2D games on this list, Maple Story proves that it’s not all in how many polygons someone can stuff onto the screen.

Another imported game, and the second highest ranked one on this list, Maple Story hit North America on October 18th, 2005 and quietly transformed Nexon into one of the top players in the business of imported South Korean MMOs.

It is also the highest ranked purely micro-transaction supported game on the list.
Aimed at a generally younger audience, this side scroller employs many familiar MMO concepts like guilds, dungeon crawls, etc., but does it in a whimsical, offbeat way that has really hit home with a lot of players.

#5 – Aion

Like Fallen Earth, it’s tough to include a game that just snuck its way out the door, but Aion was already a hit before it came to North America.

NCSoft finally launched Aion on September 22nd, 2009, almost a year after it hit South Korea. It is the highest ranked imported MMO on this list.

Aion features high end graphics, flight as more than just travel, and a faction based PvP system that pits the demonic Asmodians against the angelic Elyos.

Its reviews have been solid, the localization top notch, and the fan response generally positive. As far as fully AAA MMOs go, this was easily the most successful game anyone has put out in a number of years.
Now, its 30 days in North America (the length of time someone who buys a boxed copy gets before they have to decide whether to subscriber) are not up, so maybe I’m jumping the gun, but all indications point to a strong product for NCsoft, who desperately needed some North American good news.

Time could deflate this rank, sure, but if I had to bet, I'd say it's only going to move up in the weeks and months to come.

#4 – Club Penguin

Launched on October 25th, 2005 by New Horizon, Club Penguin may have completely changed the way a lot of people look at MMOs in much the same way WoW did. They had to have been doing something right. Disney bought New Horizon for $350 million in 2007.

Club Penguin is a browser based supported by microtransactions, advertising and subscription options that also promotes itself as free to play.

The game was developed to provide young children, from ages 6 to 14, a social online world that is truly safe for them to enjoy. The original team and later Disney have paid close attention to this and worked diligently to ensure that they protect their core audience from inappropriate content.

The result has been a smash hit that, for a time, was one of the “it” toys out there. It went beyond regular MMO circles and captured a very wide audience. Even some grown-ups confess to play.
Its browser based client, aim at children, cute play style and focus on mini-games became a template that a whole sea of MMOs followed in the years to come. Nonetheless, Club Penguin remains one of the best.
#3 – Wizard 101

No one thought much of it when Kingsisle Entertainment put out Wizard 101 on September 2nd, 2008. This is the highest ranked “kids game” on the list, and generally picks up where games like Club Penguin leave off.

Players find themselves in a fictional Wizardry school – sound familiar? – and sets players off in quests to foil the plots of the evil Malistaire Drake.

The setting is – with all apologies to Kingsisle – a shamless Harry Potter rip off, but while that no doubt helped generate some interest among fans who have yet to get their Harry Potter MMO, the game’s depth, attention to detail and sheer fun factor have kept gamers young and old enthralled.

Wizard101 has become the new “it” game of indy circles. It was developed by a small independent company, didn’t have a larger budget, or a huge marketing campaign. Nonetheless, they succeeded and put together one of the most solid games on the market. Now, their success speaks for itself.

Wizard 101 is the top ranked kids game on our list.

#2 – Guild Wars

On April 26th, 2005 NCsoft put out Guild Wars. To this day, some argue whether or not we should even consider it an MMORPG, but setting that aside, it is likely the most commercially successful MMO since WoW.

Unlike virtually all AAA North American MMOs at the time, Guild Wars has no microtransactions or subscription fees. Instead, at a time when many were yelling that brick and mortar box sales were dying, NCsoft relied on the sales of the initial game and its follow-up stand-alone expansion packs to fuel profits.

The game has had millions of players, strong sales, three updates and a sequel on the way. And despite all that, curiously, no one has tried another title that mimicked its business approach.

Guild Wars is a highly instanced game, which features cooperative quests, PvP battles and many of the hallmarks of an MMO. It does, however, lack some others. Regardless, this hard to categorize game has definitely made a strong mark on the MMO landscape.

#1 –Lord of the Rings Online

Turbine had a can’t miss intellectual property in their back pocket when they launched Lord of the Rings Online on April 24th, 2007. Despite this, not even the mother of all fantasy IPs could match the success of World of Warcraft. That doesn’t, however, mean that they didn’t make a really fun game.

LotRO is an MMO player’s MMO. It’s got classes, levels, areas to explore and lots, and lots of Elves. Turbine did a fantastic job of honoring the source material. Their world may not match everyone’s mind’s eye vision of Middle-earth, but it’s definitely a great attempt.

They also developed a very story driven game and did a masterful job of navigating around the fact that the players cannot themselves be Gandalf or Frodo. It’s a game that makes the player feel like they contributed to the larger, more famous goals of the books and movies without disrespecting those stories.

It’s well paced, well thought out, has fun quests, good innovations, an inviting world, and enough new wrinkles to make it interesting. It may not be the biggest MMO ever, but no matter how big the IP, MMO fans wouldn’t have stuck with it this long had it not done a few things right.

Lord of the Rings Online already has one expansion under its belt (Mines of Moria) and has another on the way this winter (Siege of Mirkwood).