The most anticipated online games of 2024

Every gamer knows that waiting for a game can be as exciting as getting to know it, especially if the publisher is running a competent advertising campaign. In the case of multiplayer entertainment, the stakes are especially high, because their authors have to take into account a lot of technical nuances, including the stability of the network code, and also offer the public an unusual experience within the conservative genres. All in all, it's a complicated business, but that doesn't stop companies from all over the world from pursuing creative endeavors. We have selected online games that are definitely worth paying attention to in 2024.

Let's start with a very topical piece of work. Director Denis Villeneuve has greatly fueled the public's interest in the universe of Frank Herbert's books by releasing the movie "Dune: Part One" starring Timothee Chalamet. The screen adaptation of fantasy novels came out quite successful and close to the original, unlike David Lynch's 1984 picture. And this could not leave indifferent game developers. The challenge was accepted by Funcom studio, familiar to fans of Conan Exiles and Secret World Legends - in other words, the Norwegian team has a lot of experience in MMO games. And Dune: Awakening will confirm it with an unprecedented scale.

New "Dune" promises to be a "sandbox" with open world, strong social component and survival elements. Together with thousands of other heroes you will get to the desert planet Arrakis, where blue-eyed Freemen are guerrillas among the dunes, and giant worms crawl under the sand, producing Spice - the most valuable substance in the sci-fi universe. This is where your story begins: you'll need to find friends, fend off enemies, and inhabit the arid world as you see fit. All characters have role-playing characteristics and skill development, and the locations are full of attractions. You can descend into an underground ecological station, explore ruins, and try to survive a sandstorm.

And this MMORPG fans of the genre have been waiting for since at least 2018. But at first the developers from the Ironcore company did not do well - and the project turned into a typical long construction. We hope that in 2024 it will still get to the release on PC. Why should we wait for it? First of all, Perfect New World develops the ideas of the original Perfect World, familiar to millions of gamers around the world. Here users will find a large open world, designed in the style of Eastern fantasy, as well as a rich choice of races, classes, talents and other role-playing attributes. Secondly, serious gameplay changes compared to the first part were promised.

The combat system will be completely redesigned and will be based on the Non-Target principle, i.e. you won't have to mark targets for attacks. In addition, there will be new combat elements, such as parrying and dodging, to make the game more reminiscent of the usual Action-RPGs and become a little more comfortable. But more comfortable doesn't mean easier. The innovations are primarily designed to refresh the experience of PvP and PvE battles. For example, the beta test revealed that the most suitable class for duels between players will be Dragonspear, and some dungeons are so difficult that no more than 20% of raid participants will complete them. All in all, something interesting is waiting for us. Besides, the game will be free and will be released not only on consoles, but also on Steam.

Another sequel to the legendary game. MMORPG fans don't need to explain what weight the original ArcheAge has in the genre - it has already become a classic, although it has recently lost its position. XLGAMES company understands it very well, and the second part is intentionally made different from the first one. According to the developers, they have prioritized the story and single-player adventures in such a way that the focus was on the story and single-player adventures, and the usual for such games activities, including raids of small groups against bosses, fell into the background. Mass PvP-battles can be put out of the brackets at once - this goodness, judging by all appearances, will be few in the release version.

But other formats of human interaction are planned. You will be able to take part in duels or go through several PvE tasks with your squad, as well as contribute to the development of your guild. If we add Unreal Engine 5 and release on all current platforms, except iOS and Android, it will be clear that the developers are trying to please everyone at once. They promise to make the game beautiful, provide it with a decent story and a bunch of multiplayer modes, and at the same time release it on the conditionally free model. We'll see what will come out of it by the end of the year.

We are used to the fact that MMORPGs usually do not shine with beauty - only Black Desert comes to mind among really spectacular games. However, it seems that Unreal Engine 5 will change a lot of things in the industry - and we will see all these changes in 2024. One of the promising releases with impressive graphics will be Chrono Odyssey, which at the stage of development turned out to be so technological that its authors had to cancel the preparation of the mobile version. But there is no harm without good, because PC owners will get an excellent spectacle. And at the same time they will appreciate the original principle, which is the basis of gameplay and even put in the name of the project.

Having taken possession of one of the powerful artifacts of the fantasy world, chronotector, players will be able to perform various manipulations with time - an unusual solution for the multiplayer genre. How exactly the developers will formalize the space-time warp, they do not yet report. But other details of "Odyssey" are known. Its action takes place on the continent of Cetera, for which five factions are fighting: Guardians, Outcasts, Broken, Peacewalkers and adherents of the Void. The latter act as bad guys, summoning all sorts of evil into peaceful villages. Six classes are also promised: swordsman, ranger, sorcerer, paladin, berserker and assassin.

Not much is known about this MMORPG at the moment - its first closed beta test is to take place at the end of January 2024. But what will definitely interest fans of the genre is the origin of the game: it was made by Turkish developers. So this is the second after Rise Online game of this genre from the country, about game studios of which we have never heard anything before. It's very commendable. Although, judging by the materials available on the Internet, we should not expect neither beautiful graphics nor technical delights from The Quinfall, it may turn out to be quite a good MMO in the classic style - just like the mentioned Rise.

The game promises a huge world of 2016 square kilometers with changing weather and time of day, inhabited by races from fantasy. The plot tells about the gods and heroes of the kingdom of Queenfall, where a civil war broke out. Taking control of one of the characters, you need to stop this conflict or join the forces of Pelionas to bring chaos to the fairytale lands. Class selection is interesting - there are no standard bards or rangers, but all ten specializations depend on weapons. For example, the Shield and Sword and Shield and Spear classes are represented. Sounds intriguing, but you should keep in mind that the game will be paid for at release.

Corepunk attracts attention first of all with its style. The game is designed in cartoon style, like Dota 2 or World of Warcraft, but its action unfolds in a sci-fi world, not a fairy-tale one. And it is open here - you can move in any direction without loading. But the view, despite the isometric projection, is limited, because the developers use "fog of war" to make the appearance of opponents suddenly. Judging by the recent beta tests, this solution is liked by the public and really diversifies the battles in PvP. On the other hand, you'll have to be on guard in the game, because the monsters in the game are very dangerous.

Instead of races, there is a choice of so-called cultures: gamers have access to Elaniens, Faidens, Quaddari and Yorners. Each of them, of course, has its own features, including weapons and special skills. For victories, characters receive loot and honor points, and the karma system prevents newcomers from attacking with impunity - everything is arranged in such a way that fights are held on an equal footing. The developers promise a full set of activities for MMO, including raids, crafts, professions, trade, story and secondary quests. What is also worth noting is the random dungeon generation - the genre rarely pleases us with something like this.

Only South Korean developers know how to make MMORPGs with such scope: according to official data, the cost of creating and marketing Bellatores has already exceeded 200 million dollars. In other words, everything here is of the highest standard. Graphics is the most advanced thanks to Unreal Engine 5 and direct hands of NYOU studio artists. Combat system - classic targeting, but with nuances in the form of Action-RPG techniques. In general, console owners will feel free as a fish in the water. The virtual world is divided between six factions, which are called houses - in imitation of "Game of Thrones". Interestingly, each house occupies a separate server, but they will be able to invade each other's realities.

Gamers will join clans to participate in sieges, conquer lands and fight for resources on the map. The role-playing system is classless and partially resembles the rules of The Elder Scrolls. You will not have pre-made archers, swordsmen or mages - any user is free to choose his own weapons and equipment to pump up the hero through the use of the same bows or swords. It's simple: the more often and successfully you fight with the same equipment, the stronger and more skillful your fighter becomes. And money in the fight is no help - at the release, scheduled for 2024, the project promises to get rid of even a hint of Pay-to-Win.

Developers from Mainframe Industries decided to combine open world, survival simulation with construction and role-playing game in one work, and all this - in the universe of medieval legends. Advanced graphics, of course, is attached. How exactly all this looks like in practice, we will find out in spring 2024, when Pax Dei should appear in early access. In the meantime, let's discuss why we should wait for it and what we know about it so far. This MMO sandbox puts all social interactions in the hands of the users, i.e. there are no pre-determined scenarios. You will decide where and what to build, what kind of squad or clan to create with friends and where to go for loot.

The game map is divided into zones. In the central, most peaceful zone, you can build a dwelling or establish a whole village, if you act together with a group of friends. And all around - uncharted lands, where monsters, ghosts and just dangerous animals like bears live. This is where you will have to send expeditions in search of rare resources and other prey. While the soldiers and hunters are on a campaign, life in peaceful villages does not stop: artisans, peasants and traders work here. Employees of Mainframe Industries promise that everyone will create their own story in the virtual universe, so there is no central plot in Pax Dei.

But let's leave the medieval surroundings behind. Once Human is a multiplayer survival simulator set in a post-apocalyptic world. According to the plot of the game, an alien contagion called Stardust hit the Earth, turning animals into mutants and people into zombies. Only a few immunity holders survived this hell and took up arms to cleanse the cities of evil and fight among themselves for the spoils. Survival mechanics are on full display here: you need not only to search for food and water, but also to keep an eye on your hero's mental health, which is the worse, the more evil creatures there are around. On the other hand, you can take some technologies from aliens.

The trophies will include blueprints for assembling hundreds of guns and equipment items. And the weapons will be allowed to modernize as you wish, so that you can equip your character before each foray into the ruins. If you want, you can build your own village using the Territory Core. Having extracted resources, users are free to build a house and decorate it as they wish, equip a kitchen, garage, workshop and other rooms. But even this is not all. Along with survival develops the plot, the chapters of which will allow you to find out how exactly the contagion got to Earth. But to advance in the scenario you will have to explore new locations and defeat bosses. What will bring us this ambitious scheme, we will find out in the third quarter of 2024.

Last in our selection is an online action game from Russian developers, which was compared to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. until the first gameplay footage appeared online. Then it became clear that the project has much more in common with the Fallout series and even with Escape from Tarkov. The action of the game will take place on the island, the left part of which is given for PvE-quests, and the right part - for PvP-battles. This is Shadowlands, where you will be allowed to freely fight with heroes controlled by other users to collect trophies from defeated opponents. A common point with EFT is the loss of all equipment, including collected resources, in case of your defeat.

There is a base set up in the middle lands, where you can replenish supplies and submit quests to customers. PvP rules are limited here so that experienced players do not bully newcomers. It is noteworthy that no one needs to face other people's heroes to pass the story - the chapters are built strictly on the PvE principle, involve both single players and teams in co-op, and unfold in limited locations. In other words, no one will interfere with your story adventure, but resource gathering will be marred by outside interference. Quite an interesting solution - let's see how it will be realized in 2024.

Of course, we haven't collected all the releases of 2024 here, but we have mentioned those MMOs that are worth paying attention to. And what games are you most looking forward to this year?