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There was a time when MMOs were the biggest cash cow in the video game industry. For years, World of Warcraft printed money for Blizzard and is easily one of the most successful games ever created. It’s why so many companies rushed to try to make one of their own, leading to many clones of Warcraft and other forgettable games.
Some of those games were fairly high profile before they bombed out into irrelevance (if not nonexistence), Matrix Online being a prime example. A few of those games are still clinging to life now, but many of them have either been put out to pasture or all but abandoned by the companies that made them.
10 The Matrix Was Never Going To Transition To A Game Well & Matrix Online Is Proof Of That
It’s too difficult to replicate the combat that happened in the Matrix movies, and Matrix Online was the perfect demonstration of that. Nothing felt fluid at all. Combat was unnecessarily complicated, and classes felt completely tacked on and pointless.
The entire game was a large mess, one that got put out of its misery far faster than most MMOs with as much hype as Matrix Online had. It barely made it to four years, shutting down with less than 500 active players. Not even the most generic of MMOs typically suffer that poor a fate.
9 Star Trek Online Decided to Focus On Combat Rather Than What Made The Franchise Popular
So many of the decisions made with Star Trek Online made no sense at all. When a person thinks of Star Trek, the first thing that comes to mind is starships. You’d think an MMO would focus on that, having plenty of space combat and exploration.
While that may not be enough to make a super popular game, it’d carve a niche, as EVE Online did. Instead, they made it combat-focused— and not even in space. No, this combat was down dull corridors. It’s such a dumb decision that it’s amazing the game is still running after 11 years.
8 Wildstar Promised To Be A Hardcore Raiders Dream But Failed To Deliver
Wildstar barely made it past four years, much like Matrix Online did. Unlike Matrix Online, however, Wildstar wasn’t a bad game by any means. The housing in the game was fantastic and was some of the best in any MMO not named Final Fantasy. Aesthetically the game was beautiful to look at, something that a lot of earlier MMOs struggled with.
The problem lied in how it was marketed to hardcore raiders and didn’t deliver what they wanted. It took far too long for raids to even get in the game, and the combat while fun, was a disaster to keep track of.
7 Tera Had Innovate Combat With A Hollow Storyline
Tera‘s combat system was a massive step up from the tab targeting and static gameplay of World of Warcraft and others like it. Players needed to pay far more attention, actively trying to dodge attacks before they hit them. It made the gameplay feel more exciting and engaging. Many of the boss fights felt fun as well due to how large they were.
What kept it from growing more in popularity was how grindy it was and that there really wasn’t any story to speak off. Things were only getting killed for loot and nothing more.
6 Star Wars Galaxies Was The Ultimate Sandbox For Star Wars Fans…At First
Older fans of Star Wars certainly remember Star Wars Galaxies fondly, but it’s been gone from existence so long that most younger than twenty will have never heard of the game. It’s a shame since it was an MMO unlike any other.
There was no linear path for the player to take, offering a complete sandbox feel. Players could be just about anything they’d ever want to be, even if that was just being a dancer. It made the world feel alive in a way that few games can replicate. Unfortunately, it was botched toward the end of its life span by needless changes.
5 Rift Briefly Felt Like A Rival To World Of Warcraft, But Couldn’t Keep Up The Momentum
When it first came out, Rift was met with a lot of acclaim, and justly so. The game had an interesting story attached to it and offered a new method of gaining experience through the use of rifts. Rifts would have creatures pour out of it, needing players to actively close them.
It was fresh in comparison to the usual fetch quests that litter MMOs. It also allowed for seamless switching between talents or souls, allowing someone to be DPS, tank, or healer on the same character with the click of a button. Sadly, after its hot start, the game couldn’t maintain its momentum.
4 Age Of Conan Was Hyped To Oblivion But Sank Fast
Many people were hyped beyond belief for Age of Conan, a game that supposedly would help push the MMO genre forward. It didn’t do any of that and only delivered on nice graphics, lacking in any substance.
There were supposed to be massive sieges of castles and complex combat. None of that was there. The combat was a slight step up from tab targeting but far from a huge change. The sieges didn’t have any epic feeling tied to them. Alas, the whole game was sunk by how much was overpromised and underdelivered.
3 City Of Heroes Was Made In The Wrong Decade
City Of Heroes was a success when it came out in 2004 but would have been so much bigger had it been released a decade later. With how mainstream superheroes are now, it’s possible the franchise would get numbers that rival what Final Fantasy pulls today.
The use of superpowers over the typical sword and spells was a breath of fresh air back then and would be even more so now. The game was very polished as well, showing NCSOFT at its peak as a company. If any defunct MMO deserves a second chance and might actually have a shot the second time around, it’s definitely City of Heroes.
2 DC Universe Online Never Managed To Properly Capitalize On The Superhero Boom
There’s no reason that DC Universe couldn’t have been a top-tier game. Superheroes have never been popular, and yet DC can’t seem to capitalize on that fact at all. The game has no fluidity to it, feeling stiff any time it’s played.
When the core gameplay is as subpar as it is here, it doesn’t matter how many of the company’s big-name heroes and villains are in it. Getting to work with Batman doesn’t have the same charm when the game feels trapped in a time capsule that it has no plans of leaving. The game is still plugging along and even got a Nintendo Switch port in 2019, but it’s just never really hit that critical mass that something like FFXIV has.
1 Everquest Is Part Of The Old Guard That Never Caught Up With The Times
Everquest is one of the original MMOs that faded off into the distance once World of Warcraft staked its claim to the throne. Many of the elements in present-day MMOs were because of Everquest, such as the looking for group tool or the use of sub-classes.
In its day, it was absolutely gorgeous to look at as well. Unfortunately, it’s a game that’s well past its expiration date, even as they continue to come out with expansions for Everquest 2. With Everquest Next cancelled, it’s a series that needs to be put out to pasture and realize its place as a pioneer but not a current player.
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