The List: 10 Best Sci-Fi MMOs To Play In 2023 | MMORPG.com

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The List: 10 Best Sci-Fi MMOs To Play In 2023 | MMORPG.com

MMOs are not lacking in space-themed adventures, but a few continue to stand out above the rest as worthy of your time and money. These are the 10 best sci-fi themed MMOs to pick up in the coming year. 

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Slapshot1188

No Man's Sky may not be an MMO (Is Destiny 2?) but it's a great Sci-Fi game and you can play it with friends. I'm doing so now.

Scot

Destiny 2 and Warframe are Online Co-op games, Steam says so, so it must be true.

SF and MMOs don't go hand in hand. What few we do have are gems though, so developers should take note, the fantasy mafia needs to be challenged.

vegetableoil

The list is very short, and I realize I can't think of any either. I only remember 2 other and it was moba type not mmo like star conflict and dreadnought and it wasn't very good.

Mendel

Too many of these titles are either 'action' or 'first person shooter', i.e., focused on hand-eye coordination.  Where's one that is newer and supports the RP side?  SWtoR is old (2011), AO is older still (2001).  Where's the 2021 entry?  I think there's an under served market here.

Hengist

Scot said:

Destiny 2 and Warframe are Online Co-op games, Steam says so, so it must be true.



SF and MMOs don't go hand in hand. What few we do have are gems though, so developers should take note, the fantasy mafia needs to be challenged.

100% agree.

Fantasy is commonplace, and is still the bulk of what we see Independent Studio's working on. Sci-Fi, some post-apocalyptic (Shadowrun, Cyberpunk) really have a place, and also seem to be among the most treasured MMO's (although niche) available. If Anarchy Online can still be going, and beloved, imagine what a new game that touches the same market could and would do, if done right.

cameltosis

I was curious, I couldn't think of 10 sci-fi MMOs myself.

Glad to see the author couldn't either. I only counted 3/10 as MMOs in that list, though admittedly im only going by hearsay on a couple.

Tiller

I play STO daily. It may be janky as hell but its got character and still seems really populated.

Darkhawke

After all these years ,Anarchy online is still the best Sci Fi MMORPG to date .

Angrakhan

I'd love to see a AAA caliber Warhammer 40K MMO. Shut up and take my money now for one of those.
EDIT: I need to stick my nose into Planetside 2 again. I played it at launch and it was absolutely overrun with aimbotters. However, my understanding is that's been addressed for quite some time, so it's probably way more fun now.

cameltosis

Angrakhan said:

I'd love to see a AAA caliber Warhammer 40K MMO. Shut up and take my money now for one of those.

Well, right now is the perfect time to start developing one, so we can only hope!

With Henry Cavill now committed to launching a 40k cinematic universe, I can only assume the IP will increase in popularity a lot. I'd say we've got 3 years until we see the first 40k film or tv show with Cavill in it, and assuming its well received then we'll get more in the years afterwards. Sounds perfect for launching an MMO!

I was definitely gutted when the last attempt at a 40k MMO failed (Eternal Crusade), but not as gutted as when Dark Millenium was cancelled years ago. That one sounded great, with a good emphasis on all the cool vehicles from 40k

Splattr

Remember watching Star Trek Voyager as a kid? Um, my first kid was born before Voyager aired. I watched reruns of the original series as a kid, and the original movie came out when I was 9. God I am old.

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sschrupp

Let's bow our heads in memory of deceased sci-fi (some -ish) MMOs such as Star Wars Galaxies, Earth & Beyond, Tabula Rasa, Matrix Online, Defiance, Firefall, Auto Assault, and Wildstar.

sirwut

Angrakhan said:

I'd love to see a AAA caliber Warhammer 40K MMO. Shut up and take my money now for one of those.


EDIT: I need to stick my nose into Planetside 2 again. I played it at launch and it was absolutely overrun with aimbotters. However, my understanding is that's been addressed for quite some time, so it's probably way more fun now.

I am a Planetside 2 player. I hate to give you bad news, but there is one hacker today killing fights. He has been terrorizing emerald server lately. If you can ignored that "One Guy", the game is great.

Gilcroix

I would never put SWtoR on this this list. That game ranks just behind space invaders from 1978.

emtcho

When I saw it, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis a chill ran down my spine. In this mmo, I fight more with the game controls than with the monsters, so I can't recommend it to other players, I just can't. Otherwise, I would add games like Tower of fantasy and maybe Dual universe.

PurplePepe

This article sums up the sad state of MMORPG's quite nicely.

Asm0deus

Pretty sad that list is mostly old has been games....

Scot

Darkhawke said:

After all these years ,Anarchy online is still the best Sci Fi MMORPG to date .

Would you not say it went a bit fantasy though, in fact I think of it as leaning to Science Fantasy rather than Sci-Fi in some areas. Heresy I know.

Adamantine

Not a bad list at all.

Andemnon

Only a couple of those games are actually MMO's but its an interesting list regardless, also made me wonder if the Earth and Beyond emulator was still up and running too!

sschrupp

Andemnon said:

Only a couple of those games are actually MMO's but its an interesting list regardless, also made me wonder if the Earth and Beyond emulator was still up and running too!

I do believe it is!

KnightFalz

Tiller said:

I play STO daily. It may be janky as hell but its got character and still seems really populated.

It's also one of those MMORPGs different from the norm, with the contrasting starship and ground play allowing a variance many other games in the genre don't have.

Alverant

Sci-fi always seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to MMOs. Even this list had to dip into the sci-fi/fantasy genre to complete it. IMHO it's because fantasy is easier. We have a "generic fantasy world" to use as a base, but we don't really have a "generic sci-fi world" because there are so many sub-genres and variables like: are there aliens? is there FTL? are we stuck on Earth? What's the tone?

It feels like the main way to be a successful sci-fi game is to be based off an existing IP.

Slapshot1188

I still say that No Man’s Sky with real mmo features would blow the socks off anything else out there. 

Curious nobody mentions Star Citizen.