Make the time you spend playing games memorable, captivating, and thrilling with the top 10 MMO games to play in 2025. We are going to look at each game’s setting, gameplay style, features, and what to look at when selecting a suitable MMO game.
Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games are online video games that handle a huge number of gamers who are playing simultaneously.
Read on to explore everything about the Best MMOs to play in 2025.
Chainers
A compelling gameplay is available on Chainers, a new NFT game that lets you play, create, own, and trade digital collectibles.
The game is one of today’s most popular MMORPGs. It has adopted a free-to-play model where it gives each player a free NFT called the ‘Chainer’, a character that becomes your key to accessing the Chainers Metaverse.
Throughout the metaverse’ gameplay, your goal revolves around collecting unique digital assets, customizing, and upgrading your chainer.
Upgrades include skills, abilities, clothes, and other special powers that are represented as collectibles or wearables.
Aside from being a massive multiplayer online (MMO) game, Chainers has other key features that include, diverse gameplay options, a Web3 interaction infrastructure dubbed ‘Chainers HUB’, Augmented Reality (AR) mode, an in-game shop, an NFT marketplace, the referral program and a tokenomics model based on three ERC-20 tokens ($FRI, $CHU, $CCC).
World of WarCraft
Launched in 2004, World of WarCraft is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game where the player descends into the fictional planet Azeroth to battle monsters, explore an immersive metaverse, complete quests, and interact with NPCs and other players.
The game begins by first selecting a realm (or server), which provides an individual copy of the game’s world. There are two types of realms, the normal and the role-play (RP). While playing in the normal realm, your mission becomes to slay the monsters. RP, on the other hand, involves the player role-playing in character mode.
Throughout the game, players develop the characters, acquire various skills and talents, while being able to select two primary professions among tailoring, jewelry, mining, and skinning. There are also secondary skills that a character may adopt, including archaeology, fishing, and cooking.
The guild feature lets characters organise themselves into guilds where they can chat and interact with each other. Some outstanding features of the guild include a guild bank, repairs, tabard, and dues.
World of Warcraft is based on a subscription model with options to make monthly, 3-month, or 6-month payments. Alternatively, payment is possible by purchasing the game's utility cryptocurrency, the WoW token.
Final Fantasy XIV Online
Final Fantasy XIV is a massive multiplayer online video game that borrows inspiration from Game of Thrones’ phenomenal world-building.
At the core of this game is a compelling story that captures your character, other players, and their gameplay as they traverse one adventure to the next.
Final Fantasy XIV starts in the land of Eorzea, where a calamity has ravaged the land for five years. Bahamut, the elder primal, has just escaped the Dalamud prison, and the universe has fallen into an apocalypse.
The player’s first mission is to fend off the Garlean Empire from any kind of invasion. This game is available on PC, PlayStation, and macOSX.
Old School RuneScape
Old School RuneScape is a retro-styled PvP Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game that launched in August 2007 to pay tribute to 2001’s RuneScape.
The player’s mission is to be good at whatever individual skill they want, be it a master cook or blacksmith. There is a detailed and compelling story to guide you through the folklore, engaging conquest and combat, as well as the ability to master up to 23 skills.
While Old School RuneScape prides itself on being a free-to-play game, there is the opportunity to unlock more exciting features by joining an exclusive membership, where you get access to 120 additional quests, exclusive in-game items, infinite mini-games, navigation options, 8 additional skills, and the entire world map.
Runescape (Modern)
The modern RuneScape is one of the best MMORPG launched in 2013, as a sequel to the 2013 Old School RuneScape
The game’s gameplay centres on a persistent state world (PSW) metaverse where players interact with each other by controlling their virtual avatar characters.
This game pays homage to the internet’s early days and captures a first-hand experience of a digital-centric economy where the native utility currency is the $OSRS, a blockchain token with a capped supply of 1,000,000 at the beginning of Old School RuneScape.
Each player’s mission is to continue building their virtual character, leveling up their skills, and increasing their power.
The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO)
The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is a popular MMORPG that’s available for Windows PC and OS X. This game is set and shaped by the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy that takes place in Middle-earth.
LOTRO has had several versions released over the years, with its launch version being the Shadows of Angmar in April 2007, followed by the Mines of Moria in November 2008, and the Siege of Mirkwood in December 2009.
Players step into a virtual avatar that they control throughout the game’s world. There are NPCs to interact with, as well as many other players. The goal for each level is to gather new skills, boost trait points, and proceed to the next level. Travelling in this world is via foot, instantaneous options, or personal mounts.
MapleStory
MapleStory is an interesting 2D MMO that’s probably one of the oldest classics thriving today. During the early days, the player’s mission felt more like a selection of different goals that the player had to choose.
Whether it's taking the crazy level grind, and most of the players felt satisfied around level 80 -100, which came with coming together for party quests, and spending real cash to make the characters look stunning.
Today, the focus has changed and made MapleStory feel more like a game for hanging out, enjoying daily events, joining rooms, battling bosses, and sitting back with game mates.
The mission currently is building and growing your group of characters, ensuring they look cool by getting them cool wearables, and finally meeting up with people.
Tibia
Tibia launched in 1997 as a small MMORPG and reached its peak in 2007. While this game is free-to-play, gamers can still get a premium account if they have some extra cash to spend.
The 2D game is set in a fantasy world featuring a top-down perspective and pixel art visuals. When playing Tibia, you just bash and gain, and advance through quests, which are updated after every six months.
Combat within this game requires possession of hundreds of weapons, special armour, and gear. As you play, you’ll battle various enemies and face different types of attacks, including Melee using sword, club, and axe skills, or ranged fighting where the enemy uses bows, ninja stars, and crossbows.
New World
New World is a popular MMORPG by Amazon Games that came out in September 2021 with a setting that captures the mid-seventeenth century, where the players colonize the fantasy world of Aeternum (inspired by the Americas). Any player who travels to Aeternum gains immortality.
In comparison to most games in this list, New World doesn’t offer a free-to-play model but instead sticks to a buy-to-play business model. Microtransactions are also available where players acquire skins, decorative wearables, and gameplay items.
In 2024, the game released its Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 versions, alongside various updates for the PC version. In the same year, Secret Level, a television series, adapted the game into one of its episodes ‘New World: The Once and Future King’.
Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR)
Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is one of the most popular MMORPGs that follows a free-to-play model that’s driven by the storylines of Jedi, Bounty Hunter, Sith, and other iconic characters from the Star Wars Universe franchise.
The player’s goal is to become the accomplished hero of the Star Wars saga by taking an interactive adventure filled with cinematic dialogue, combat, skill advancement, and world expansion.
SWTOR made history by becoming among the most costly games to develop, while it also garnered a record 1 million subscribers in just three days. The game’s key features include subscription payments, companion mode for gathering and crafting tasks, starships, various species that are playable, and different classes where each has a different backstory.
Comparison Table of the Top Massively Multiplayer Online Games
Below is a comparison table for the top MMOs to play this year.
How to Choose the Right MMO Game for You
The ultimate deciding factor for a suitable MMO game on PC, PlayStation, or Xbox comes down to personal taste. However, these pointers could help you narrow down your list of preferences and get exactly what you want:
Genre
MMO games cut across different genres, from the distant past history, futuristic worlds, and fantasy. Some are also adaptations from world-famous works like The Lord of the Rings, The Game of Thrones, and the Star Wars universe. As such, check out where your preferences are, and pick the genre you love the most.
Payment Model
There are a variety of payment models ranging from monthly subscriptions, purchasing a digital collectible, acquiring tokens, a one-time purchase, or a combination of free-to-play and premium features. The payment model you pick should meet your needs, whether you prefer a one-off payment, a regular subscription, or the free-to-play model.
Free Trial
Some games lack a free-to-play plan, and they give you a limited free trial to test out the game and commit to payment after either 14 days or 30 days. If you’re the type of person who kicks it right with a free trial, there will always be an MMO game to provide one.
Cross-platform compatibility
It really matters which game you’re playing and on what platform you’re playing. Some games are available for PC, others for PlayStation, and Xbox. Get a game that’s compatible with the gaming system you’re using.
Updates and Adaptability
A good game takes time to offer regular updates, security patches, and also release new features or versions. In addition, technology is changing, and games you’ve spent years playing must be willing to go the extra mile and adapt to changing tech. These could be the introduction of cryptocurrencies on older MMO games, integration with Augmented or Virtual reality (AR and VR), or the creation of a fully immersive metaverse.
Final Takeaway
Chainers, World of Warcraft (WoW), Final Fantasy XIV Online, Old School RuneScape, Runescape (Modern), The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO), MapleStory, Tibia, New World, and Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) are ten of the best massively multiplayer online video games. To find the right one for you, list down your preferences based on the payment model, genre type, regular updates, and cross-platform compatibility.
Kataryna Habeliia
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