The best MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. From sci-fi epics to sprawling fantasy adventures, you'll find a wide range of different experiences across the MMORPG landscape.

However, no matter the genre in question, all of the best MMORPGs attempt to build their own online communities, where players can meet, cooperate, and sometimes compete in a persistent virtual space. Some of these titles even rival the best co-op games when it comes to enabling players to work together. MMORPGs also take the qualities that make the best RPGs and place them in online worlds, offering experiences that you simply can't find in even the best single-player games.

Below, you'll find a comprehensive round-up of all the best MMORPGs at the moment. These include subscription-based games and free-to-play offerings in an effort to provide you with as broad a range of options as possible. Read on to find your next great online adventure.

The best MMORPGs 2025

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11. Black Desert Online

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Available on: PS4, XBox One, PC (Windows)

Black Desert Online is perfect for those looking for freedom in how they approach an MMORPG. It offers up crafting, cooking, sailing, huge siege battles, and that's not really scratching the surface. It has been out for a while, but for new players, there's a ridiculously detailed character creator to play around with. Classes have been expanded massively over the years as well, offering everything from standard Mage classes to more eccentric picks like the butterfly-summoning Woosa.

If you do wish to go into battle in Black Desert Online, there are few other MMORPGs that can compete in terms of variety, and how good landing attacks can feel. The game's stellar visual presentation really bolsters battles, with each class's unique abilities each given their own visual identity. In general, Black Desert Online is one of the best looking games in the MMORPG genre. There's simply so much to explore, and a deep endgame once you've cleared the main quest-line, that Black Desert Online is a great investment, even in 2025.

10. New World: Aeternum

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Platforms available: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S

You've seen New World before, sure, but have you seen New World: Aeternum? This soft relaunch of Amazon Game Studio's flagging 2021 MMORPG is what the company is calling a 'spiritual sequel' to the original. In layman's terms, that means next-gen console support, new story campaign cinematics, and a refined controller-friendly combat system that doubles down on the game's action RPG setup.

While this is still the same blueprint as the original title, the recent changes have definitely improved things, and have finally made New World an easy game to recommend for fans of the MMORPG genre. The open world is vast and engaging, and the gameplay is simple but undoubtedly fun. Give it a try if you're looking for a fresh world to sink your teeth into.

9. Fallout 76

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Platforms available: PC, PS5, PS4, XSX|S, XBO

Fallout 76 was a well-documented catastrophe when it first launched, but since then, and thanks to some major updates, it's genuinely a very good time indeed. The Wastelander update added NPCs, breathing some much needed life into the Appalachian wasteland. From that point on, Fallout 76 really started to prove its chops as an MMORPG, with some new quest lines, and updates to existing adventures.

These days, Fallout 76 is well worth your time, offering a great Fallout experience that you can take on with friends in tow. Base building is better than it's ever been, and enemy variety is some of the best in the series. What we love about it is that while it can be fun with friends, it actually provides a fun and rewarding single player experience as well. Annoyingly, crossplay is still unlikely to come to the game, but you can pick it up for free on Xbox Game Pass on consoles and PC.

8. World of Warcraft

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Platforms available: PC

Easily one of the best MMORPGs of all time, World of Warcraft practically invented the modern form of the genre when it was originally released in 2004. By offering enormous fantasy environments with minimal loading screens, World of Warcraft had an almost open-world feel, encouraging players to form spontaneous groups to face up to the challenges on offer.

Since then, the game has been through a total of nine expansions, each offering a chance to iterate on these mechanics, allowing Blizzard to fine-tune the experience. In its current incarnation, World of Warcraft retains the expansive setting but possesses far stronger storytelling chops, offering a fantasy epic of impressive scale and depth. Plus, with three new expansions on the horizon, it looks as though there's plenty to look forward to in the game's future, too.

7. EVE Online

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Platforms available: PC, browser, and tablet (though not available on mobile, the game does have a companion app)

EVE Online is, arguably, the best MMORPG when it comes to emergent player-driven narratives. In EVE, you play as a pilot with your own collection of starships. Overcome the game's steep learning curve, and you'll soon find that the galaxy's your oyster. Want to stake your claim on disputed territories? You can join a player alliance and wage war alongside thousands of others. Prefer making things to breaking things? You could take up mining and become an industrial tycoon. Not of the lawful persuasion? Piracy's always an option.

EVE does little to hold its players' hands, but more than makes up for this in terms of the agency it offers. While developer CCP has crafted a game that can be intimidating at times, EVE Online rewards dedicated players by allowing them to do almost anything they set their mind to. The careers on offer boggle the mind with their breadth and diversity. There's even an EVE pope. Plus with the addition of a free-to-play version of the game back in 2016, the bar to entry is temptingly low.

6. Guild Wars 2

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Platforms available: PC

One of the more innovative titles on our best MMORPGs list, Guild Wars 2 offers a well-told single-player storyline on top of a wide range of breathtaking environments. In addition to oodles of world quests, Guild Wars 2 actively rewards players for surveying the world and tracking down landmarks. While the action-oriented combat system is great for getting your blood pumping, NCSoft's decade-old MMO also provides a fantastical world ripe for exploration.

Guild Wars 2 also includes a large amount of well-written, voice-acted dialogue which does wonders for inviting players into its world. More than that, the MMORPG dispenses with many traditional fantasy tropes, offering a novel list of species and classes for players to enjoy. Few games let you play as a rifle-toting tree-person, or a laser-shooting illusion wizard, but Guild Wars 2 will oblige you.

5. Final Fantasy 14

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Platforms available: PS5, PS4, PC, and in beta on Xbox Series X|S

One of the best MMORPGs of recent years, Final Fantasy 14 offers a holy grail of storytelling, community building, and satisfying endgame content. Not only are there hundreds of hours of content to enjoy, but the types of content on offer vary wildly. Final Fantasy 14's main story distinguishes itself with its mature storytelling and strong characters. However, if you're looking for a break from the drama, you can just as easily take up fishing, decorate your own home, or even go to a nightclub.

More important than any of this, however, is Final Fantasy 14's famously welcoming community. Since even veteran players are incentivized to help out with lower-level content, new players (lovingly nicknamed 'sprouts') will usually find themselves supported by experienced adventurers when confronting challenges for the first time. This means that the title supports a culture where players 'pay it forward'. After all, today's sprout is tomorrow's mentor, and with the Dawntrail expansion on the horizon, this wholesome community has plenty to look forward to.

4. The Elder Scrolls Online

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Platforms available: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One

One of the best MMORPGs in terms of immersion, The Elder Scrolls Online bathes players in gorgeous environments and stirring music. Almost all of Tamriel is yours to explore. If you so choose, you can even return to memorable locations from Skyrim or even Oblivion. Much like its single-player forbears, The Elder Scrolls Online is bursting at the seams with quests and delightful nuggets of environmental storytelling.

All in all, the MMORPG amounts to one of the best fantasy playgrounds out there. The combat system is more active than many of its competitors, requiring you to dodge and block proactively. You can also specialize across a variety of skill trees and combat roles, allowing you to build a character that's truly your own.

3. Star Wars: The Old Republic

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Platforms available: PC

Though the graphics are a little dated, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) remains one of the best MMORPGs when it comes to storytelling and writing. Set shortly after BioWare's well-received single-player RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, SWTOR carries an RPG torch lit by the former, offering players the chance to make narrative choices as part of a fully fleshed-out cinematic storyline.

Though the game's multiplayer content can be hit and miss, the main storylines are fantastic and are well worth experiencing for both fans of Star Wars and fans of BioWare RPGs. Like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, you'll collect companions, get to know them better, and even, possibly, kindle a romance or two. Since the game is free to play, there's no excuse not to give it a go.

2. Runescape

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Platforms available: PC, Android, iOS

Perhaps the best MMORPG in terms of accessibility, Runescape is mobile-friendly, easy to grasp, and rewarding to boot. Originally released in 2001 as a browser-based game by UK-based developer Jagex, Runescape has gone from strength to strength in the years since.

The game takes heavy inspiration from classic CRPGs like Baldur's Gate with open-ended game design and a semi-real-time combat system. The fantasy world of Gielinor is very much a sandbox and the game doesn't follow a linear storyline. Instead, it encourages players to set their own goals and objectives. Runescape is one of the better entry points into the MMORPGs, showing off what the genre is capable of without even requiring a gaming PC.

1. Lost Ark

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Platforms available: PC

Lost Ark is one of the newest MMORPGs on our list, but even though it came out just two years ago, there's plenty of post-launch updates to dig into. Lost Ark is definitely more action-focused than your standard games in the genre, allowing players full control over combat. There's a decent, and ever-expanding list of classes to try out too.

Raids are added in very regularly indeed, alongside monthly content drops that help Lost Ark feel fresh every time you log in. One thing that sets Lost Ark apart is its setting, which allows for ranged pistols and more modern weapons than what you might be used to. The Gunslinger class, for example, employs dual pistols for damage at a considerable distance.

Explore seven continents, hundreds of islands, and all the seas between them. Engage with interesting and varied cultures, befriend or battle magnificent beasts, and dive into immersive lore.

Best MMORPGs: FAQs

What's the best MMORPG right now?

Though Final Fantasy 14 continues to impress, ideas of 'best' are very subjective. Those looking for a stellar storyline and well-developed characters will find what they're looking for in Final Fantasy 14, while those keen on exploration would probably be better served by Guild Wars 2 or The Elder Scrolls Online.

In the same way, if you're looking for more open-ended sandbox games, EVE Online and Runescape are some of the best MMORPGs that you could play. With their shared emphasis on player agency, both of these titles allow you to interact with their worlds on your own terms - a must for some players.

Are there any good MMORPGs anymore?

From the joyful drama of Final Fantasy 14 to the granular sci-fi simulationism of EVE Online, there are still plenty of great MMORPGs out there for anyone looking to give the genre a whirl.

While it's true that many of the titles on this best MMORPG list were first released many years ago, part of the beauty of these games is that they boast years of updates. World of Warcraft has come a very long way in two decades. In some ways, it's still the ambitious, old-school RPG from 2004, but, in others, it's a dynamic, modern experience. Every other MMORPG on our list followed this trend, and, as a result, is well worth checking out.

How we made this best MMORPGs list

When crafting our best MMORPGs list, we sought to offer a range of games across different genres and consoles while ensuring that the products we selected were of sufficiently high quality. The tough, politically intensive player vs player (PvP) of EVE Online is a far cry from the meticulously crafted single-player storylines of Final Fantasy 14. However, both titles accomplish what they set out to do with competence and flair - a quality shared by every game on our list.

At TechRadar Gaming, we've put thousands of hours into MMORPGs, doing our best to understand the systems that underpin these titans of the gaming landscape. We brought that experience to bear when crafting this list. Every entry, no matter the genre, is something we've played and tested ourselves and can recommend to readers.

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