The best RPG games on PC: review of the top projects

The MMO genre doesn’t just create games; it builds entire worlds. Hundreds of developers spend years designing landscapes, writing classes, customizing combat systems, and investing millions in graphics and online architecture. Not every project makes it to release. Some disappear, leaving behind only concept art, technical prototypes, and the community’s bitter expectations. Behind every abandoned MMO game lies a decade of decisions, hundreds of hours, and millions of lost dollars. Let’s explore these projects below.

Titan: Ambitions that Couldn’t Bear the Weight

Blizzard launched Titan in the mid-2000s, aiming to create the next milestone after the success of World of Warcraft. The developers incorporated elements of a futuristic world, a dual identity system (a regular person during the day and a superhero at night), a customizable combat system, and global PvP mechanics. The platform was designed to utilize an updated engine that catered to high user density and cross-server events.

The team expanded to 140 members. The budget exceeded 70 million USD. After seven years of work, the studio froze the project. The reason was a conceptual dead end. Too complex internal logic destroyed the balance. Mechanics clashed with each other. A multifunctional skill system was not amenable to optimization. Only the skeleton remained from the concept — it was the basis for Overwatch. Abandoned MMO games rarely give a second life to the material, but Titan was an exception.

EverQuest Next: Destroying the Classics

Sony Online Entertainment (later Daybreak) announced EverQuest Next as a relaunch of the iconic franchise. The developers shifted their focus to procedural world generation and destructible environments. Players would have the ability to influence the map’s topography, construct structures, and destroy fortresses in real-time. The class system featured over 40 specializations. The artificial intelligence of mobs would respond to player actions. The visual style aimed to strike a balance between stylization and detail to facilitate rendering in dynamic environments.

By 2016, the studio had stopped development. The reason was the technological unpreparedness of the engine. The combination of procedural generation with MMO-server architecture gave birth to critical bugs. Performance fell below 20 FPS even on internal tests. EverQuest Next went down in history as a symbol of unrealized opportunities.

World of Darkness: Vampire Mysteries Online

CCP Games began developing World of Darkness in 2006. The game was based on the universe of the same-name tabletop RPG, which included factions of vampires, werewolves, and mages. The project’s primary focus shifted towards social mechanics, such as influence management, clan intrigues, and a deep political hierarchy.

The gameplay emphasized a minimal focus on PvE and a high degree of role-playing improvisation. Every action within the world had an impact on the environment. CCP aimed to implement a permanent death mechanic, where killing a character would affect the political landscape of the city. After eight years of development and a merger with White Wolf Publishing, the project was frozen. The reason was insufficient monetization of the idea. Players were waiting for combat mechanics, but the development was stuck on the design of social interaction. Abandoned MMO games fell due to technical reasons, and conceptual errors also ruined projects.

Project Copernicus: The Unexplored Universe by 38 Studios

38 Studios, with a team of industry veterans, was developing Project Copernicus as an MMO based on the Kingdoms of Amalur universe. The title was launched with the support of the state of Rhode Island. The graphics aimed for a high level of detail, stylistically similar to World of Warcraft. The lore was created by R.A. Salvatore, the author of bestselling fantasy novels. The game featured a flexible class system, quests, and unique faction development mechanics.

The game showcased its first trailer two months before the studio’s closure. The reason was a funding gap. The debt to the government exceeded 75 million USD. Development stopped without a beta testing phase. Project Copernicus became one of the most ambitious crowdfunding failures in history.

Chronicles of Elyria: Promises vs. Reality

Soulbound Studios raised over 8 million USD on Kickstarter, promising a next-generation MMO. The project featured original mechanics, such as character aging, death with real consequences, generational changes, and dynamic state and territory formation. Players were responsible for managing physical conditions, resources, climate, and demographics. The game integrated PvE and PvP into a unified territory management framework.

The community anticipated the first alpha build in 2019, but the studio only released a technical demo. Complaints about a lack of transparency, delays, and a shift in product focus led to the project’s collapse. In 2020, the founder of Soulbound announced the discontinuation of development, followed by a partial resumption using their own funds. This is one of the abandoned MMO games that has sparked significant controversy and legal challenges from users.

Reasons for canceling MMO projects

Abandoned MMO games didn’t disappear due to a single error. More often, it was a combination of issues: management, technology, market, and design. Key reasons include:

1. Excessive ambitions and a lack of a technological base.

2. Insufficient funding and unstable business models.

3. Blurred concepts and a change in the target audience.

4. Problems with server scalability.

5. Conflicts within teams and changes in leadership.

6. Overheated player expectations formed before the prototype was released.

7. Failure to adapt to trends such as free-to-play, mobile, and cross-platform.

Lessons from Failures: What Abandoned MMO Games Reveal

Every canceled project reveals the vulnerabilities of the gaming industry. Analyzing such cases allows us to build a more sustainable strategy for future developments. The examples of Titan and EverQuest Next demonstrate that even experienced teams can make mistakes in terms of scale and implementation. Creating an online world requires a synergy between technology, game design, marketing, and an engaged community.

World of Darkness has demonstrated the danger of an imbalance between gameplay expectations and the philosophy of the project. The players wanted action, the developers were building a role-playing theater. The mismatch of goals destroyed the architecture of interaction. Chronicles of Elyria is a textbook example of unfulfilled promises. The game tried to combine dozens of innovations, forgetting about infrastructure and hypothesis testing in the early stages.

Projects like Project Copernicus show how detrimental external investment conflicts can be. Even with big names and a strong lore, a financial failure can shut down an ambitious project without the right to try again.

Forecast: How Will MMOs Change in 2025?

The online market in 2025 has strict requirements for the development of MMO projects. Users expect cross-platform support, fast updates, social engagement, and high technical stability. Developers are striving for modular architecture to reduce the risk of component failure. Investments are increasingly made in a milestone-based format, rather than as a single infusion.

The gaming community has changed: there’s increased sensitivity to unfulfilled expectations, distrust in long development cycles, and negativity towards crowdfunding failures. Repeating the Elyria story in the current reality would cause irreversible damage to the studio’s reputation.

However, the interest in the genre remains high. New technologies, such as UE5, cloud rendering, and distributed servers, offer opportunities that Titan could only dream of. However, the primary challenge remains the same: creating a balanced product where mechanics, economics, and social core work in sync.

2025 promises to be a dream year for all RPG fans. This year, fans will see several outstanding releases, each of which brings something unique to the genre. The most anticipated RPGs will win the hearts of gamers not only with their plot and gameplay, but also with rich worlds, deep characters and original mechanics.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: Medieval Reality Returns

Warhorse Studios once again sends players to the Middle Ages, where every stone and every village seems to come to life on the screen. The game world breathes with details: dense forests, noisy markets, castles with dozens of rooms – all this is recreated with precision down to the smallest details, right down to the cracks in the walls and characteristic patterns on the tiles. Blacksmiths work at the forges, and in the markets, merchants shout about their goods. Immersion in the life of those times is achieved thanks to realistic physics and historical verisimilitude.

Gameplay and combat mechanics

The gameplay of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is famous for its attention to historical accuracy and dynamic combat scenes. Realistic physics of blows, the need to take into account the weight of the weapon and the enemy’s defense – all this turns the battle into a real fight for life. For example, a long sword differs from an axe not only in speed, but also in maneuverability. Each action of the player changes the surrounding world: you can become a defender of the village, or turn into a robber – and this will affect the attitude of the locals. Every choice and every battle affects the world and its development.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Japanese history in a new light

One of the most anticipated RPGs takes players to the era of the samurai, during the internecine wars of Japan. The plot of Assassin’s Creed Shadows is replete with cultural details: there are rituals of the tea ceremony, the philosophy of Buddhism, as well as political intrigues of daimyo thirsty for power. In one of the missions, the user will witness the famous siege of Odawara Castle, where he will have to conduct covert surveillance and intervene in events, changing the course of history with his actions.

Avowed: a fantasy world and a new word in RPG

In Avowed from Obsidian Entertainment, fantasy knows no bounds. Magic glowing mushrooms illuminate underground caves, ancient ruins keep the secrets of vanished civilizations. Forests are inhabited not only by wild animals, but also by ancient ents, who can be both allies and enemies. Every corner is filled with magic, and every object can hide secrets.

New items and unique features

Among the new features of the expected games in the RPG genre, it is worth noting the system of dynamic events of this project, when the world reacts to the player’s actions. For example, by destroying a bridge, you can make part of the map inaccessible, but open hidden caves. Dragons can suddenly attack villages, changing their fate, and the player’s decisions regarding helping residents affect available quests and resources. This adds depth and surprise to each game session.

Monster Hunter Wilds: a new look at hunting

Capcom offers to explore amazing dimensions, where each ecosystem is unique. “Misty Valley” is a forest immersed in eternal fog, where poisonous monsters live, and players have to rely on special beacons to avoid getting lost. The desert “Forgotten Grove” is full of creatures hiding under the sand, and they can only be lured out with special baits. Biomes are diverse and each requires a unique approach.

Fable: a fairy tale that comes to life

Playground Games returns users to fairy-tale worlds, where magic lives in every corner. Enchanted forests, magical villages, ancient mills – all this creates a unique atmosphere. Depending on the player’s actions, the environment can become bright and kind, or plunge into darkness and despair, which is reflected in the locations and characters.

Gameplay and interaction

Fable’s gameplay includes many aspects of interaction with the environment. Users can choose the path of a hero or a villain, influence the fate of NPCs, get married, have children, and become landowners. Magical artifacts hidden in the most unexpected places give players special abilities. An enchanted lute, for example, allows you to persuade a crowd through musical performances.

Chernobylite 2: Excursion to the Exclusion Zone

The Farm 51 expands the exclusion zone, adding new, previously unknown locations. Another new RPG, one of the most anticipated, Chernobylite 2 is a mixture of real places of the Chernobyl zone and fictional, mystical spaces. Closed laboratories, secret facilities, ghost villages – all this is filled with dangers and anomalies that react to the player’s actions. The participant must be prepared for unexpected manifestations of radiation and mysterious creatures that live in these places.

Borderlands 4: Planet of Chaos

Gearbox Software invites you to a new, even crazier planet. Borderlands 4 is a combination of chaos, technology and continuous battles. The planet is a mixture of abandoned laboratories, gangster enclaves and futuristic cities, each of which keeps its own secrets and dangers. Gjkmpjdfntkb can explore deserts, explore old abandoned factories and search for artifacts in hidden bases.

Characters and loot

Borderlands 4 characters are as charismatic and funny as ever. The new Vault Hunter is a hacker named Jax, who hacks into enemy systems and controls drones. The loot system has become even more diverse: weapons, armor modules, rare artifacts – all this can be customized to suit your individual playstyle. Jax also has the ability to change the behavior of drones, turning them from scouts into combat machines.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2: the world of vampires returns

The Chinese Room creates a dark and intriguing world of one of the anticipated RPGs, immersing players in a night city full of secrets and dangers. In Bloodlines 2, participants explore atmospheric streets, gothic buildings and secret dungeons, each corner of which hides something unusual and sinister. Interacting with the city requires caution, as any careless mistake can lead to the player’s vampire nature being revealed.

Gameplay and New Features

Bloodlines 2’s gameplay focuses on social interaction and hunting. Users must maintain a masquerade by hiding their vampire nature, but at the same time manipulate others using hypnosis and charm abilities. Vampire powers include the ability to teleport short distances and turn into a shadow to avoid detection. Mistakes in choosing a victim can lead to the protagonist being hunted by other vampires.

WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers – Legend of the Ming Dynasty

Leenzee Games has created an amazing project, immersing users in the era of the decline of the Ming Dynasty. The world is filled with mythical creatures, ancient temples and huge palaces. Historical aspects are combined with mythology, creating an atmosphere where the past and fantasy are intertwined. Here you will meet spirits, ancient gods and explore places that hide magical secrets and mysterious artifacts.

The most anticipated RPGs: conclusion

2025 promises to please RPG fans with variety and depth. Each game on the list brings something unique to the genre: from historical details and authentic battles to incredible fantasy worlds and tactical battles. The anticipated RPGs are captivating both with their plot and the ability to influence the world and its inhabitants.

Regardless of whether you prefer battles in medieval Europe, secret murders in Japan, monster hunting or intrigue among vampires, 2025 is ready to offer an adventure to your liking.