Honest Talk: The State of the MMO Genre 🚢

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2025 has been one of the roughest years the MMO genre has ever seen. Western MMORPG development is collapsing, studios are shutting down, and multiple highly anticipated MMOs have been cancelled within months of each other. In today’s video, we take an honest look at the state of the MMO genre, why it feels like everything is falling apart, and whether there’s any real hope left for Western MMOs.
We’ll break down the recent cancellations New World’s collapse, Amazon Game Studios shutting down, the Lord of the Rings MMO being cancelled, Project Ghost losing funding, Zenimax’s Project Blackbird being scrapped, and the downfall of the new Warhammer MMO and explore why Western MMO development has become almost financially impossible.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. There is hope, including Guild Wars 3, the Riot MMO, Hytale’s revival, Ashes of Creation’s Early Access announcement, and the rise of new monetisation models that could finally make non-P2W MMOs profitable again.

📌 Topics Covered in This Video
- The collapse of Western MMO development
- Why 2025 has been brutal for the MMO genre
- New World shutdown & AGS closing
- LOTR MMO cancellation
- Project Ghost losing funding
- Zenimax’s MMO cancellation
- Warhammer MMO shutdown
- Why Asia can afford to make MMOs — and the West can’t
- MMO development costs (West vs Asia)
- The rise of Chinese non-P2W monetisation models
- Where Winds Meet player numbers & success
- Sword of Justice Online
- World of Jade Dynasty’s insane cosmetic spending
- Why cosmetics Over P2W for long-term MMO health
- China & Korea cracking down on pay-to-win
- How AI could lower MMO development costs
- Upcoming Western MMOs with a chance: Guild Wars 3, Riot MMO, Hytale, Ashes of Creation
- What needs to happen for an MMO renaissance
- The future of the genre realistic optimism, not copium

We NEED To Be Honest About The MMO Genre TIMESTAMPS
0:00 It's NOT Looking Good For MMOs
2:46 What's Going On With Western MMOs?
7:20 Is There Hope For MMOs?
9:33 What Would It Take For A Comeback?

►Other MMO videos you’ll like:
▶️ Indie MMO Devs In 2025 Are INSANE - https://youtu.be/YXpIoZbN5Iw
▶️ Every Upcoming MMORPG 2025 - https://youtu.be/r4TAan3FIdM

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Tags
MMO, MMORPG, MMO Genre, MMORPG Genre, 2025 MMO, MMO 2025, 2025 MMORPG, MMORPG 2025, 2026 MMO, MMO 2026, Upcoming MMOs, Future Of MMOs, New World, Cancelled MMO, RIOT MMO, Zenimax MMO, Warhammer MMO, LOTR MMO, Amazon Game Studios, Hytale, Project Ghost, Ashes Of Creation, Archeage Chronicles, Chinese MMO, Where Winds Meet, Black Desert Online, BDO, Lost Ark, Guild Wars 3, Indie MMO, Kickstarter MMO, AION 2, AION2, Chono Odyssey, New World MMO, MMO Shut Down, Everquest Next, Soulframe, Sword Of Justice Global, Pay To Win, P2W, P2W MMOs, Korean MMO, Chinese MMO, Western MMO, MMORPG Development, TheLazyPeon, Pax Dei, Albion Online, OSRS, Old School Runescape, Bitcraft Online, ESO, Elder Scrolls Online, Drakantos, MMO First Impressions, MMO Review, MMO Gameplay, MMO Trailer, MMORPG Genre, MMOs In 2025, MMOs In 2026, TheLazyPeon Video Essay.

#mmorpg #mmo #gamingnews

We NEED To Be Honest About The MMO Genre
https://youtu.be/3bWVCb60VfM