As for newer titles? Not much luck there. Other IPs such as Elder Scrolls Online, Wildstar and Star Wars have tried and failed. A combination of launch issues, lackluster gameplay and other player feedback is no doubt the cause, but the bigger question remains. Can newly launched MMORPGs justify a subscription model? Here are a couple of discussion points.

Can It Deliver Timely And Quality Content?

When players pay a monthly fee in 2021, the consumer privilege takes over. That means players expect better customer service, better maintenance and better content that comes at a steady pace. Free to play MMORPGs always struggle to juggle content. It can be a mixed bag, and major expansions take a long time to make due to the lack of funds off the bat. Additionally, players have to deal with shady monetization practices in the form of Pay To Win lootboxes and more that generally, they have no problems avoiding with a subscription fee.

If newer MMORPG games use a subscription model, the studio have to absolutely ensure that they cover all bases. Content and the quality of said content will be incredibly vital to its success. Game play will also have to be stellar, or players will just move on to the next or return to whatever game they came from. The first month after launch is always the best barometer to gauge how successful your launch is. Adding new content ASAP is a good strategy, and to do that quickly, you need that funding injection that can only come from subscribers who pay that monthly fee.

Does It Have An X-Factor?

Content aside, the other factor is the X Factor. What’s so special about your MMO that you think it deserves a monthly sub? WoW can justify this by being a sort of pioneer of the Theme Park in an age where competitors were way behind. They perfected the quest-hub crawl, narrative driven dungeons and more. Final Fantasy can claim that “if you want an MMO, you gotta pay or else you won’t get to experience a FF MMORPG anywhere else”. The story-telling content is also incredibly authentic to what you find in single player Final Fantasy games. Both are justified. Therefore anything newer will have to have a surreal amount of hype and wanting.

The middle ground is of course, going with the buy to play model that has worked for several games like Elder Scrolls Online, Guild Wars 2 and Black Desert Online. While a subscription fee is optional (ESO, BDO), these games generally do decent in terms of player numbers and content releases.

Final Thoughts

In short, there’s nothing wrong about launching an MMORPG with a subscription model, under one caveat. You have to absolutely earn it in your first month as an MMORPG. Can you deliver what you promise, and pump out quality content quickly to retain your playerbase? If games think they can, then there should be no reason why it can’t join the likes of World of Warcraft in the choice of payment model it of

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DLC Timelines

ESO will of course continue its 4 major content drops this year and the theme is Oblivion, which we’ve known since last year’s Game Awards reveal. But today, we now know that the chapter, which is ESO’s biggest content of the year, is called Blackwood and we’ll talk more about that later on. In quarter one of 2021, we’ll see the beginning of the Oblivion story through the first DLC titled Flames of Ambition, a dungeon DLC. In quarter 2 we will get the Blackwood Chapter prologue, before finally exploring the Chapter itself. In quarter 3 will be another dungeon DLC. And the last quarter of the year is traditionally reserved for a zone DLC with an accompanying, and that hasn’t changed.

Blackwood Chapter Overview

Let’s get to the crucial details about the Blackwood Chapter. Scheduled to launch in June 2021 on all platforms ESO is on, Blackwood will contain approximately 30 hours of new gameplay content. Expect more story quests, new public dungeons, delves, a new 12 player Trial, and there’s also a new Dark Anchor type of content related to Oblivion portals that you’ll see on the landscape while you’re out adventuring. For new players, there’s good news too. The game will be launching a new tutorial experience in conjunction with the Blackwood Chapter launch, which allows players more freedom in choosing their destiny for journeys to come. That means you’ll be able to begin a story of your choosing immediately without being locked into anything, plus it’s a whole new story beginning that’s related to Oblivion so that pretty cool.

NPC Companions

Now unfortunately for those of you wanting to hear about a new ESO class or skill line, there wasn’t anything announced, but we did get something that’s equally as exciting for many, and that’s a new gameplay system, NPC Companions. Starting in the Blackwood Chapter, players can begin recruiting companions to join you in PvE, and you can level them up, gear them, and customize their skills to offer you support with healing, tanking or damage when you’re out there questing. According to ZOS companions are allowed in most places where you can summon them at will, except for PvP of course. Expect to hear more about this system which will be a game changer for many, in the months to come. Finally for the Blackwood Chapter, pre-orders are live right now, and getting it will grant you a new mount type, the Welwa, and players who do so before March 2021 will also receive a new pet.

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RIFT

RIFT is adrift somewhere out at sea, in terms of new content. Ever since Trion was bought over by gamigo, the once much talked about competitor to World of Warcraft has been on AFK mode. The existing player base hasn’t seen any form of new content or expansions beside Battle Passes in a very long time. A new content update introducing a new class, zone, storyline or even dungeon would be almost too much excitement to handle, if it were to come this year. Heck even an update to its excellent housing system would do!  RIFT is a fun MMORPG with a decent combat system that rewards players who dabble in class builds, so it’s a pity that all we’ve got so far is to replay the content over and over.

Secret World Legends

Can’t have a discussion about the best MMORPG setting and narrative without including Funcom’s Secret World Legends, formerly The Secret World. Like RIFT above, the game has been in maintenance mode since early 2019, with absolutely no new heavy content coming out since the game’s last expansion, South Africa. The problem is, that expansion was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of laying the story ground-work of what’s next for the game, and where players we’re headed for the next adventure (Congo), but at this rate, most players have given up hope that we’d even get there. Yes, Secret World Legends has many problems across the board that drove a core player base away from the game’s 2017 relaunch, but it’s damn shame if Funcom’s new Tencent buddies won’t help to financially deliver a proper story closure for the game’s players at the very least. Will 2021 be the year the game takes us to Congo, or shut down for good?

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Now unlike the rest of the list, BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG has been doing great over the past year, following up its Onslaught expansion release with content updates like Echoes of Vengeance, tweaking its Free to Play model to be more generous, and even catering toward Mandalorian fans with new gear and stuff. It’s a good time to be a SWTOR player. In 2021 however, it would be great to drop another expansion to capitalize on the new players the game has gotten since 2018 (Onslaught, Steam launch) and the best way to do that is to release another fantastically written expansion adventure. Oh and more group content like dungeons and raids wouldn’t hurt! This is the way.

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