The Biggest MMORPGs to Have on Your Radar

IGN has rounded up some of the most anticipated MMORPGs scheduled for release in the relatively near future in order to put together a relatively brief new feature that profiles each and explains why they "should be on our radar". World of Darkness, The Elder Scrolls Online, EverQuest Next, and some lesser known titles are in the mix:
CCP Games (the same folks behind the decidedly unrelated EVE Online) still plans to release their vampire-themed MMORPG, even if it the launch still lies years ahead in the future. It could still be fun, even if the world's no longer interested in keeping up with the Cullens. The design places a heavy emphasis on fluid action movements in the style of a vampire, and much of the open-ended gameplay will focus on the struggle for control of territory. (EVE, anyone?)You can even play as an average-Joe human if you want to, or fight your way to the entire other end and mark players for permadeath once you become "Prince of the City." The one bummer? It's always night. Looks like those vamps in Skyrim's Dawnguard expansion finally won out, after all.

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ZeniMax media is planning to remold one of the world's greatest RPG franchises into an MMORPG. What could go wrong? To be sure, there's plenty to look forward to if the franchise's winning formula for single-player games will translate well into an MMO. The Elder Scrolls franchise might not be known for the best combat, but there's something satisfying about whipping out your bow in first-person view and scoring a perfect shot based on your skill alone. ESO delivers that feeling, along with an open-ended leveling system that lets you design your character as you wish. Complement that with dynamic events and the series' fascinating lore, and ZeniMax may have themselves a winner.

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Despite their size, MMORPGs tend to take place in static worlds. Dynamic events may bring a bit of liveliness to an otherwise staid questing area and world PvP might trigger whole battles on empty fields, but on the whole such activities barely affect a blade of grass in the world around them. EverQuest Next wants to change all that. Since the entire world is cobbled together out of voxels (and more beautiful ones than we ever saw in Minecraft), you can dig straight into the ground below you and find entirely new zones waiting underneath or destroy entire buildings if you so desire. NPCs allegedly have motivations for their behavior and don't stick to predetermined paths, and each server has a life of its own that could allow for vastly different experiences between servers. The world "innovative" gets tossed a lot these days, but EverQuest Next looks like it could be one of the few MMOs to live up to it.