Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Anticipated for 2015 and Beyond
Massively's end-of-the-year awards continue today with our award for the Most Anticipated MMO for 2015 and Beyond. Pretty much every MMO that isn't out yet or is planning a major content update in 2015 was eligible for this award. All of our writers were invited to cast a vote, but not all of them chose to do so for this category. Don't forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end.
The Massively staff pick for Most Anticipated MMO for 2015 and Beyond is...
@ceruleangrey: I'm really looking forward to Landmark. I'd be looking forward to EQ Next even more, but there's not as much info out about it currently. Mostly it just excites me to see developers putting the tools for building fun in the hands of the players.
@nbrianna/blog: I think this award is a shoo-in for the EverQuest Next/Landmark amalgam, just as it was last year. It's really the only big fantasy MMORPG on the horizon, the only one publicly known to be en route from any of the major extant AAA MMO studios, and it appears to be a serious attempt to court both sandbox and themepark players in one title, which makes me happy. Honorable mentions go to The Repopulation and Camelot Unchained and Shroud of the Avatar too!
@Eliot_Lefebvre/blog: To my great surprise, Skyforge. I keep looking at this title and expecting to write it off as whatever, but every preview thus far has made me think it might actually be cool. Which is kind of obnoxious, since I'm pretty sure I'm setting myself up for disappointment.
@jefreahard: I guess The Repopulation? I like that it's channeling SWG, but it's got a cash shop, and I'm just done with that in sandboxes; I don't care how cosmetic-only it claims to be. Star Citizen? Not coming any time soon, by the look of things. Black Desert seems to have much of the same gameplay that drew me to ArcheAge, and it's great that the company publishing it in Korea will be publishing it here. But... feature-rich Korean sandbox with a cash shop? Sorry, I know how that movie ends. Oh wait, maybe Landmark/EQN? Oh, right, free-to-play and a storefront filled with in-game items for a sandbox. Pass. I guess that's a lot of words to say that I'm basically not looking forward to anything in terms of MMOs.
@Sypster/blog: EverQuest Next. I hope that MJ is right when she says that she expects EQN to follow hot on the heels of Landmark because this is the MMO that I want right now. The visuals and animations (of which we've seen) are incredibly appealing, the emergent AI could be the next big design feature for MMOs, and the mix-and-match collectable classes hits my yahoo button so hard. Plus, SOE seems to have a continued passion and love for making big idea MMOs, and we need more of those in this day and age.
@MikedotFoster/blog: Contrary to my normal gaming proclivities (MOBAs and PvP and whatnot), I'd give this one to Landmark/EverQuest Next. I think I may have said this last year, but these two entangled games seem like the only product/s poised to break new ground in the genre. I loved what I saw of Landmark's beta and am excited to see where SOE goes next.
@MJ_Guthrie/blog: EverQuest Next and Landmark are still the most anticipated titles! These games are poised to bring a level of innovation to the genre (as opposed to just seeing the same old, same old repackaged year after year) that will reinvigorate gaming.
Let's have your vote! %Poll-90399%
Our awards so far...
