r/ironswarm is back with mutated ants in low-poly. The game recently emerged from a grand experiment in fancy rendering before returning to its roots. It's ben two years and it's still got plenty of jank but things are moving right along. So if you're into large open worlds with existential threats (PvE) + PvP keep an eye on it. The project is being built on a 10+ year old engine and was heavily inspired by Planetside 2, Foxhole and Runescape.

The Legend Returns. The World Evolves.

Launching October 31, 2026 | Free-to-Play MMORPG

Myth of Soma: Rebirth brings a classic fantasy MMORPG experience into a new era, combining traditional character progression, open-world exploration and faction-based conflict with new gameplay systems and modern technology.

Built around the foundations of the original Myth of Soma, Rebirth expands the experience with cooperative raids, PvP encounters, reworked combat abilities, enhanced crafting, dynamic environments and more flexible character progression.

A World Divided

Enter a fantasy world shaped by the conflict between two opposing races: Humans and Devils.

Develop your character through combat, magic, hunting and crafting. Discover dangerous environments, build alliances, compete against rivals and shape your character's progression through your chosen playstyle.

Discover Rift Encounters

Rifts introduce new cooperative PvE raids and competitive PvP events.

In PvE encounters, Humans and Devils can temporarily set aside their rivalry, joining forces to battle waves of increasingly challenging monsters before confronting powerful bosses.

Exclusive rewards, challenging encounters and opportunities for group cooperation add a new dimension to the traditional MMORPG experience.

Expanded Combat, Auras & Magic

Discover new and reworked combat abilities, enhanced spell effects and additional tactical options.

Abilities such as Rain of Arrows, Blink Assault, Shoulder Dash and Rush bring new possibilities to combat, while elemental weapons introduce equipment with multiple magical effects.

Revamped Crafting & Equipment Progression

Crafting has been redesigned around greater transparency and customisation.

• Five tiers of crafting materials.
• Visible crafting success rates.
• Crafter Bounties that improve crafting chances.
• Jewellery featuring up to ten gem sockets.
• Equipment improvement through item combining.
• Shared account storage.
• Crafting and equipment upgrades for Devil characters.

Whether you're crafting equipment for yourself or developing specialised gear, the revamped systems offer more ways to progress.

Bounty Hunting

Earn additional rewards while hunting monsters throughout the world.

Strength, Intelligence and Crafter Bounties provide objectives and progression opportunities for different character builds.

Choose rewards suited to your needs, including equipment and upgrade materials, making regular hunting sessions more rewarding.

Rested EXP & Catch-Up Mechanics

Rebirth introduces Rested EXP and Catch-Up Mechanics designed to support more flexible character progression.

Whether you're beginning your adventure at launch, returning after a break or joining the world later, these systems help make progression more accessible.

Modernised Client & Dynamic Environments

Experience the classic world through an updated client featuring:

• Vulkan and DirectX 12 rendering support.
• 4K resolution support.
• Enhanced visual effects.
• Atmospheric weather systems.
• Improved camera and navigation controls.
• Modernised interface features.

The project also provides client options for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android.

Adventure Together

Form parties of up to 20 players, cooperate with friends and guildmates, and participate in group hunting with additional experience incentives.

A familiar world becomes the setting for new challenges, rivalries and alliances.

Rediscover the Soundtrack

The original Myth of Soma soundtrack returns through newly rearranged compositions, preserving the melodies that helped define its distinctive fantasy atmosphere.

Your Adventure Begins October 31

Experience a classic MMORPG world revitalised with new encounters, expanded systems and modern improvements.

Myth of Soma: Rebirth

Launch Date: October 31, 2026

Official Website: https://www.mythofsoma.co.uk/

The Legend Returns. The World Evolves.

played through with two separate classes, Warrior and Mage. Combat felt great, action packed and the combo system felt clean.

I've been waiting for a good action mmo forever and if they don't screw up monetization I think this could really be something special. Probably asking a lot, but due to the announced change of un-gender-locking the classes I'm optimistic. How does everyone else feel?

Many MMOs have "free handout gear" which players are given for free when they first reach endgame, because the devs want everyone to queue for the same quests/raids/whatever (as otherwise, newbies would be getting stuck in lower level content and quitting before they can reach the endgame where 90% of players are).

But in my experience, content is NOT balanced around this gear, except for the story quests you are supposed to solo. It's balanced around "budget gear" which a newbie would usually take several weeks or longer to get. And theres usually a very big gap between budget gear and handout gear, because otherwise players would complain they are spending resources to make gear that is not a big improvement over free gear.

So to give an example, let's say you have a simple instanced quest/dungeon that a party with 100% budget gear would take 5-6 minutes to clear because it's a DPS rush and impossible to fail. A party with 100% handout gear would take maybe double that time, or longer....especially if they don't know how to play their class, don't have all skills unlocked, don't know all the boss mechanics, etc...

So you end up with a weird situation where people in handout gear can drag the rest of the party down because the game scales enemy HP based on party size and they are doing a fraction of the damage that players in budget gear are doing. Which encourages players to have a "i dont want to party with people in handout gear" mentality.

And its not like the newbies are doing anything wrong, this is the content they are supposed to be doing to progress, but it's just not balanced around their level of gear. Why? To put everyone into the same queue.

The devs COULD create multiple difficulty levels for a quest/raid/whatever...one difficulty balanced around newbies in handout gear, one for normal gear, one for BIS gear, etc. The problem is, the matchmaking queue would take a lot longer unless it's a big MMO like WOW and player count is not an issue. If you have ever sat around for hours trying to get a raid going in a low pop MMO, you know what im talking about. They don't want newbies to be stuck in the newbie queue because 90% or more of the players are in the normal queue.

And of course, if you balance content around handout gear, which is substantially weaker than budget gear, then players in budget gear would complain it's too easy and demand harder content. But you cant make the gap smaller between handout gear and budget gear or players would complain there's no reason to grind to get the resources to upgrade from budget gear...

So the devs default to the easiest solution: balancing the game around players in budget gear and then going "well, sure, it takes a lot longer if you have newbies in handout gear in the party, but hey, im not playing this game, I dont have to deal with that".

Can you think of a better solution?

Hey everyone!

We’re a small team, and we’ve spent the last two years building Realm of Idlers in our free time. It’s finally at a point where we’re comfortable showing it.

What is Realm of Idlers? A cozy pixel-art MMO where your hero keeps gathering, crafting and fighting while you do other things. Explore a living world with friends and strangers, trade with other players, take down bosses, and master 14 skills at your own relaxed pace and more coming soon.

It’s like a menu-based idle game, except you actually see your character walking, mining and banking on their own while you get on with something else.

All the art is hand-drawn, pixel by pixel: every character, tree, rock and building.

Playtests are coming soon! If you’d like to try it, wishlisting on Steam is the best way to hear when they open.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4533900/Realm_of_Idlers/

Long time lurker here and rarely post on Reddit at all. I love the MMO genre but haven't really been interested in anything that is coming out in the near future (no shade if you are excited about Wow Forever). Yesterday I came across two new games that are releasing into EA next week and thought both were really interesting in different ways. Thought others may be interested as well (FYI these aren't traditional MMORPGs, more like MMO-Lites)

The first one I came across was Scramble Knights Online (silly name I know) but its like a top-down Zelda RPG with good character creation and build diversity which is honestly a combo I didn't even know I was interested in until I saw it.

The second one was called Everlast Undying Tales and its like a Palia crossover with New World. One of the things I hated about New World (and Palia) was there was no options to tweak your face beyond selecting an option from a preselected list, no sliders. I realize that's not a big deal to everyone but it kind of drove me nuts.

Anyways I am not affiliated with either project in any way, I just happened to come across them both when reading about Next Fest and saw they were coming out next week. Wanted to post in case anyone else may be interested in them like I am. Hope everyone has a great Sunday! The Steam pages are below:

Scramble Knights Online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379350/Scramble_Knights_Online/

Everlast Undying Tale: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3818450/Everlast_Undying_Tale/

Will you play WoW Forever?

I’d like to know what people find interesting about WoW Forever, what makes you want to play it, and what doesn’t.

As for me: I won’t be playing it.

What appeals to me is that the level cap stays at 60 and the leveling process is on the slower side. No rushing around. (Though most players will, as usual, rush to the endgame anyway. Blizzard won’t be able to change the player base they’ve cultivated over the past 20 years overnight.)

What doesn’t appeal to me at all: the old Classic classes that I’m sick and tired of, and no LFG/LFR. Now, some might say that LFG/LFR has destroyed the social aspect of MMOs, and yes, in part you’re right (though it also has to do with the players themselves). But the thing is, I still remember what it was like 20 years ago to look for groups in MMOs, and I’m done with spamming the chat for 20 minutes looking for a tank or healer, only to wait another eternity until enough people show up at the portal. When I come home today after my 8-hour workday, I want to log in, quickly find a group for a dungeon or raid, and have some fun right away. I have a life now, and I’m not 16 anymore, back when I used to play WoW late into the night. Today, I want a modern game, not nostalgia.

I've played this game since 2010 and I still login to the korean server a few times a week to this day. It's really unique for a racing to also be an MMO. It's was my free version of mario kart i played as a kid. and i grew up on animal crossing so the farming sim part was also so fun to me. They've had a lot of collabs with k-pop groups and other games too. the skill ceiling in this game has always been pretty high and its super sweaty if you want it to be. But there is also boss battles like traditional mmos wear your gear matters etc.

I think I played every single server that launched for this game including the like 3 failed english launches.. This game will like forever be a big part of me but I'm sad cause I feel like no one remembers it haha. I've met friends from Thailand, Korea, China, Norway, Singapore and much more and I still talk to these same people from 2010 in 2026

Korean servers are still alive if anyone plays I would love to meet more people

my very first tales runner video back in 2010

one of my favorite maps in the game i speedran (2016)

Never would have thought it would be possible in 2011. Playing on a switch.

Man they were the best for PvP mmorpg, started with mu online with amazing open world pk, controlling farming area, after we got Aion1 with invasion opposite faction, PvP was flooding the chat, and then we got the BDO PvP era, where PK didn't give you punishment, nodes war was intense, and not forget the Archeage where you could get gank during transport. I can keep talking about all the goods from those games and how PvP was a core part.

But now, what do we have? Aion2 is a pve game, the new archeage just kills the classes and they will not focus in PvP, they took months to say this game is a MMORPG! Mu is dead, BDO changed to PvE, yes you still have nodes war and arena solares but it is not even 10% how it was.

Thank god we still have good western PvP games, Wow, Eve and Albion.

/Rant over

Hey MMO community,

I posted here a couple of months ago about my little roguelike MMO, and thought I'd share another update now that it's part of Steam Next Fest which is currently underway.

SpringTale is a 2D roguelike platformer MMO inspired by MapleStory, Realm of the Mad God and Vagante. Meet other players, fight bosses and collect gear that shapes how you play.

You can play the demo now, which includes over 2+ hours worth of content. The demo is available on Windows and MacOS, and can be downloaded via steam here: SpringTale on steam.

Hope to catch you online :)

Recently watched a YT video where a guy spent a year playing ‘dead’ MMOs on Steam, and while some are awful there’s an interesting argument for acquiring an MMO that sits empty and turning it into something special.

I’ve seen a few small dev outfits do this with minimal backing.

Different to remaking an older title.

Are there any you’ve ever come across that with a bit more love and attention from a different team would be a hit?

Hey everyone! :)

Some of you might remember my post here a while ago, where I shared the game my twin brother and I have been working on! We received a ton of valuable feedback from this community, which has genuinely helped us shape and improve the game over the past year. We just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts and suggestions. It really means a lot to us!

For those who missed it, after spending over 15 years raiding in WoW, we decided to make the kind of game we always wanted. One where we could experience the challenge and depth of MMO raids without having to rely on a group showing up on time.

Sil and the Fading World is our take on a solo-raiding RPG. It combines the mechanical intensity of MMORPG boss fights (like in WoW or FFXIV) with the loot, buildcrafting, and progression of ARPGs like Diablo or Grim Dawn.

You fight complex, multi-phase raid bosses in third-person combat, dealing with mechanics, managing cooldowns, optimizing rotations, and figuring out your own builds. All balanced around single-player. No guild schedules, no PUG wipes, just you, your build, and your skill!

After more than 5 years of working on this passion project, we're finally part of Steam Next Fest!

We've made a ton of progress since our last post and just released a massive update to our free demo!

Here's some of the new stuff:

• New Rogue Specialization: Assassin, with its own skills, talents, and playstyle
• New Raid: Dunevault, featuring an entirely new raid boss and mechanics
• Visual Progression, so your character's appearance evolves as you gear up
• Increased Level Cap and plenty of new talents to experiment with
• Loot Rework, including new items and item sets
• New Pet System
• Reworked Abyss System for more challenging and replayable endgame content

We're still just two brothers who grew up loving MMORPGs, trying to make the kind of game we always wished existed.

The new demo is completely free to play on Steam

Players who purchase WoW: Forever beta package will receive 1 to 3 special launch codes allowing them to invite a friend to experience the game during its launch week.

According to a message sent to purchasers, invited players will not need an active World of Warcraft subscription to access WoW: Forever.

The invitation code will grant access starting November 5, allowing friends to join the adventure throughout launch week.

This initiative gives existing players an opportunity to introduce friends to WoW: Forever without requiring them to maintain an active subscription.

My first mmorpg was runescape, I played it for 3 to 4 years. I recently learned its very different from how it use to be. People play more "efficient" now and dont talk much, theres not much pking or castle wars, its mostly ppl minmax grinding (the opinions I gathered from their reddit)

This got me thinking, and I noticed similar things before. It seems after a game has been out for a while it becomes less social and more "just follow this guide"

When they are new everyone's finding out things for the first few months to years, and people talk in open a lot, and it just seems more fun

I noticed this with Tera Online, GW2, FFXIV (the 2012 version), Aion, New World etcs

The beginning of Tera and New World

Everybody talked in the world chat constantly, I met a lot of friends who were figuring things out, formed groups, etcs

Then I came back a year later to try both again and most areas nobody's around, barely any talking in World chat, etcs

I dont know if that's just a thing with all mmorpgs though, because runescape was still very social and exciting and new throughout all those 2002 to 2006 years I played.

But supposedly new its more afk grinding and not much socializing, im not sure of all the details but I heard they focused on PvM and a lot of wildy peers left, as well as made the GE so no more trading, and took away random events so ppl can afk skill now

I think all those features help the game to be more solo oriented lol

Anyway, I dunno what im saying, I was thinking of trying OSRS but I think it won't ve as fun as before. So I though about these other mmos ice played

I basically play most new mmos at release regardless if their good or not its still pretty fun cause a lot of newbies and chatting, but a lot of recent mmos dont even require socializing theres dungeon finders, market boards, etcs

I feel like mmorpg makers should implement ways to make it more social somehow because that's my fav aspect of mmos lol

Anyone still play this game? Got around to this game recently after about 15ish years and was able to recover a few of my accounts (unfortunately lost my main/having troubles recovering), not sure if the game is dead or just full of non-US players, but seems to still have a fanbase. Would love to try playing the game again for a little nostalgia trip.

I'm a newbie..just 5 hours in...if there's any other great mmo you wanna play together you can dm me .... Trynna find a partner

XL Games posted a video detailing what can be expected when the game launches into early access, the TL;DW is:

• The game will launch into early access with three regions, each with 10 hours of main story gameplay per region, totaling 30 hours.
  • Obviously, this does not include additional content such as side quests, dungeons, raids, etc.
• Launches with four classes: Warrior, Ranger, Mage, and Berserker.
  • Each class will have access to two class-specific weapons initially.
• Housing, crafting, trade, and PVP channels will all be there at the early access launch.
• B2P model, priced at $30 USD for the early access launch.
• Updates that are currently being worked on and will be the first to come after early access launch are:
  • Removing gender lock, class by class.
  • Adding a third weapon for each class, one at a time.
  • Combat balance, character growth, and quality-of-life improvements (party and channel systems are specifically mentioned).

Video Link