While we’re still waiting for the next great new MMORPG to take the world by storm like World of Warcraft did years ago, there are still plenty of great active ones to choose from. These are the 10 most popular MMORPGs on PC in 2023, ranked specifically by their peak concurrent players.
Editor’s Note: Hard data for concurrent player counts do not exist for MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. Therefore, it has been excluded from this list. We are aware that they would undoubtedly be right at the very top of this most popular MMORPGs in 2023 list if we had access to reliable data from which to source.
Furthermore, the player count provided for each titles does not reflect the entire player base as these only consider Steam Charts or official sources. For example, FFXIV’s player base doesn’t take into account users who use the official launcher or console.
Most Popular MMORPGs on PC
10. Roblox – 5000+
Wait—Roblox is an MMORPG? Hear me out! Roblox alone isn’t an MMO, but you’ll find incredibly popular MMORPGs created by users. Many of these are surprisingly well-crafted experiences. World Zero and Dungeon Quest immediately come to mind, each having a player base in the thousands every single day.
World Zero has a massive world to explore, along with dungeons, the Tower, and even a challenge mode. On the other hand, Dungeon Quest doesn’t have much of a world and is instead focused on completing dungeons with friends. Both are really easy to get into, especially if you’ve never touched an MMO before.
9. Albion Online – 10,029
Albion Online is such an interesting amalgamation of gameplay mechanics. It’s isometric like an ARPG, and plays like one, but has the blood of a sandbox MMORPG running through its veins, while having a similar art style to Runescape. It’s quite surprising just how well everything works!
Rather than pigeon hole players into classes, it’s weapons and armor that provide you with a set of skills, like Charge and the traditional Fireball. Even further still, Albion Online doesn’t have levels, but Fame. You gain this by crafting items, mining, as well as combat in PvE and PvP.
Part of the fun is mixing and matching the different weapons and armor based on your situation. Don’t want to use swords? No problem. Slap on a staff and start casting magic. It’s a very freeing experience!
8. Path of Exile – 13, 331
Welcome to the continent of Wraeclast, where dark forces gather. Some ARPGs share blood with MMOs, and Path of Exile is a prime example of that. If you’re someone who’s a big fan of titles like Diablo 4, but want a much more hardcore experience, PoE might just be for you.
You see, Path of Exile’s defining feature is its skill tree. You aren’t just getting a handful of skills and whatnot, but a massive tree that spreads in multiple directions.
It might be difficult to take in at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll love being able to mold your playstyle to a strong and viable build.
7. New World – 18,918
How would you like to free yourself from class identity? Well, in New World, classes are a thing of the past. Instead, you’ll rely on your mastery over weapons and stat allocation, giving you a better sense of character identity.
It’s about your role in the group rather than your class, such as DPS (damage per second), healer, tank, and so on. With this being a sandbox MMORPG, there’s also a brand new world to explore, trade skills to learn, and a player-driven economy.
Naturally, New World has many of the same amenities as your typical MMO, like PVP, dungeons (referred to as expeditions), and a main quest to complete.
6. The Elder Scrolls Online – 19,822
The Elder Scrolls Online launched to mediocre reviews back in 2014, but the game has changed a lot since then. Rebranded as Tamriel Unlimited, The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is now a paid, premium product with a wealth of content and a host of gameplay changes that makes this a must-play game for fans of the Elder Scrolls universe.
Now feeling much more connected to the single-player smash-hits developed by Bethesda (ESO is a Zenimax Studios game), the Morrowind expansion and Summerset DLC add fresh new adventures with the sort of excellent storytelling the franchise is known for.
ESO is one of MMORPG’s most successful franchises, with an estimated active player count that exceeds 2 million players across all platforms. It’s no surprise, then, that daily concurrent peaks on PC regularly surpass 20,000.
5. MIR4 – 28,630
If you’re a big fan of K-fantasy (Korean fantasy), MMOs, and RPGs, then you’ll be happy to hear that MIR4 fits into all three, and then some. It features a much heavier emphasis on player vs player—even the loot is free-for-all, which can and will start fights between players.
MIR4 has five classes to play: Taoist, Sorcerer, Arbalist, Lancer, and Warrior. Each one has their own unique playstyle. Warriors and Sorcerers provide excellent DPS; Taoist support and heal; Lancers balance between offense and defense, and Arbalists make great PVPers.
Regardless of which class you play, everyone can join in on territorial disputes, raids, castle sieges, and practice life skills in their spare time.
4. Black Desert Online – 29,618
Black Desert Online has made a huge splash on the MMORPG community thanks to its beautifully realized world, boasting lush environments and detailed character animations. The combat also happens to be superb, echoing the sort of adrenaline pumping action-RPG experience of TERA but married to much more modern game design.
There are eight classes to choose from, and all of them are super entertaining to play, from ax-wielding knights to spellcasting sorcerers. And there’s plenty of interesting narratives to dive into beyond that, too, with a world that’s unique in style, believable, and deeply immersive.
The community continues to expand each month and hasn’t really seen any drop in concurrent player averages since records began. It regularly peaks between 11,000 to 20,000 on a daily basis according to Steam.
3. Final Fantasy XIV – 33,026
One of the big comeback stories in video gaming history, the original version of Final Fantasy XIV was so completely unserviceable that Square Enix completely abandoned it, reworked the entire project, and came out golden on the other side.
Final Fantasy XIV has a subscription model, though new players are able to access some content free of charge. Still, it’s absolutely worth paying for a premium product, and that’s exactly what A Realm Reborn is.
Consistent new content in the form of small tweaks and added features to massive expansion packs, such as Endwalker, make for a world brimming with epic stories and exciting gameplay to immerse yourself in.
2. Destiny 2 – 47,690
Enough about fantasy. How about science fiction? Destiny 2 may not fit some peoples’ definition of an MMORPG, but it falls comfortably in both categories in all but name.
However, its most defining feature is the gunplay; it feels awesome, and it isn’t surprising given that it’s Bungie. The developers essentially took the gunplay from Halo and stuffed it into an MMORPG-lite.
Destiny 2 is, first and foremost, an FPS with RPG mechanics, and it marries the two beautifully. You have a choice of three classes—Warlock, Titan, Hunter—each of which have their own subclasses for further customization. Your character can then be fitted with gear, from weapons to armor, which you can find and collect from raids, PVP, and strikes.
1. RuneScape – 149,491
RunScape is the oldest game on our list, and yet it still remains one of the most popular MMORPGs, even in 2023. Perhaps a great deal of the reason it remains so insanely popular is how easy it is to learn, though hard to master.
RuneScape is intimidatingly hands-off, with just a five-minute tutorial that introduces you to the basics before sending you off into its enormous and highly populated sandbox to just go and do whatever you please. But therein lies the magic that has attracted people to the concept of a persistent fantasy world since the inception of the genre.
Thanks to RuneScape’s own websites, official numbers put RuneScape at 149,491 players and Old School Runescape at 113,300 players.
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