The 10 biggest MMORPGs on Steam in early 2022

On January 2, 2022By Garmin Philip

At the start of the year 2022, MeinMMO would like to introduce you to the currently largest MMORPGs on Steam. There are some well-known titles, but also games that nobody expected in the top 10.

How was the list created? For this list, we looked at which games had the most concurrent players on January 1st to determine the order. We’ll also tell you what the average number of players looked like over the last 30 days, which would have changed only minor details in the order of this list.

For these numbers we used the website SteamDB as an aid, which evaluates and processes the data from Steam.

However, this list only represents the pure player numbers on Steam. However, many MMORPGs also offer their own client for download. The total number of players will be correspondingly higher for some games.

We’ve also made a list of the top-rated MMORPGs on Steam, which is all about how well a game actually gets in the reviews.

These are places 10 to 4

Bless Unleashed – 4,812 players in peak (3,641 players average in the last 30 days)
Phantasy Star Online 2 – 5,252 players in peak (3,088 players on average)
RuneScape – 7,574 players (average 5,305 players)
Albion Online – 7,841 players (5,778 average)
Star Wars: The Old Republic – 10,397 players (average 5,954 players)
Black Desert – 25,372 players (average 16,655 players)
The Elder Scrolls Online – 29,729 players (average 17,187 players)

Where are the 50 biggest MMORPGs currently? The Tier List before 2022

Platz 3 – Final Fantasy XIV

Focus on MMORPGs: Theme park, story and instances
Number of players: 64,530 peak players, 55,506 average players in the last 30 days
Trend in player numbers: Increasing
Developer: Square Enix
Business model: Basic game Free2Play, Abo and Buy2Play for new expansions

What kind of game is this? Final Fantasy XIV is a Japanese MMORPG that has a strong focus on the story. When creating characters, you have the choice of different jobs, which you can later use on one character.

The game world is huge and offers a variety of tasks. In addition, many tricky raids and challenges await you in the endgame, which you can face in groups. For many, however, a shortcoming is the somewhat tough entry and the slow combat system.

Final Fantasy XIV is regularly supplied with new updates and even major expansions. In December, the expansion Endwalker was released, which we have presented to you in detail. That also provided a corresponding player boost.

You can now play the MMORPG for free up to level 60, after which you have to buy the latest expansion and take out a subscription in order to be able to experience it completely. However, due to the large number of users on FFXIV, there is currently a ban on free accounts because the servers are overcrowded.

This video from Pwnance gives you an overview of the game:

2nd place – MIR 4

Focus on MMORPGs: Auto-play and loot
Number of players: 67,238 in peak, 69,982 average players in the last 30 days
Trend in player numbers: Slightly sinking
developer: Wemade
Business model: Free2Play with the opportunity to earn money

What kind of game is this? MIR 4 is a Korean MMORPG that was originally only developed for Android and iOS, but was later ported to the PC. The game relies on action-packed battles, but with few skills and a lot of auto-play.

The special thing about MIR 4 is that you can earn money with the game. You can convert the in-game currency Darksteel into the crypto currency Draco. At the beginning you could earn around 50 cents per hour with the MMORPG. In the meantime, however, the Draco is only 1/3 of its original value. That lowers the expected profit to around 17 cents.

However, there are other methods of making money in MIR 4 as well. For example, you can sell your characters and earn real money with them. A char went away for 127,000 euros.

What exactly MIR 4 looks like and what the gameplay feels like can be seen in this video from KiraTV:

Platz 1 – New World

Focus on MMORPGs: Crafting, exploration, and PvP in the endgame
Number of players: 114,946 peak players, 83,336 average players in the last 30 days
Trend in player numbers: Constant to slightly decreasing
Developer: Amazon Games
Business model: Buy2Play

What kind of game is this? New World is the newest MMORPG in the list and only celebrated its release on September 28, 2021. Originally it was developed as a PvP title with some survival aspects, but now it is also trying to attract classic MMORPG fans.

In addition, the quest system was revised and new world bosses and, above all, 6 completely new dungeons came into play. In addition, PvP is now optional in the open world. However, if you activate it, you can eliminate enemies from a foreign company and conquer forts on the map.

The highlights of the game are the collecting and crafting system which feels incredibly rewarding, as well as the wars in the endgame where players fight for territory in 50v50.

The combat system requires active aiming and evasion and feels incredibly massive. However, it is significantly slower than games like ESO or Black Desert. That makes it more tactical, but it doesn’t go down well with every player.

There is also criticism for the rather weak quest design and the missing overarching story. However, if you want, you can find small snippets of lorries on the floor to learn a little more about the world.

This video from Entenburg gives you an insight into New World: