adminRecent cancellations have raised questions about the future of MMO games, but Cryptic Studios CEO Jack Emmert believes the audience remains. He points to enduring games and strong sales as evidence that players still want new online worlds—provided studios build them with a clear vision and a sustainable plan.
Emmert returned to Cryptic in January after more than 25 years in the games industry. Several MMOs he has worked on, including City of Heroes, Star Trek Online, Neverwinter, Champions Online and DC Universe Online, are still running. City of Heroes was closed by NCSoft in 2012, then later returned through fan-run private servers.
Image credit: Cryptic Studios
Why MMO games still have an audience
High-profile projects have recently been cancelled or wound down. Amazon is shutting down New World: Aeternum and reportedly cancelled a Lord of the Rings MMO, while Microsoft stopped work on ZeniMax Online’s Project Blackbird. Emmert argues that these decisions do not mean players have lost interest in the genre. In his view, New World’s sales show that demand exists, even if the game’s infrastructure and long-term strategy were not enough to sustain it.
Video Game Insights estimates that New World sold around 10 million units across Steam, PlayStation and Xbox. New World: Aeternum is scheduled to go offline on January 31, 2027. For players considering an online game, it is worth checking its published service plans and update schedule: a large launch audience does not guarantee that a game will remain available indefinitely.
Emmert also points to the continued audiences for World of Warcraft, Cryptic’s titles and games from Daybreak. He says players are looking for fresh experiences. Ashes of Creation, which shut down earlier this year after a difficult launch, had attracted substantial interest before release, including $3.2 million raised through Kickstarter.
Daybreak’s announcement that it would bring back the original 1999 version of EverQuest as EverQuest Legends is another example of interest in established worlds. Emmert sees nostalgia as a potential way to welcome back former players and introduce newcomers to a more approachable version of a classic game. For players returning to an older MMO, a fresh start can make it easier to learn systems that may have grown more complicated over time.
Build a focused MMO, not a feature checklist
Emmert’s advice to developers is to serve a well-defined audience instead of trying to make a game for everyone. He says some large publishers approach a new MMO as a direct rival to World of Warcraft, which can lead to huge budgets and pressure to appeal to the broadest possible market. The result, he argues, can be a collection of familiar features without a distinctive identity.
Rather than expanding a project endlessly, studios should set a realistic budget, make a clear plan and stick to a specific creative direction. Emmert describes the original idea for Neverwinter as a straightforward loop: defeat enemies, earn loot and make the process enjoyable. Released in 2013, the Dungeons & Dragons game is still active, demonstrating how a simple central activity can support a long-running title.
His approach is to focus on a subject with an enthusiastic community and create an experience that feels true to it. Emmert worked on a Warhammer game at Jackalyptic Games, a NetEase-owned studio that closed in 2025. A focused audience can still be large; the point is to understand what that audience values rather than adding features simply to match competitors.
That same principle can help keep development costs under control. A game does not necessarily need dozens of different dungeons if players find meaningful rewards and improvement in replaying a smaller selection. Repeated activities can remain engaging when players have a reason to return, such as improving their skills, earning useful equipment or preparing for a new challenge.
Fellowship, a raid-focused game from Cryptic’s parent company Arc Games, is an example Emmert gives of a concept built around a clear central activity. For a focused game like this, ongoing content and a credible plan for growth can matter more than an enormous launch package.
Emmert cautions against trying to include every possible feature before release. Developers may spend time and money on systems players do not use. A smaller launch can instead provide room to learn from the community and decide what to build next.
He also argues that a new MMO does not need hundreds of hours of unique content at launch. Reusing environments and activities can be practical, as long as progression feels worthwhile. Regular updates—such as a new addition every few months—can give players a reason to stay engaged. When choosing an MMO, players may find it useful to look at both the launch offering and the developer’s plans for post-launch support.
For progression to feel satisfying, players should be able to see how their efforts help them overcome a new obstacle or become more capable at a difficult activity. Repetition is less likely to feel empty when each run contributes to a clear goal.
Neverwinter was released in 2013. | Image credit: Cryptic Studios/Arc Games
Fellowship is based around raids. | Image credit: Chief Rebel/Coffee Stain Publishing/Arc Games
Cryptic Studios’ next steps
Emmert was part of Cryptic Studios from its beginnings in 2000 and became CEO in 2011. He later left to join Daybreak, the company behind DC Universe Online. In 2022, he founded Jackalope Games, a studio owned by NetEase that was later renamed Jackalyptic Games because the original name could not be trademarked.
After NetEase withdrew from Jackalyptic in 2025, Emmert tried to find a new home for the studio but was unsuccessful. He eventually returned to Cryptic. The studio has changed ownership several times: Atari acquired it in 2008, followed by Perfect World and then Embracer. A management buyout in 2025 separated Cryptic from Embracer, placing it under Arc Games.
Emmert says his first priority is strengthening Cryptic’s existing games: Neverwinter, Champions Online and Star Trek Online. He wants players to know that the studio remains committed to supporting them, addressing problems and adding features. These games have accumulated millions of players over the years, in part because they are free to play. Reconnecting with former players and showing them what has changed could help bring some of that audience back.
Champions Online is a free-to-play superhero MMO that launched in 2009. | Image credit: Cryptic Studios/Arc Games
Star Trek Online has been running since 2010. | Image credit: Cryptic Studios/Arc Games
Beyond those updates, Cryptic needs to decide what kind of projects to pursue next, including whether to develop a new MMO or a single-player role-playing game, and which technology to use. Emmert says the studio wants to make those decisions through a considered plan rather than reacting to whatever seems popular in the market at a given moment.
Why faster prototyping matters
If Cryptic develops another game, Emmert believes the studio’s ability to prototype quickly will be important. He sees the cost of testing whether a concept works as a major challenge for the games industry. A game prototype can require considerable time and resources before a team knows whether the idea is worth pursuing.
He contrasts this with film, where a script can be written and assessed relatively quickly. Game concepts often need a working prototype to test how they feel in practice. Some studios have explored rough proof-of-concept builds in Roblox, but Emmert questions whether the largest publishers will adopt that kind of process.
His view is that software companies can often expect a product to work once development is complete, while game studios cannot know in advance whether a game will be enjoyable. That uncertainty makes early testing especially valuable. Smaller prototypes may help teams identify problems before they commit to a full production budget.
Emmert believes Cryptic’s experience making focused games on controlled budgets could be an advantage. His definition of a niche game does not rule out reaching millions of players; it means beginning with a specific audience and building around its interests.
What could make MMO games last?
Emmert’s central argument is that MMO games do not need to imitate the biggest titles or launch with a vast list of features. A distinct audience, an enjoyable core activity, meaningful progression and reliable updates can provide a stronger foundation. New World’s estimated sales and the continued life of older MMOs suggest that players remain interested, while the genre’s long-term success depends on studios matching that interest with practical budgets and sustainable plans.
