What is an MMORPG?
MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, a genre where thousands of players share one persistent world, build a character over months or years, and progress through questing, raiding and trading. World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV and Old School RuneScape are the genre's anchors.
Quick facts | |
|---|---|
Stands for | Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game |
World type | Persistent, running whether you log in or not |
Progression | Permanent, carried across every session |
Time to endgame | Typically 40 to 150 hours |
Economy | Player-driven, usually with an auction house |
Defining titles | World of Warcraft, FFXIV, OSRS, Guild Wars 2 |
MMO versus MMORPG
This is the most searched question about the term and the answer is simpler than it looks.
MMO is the parent category and means any game with a massive number of simultaneous players. MMORPG is the RPG-shaped subset of it. Every MMORPG is an MMO. Plenty of MMOs are not MMORPGs.
MMO | MMORPG | |
|---|---|---|
Scope | Any massively multiplayer game | RPG subset specifically |
Character growth | Optional | Core to the design |
Examples | EVE Online, Albion, Destiny 2 | WoW, FFXIV, OSRS |
World | Sometimes instanced | Persistent and shared |
In everyday conversation most players use the two words interchangeably, and in most contexts nothing is lost by doing so.
What defines the genre
Persistence comes first. The world keeps running without you, and your character is still standing where you left them. Permanent progression comes second, which is the opposite of the reset-every-match design of a MOBA.
The third pillar is social dependency. Endgame raids need 8 to 25 coordinated people, which is why guilds and scheduled raid nights became a genre fixture rather than a nice extra.
The time problem
MMORPGs are the most time-expensive genre in gaming. Reaching endgame takes weeks, and staying relevant takes a weekly commitment that many returning players cannot meet. This is exactly why the genre produced the largest market for currency, item and account services of any category.
Our marketplace covers gold, items and accounts across WoW, OSRS, FFXIV, Throne and Liberty, New World and more, which cuts the grind without cutting the content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is every MMO an MMORPG?
No. MMO is the wider category. EVE Online and Destiny 2 are MMOs that sit outside the traditional RPG mould.
Is World of Warcraft still the biggest MMORPG?
It depends on the metric, but WoW and Final Fantasy XIV have traded the top spot repeatedly in recent years.
Are MMORPGs dying?
No. Growth has slowed compared to the 2000s, but the major titles still run active economies and large concurrent populations.
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General definitions