10 best games like World of Warcraft

As the long-time leader in many MMORPG player rankings, World of Warcraft has been a go-to for many MMO beginners or players who just love fantasy RPGs. If you’re looking for an alternative, here are some games that I consider WoW-adjacent in a good way.

10 games similar to World of Warcraft

Note that these games are in no particular order. Each is here on its particular merits, so the bits of each that are like World of Warcraft may not be the features you’re looking for. So think of it as a list to browse rather than a hierarchy.

10. Elder Scrolls Online

Elder Scrolls Online, or ESO, was Bethesda’s attempt at dipping its toe into the MMO waters. Released in 2014, it experienced many of the problems that MMORPGs tend to face at launch. However, kudos to them, as they’ve stuck with it and created one of the best MMOs on the market today, which still has regular content-packed updates. 

The game offers all the fantasy goodness fans of the series would expect, with the bonus of playing with others in a huge world. There’s a ton of PVE and PVP content, while it is also F2P friendly. Subbing is an option, and you get lots of nice freebies, but you can play it free without feeling overly penalized.

9. Final Fantasy XIV

Much like ESO above, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (or FF14) saw Square Enix converting its beloved benchmark series into the MMORPG realm. And, like Bethesda, it wasn’t a smooth journey, but they’ve continued to evolve the game. Huge regular patches add new content, keeping the game fresh despite its dottage (it was released in 2010).

As long as you dig the anime style, there’s a lot to love in FF14. It has an excellent community, a deep storyline, and a lot of varied content. There’s an F2P version that allows you to get up to level 70 and limits everything from character slots to available items. But it is more than enough to see whether you like the game, giving hundreds of hours of free content. 

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8. New World

One glance through the titles on this list will show you the MMORPG landscape has been a little starved of AAA titles with staying power over the last decade. But when Amazon steps up to the plate you know they mean business, and so it has proved with its early MMO offerings, Lost Ark and New World. 

After a traditionally rocky MMO launch in 2021, New World has begun to blossom into a genuine contender for your fantasy MMO hours. It's a tough game, with deep action combat to master, alongside all the traditional open-world MMO trappings such as crafting and PVP. There’s no free trial, but after you pay the box price there is no monthly sub. 

7. Kingdoms of Amalur

If the online element of World of Warcraft isn’t the draw, and you feel limited by the availability of MMO options on your Xbox, Kingdoms of Amalur is well worth investigating. This fantasy RPG ticks most of the other WoW boxes in terms of gameplay, so as long as you’re not looking for guilds and PVP it could be for you. 

It's considered by many as the best open-world fantasy RPG ever made, despite it being more than a decade old. With the likes of R. A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane on its staff, it’s hardly surprising. The 2020 Kingdoms of Amalur: The Re-Reckoning refined and improved many of its features, bringing the title to a new army of fans.

6. Lord of the Rings Online

World of Warcraft and EverQuest 2 had three years to establish themselves as a worldwide phenomenon before Lord of the Rings Online (or LOTRO) came along to challenge them in 2007. But challenge them it did, bringing Tolkien's world to life spectacularly. The game is still going strong today, enjoying regular content patches and events.

There is no PVP in LOTRO, although you can play as a monster (against other players) later in the game. What the game excels at is telling the story of Middle Earth, with you playing adjacent to the fellowship storyline through all of the iconic moments and locations. LOTRO can be played for free, allowing you to play for hundreds of hours at no cost, but an active subscription opens extra features and benefits.

5. RuneScape

If you want deep fantasy MMORPG  gameplay, thousands of hours of content, and a great community and aren’t too worried about the graphics, look no further than RuneScape. Both Old School RuneScape and its more recent predecessor offer thousands of quests, deep crafting systems, and large worlds to explore and level up in. 

As with many of the older games on this list, looks can be deceiving. Publisher Jagex has been supporting these titles for more than 20 years and the games have a dedicated fanbase for a reason. The storylines and underlying mechanisms are as rich as any you’ll find elsewhere and there are F2P versions of both titles.

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4. Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) has been around since 2011, picking up the Star Wars MMO mantle after Star Wars Galaxies dropped the ball so badly after some initial success in the early 2000s. If you’re looking for the full Star Wars experience online, you won’t be disappointed, with great gameplay and a well-acted storyline to enjoy.  

As with many of these classic MMOs its dedicated audience is strong enough to fund a steady stream of high-quality new content (we’d expect nothing less from BioWare). Better still, you can play for free right up to level 50, so if you’re a Star Wars fan who loves a story-driven experience, this is a no-brainer. 

3. Runes of Magic

Due to its popularity, there have been a lot of World of Warcraft clones over the years, with Runes of Magic generally being considered the best to date. Released in 2009, this free-to-play MMORPG boasts more than 5,000 quests and has that patented cartoony feel that made WoW stand out from the crowd on its release.

Runes of Magic does have issues though. Many complain that while free, you need to pay to be competitive. However, at an initial price point of free, this is a great little time-waster if you’re looking for a game that is as close to WoW as you can get in terms of look and feel. 

2. Dragon Age: Inquisition

This is another recommendation for those who want an action-packed fantasy RPG but aren’t so worried about the MMO part. Outside of being in a world occupied by thousands of other players, Dragon Age: Inquisition has all the crafting, exploring, and fed-ex missioning you Clouds dream of. You just don't need to keep turning down duel and friend requests from strangers.

What you get in reality is what 2012-era MMOs could have offered if they weren’t tethered by the restrictions of being multiplayer. Everything from the storyline and the questing to the world itself, the game feels a little better. If you want a game to get lost in that also offers fantastic action combat, then this is a must-play release. 

1. Tarisland

World of Warcraft’s well-publicized 2023 exit from the Chinese market left a gaping hole in the MMO market that Tarisland is hoping to fill in 2024. Everything about the game that we’ve seen so far screams WoW clone, but not in a bad way. There’s nothing like a bit of genuine competition to make people up their game, after all.

Players can expect a grand fantasy storyline and all the regular classic MMORPG features such as crafting, leveling, PVE and PVP battling, and legendary loot. But it should be the looks that turn the heads of WoW fans, as the style is straight out of the Warcraft playbook.

For more lists of great game alternatives here at Pro Game Guides, check out 20 Best Games like Phasmophobia and 10 Best Games like Dragon’s Dogma 2!