Source: Inven Global, the English-language games news site. Verified against multiple sources; datamines and reports are labelled as such, not stated as fact.
What Happened
ArcheAge Chronicles lets anyone on Steam into its PvP for a week, before the housing and trade the original was known for are in the game.
The demo
- Free for a week. ArcheAge Chronicles, the sequel to XLGAMES' 2013 sandbox MMO ArcheAge, is in Steam Next Fest from October 19 at 7:00 PM CEST to October 26 at 7:00 PM CEST.
- No sign-up. Any Steam user in any region can download the demo. There is no registration.
- PvP is on. It is the first public build of the game with PvP enabled. The September 12 network test for US and Canada players had none.
- One region. The demo is set in Diamond Shores, an early-game region of Auroria, the game's continent.
- A dungeon too. The official demo trailer promises "the new Throne of Hinnon dungeon" and says players can "jump into PvP channels in the demo."
XLGAMES put the official demo trailer up on the game's YouTube channel as the demo went live.
The classes
- Warrior. The melee class.
- Ranger. The ranged class.
- Berserker. An aggressive glass cannon.
- Mage. Area damage and crowd control.
That makes 4 classes, and the demo has no life skills. Housing, farming, crafting and trade, the systems the original ArcheAge was known for, are left out. XLGAMES lists them for future tests or for Early Access, the unfinished but playable release it plans next.
The game around it
- Self-published now. XLGAMES, the studio behind the original ArcheAge, publishes the sequel itself after Kakao Games, its original publisher, stepped away.
- Renamed. It was revealed at Sony's State of Play showcase in September 2024 under the working title ArcheAge 2.
- Early Access. XLGAMES plans Early Access within the year and has given no date, Inven Global reports. Steam lists the release date as "To be announced".
- Console too. It is also coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and the Steam page lists full controller support.
- Big install. Steam's minimum spec is an RTX 2060 SUPER or RX 6600, 16 GB of RAM and 100 GB on an SSD. Recommended is an RTX 4060 Ti 16GB with 32 GB of RAM.
Side by Side
One game has handed the public its PvP; the other has said nothing about whether it has any.
- Shown so far. XLGAMES has a public PvP build out. Riot has not shown a single class for its MMO.
- Riot is silent. Riot has said nothing about whether its MMO will have open-world PvP.
- Scope unknown. The only confirmed fact about the Riot MMO is that it is set in Runeterra. Its size, platforms and release are unrevealed.
| ArcheAge Chronicles | Riot MMO | |
|---|---|---|
| Public build | Steam Next Fest demo, October 19 to 26 | Not revealed |
| PvP | On in the demo, first time in public | Not revealed |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S | Not revealed |
| Release | Early Access within the year, no date | Not revealed |
What This Means for the Riot MMO
ArcheAge Chronicles is testing whether PvP can sell an MMO before its economy exists, the open question Riot faces too.
- Combat goes first. With housing, crafting and trade held back, the demo's first impression rests on fighting other players alone.
- Reach over control. A no-sign-up Next Fest demo puts the build in front of anyone who clicks, and XLGAMES gives up control of who plays it.
- Economies are hard. A sandbox economy needs time and a crowd to test, which a week-long demo cannot give it. ArcheAge's makers have already admitted a pay-to-win problem in the original.
- Riot's PvP hire. Brian Holinka, a principal game designer on the Riot MMO, spent about 11 years on World of Warcraft PvP and combat design.
- Controller support. Full controller support on PC and console points the genre toward action-game combat over tab-target, where you lock a target and fire abilities at it.
Our read. Riot's MMO hired a WoW PvP veteran and has not said whether it has PvP, so this week is a free look at the question it will face. If players stay in Diamond Shores to fight with no economy behind them, combat can carry an MMO's first week. Blizzard is testing PvP from the other end with WoW Forever's capped rank ladder.
With housing, crafting and trade held back, the demo's first impression rests on fighting other players alone.
What to Watch
The demo ends October 26, and the systems ArcheAge was known for come later.
- Demo closes. The demo comes down on October 26 at 7:00 PM CEST, so player numbers and reviews will show by then.
- Later tests. XLGAMES says housing, farming, crafting and trade arrive in future tests or Early Access.
- Early Access date. No date yet. XLGAMES still says within the year.
Your Take
Should the Riot MMO have open-world PvP?
Reported from Inven Global and corroborating coverage. The MMO read is ours and clearly speculative. Analysis by RuneGrove.
