Most "new games" lists mix a game that shipped last week with one that is only a rumor. We keep those apart: released means you can play it today, public beta means there is a real, checkable way to get in right now, and announced means a studio has confirmed it but there is nothing to play yet.
Checked: 21 September 2026Short answer: as of 21 September 2026, notable online games that have actually shipped include Bungie's extraction shooter Marathon (March 2026) and Valheim's 1.0 launch (September 2026). Real, currently open public betas include the World of Warcraft: Forever beta and the China open beta of Lord of Mysteries. Confirmed but not yet released: Aion 2 (global launch October 5, 2026), Path of Exile 2's full 1.0 (December 11, 2026), and ArenaNet's newly announced Guild Wars 3. Every entry below links an official source.
Live and playable now, with an official date.
Bungie's team-based extraction shooter launched on March 5, 2026 after a pre-launch "Server Slam" test period. It is a paid release rather than free-to-play.
Valheim left early access on September 9, 2026 with its 1.0 update, adding the Deep North biome and, for the first time, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 support with full crossplay across every platform.
A real, checkable way to play before full release, right now.
Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Forever beta is officially live, running through the Battle.net desktop app. Players can opt in for a chance at an email invitation on the official Forever site, or get guaranteed access by pre-purchasing one of the paid digital bundles.
This Victorian-occult MMORPG entered open beta in mainland China on August 21, 2026. A global, English-supported launch has been signposted by the publisher for later, once the domestic service stabilizes, but no worldwide release date has been confirmed as of our check date.
Confirmed by the studio, nothing playable by the public yet.
NCsoft confirmed Aion 2's full global launch date at gamescom 2026's Opening Night Live. As of our check date the game has not launched yet: a pre-launch "Launch Scale Test" ran September 17 to 18, and paid Founder's Pack early access is scheduled for September 30 to October 4, ahead of the October 5 worldwide release.
Path of Exile 2 has been in paid early access since December 6, 2024. Grinding Gear Games has confirmed the full 1.0 release for December 11, 2026; until that date, the currently playable version remains early access, not the finished game.
ArenaNet revealed Guild Wars 3 at Summer Game Fest on June 5, 2026, its first new main-series Guild Wars game since 2012 and the series' first console release. The publisher's own announcement states the first beta test is scheduled for fall 2027; there is nothing playable yet.
MapRaiders is our own game: it combines real-world walking, running or cycling with territory strategy on a shared map, plus a collectible card game with commanders and decks. Card battles can be played entirely at home in a PvE/PvP card arena, while territories are claimed by moving outdoors. MapRaiders is currently in development and accepting beta registrations. It is not downloadable and not publicly playable yet, so we list it here under announced and beta registration, not among the released or public-beta games above.
Disclosure: MapRaiders is our own game. Read how we disclose this.
| Status | Can the public play it now? | What proves it |
|---|---|---|
| Released | Yes, in full | An official launch announcement or live storefront listing with a date already passed |
| Public beta | Yes, in a test build, via a named access method | An official post naming how to opt in and the test's time window |
| Announced | No | An official reveal, sometimes with a future date, but no build available to the public |
A sign-up form alone does not make something a "beta." We only use the public beta label when the developer's own announcement describes an active test players can actually join, not a waitlist for possible future access.
For a longer, continuously updated list of confirmed dates by platform and region, see our release calendar.
We only track online games, meaning multiplayer or persistent-world titles, and we separate three states (released, public beta, announced) that general lists often blur together. Every entry links an official, dated source.
MapRaiders is currently accepting beta registrations rather than running a public beta anyone can join immediately. Once registration converts to actual play access, it will be described accordingly, with a source.
We check and update the dates and status on this page on an ongoing basis; the "Checked" date at the top of the page tells you when it was last verified against official sources.