Why Don’t We Get More MMOFPS Games Like Planetside 2?

There was nothing quite like stepping into Auraxis for the first time. Hundreds of players on screen, tanks rolling across the horizon, aircraft dogfighting overhead, and infantry surging through bases in waves, battling in a war that would and could never end. Sure, there are large-scale shooters like Battlefield out there, but Planetside 2 promised a scale of conflict no other shooter could (and still can’t) touch.

For those of us who lived through its prime, the experience of Planetside 2 on PC and PS4 was unforgettable. And yet, few studios have ever tried to replicate what the free-to-play game achieved. At a time when live-service games dominate the industry, the MMOFPS genre seems more like a relic of the past instead of the pioneer into the future it was once thought to be. The question is: why?

The Technical Challenge of Massive Battles

One of the biggest hurdles for the MMOFPS genre has always been technical ambition alongside limitations. Planetside 2 was, in many ways, a miracle of engineering. The game managed to render vast battlefields with hundreds of players clashing in real time, all while tracking bullets, explosions, vehicle physics, and complex base layouts. Even today, few games have ever attempted anything even remotely close to this scale, and that’s no accident. The strain of technical limitations that bind this genre is rightful to be feared.

Most modern shooters focus on smaller team-based matches or battle royale modes with, at most, a hundred players, and even those can push technical limits. Maintaining stability in a game like Planetside 2 required constant optimization and creative design solutions, with compromises that casual players might not notice but that veterans often felt. Things like client-side hit detection and the chaos of too many variables at once were common, and while many of us tolerated it for the sake of scale, most studios don’t want to build a game around those compromises. This is because once the fancy illusions behind this genre’s weaknesses are broken, they’re broken for good.

Then, on top of all of the above, there’s the financial risk to consider. Developing an MMOFPS demands robust servers that can withstand heavy population loads. Keeping those servers running 24/7 costs money, and without a massive, dedicated player base, the project quickly becomes unsustainable. Worst, as an inherent live service project, the odds of having to deal with emptying servers are incredibly high by today’s gaming standards. It’s much easier (and safer) for studios to chase models with limited scope, especially when investors are looking for concrete returns rather than long-term experiments in scale. This is likely one of the key reasons we don’t see more Planetside-like titles being developed in the industry.

MMOFPS’ Genre Identity Crisis

Another problem the MMOFPS has faced is one of identity. Planetside 2 straddled the line between being an MMO and shooter, but it never fully satisfied the expectations of either genre. Shooter fans often want immediate action, tight gunplay, and quick matches that fit into their schedules. MMO players, on the other hand, crave progression, social systems, and a sense of permanence in the world. Planetside 2 tried to merge both worlds, and did so fairly well, but that balancing act came at a cost.

Progression systems in Planetside 2 exist, but they weren’t as deep as those found in traditional MMOs. Similarly, the gunplay and class mechanics were solid, but they lacked the fine-tuned polish of standalone shooters like Battlefield or Call of Duty. For some, this middle ground was exactly what made the game unique. For others, it felt like Planetside 2 was trying to do everything at once while never excelling in any one area. This identity crisis also created difficulties in marketing the game.

How do you explain Planetside 2 to a newcomer? It’s not a traditional MMO, not quite a standard shooter, and not a battle royale. The game was extremely complex, with deep systems and lots of tutorials to even begin to understand what exactly was going on. It demanded significant time and dedication to learn, something many players simply do not have in today’s gaming landscape. Then, even if they did learn, players needed a willingness to accept some chaos in exchange for moments of brilliance. That kind of pitch works for a niche, but it’s a hard sell to a mainstream audience used to straightforward formulas. The result is that the MMOFPS was never able to carve out a clear space in the industry. Studios looked at Planetside 2 and saw both its innovation and its struggles, and most decided the risk wasn’t worth the reward.

Can the MMOFPS Make a Comeback?

So where does that leave us now? Despite its challenges, the appeal of the MMOFPS hasn’t gone away. The concept itself is timeless: the fantasy of being one soldier in a sprawling war where individual skill and large-scale coordination collide. Few genres capture that same larger-than-life sense. But, for the MMOFPS to make a proper comeback, it would need to adapt to today’s standards to some degree. Modern players expect smoother onboarding and clearer progression systems. Any new project would also need to invest heavily in technical infrastructure, perhaps leveraging cloud technology to manage large-scale battles more effectively. Most importantly, it would need a studio with deep pockets and willing to take risks in an industry that often plays it safe.

There are reasons to be hopeful. Advances in server technology and online infrastructure are making large-scale battles more achievable than they were a decade ago. Developers are also becoming more creative in how they approach persistent online worlds. We’ve seen interest in large multiplayer spaces through games like Destiny 2, Battlefield, and even extraction shooters, all of which hint that the appetite for something grander still exists. The appeal is there.

As someone who poured countless hours into both Planetside 1 and 2, I believe the genre is waiting for its next big moment. It needs a big player whose interest is not just financial gain, but also ambition to move the genre to the next stage. All it takes is one reasonably successful attempt to bring about a new age for the MMOFPS. It might not return in the exact form we remember, but the core idea of massive, ongoing battles with thousands of players still resonates. It only takes one bold studio to push the idea forward again. Until then, Planetside 2 stands as both a triumph and a reminder of what the genre could be. The dream of the MMOFPS isn’t dead. It’s just waiting for someone brave enough to pick up the torch.

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