Mercenaries of Astonia

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Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds

Mercenaries of Astonia is a cult-classic indie online RPG released in the late 1990s by Daniel Brockhaus. It was known for its small but loyal player base, persistent world, and classic MMO structure. Due to its advanced age, indie status, lack of recent publicity, and limited development resources, the active community is likely very small today—probably around 10–30 daily players. However, the persistent world and previous structure qualify it as an MMO, despite its current niche status.

Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds is a mobile and PC MMOARPG published by Netmarble, released in mid-2021. It had a major launch, leveraging both the Ni no Kuni IP from Level-5 and gacha/MMO mechanics. The game peaked high but, like most mobile MMOs, saw significant player count decreases after the initial year. In 2024, it retains a dedicated but much smaller global player base, with estimated daily active users likely in the 50,000–100,000 range, especially due to its presence in Asia. Major publisher support and continued updates help maintain its relevance.