Skip to content

The guide

12 Idle MMOs Where Other Players Are Actually There (and One That Only Pretends)

Idle MMO games with real other players: 12 picks with clans, player markets and raids, plus how each one makes money and what it needs from you.

Source-checked guideMaintained by Maxwell PrehodaHow we choose

The biggest idle MMO is Legends of IdleOn, with nearly 30,000 Steam reviews and up to 11 characters working while you are away. If you want RuneScape-style skilling with clans and a player economy, play Idle Clans or Milky Way Idle. If you want a newer, paid take on the same idea with no store, try Scapewatch.

Most "idle MMO" lists rank regular MMOs with an autoplay button. This one only includes idle and incremental games with a real shared layer: other players to trade with, clans or guilds to join, raids or arenas to share. We note how each makes money from its store page, and whether it needs a connection. Steam review shares are from the store's counts as of November 2026.

01

Legends of IdleOn: best for the deepest idle MMO with many characters

Platform: Steam, Browser, Mobile · free-to-play

Legends of IdleOn is "the power fantasy of an MMO, with the automation of an incremental game". You create up to 11 characters, one of each class, and each plays its own role in your account while they fight and skill on their own. Beyond combat there are skills like Cooking, Woodcutting, Alchemy, Construction, Farming and Sailing, plus secret class lines for the curious.

It is free to play on Steam (Windows), in the browser and on mobile. The developer states that all classes, maps, skills, bosses and activities are available without purchase, with optional purchases for boosts and cosmetics. It has 77% positive from 29,910 Steam reviews as of November 2026, and its Discord lists 200,000+ members.

Pick it if you want one game to log into every day for a year.

Watch out for: Free, with optional purchases for boosts, and the sheer number of systems is overwhelming at first.

Read the profile →Legends of IdleOn official site ↗Legends of IdleOn on Steam ↗

02

Idle Clans: best for RuneScape players who want clans to matter

Platform: Steam, Mobile · free

Idle Clans aims to give the classic MMORPG grind at your own pace: dozens of skills, crafting and combat, quests, bosses, raids and a player-driven economy. The clan system is the center. Clans open up clan upgrades, events, bosses and quests, and the recruitment center helps you find a casual or a serious one.

It is free on Steam for Windows and Mac (Early Access, with in-app purchases) and on iPhone. It has 74% positive from 1,690 Steam reviews as of November 2026, and our catalog records offline progress.

Pick it if the social side of an MMO is what you miss. For single-player skillers, see our idle games like RuneScape guide.

Watch out for: Early Access with a middling score, so expect changes and some rough edges.

Read the profile →Idle Clans on Steam ↗Idle Clans on the App Store ↗

03

Milky Way Idle: best for queueing actions for days with a busy market

Platform: Browser · free

Milky Way Idle is a multiplayer idle RPG where automation replaces grinding. You queue a sequence of actions with offline progress the store page puts at 10+ hours (or days), level 10 non-combat and 7 combat skills, and fight monsters, bosses and dungeons fully AFK with consumables and abilities set to trigger on conditions. Then you trade in the marketplace, join a guild, party up for dungeons and chat.

It is free to play on Steam (since March 2025) and in the browser on galaxy.click, Kongregate and itch.io. The developers say new features land every one to two months.

Pick it if you want planning more than clicking: the fun is setting up a long queue and coming back to a full bank.

Watch out for: Browser players on galaxy.click rate it 3.7 stars, so read recent reviews before you commit to the market grind.

Read the profile →Milky Way Idle on Steam ↗Play on galaxy.click ↗

04

Scapewatch: Idle MMO: best for a paid idle MMO with no store

Platform: Steam · paid

Scapewatch describes itself as "the idle MMO for people who actually like the grind". You train 30 skills across combat, gathering, processing and more, with three combat styles (melee, ranged, magic), then join clans, chase pets, run raids and climb the hiscores for skill capes. You queue tasks, weight the activities you prefer, reroll ones you do not want, close the tab and come back stronger.

It is $14.99 on Steam for Windows and Linux, released in September 2026, with 86% positive from 297 reviews as of November 2026. Our catalog records offline progress.

Pick it if you are tired of free-to-play stores and want to pay once for a RuneScape-style idle MMO.

Watch out for: New and still building its player base, and no Mac build.

Read the profile →Scapewatch on Steam ↗

05

Shakes and Fidget: best for comic fantasy with guilds and a hall of fame

Platform: Steam, Mobile · free

Shakes and Fidget is a long-running fantasy RPG satire where you create a comic hero, take quests, fight monsters and other players, and climb the hall of fame with your guild. The store page claims over 50 million players and lists more than a dozen classes, each with its own trick, from druid shapeshifting to a bard who strengthens in battle by playing the harp.

It is free to play on Steam for Windows and Mac, with in-app purchases, and on iPhone. It has 84% positive from 6,432 Steam reviews as of November 2026.

Pick it if you want a short daily check-in with friends and a sense of humor.

Watch out for: Free to play with purchases, and real players compete for the same top spots.

Read the profile →Shakes and Fidget on Steam ↗Shakes and Fidget on the App Store ↗

06

Evitania Online: Idle RPG: best for an open-world idle RPG with alts and pets

Platform: Steam · free

Evitania Online is an online idle RPG with an open world inspired by classic MMORPGs, "without the endless grind". Your character fights and gathers while offline. There are Warrior, Mage and Rogue classes with talent trees, alts you can send to level Mining and Woodcutting, legendary crafting, three Acts of progression, bosses and pets.

It is free on Steam (Windows, Early Access) with in-app purchases, and a mobile version shares progress across platforms. It has 78% positive from 1,044 reviews as of November 2026, and the developers count over 10,000 players on Discord.

Pick it if you like the Diablo-style loot hunt but want it to keep running when you close the laptop.

Watch out for: Early Access with only three Acts so far, and no Mac build.

Read the profile →Evitania Online on Steam ↗

07

Idle Hacking: An Inaction RPG: best for text-based hacking with syndicates and world bosses

Platform: Steam · free

Idle Hacking is a persistent idle MMORPG with a text-based hacking theme and an "Inaction RPG" design. You craft gear with ARPG-style prefixes and suffixes (over 100 affixes, with rare Signature Affix items that enable odd builds), join or run a player Syndicate that shares resources and boosts, trade on the marketplace, and take part in daily community boss events where some players fight and others support.

It is free on Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux, with in-app purchases, and has 80% positive from 256 reviews as of November 2026. Your character keeps hacking and gathering for up to 12 hours after you log out.

Pick it if you want loot-affix theorycrafting in an idle MMO with a cyberpunk skin.

Watch out for: Offline progress stops after 12 hours, so it wants a daily visit.

Read the profile →Idle Hacking on Steam ↗

08

Dungeon Team: best for ASCII tactics with live and async PvP

Platform: Steam · free-to-play

Dungeon Team is a turn-based tactics team builder in ASCII art. You build squads from 11 classes and 8 mix-and-match skill trees, send them on a PvE idle dungeon crawl for gear, then fight other players in rolling 24-hour async tournaments or live Arena matches with an Elo rating.

It is free to play on Steam (Windows) with in-app purchases, and the developers say it is "F2P and never P2W". It has 88% positive from 147 reviews as of November 2026.

Pick it if you want the idle part to feed a competitive part. It also fits our idle dungeon crawler guide.

Watch out for: A small player base, which matters for a PvP game, and Windows only.

Read the profile →Dungeon Team on Steam ↗

09

ClickRaid2: best for parties of six that share server buffs

Platform: Steam · paid

ClickRaid2 is an idle MMO incremental where you build a party of up to six from 13 classes (Warrior, Bard, Necromancer, Druid and more) with friends or NPC mercenaries, and kill mobs and bosses for treasure, gems and skill upgrades.

Its monetization is unusual: server buffs are for sale, and when anyone buys one, the whole server benefits. It is $9.99 on Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux, with 69% positive from 118 reviews as of November 2026.

Pick it if you want a small, cooperative idle MMO where spending helps everyone.

Watch out for: Mixed reviews and a small community, so check that the servers are active before buying.

Read the profile →ClickRaid2 on Steam ↗

10

Split or Steal: best for the prisoner's dilemma with strangers

Platform: Steam · free-to-play

Split or Steal is a light take on the Prisoner's Dilemma. Two online players are paired, shown a reward, and get two minutes to talk before each chooses to split or steal. Your winnings go into a headquarters that grows your earnings incrementally, heists against people who wronged you, over 140 cosmetics, or an Organization that shares wealth and bonuses.

It is free to play on Steam (Windows) with in-app purchases, cross-play with the web version, and has 78% positive from 1,212 reviews as of November 2026.

Pick it if the social part of an MMO you enjoy is the drama.

Watch out for: You are chatting with strangers, so expect the occasional bad actor. The incremental side is light.

Read the profile →Split or Steal on Steam ↗

11

Ulala: Idle Adventure: best for a social mobile idle MMORPG

Platform: Mobile · free-to-play

Ulala is an idle MMORPG set in a cheerful Stone Age. Your character and pets level up automatically, and the game is built around teaming up with friends for hunting seasons (you can ride a small Tyrannosaurus). The App Store pitch is a game that will not distract from your daily life.

It is from X.D. Global and free on the App Store with in-app purchases.

Pick it if you want the party-up feel of a mobile MMO without the time sink.

Watch out for: Mobile only, and free to play with in-app purchases.

Read the profile →Ulala on the App Store ↗

12

World of Talesworth: Idle MMO Simulator: best for MMO nostalgia without other players

Platform: Steam · free

World of Talesworth is the honest exception on this list: it simulates an MMO rather than being one. It is a single-player idle homage to the MMOs and RPGs its developer loves, with 7 pixel-art questing zones, a 7-boss raid "with plenty of opportunities to stand in fire", a guild to manage (drama included), 10 classes and a dog to pet if you can find him.

It is free on Steam (Windows) and has 70% positive from 464 reviews as of November 2026. The premium currency is tacos, and the developer says you earn them by playing and that spending is not required to progress.

Pick it if you want the jokes and rhythms of raiding without depending on anyone else's schedule.

Watch out for: No real players, by design, and a mixed review score.

Read the profile →World of Talesworth on Steam ↗

How to choose an idle MMO

Decide which shared part you want, then check the money model.

01

Match it to the social part you want

Clans and raids: Idle Clans, Scapewatch and Idle Hacking's syndicates. A player market: Milky Way Idle and Idle Clans. Competition: Dungeon Team's arena and Shakes and Fidget's hall of fame. Cooperation: ClickRaid2's shared server buffs. Other idle games with a social layer include Shop Titans, Farm RPG and Screeps: World, which we cover in our tycoon, farming and programming guides.

02

Match it to the money model

Pay once: Scapewatch ($14.99) and ClickRaid2 ($9.99, plus optional server buffs). Free with purchases: IdleOn, Idle Clans, Shakes and Fidget, Evitania, Idle Hacking, Dungeon Team, Split or Steal, Ulala. IdleOn's developer states no content is paywalled; Dungeon Team's says it is never pay to win.

03

Match it to your schedule

Daily check-ins: Idle Hacking (12-hour offline cap) and Shakes and Fidget. Long gaps: Milky Way Idle's queues run for 10+ hours or days, and IdleOn and Scapewatch keep working offline. For more multiplayer options beyond MMOs, see our multiplayer idle games guide.

Join a clan this week

Install Legends of IdleOn if you want the biggest community, or Idle Clans if you want the clan to be the point. Join the game's Discord on day one: in an idle MMO, the community is where you learn what to queue next.

If you would rather play alone, the finder can point you at single-player skillers and RPGs instead.

Find your next game →

Common questions

What is the best idle MMO?

Legends of IdleOn is the largest, with almost 30,000 Steam reviews (77% positive as of November 2026). Idle Clans and Milky Way Idle are the best for RuneScape-style skilling with other players, and Scapewatch is the best paid option.

Is Melvor Idle an MMO?

No. Melvor Idle is a single-player RuneScape-inspired idle game. If you want the same skilling with other players, try Idle Clans, Milky Way Idle or Scapewatch.

Are idle MMOs pay to win?

It varies. Legends of IdleOn says all content is available without purchase, Dungeon Team says it is never pay to win, and Scapewatch has no store. Several of the free ones sell boosts that speed progress.

Do idle MMOs work offline?

Your character progresses while you are offline in most of them (IdleOn, Idle Clans, Milky Way Idle, Scapewatch, Evitania, and Idle Hacking up to 12 hours), but they need an internet connection to play and sync.

Is there an idle MMO on Mac?

On Steam, Idle Clans, Shakes and Fidget, Idle Hacking and ClickRaid2 have Mac builds. Legends of IdleOn and Milky Way Idle also run in a browser.

Sources