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I have a complicated relationship with the Neverwinter MMO; I’ve played it since 2013, and even in 2025, I’ve come back to dabble in it a little bit. I have a lot of fond memories playing it with friends and coworkers on previous websites, but I cannot simply ignore that the game has problems — or at least one major problem — that I don’t think is going to be resolved anytime soon.
There are some things this MMO does incredibly well. It puts out consistent, regular content that fits the world of Dungeons & Dragons; not to mention it’s set in my favorite setting of Faerun. However, the issue with monetization in the Neverwinter MMO makes me think the answer to “should you play it in 2025” is that it's complicated.
Is it worth trying the Neverwinter MMO in 2025? What the game does right
The answer to “is the Neverwinter MMO worth trying in 2025” is a sort of complicated yes and also no. So we’ll start with the positives, of which there certainly are some. As someone who has been a games journalist since the original launch of Neverwinter, I’ve seen pretty much every module come to the game. I may not always play them, but I’m familiar with what they add.
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The biggest strength of Neverwinter as an MMO is the storytelling. I am a fan of most of the modules that have come out, and they’re up to 31 major content drops at the time of writing. The last one, Red Harvest, launched back in May 2025. It’s especially great with friends. You can play solo or make new friends in game, but I never had more fun than when I was playing with friends.
If you’re trying to grind to be the best, strongest player in the game, you’re going to have an incredibly bad time, unless you open your wallet. If you treat this as a casual game to play here and there with perhaps a few friends, it can be a real treat. However, there are some problems.
The biggest hurdle in Neverwinter MMO is the monetization
People have different definitions of what “pay-to-win” is, and that’s perfectly fine. In the past, some writers here have declared that this game without a doubt is pay-to-win, I think there’s a bit more nuance to it. Yes, you can grind up the paid currencies in game, and yes, it also takes an incredibly long time to do that.
I won’t argue that Neverwinter as an MMO definitely has a cash shop that can make you more powerful. It’s less direct power, and more “getting you to the top faster”. It’s pay-to-go-faster or pay-to-stay-relevant for sure. If you’re someone who doesn’t get hung up on that and never spends money on performance enhancing items, you will have no problem in this game.
If seeing it in the game at all is an issue then I wouldn’t recommend Neverwinter. This is a game that has PVP, but it’s all but non-existent. I can’t even remember the last time I heard anyone talk about PVP in this game.
However, the most annoying thing in my time was simply receiving piles of lockboxes, and no keys to open them. That's one of the ways the game sort of coaxes you into spending real money.
The cash shop does help you get more powerful at a faster rate, that’s not something anyone can debate. However, it’s also not at all necessary. If you’re not trying to rush to level cap and get the best, most powerful loadout possible then who cares when you get there?
Final thoughts about Neverwinter MMO in 2025
There are certainly good things about Neverwinter as a game. It has a solid community of helpful people, and the regular content updates are a real highlight. They’ve brought some real fan-favorite areas of Faerun to the game, and have also collaborated with Penny Arcade, and the D&D movie Honor Among Thieves.
While it’s not a game I come back to often, it is one I remember fondly. It’s not very fun solo, but with a couple of close friends, it can be a real blast to pick your favorite D&D class and dive into some adventures. It occupies a similar space in my mind as the Star Trek MMO does. It’s fun to play in small doses, here and there.
While visually, it's a little on the dated side, I still think it's a fun game for what it is. Don't go into it expecting Baldur's Gate 3, because you will without a doubt, be disappointed. If you just want the occasional dip into D&D action gameplay, you will probably come away happy.
