Loot rules
Full Loot MMOs
Full loot means that when you die, another player can take what you were carrying. It is the oldest form of economic consequence in online worlds. It is also the mechanic that most clearly separates a real online world from a game with a shared lobby.
When gear can be lost, crafters matter. Merchants matter. The calculation before a fight changes. Caravans need escorts. Markets respond to wars. Full loot is not just a risk setting — it is an economy engine. This page tracks the upcoming online worlds that use it.
Full loot worlds we are tracking
EVE Frontier
Sci-Fi Survival MMO · CCP Games
A hardcore space survival MMO from CCP Games building on the EVE lineage: player-driven economies, seasonal Cycles, and deep integration with the Sui blockchain.
Open World Pvp
Survival Pve
Action Combat
Inventory Loot
Camelot Unchained
RvR MMORPG · Unchained Entertainment
A realm-versus-realm MMORPG Kickstarted in 2013 and aimed at Dark Age of Camelot veterans. Steam Early Access launched June 2, 2026 to mostly negative reviews and a near-empty world. December 2026 full release remains the stated target.
Realm Vs Realm
Group Focused
Tab Target
No Player Loot
BitCraft Online
Sandbox MMORPG · Clockwork Labs
A single-world sandbox MMORPG from Clockwork Labs with deep crafting, settlement building, and a persistent shared economy. In Early Access since June 2025; 100,000 copies sold.
Optional Pvp
Sandbox Pve
Action Combat
No Player Loot
Stars Reach
Sandbox MMORPG · Playable Worlds
A science-fantasy sandbox MMORPG from Raph Koster and Playable Worlds, entering Steam Early Access in summer 2026. Players explore, terraform, and settle a classless, persistent galaxy.
Open World Pvp
Sandbox Pve
Action Combat
Partial Loot
How Worlds in Waiting classifies loot rules
We record loot rules as a distinct classification: no player loot, durability loss, partial loot, inventory loot, full loot, corpse recovery. Full loot means equipped gear is at risk. Corpse recovery means you can reclaim your items from your body before someone else takes them.
We distinguish loot rules from death penalty. A world can have full loot without significant death penalty in other ways, or vice versa. When a world has not confirmed its loot rules, we mark the field as Unknown rather than assuming from genre conventions.
Why full loot worlds produce different communities
Full loot worlds tend to produce more interdependent communities. Players who cannot afford to lose gear hire escorts, form guilds for protection, rely on crafters and avoid conflict zones alone. The risk creates the kind of social necessity that older sandbox worlds were built around.
They also produce different problems. Griefing is more consequential. New player experience is harder to manage. Population is smaller by design — not every player wants the stakes that high. The worlds that get this right, like EVE Online in its prime, become legendary. The ones that get it wrong drive players away before the world forms.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between full loot and partial loot?
- Full loot means all equipped and carried items are at risk when you die and can be taken by whoever kills you. Partial loot (sometimes called inventory loot) typically protects equipped gear while leaving carried items at risk, or uses a random selection of items. Corpse recovery means your items remain on your body for a window of time and can be retrieved by you before another player takes them.
- Are any upcoming MMOs confirmed as full loot?
- The worlds we track are recorded based on confirmed developer statements and design documentation. Where a world's loot rules have not been officially clarified, we mark the field as Unknown. Check the individual dossiers for the current read and source notes on each world.
- Is full loot compatible with casual play?
- Some games have addressed this through zone-based systems — safe zones where loot rules do not apply and lawless zones where they do. EVE Online used this model with its security status system. Whether zone-based systems produce the same economic interdependence as universal full loot is debated among veterans. We track how each world approaches this.
- What made full loot work in games like Ultima Online and EVE Online?
- In both cases, the economy. Full loot was not just a risk mechanic — it was what made crafting matter, what gave merchants a purpose and what made conflict have downstream consequences. In EVE, ships destroyed by players created real demand for new ships. In UO, players hired escorts, built insurance into trade routes and developed political systems to manage the risk. The mechanic only worked because the economic loop supported it.
Related reading
- How the watchlist worksWhat we track, what the statuses mean, and how we define worldness.
- Upcoming PvP MMOsWorlds where conflict shapes the experience.
- Games like Ultima OnlineWorlds that carry the UO legacy of consequence and freedom.
- Games like EVE OnlinePlayer-driven economies and political conflict.
- What is worldness?The quality we are really scouting for.