The Dawngate revival project Kickstarter has funded
We realize this one might be a slightly controversial statement, but we're going to say it anyhow: 2020 has been a weird year. It's been so weird that the fact that a revival Kickstarter for a shuttered MOBA funding successfully may not even break the top 10 for weirdness in this particular year. All of […]
RuneScape takes its community award show online
Considering that RuneFest isn't going to happen this year, Jagex has been looking at other ways to celebrate RuneScape's community. To wit, the studio is taking its community award show completely online this year — and is looking for nominations for the best content creators. "Obviously in this era of COVID-19, things will be a […]
Mad World says it's still on track for a 2020 release
As we noticed back in May, promotion and public updates for Jandisoft's Mad World has all but slowed down to a standstill. This is especially curious considering that the studio had previously said that the grimdark MMO was going to release in 2020, already a delay from its initial 2018 planned launch. So what's the […]
Starbase previews fleet PvP tourney video, works on player progression and exploration design
It's been months since we checked in on Starbase directly rather in our weekly roundup, so we're going to do just that today and bump it back up to the attention of our readers. First announced last year by Finnish studio Frozenbyte, Starbase is the upcoming "massively multiplayer online game with gameplay focused on building […]
Dark Age of Camelot prepares to repossess a lot of abandoned houses
If you've got some property in Dark Age of Camelot that you haven't visited in a while, you might want to make a trip back home to keep it from being taken away from you. Broadsword is preparing a massive repossession of abandoned houses in DAoC come Patch 1.127, which is currently in testing. This […]
TERA and Closers studio En Masse Entertainment is closing its doors (but the games will survive)
I kinda can't believe I'm typing this, but it appears that En Masse Entertainment, which has run TERA here in North America for the last eight years and has been a going concern for the last 11, just announced that it's closing its studio doors. "Today, it is with a heavy heart that we begin […]
Check out Sims 4 builds for living in Dalaran or Darnassus… or in a world of Overwatch
You probably do not want to live in Darnassus in World of Warcraft. For one thing, it's on fire. For another, even when it isn't on fire it's a world perpetually being invaded by demons or satyrs or undead or demonic undead satyrs or some damn thing or another. But what if you had a […]
Wurm Online tops concurrency records and will add yet another new server
Wurm Online has been fully on Steam for just over three weeks now. The surge of new players prompted Code Club to to roll out a new PvE server, Melody, on launch weekend. And now, it's adding another. "After the massive influx of players with the launch on Steam, the lands of Harmony and Melody […]
Warhammer Online's Return of Reckoning linked over 2200 accounts in Twitch
We were pretty amazed last month when we heard that Warhammer Online's rogue server, Return of Reckoning, was getting Twitch drops. It turns out that this was a pretty good move for the popular server, as 2,277 accounts were linked up during this promotional time. Even better, more than 2.5 million minutes of the game […]
So Epic Games is taking on Apple and Google – but can it win?
Last week, Epic Games kicked off both an internet drama and a lawsuit when it instigated legal action against both Apple and Google over barring Fortnite (and more specifically, barring Epic's proprietary payment system that subverted the platforms' cut) from their respective stores, which Epic deemed "unfair and anti-competitive actions" – essentially, monopolies in the […]
Meridian 59 honored the late MMO developer Brian Green in yesterday's memorial
Last week, we covered the tragic news that Brian Green, better known as Psychochild around here, had passed away, far too young at the age of 46. He was one of the founding fathers of the MMORPG genre, given his work on and later stewardship of Meridian 59. And Meridian 59 came out to pay […]
Wisdom of Nym: Impressions of Final Fantasy XIV's Reflections in Crystal content
All right, this format worked well last time; let's go for it again and talk about Final Fantasy XIV's latest patch. But to start off, we're going to talk about it solely from the side of content, leaving story entirely to one side and without even spoiling the big mystery trial. While I would honestly […]
Ghost of Tsushima is getting a co-op mode added with a free expansion
Enjoying traipsing about Japan in Ghost of Tsushima but wish you could do so with your buddy, Ninja Rick? The bad news is that you will not be able to do so in the main game, which remains relentlessly single-player. The good news is that the upcoming free expansion, Legends, will allow you to team […]
First impressions and hands-on with Razer's left-handed Naga MMO mouse
A little-known fact: I am one of the less than 10% of the world's population who are left-handed. It's not always convenient (those chairs with the desk that folds down on the right side were pretty annoying for me to use in school, and writing on chalk/marker boards is a pain because I either erase […]
Final Fantasy XIV is planning more housing plots for patch 5.4 in addition to new housing servers
It's not exactly a surprise to Final Fantasy XIV fans that more housing plots are in the plan, considering that Ishgard restoration is pretty clearly setting up a new housing district. Yet more housing is planned as soon as patch 5.4 according to a new letter from producer and director Naoki Yoshida. As the player […]
Valiance Online has extended its open beta event another two weeks
PlayNYC, the newly digital games con in New York, ended yesterday, which means Valiance Online's brief open beta whereby anyone could play should have ended also. It didn't, though, and that's because the team decided to extend that beta another two weeks. "The sad news? We were so focused on finding fixes for some major […]
Jagex is publishing a new game, this one a 'multi-format living' UE4 multiplayer action RPG
I dunno about you, but I always get a little nervous whenever Jagex announces a new game, given how so many of them have petered out before even being finished. But today's announcement that Jagex is working on a new game actually refers to more of a publishing arrangement, this one with Polish studio Flying […]
The $420K ArcheAge class action lawsuit settlement is finally paying out
I'm quite sure our readers will remember the class action lawsuit a group of gamers lodged against Trion Worlds way back in 2015 – that one was the one where they accused the ArcheAge publisher of violating consumer laws, falsely advertising a 10% founder perk discount for its cash shop, and breaking California's illegal-lottery law. […]
The Daily Grind: What borky system in your favorite MMO needs some love?
A few weeks back, a new SWG Legends chef was chatting me up on Discord, asking what were frankly very reasonable questions about some of the nonsense in the game's crafting system. I found myself basically counseling this player to ignore whole schematics and experimentation lines and enhancement tissues that seem like they'd be really […]
MMO Week in Review: EVE Echoes, Epic Games, and Reflections in Crystal
Well, at least this week wasn't boring! While gaming headlines were dominated by the emerging Epic Games lawsuits against Apple and Google over Fortnite and money, the MMO industry brought its A-game, with EVE Echoes going fully live, FFXIV launching Reflections in Crystal, Guild Wars 2 rolling out the Festival of the Four Winds, and […]
Electronic Arts is rebranding all its EA Access and Origin stuff as EA Play
Less than a week ago, we covered EA's new plan to port EA Access, which was originally part of the EA Origin hodgepodge, over to its new best friend Steam, with a subscription plan of $4.99 monthly ($29.99 annually). At the time, we didn't have a hard date, just late summer, but on Friday, EA […]
The MOP Up: Old School RuneScape's trailblazer league
A brand-new game mode is coming to Old School RuneScape with special challenges and special rewards. It's called the Trailblazer League, and you are invited to be a part of it. "In this approximately two-month League, you will start off as a fresh account on a separate game mode locked in Misthalin, where it all […]
This is the weirdest Fortnite lawsuit you're going to read about all week
While Epic Games busies itself taking on some of the biggest digital platforms in the world, it's being sued by a Samson of its own. According to the lawsuit, the problem is the Coral Castle launched as part of Fortnite's recent underwater-centered season. As Polygon notes, it's basically just a cute Atlantis. But "Coral Castle" […]
Star Citizen promotes its latest buyable ship, stays mum on Squadron 42 progress
Star Citizen is having a busy August, what with the release of alpha 3.10 and breaking last year's sales records and all. This week, Cloud Imperium released the Esperia Talon, the previously leaked light fighter, asking as much as $100 for the ship that won't be flyable until December. If that doesn't put you off […]
Vendetta Online pretty much just went free-to-play last night
One of the first cross-platform MMORPGs ever just got even more friendly to the free-to-play PC crowd. Sci-fi MMO Vendetta Online announced last night a business model shift that makes the subscription truly optional: Before, PC players had to jump from a trial to a $1 subscription, whereas now they default to freemium as on […]
One Shots: Showing up to play hard
It's always a great feeling when you know you're not alone when facing great challenges in your life — or in your video games. That world boss might look intimidating, but it doesn't stand a chance when you show up in Blade and Soul with your four best friends and their elite battle skills. "You […]
The Daily Grind: How aggressive do you like to be in MMO group content?
It will probably not surprise anyone reading this that I do a fair bit of group content in Final Fantasy XIV, and veterans of the game will probably recognize that there are two distinct sorts of groups you get in anything larger than a dungeon. The first is where you have tanks both hanging back, […]
Make My MMO: Crowfall extends its beta as the superhero MMOs vie for testers
This week in MMO crowdfunding, Crowfall blasted into beta, becoming the latest crowdfunded MMORPG to break through that barrier. In fact, it's even extended that playtest for non-backers based on community feedback. "Registered players, who are not Backers, can now playtest for 30-days from the date of the beta invite. This extended period will give […]
Albion Online's massive spider mount is coming in Season 10
Today's Albion Online post is brought to you by your friendly nightmare spider, Gary. Gary is excited to tell you that Albion is preparing its 10th guild season, which is scheduled to kick off on August 29th (which was delayed from the 22nd). If guilds perform well enough, they can get a giant spider mount […]
Blade and Soul's next update introduces a compound system to the mix
Are you ready for some foooootballlll? No? Well then, maybe you're more in the mood for some Blade and Soul instead. You've got that way about you. And if this is the case, then you definitely want to be around next week when the game drops its next content release. The Midnight Reborn update is […]
Ubisoft ousts its seventh manager in sexual misconduct investigation
Ubisoft reckoning with its workplace culture continues, most recently with the firing of Assassin's Creed Valhalla creative director Ashraf Ismail. According to Kotaku, Ismail was already on leave from the team following accusations that he'd abused his position at Ubisoft to prey on industry newbies, but Ubisoft Montreal made it official this week, announcing his […]
Global Chat: Are MMO classes too similar to each other?
Blogger Yeebo Fernbottom has a beef with MMOs, and maybe you can relate. The issue, as the Yeebs sees it, is that in the endless pursuit of class balance, we've ended up with a field of boring professions that are too close to each other. "However I also can't help but feel like we have […]
Dual Universe AMA talks about beta, sanctuary moons, and free money
With the end of Dual Universe's NDA and the start of beta later this month, you can expect to be hearing a lot more about this space sim sandbox. And at the forefront of the game's chatter is the dev team, which hosted an AMA on Reddit this past Friday. Speaking of the beta, Creative […]
WRUP: Dril edition
new rule for makin a character in an MMO is that you must be personally willing to kiss them on the mouth. with. tongue. no exceptions to this rulle time to french with the lizard boys ("crying" finally) every1 is too dang HORNY to be allowd to play Lord of the Rings Online the way […]
The Daily Grind: What was your most awkward MMO roleplaying experience?
Back in the early 1990s, I glommed onto Star Trek bulletin board systems in the hopes that I might connect with some fellow Trekkies. It was there that I discovered an ongoing roleplaying game that took place on a starship with numerous decks and rooms. I thought it was the niftiest thing, so I created […]
Betawatch: Torchlight III does its final pre-launch wipe
Gosh, what a strange road it has been for Torchlight III. Like… at one point that wasn't even its name. But the important thing is that the game has just had its last major update and character wipe that's expected before the game's full launch, which means that launch is probably not too far off. […]
MMO Business Roundup: GDC 2021, Netmarble, NYCC, voice actors, Gamescom, Steam's autumn festival
Welcome back to another roundup of MMO and MMO-adjacent industry news! GDC 2021: Fresh off the digital GDC Summer 2020, Informa Tech announced that its 2021 event will be a hybrid event, offering in-person content in San Francisco and online content too, from July 19th through July 23rd. It looks as if this will be […]
Atlas adds Warehouses to store all of your Farmhouse resources
Picture this: A pirate in full piratical garb is marching across a sandy beach with armfuls of wheat, slipping along the sand as he stumbles toward a storage facility. Tripping on a crab, he falls over and sends wheat scattering everywhere, then looks at the camera in exasperation and says, "There's got to be a […]
Black Desert's Shadow Arena unlocks all heroes this month and adds a new one
"A new warrior eyes the battlefield, wielding her battle axe and shield of revenge." While we here at Massively OP only have battle axes of indigestion and shields of Netflix binging, Black Desert's Shadow Arena spin-off is bringing a fierce new fighter into the fray. Her name is Igrid, and she will end you. By […]
Elite Dangerous adjusts overlapping hotspots and tritium performance
Fleet carriers are big and they cause balance issues in Elite Dangerous. Not unfixable ones, mind you; just ones that have to be adjusted over time. For example, one of the existing problems in place was that overlapping hotspots for resources were overwhelmingly powerful, so that was patched to no longer be the case and […]
Pagan Online rebrands as Pagan: Absent Gods after jettisoning multiplayer
If it escaped your attention last month, Pagan Online is, well, no longer online. Studio Mad Head said that the multiplayer servers were "not sustainable" and that it didn't have plans to add more content in any case, especially once it was cut loose from Wargaming's publishing arm. Now, Mad Head has rebranded the action […]
Red Dead Online opens up two new legendary coyotes for players to hunt
Inside of you there are two wolves. Inside of Red Dead Online there are two legendary coyotes. What you should do is get the two wolves inside of you to fight the two legendary coyotes because that would be kind of awesome, but what you can actually do is work to track down the Red […]
Leaderboard: Why do you 'work' in MMORPGs?
A while back, WAPO put up a piece called Why do we enjoy games that make us work? Proficiency, control, fairness, escape. This is a topic I have come back to over and over through the years, a search through our database shows me. But I can't help it: There was the one about workification vs. […]
Aion outlines its balance update in the wake of Shadows of Balaurea
There is not a great deal of new content in the next patch for Aion in North America. There is some, of course; for example, players will have access to two new ultimate transformations (Tiamat and Ereshkigal) with associated collections. But most of what next Wednesday will bring involves changes to balance, like how every […]
GDC Summer 2020: Better living, climate awareness, and citizen science through games
Way back during GDC 2018, I covered several panels relating to gaming for good. Things like citizen science projects, games as medicine or for health education, charities, and more. Considering how much COVID has impacted our societies, it should be no surprise that some of this year's GDC Summer 2020 panels addressed that and other […]
When the COVID dust settles, Nexon hopes to be among entertainment's winners
Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney recently gave one whooper of an interview to GamesIndustry.biz arguing that the games industry is reaching a "major transition point" for a "new generation of major entertainment companies." To prove his point, he invokes no less than the Mouse House and the impact of COVID. "Think about it: On January 1, […]
Massively Overthinking: Jumping the shark in MMOs
I'm sure those few people out there still bearing a grudge over the Rune-keeper would disagree with me, but one of the things that attracts me to LOTRO is my sense that it's never jumped the shark and done something truly out of whack for the game. It's fantasy, but it's pretty low for fantasy, […]
Fallout 76 starts testing its One Wasteland leveling revamp
One of Fallout 76's more significant design flaws has a big fix in the works — and you can test it out right now. On the PTS, Fallout 76 is putting its One Wasteland revamp through the paces. This update will make the whole game accessible to all players. "Creature levels throughout Appalachia will now […]
Nexon's V4 plans new zones and quests August 25, web-based minigame now
MOP's Carlo has been obsessively playing one game for the last few weeks: Nexon's brand-new crossplatform MMO V4. The game rolled out toward the end of July with its flashy Unreal Engine graphics and PvPvE and nobile-friendly automated gameplay. And now, Nexon has announced the game's next content launch is on the way for August […]
Epic Games could lose almost $50M every month the Fortnite Apple/Google lawsuits go on
Yesterday, we covered the emerging legal drama between Epic Games and… well, everyone with a platform trying to take a cut from transactions inside apps. Epic implemented discounted direct payments inside its mobile apps, inciting Apple and Google to ban Fortnite from their marketplaces, which in turn allowed Epic to drop its prepared "Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite" […]
