The Stream Team: Scion smash in Path of Exile
Massively OP's MJ has had to do some demo work in her new home, but she's not ready to stop now! Even with sore muscles, she can smash things up with her Scion in Path of Exile. And that's exactly what she plans on spending her evening doing, so join us live at 8:00 p.m. […]
OrbusVR previews the Aberration Island community goal and matches unlock points for a week
For the past several weeks, OrbusVR players have been participating in the Explore the Realm event in an effort to unlock a new island to explore, while the devs of the VR MMO have been making that goal easier by uncapping event totals which has reportedly helped fill the bar to completion significantly. Over the […]
Supremacy 1 is a new mobile and browser MMORTS coming to Steam
August has seen another new mobile MMO launch, this one a strategy MMO Supremacy 1914 spinoff called just Supremacy 1, which developer Bytro says is meant to be a deep MMORTS that is still accessible to newbies. "Supremacy 1 puts players in command of a nation during the dark days of World War I, in […]
Champions Online wants you to create a developer's costume
One of the unique perks of working on Champions Online for Cryptic is that each developer gets his or her own in-game avatar, complete with a personalized look. But there's one dev that is lacking such an honor, and the studio is looking to the playerbase to help writer and community manager Mike "Ambassador Kael" […]
Shroud of the Avatar will add spawn functionality and customization to player town signposts
When is a sign more than a sign? When it doubles as a spawn location as well as a teleporter. That's some of the duties that player-owned town signposts will soon be capable of in an upcoming update to Shroud of the Avatar. In addition to letting players fast travel to other player-owned towns, these […]
Realm of the Mad God introduces some deadly desert ruins as it preps to close its Flash client in September
Even if sand is coarse and rough and gets everywhere, there are bigger problems with the desert ruins area that was recently introduced to premadeath dungeon-crawling shooter MMO Realm of the Mad God. Things like monsters that would very much like to shoot your character down, thanks very much. This new Ancient Ruins dungeon also […]
RuneScape introduces a traveling artisan and begins taking nominations for the Golden Gnomes awards
This week in RuneScape we have traveling artisans, some Golden Gnomes, and a couple of little fixes to share. It's just another Monday for fans of Jagex's MMORPG! Players who visit the Dwarven Mine entrance have likely noticed a new NPC by the name of Doran the Tool Artisan, who is bringing with him a […]
World of Warcraft kicks off a new animated series, Afterlives, starting on Thursday
The old adage about writing is that a dead character is less interesting than a living one, because a dead one can't do anything more. World of Warcraft has heard that advice and informed someone to hold its beer, because its new animated series is all about dead people. Of course, since it's clearly leading […]
Webzen will no longer run Flyff as transfer of the MMO to a new publisher is underway
It appears to be the end of the Webzen era for Flyff as the free-to-play MMO will no longer be serviced by the company. However, the game will live on as it will trade hands with an unannounced new publishing partner. "We are working with Gala and the new publisher to ensure there is a […]
TERA Battle Arena spotlights several heroes and a boss from the upcoming Battle Arena MOBA
What's a MOBA without heroes to control and bosses to fight? A wholly non-existent game, that's what, and TERA's in-development Battle Arena MOBA side piece will absolutely feature both. And if you don't believe me, then you can look at a spotlight post for yourself. Unless you really thought a doggo dual-wielding wrenches as weapons […]
IKEA Taiwan recreates a catalogue's offerings in Animal Crossing New Horizons
In what is probably one of the most creative and surprising bits of synergy between gaming and the real world, a Taiwanese branch of IKEA has managed to recreate its catalogue's offerings in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cobbling together pages from the store's catalogue into in-game versions of themselves. The showcased decor is almost shot-for-shot […]
Wisdom of Nym: Impressions of Final Fantasy XIV's Reflections in Crystal storylines
All right, let's make something very clear right off the bat: There will be spoilers in this column. If you have managed to not do the content yet and wish to avoid spoilers, fairly warned be ye. The probability of a fan of Final Fantasy XIV having waited for two weeks to do the story […]
Elder Scrolls Online's Stonethorn dungeon DLC and update 27 are live for PC and Mac today
It's patch day for Elder Scrolls Online, and this is no ordinary patch: It's the Stonethorn DLC and update 27, which as we've been covering ushers in the character pathing system for player homes. Let's start with the DLC: Stonethorn, which is buyable for 1500 crowns for PC players or free with the sub. It includes […]
Fight or Kite: Early thoughts on Crowfall's lively beta, necromancy, and alts
Anyone who's been following Crowfall over the years since its original Kickstarter has likely at one point or another felt like the game's development was dragging out to infinity – pre-alpha seemed to have no ending. So a couple weeks ago when ArtCraft pulled the trigger and opened up its beta to the masses (well, […]
Population Zero's playerbase dwindles into single-digit territory as the devs confirm 'light' content for August
It would appear that the fortunes for early access survival MMO Population Zero are not improving whatsoever. In fact, the game's population as of a current check of Steam Charts sees a single person playing right now, with a 24-hour peak of only two people. Worse yet, the game's Steam page and official site have […]
Rumor: Halo Infinite may drop Xbox One support, delay to 2022
It may not be a good idea to base all of your hopes and dreams on Halo Infinite at this point in time. It was bad enough that 343 Industries recently announced that the multiplayer shooter would be delaying into 2021, but the scuttlebutt is that a further delay may be in the cards — […]
Past Fate's Kickstarter run was successful, just making its $25,000 goal
This past month, we've been keeping an eye on a little fantasy MMORPG called Past Fate that's been waging a crowdfunding campaign to help with its development. And it's been a successful campaign, too, closing out at $25,364 with the help of over a hundred backers, several of whom pitched in as much as $4000 […]
Microsoft general manager says Apple's block of Unreal Engine 'will harm game creators and gamers'
The ongoing kaiju-sized hand-slapping fight between Epic Games and Apple isn't just about two massive corporations having a hissy fit over money; it's tangentially about whether developers will be able to use Unreal Engine to create games on iOS, something that readers will recall is under real threat thanks to retaliatory actions taken by Apple […]
The Daily Grind: What's the most annoying 'dark pattern' in MMO gaming?
I've been kind of obsessed with dark patterns – that is, intentionally deceptive or annoying interface design – for kind of a while now, so it's vindicating to see research on the subject. Last year, researchers from Princeton analyzed 11,000 online shopping sites to identify 15 specific types of dark patterns across 1818 instances they […]
Neverwinter's roadmap promises new stories, system refinements, and a faster path to epic levels
The devs of Neverwinter have peered deep and hard into their crystal ball and they see… they see… they see a content roadmap. Yes, yes, a chart of things for players to do stretching all the way into September 2021. Things like two new modules, a new story arc, the promise of "evolving-world content," and […]
Multiplayer shooter Frostpoint VR is plotting a closed beta beginning next week
Somehow we've not covered Frostpoint VR: Proving Grounds yet even in passing, so with its closed beta beginning next week, now's a good time. The game is a multiplayer shooter from inXile planned for the Rift, Vive, and Valve Index too, and it's doing something few online games have done: take players to Antarctica. Hence […]
The MOP Up: EVE Echoes racks up one million players
It looks like CCP's newest mobile game is already a smash hit. According to the studio, EVE Echoes has already crossed one million players — and counting. Of course, that doesn't mean that EVE Online is being abandoned. Just the opposite, in fact, if you take a look at all of the patches that have […]
Destiny 2 takes a look at the Prophecy dungeon design and explains the Content Vault
Destiny 2 appears to be wearing its MMO-ness like a snuggly coat if a couple of recent articles are to be believed, what with its love affair for dungeon design and its upcoming system that will lock up old content to keep things in the world fresh. In one, we get a close look at […]
Jukebox Heroes: Great tunes from Destiny's first soundtrack
Is there any MMO soundtrack that arrived with such incredible expectations and baggage as Destiny? If so, I can't recall it. We have not only the legacy of Halo's scores (which are for some gamers the only soundtrack they know and revere) but also the saga of Composer Martin O'Donnell's firing and the boon of […]
RuneScape introduces the Alchemical Hydrix gem, OSRS seeks feedback for its Trailblazer League
The staff at MOP were very kind to leave me the duty of handling the Jagex bundle of news updates as a welcome back from my week-long internet outage, it seems. Thaaaaanks, guuuuys. The week gone in RuneScape saw the introduction of the Alchemical Hydrix, a powerful gem that is used for two pieces of […]
One Shots: Today's forecast is foggy with a light chance of dragons
The other day I was at the zoo watching a Siberian Tiger stalk around its exhibit, and I was thinking, "If I encountered that thing in the wild, I would nope out of Russia so fast that it would leave skid marks." Now, just imagine what it's like to live in countries where seeing dragons […]
The Daily Grind: Are there any languishing MMOs you're still hopeful will recover?
You know, I was pretty down with the long wait for Final Fantasy XIV's most recent patch, but I have nothing on Secret World Legends fans. I had to wait two months longer than planned. They have been waiting for what feels like it has been four hundred years, and there's no sign of hope […]
Battle Bards Episode 175: Prehistoric jams
Having perfected their musical time machine, the Battle Bards leap back to the past to enjoy the soundscapes of dinosaurs and other prehistoric denizens. What does the MMO soundtrack for savage wildlands and dinotopias sound like? Tune into today's episode and find out! Battle Bards is a the world's first, best, and only MMO music podcast. […]
Star Citizen Live discusses future updates, weapons, and features for FPS gameplay
What's next for shooting people with your handheld weaponry in Star Citizen? That was the subject of the latest weekly developer roundtable which brought on Jonny Jacevicius and Chris Parry to talk about upcoming features that are in the works for the game's FPS combat. With the addition of less-lethal damage like melee stuns and […]
Epic-Apple lawsuit filings reveal Epic's pre-suit efforts at securing competing payment options
The upcoming legal clash between Apple and Epic Games has mostly featured a competition by Epic to secure mind share, painting the company in general and Fortnite in specific as victims of Apple's overbearing policies through parody ads and a petty competition. Some recently released information as part of a court filing from Apple might […]
WoW Classic de-layers servers, causing queues to return
World of Warcraft Classic is one big happy family again — but maybe not quite that happy. Following a decision to re-implement layering tech this past April to handle overpopulation issues, Blizzard announced on Friday that it was removing these layers for all of the realms. "Over the weeks since several high-population realms were configured […]
The Game Archaeologist: Flagship's Mythos
Whenever the topic of Flagship Studios comes up, usually it's in conjunction with Hellgate: London. And while Hellgate certainly was a huge and ultimately not-too-successful effort by the studio, there was another MMO that was greatly affected by the company going belly-up in 2008 called Mythos. I felt that Mythos absolutely should be discussed in […]
Ashes of Creation will now self-publish in EU/CIS regions, says its split with My.Games was amicable
Yesterday, Intrepid Studios announced that it would be breaking from its partnership with My.Games and will take over publishing duties for in-development MMORPG Ashes of Creation in both the EU and in the CIS region, an announcement that made the press release rounds initially. Now, a more player-facing statement of the decision has been posted […]
WRUP: Things Huey Lewis has lied to me about and the ways he did so edition
Lie: "Don't take money, don't take fame, don't need no credit card to ride this train." Format: Song (The Power of Love) Truth: It in fact can take quite a bit of money to make a romantic relationship work, and credit cards are helpful. Fame is generally superfluous. Lie: "I want a new drug." Format: […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMO has benefited the most from cross-promotion?
One of the great advantages of making an MMO in an established IP is that there are all sorts of opportunities to draw in players via cross-promotional marketing. Star Trek Online has done a whole ton of this over its decade of life, as did Marvel Heroes (RIP). Remember when Marvel Heroes was tossing in […]
Betawatch: New World has a new client for a new beta
There's a beta event going down next week in New World, don't you know, and it's coming with a new shiny client. Can you smell that new beta scent? Probably not. It's a bunch of computer data and it would probably smell like electricity. You shouldn't even be trying to smell it. Why are you […]
MMORTS Starborne's first beta dev blog enters the Dead Zone
Starborne may well be a rising star in the MMORTS genre, causing at least one of our number here at Massively OP to become "totally and completely addicted" to its gameplay. But it definitely needs to up its promotion if it wants to become anything other than an extremely niche title, which is why it's […]
Shadow Arena plans rival system for ranked matches, plus several new modes
When we covered Pearl Abyss' second quarter financial report a few weeks ago, one of the things that stood out to me is that the company does not appear to be giving up on Shadow Arena, its battle royale effort that hit early access back in May. Here in the west, the game started off […]
Take on the evil plant queen Alice in Grand Fantasia's August update
Gamigo has a slew of MMOs that don't get a lot of attention, especially since the Trion takeover, and one of those is the cutesy free-to-play anime MMO Grand Fantasia, which this week dropped a late summer update that teams players up with sprites to take on a terrifying plant queen in a new city […]
MapleStory previews its Astral Blessings event, winds down Burning World
MapleStory fans must be relieved to know that even after the closure of MapleStory 2, the franchise is still making money for Nexon hand over fist and is no danger whatsoever. In fact, it's about to get a large update in the form of Astral Blessings, which Nexon has been teasing all week. It's loaded […]
David Brevik discusses how Diablo 2's development was marked with a year of crunch
It's easy to think of "crunch" in game development being something of a more recent phenomenon as we've heard more about it. It's also easy to assume that your favorite games didn't involve any, or at least involved less. But a recent talk at Devcom Digital by the director of Diablo 2, David Brevik, shines […]
Ex-Riot developers found Odyssey Interactive, raise $6M in seed funding
While Riot Games seems to be shedding developers left and right these days, one good thing that's come out of this is the formation of several new game studios with ambitious and motivated teams. One such studio that just appeared on the scene is Odyssey Interactive, a new company that's aiming to build competitive games […]
The Stream Team: Vanquishing the Voidrakar assaulting AQ3D's DragonWatch Village
So much has happened in AQ3D in the short time Massively OP's MJ has been away from her computer. And while she's not about to grind any class to 100 anytime soon, she can go help save the village of DragonWatch, which is currently under siege by the Voidrakar. She's searching for he newly discovered […]
Champions Online invites you to kill bugs with fire (or frost, lightning, or plasma)
Bugs! Spiders! Creepy crawlies! If these pests invade your home, you have our full permission to exterminate with extreme prejudice. And if giant-sized versions of these insects crawl into Champions Online, you have an obligation to save the world by smooshing them with every power at your disposal. Champions Online is in such need of […]
Star Citizen video and AMA discuss environmental art, rocks, and throwing all the things
Star Citizen's been back in the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons – weird Squadron 42 communication mishaps, pixelships, and huge piles of money being the main ones. But while one part of CIG was busy with that, the rest of the studio was actually off making the damn game, as demonstrated by […]
WoW Factor: All I want from Shadowlands is the pre-patch
Folks, I am tired. It is a deep sort of tired, the one that seeps down to the bone. And it's the kind of tired that has you looking at the World of Warcraft launcher and thinking about the fun that's coming next… followed not all that long thereafter by a new wave of existing […]
Fall Guys sparks a $325,000 charity bidding war between brands
This may just be the most adorable and wholesome thing you'll read all week. The insanely popular (and insanely bonkers) battle royale Fall Guys triggered a massive bidding war between other companies that has now rocketed to $325,000 with over a week to go. The studio that promises to donate the most money to Special […]
Past Fate's Kickstarter is 80% funded as its end looms tomorrow
We're down to the wire for MMORPG Past Fate, whose second Kickstarter is set to expire tomorrow morning. A week or two ago, I didn't think they'd make it; only $4000 had been raised by August 21st. But as of today, the game is hovering around $20,000 of its $25,000 goal, meaning it definitely has […]
Epic's new #FreeFortnite Cup promo is another cynical dig on Apple
If you thought Epic Games was being childish or cynical in its attempts to rile up the video game faithful over its otherwise perfectly reasonable anti-monopoly lawsuits against Apple (and Google, though it's been more of an afterthought), well, then you're not going to change your mind as a result of this story. Apparently, a […]
World of Warcraft is adding diminishing returns for secondary stats in Shadowlands
So secondary stats on gear in World of Warcraft have the potential to get out of control. Fortunately, the developers have a solution for Shadowlands by… wait, I heard someone shout, "by ensuring the endgame isn't an ever-escalating series of rewards for overstuffed raid tiers." That's wrong. Be quiet. It's by… no, wait, someone else shouted, […]
