Epic Games and Apple both ask to have their case be heard by the judge, not a jury
It appears that both Apple and Epic Games have finally found at least one piece of common ground. Earlier in the week, we reported on a three hour hearing where Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers ruled to have the case moved to a jury trial at some point in the middle of 2021. Now, it appears […]
Ashes of Creation previews mounts and underwater content in latest livestream
Getting around on foot in Ashes of Creation is all well and good, but why bother with that when you've got mounts? That was a topic of discussion for a recent developer livestream which focused on mounts in general, underwater mounts in specific, as well as a bit about underwater content among other things. In […]
Star Wars Squadrons gears up for launch tomorrowday
EA's next big Star Wars game, Star Wars Squadrons, is set to release tomorrow with its shiny $39.99 pricetag and availability on almost every current platform, including VR. As we've covered all year, the game isn't an MMO per se, but it does feature some multiplayer content alongside the single-player campaign. "In Star Wars: Squadrons, […]
The Daily Grind: What makes you most likely to spend money on a free-to-play MMO?
There are two basic approaches that strike me when it comes to free-to-play monetization, as I see it. The first is a sense of contempt for players who aren't paying, with everything being somehow stymied or lessened because you're a mere free player and not a proper paying customer. The second is the inverse, that […]
The Stream Team: Canvassing Corellia and hunting Hoth for SWTOR's droids
The search for droids (oh, and we suppose The Shroud, too) continues in SWTOR. This week, Massively OP's Larry and MJ will be canvassing Corellia and hunting Hoth for their targets. Will it get dangerous? Viewers can only hope! Join us live at 8:00 p.m. to see if the Death Counter is forced to starve […]
Mortal Online 2 adds new races and a host of other adjustments in its latest combat alpha patch
The combat alpha testing for Mortal Online 2 continues to move forward as the most recent patch has made several additions, most notably the Alvarin races. There's also some new Berserker armor, the ability to craft weapons, and new poleaxe weapons. As well as new stuff, existing stuff has been adjusted with this latest patch […]
Co-op roguelike ARPG Darksburg has officially launched on Steam
Just in case you missed the report from earlier in the month, allow us to remind you that as of last week, Darksburg officially left early access and released its full 1.0 version as of last week. Styling itself as one of the few cooperative roguelike games out there, Darksburg sees players in teams of […]
Not So Massively roundup: Iron Harvest, Second Extinction, Valorant, Paladins, Wolf Team, The Cycle, and New Frontier
Welcome back to a quick roundup of recent news from some not-so-massively online multiplayer titles. Wolf Team: Gamigo's MMOFPS introduced a new map last week called Jungle, a deathmatch template. Wolf Team doesn't get a lot of coverage, but yes, this is a PvP game where you transform into werewolves and use wolf powers. Hey, […]
Wurm Online patches in improvements to sacrificing items
Players in Wurm Online deserve to get stuff when they sacrifice things. Not things like time or money, but in-game items used for Favor. The game's latest patch improves that particular system by no longer discarding excess Favor if your bar is full or would be overfilled when you sacrifice something; instead, you have that amount […]
Old School RuneScape breaks down the Trailblazer League in a video and adds the last Poll 72 updates
The time for the upcoming Trailblazer League in Old School RuneScape is almost nigh, so in order to get players prepared for it (and maybe stir the pot of hype a bit), there's a newly released video that offers up a closer look at what the new League is up to. The video condenses a […]
Final Fantasy XI prepares for full throttle campaigns in October
The next version update for Final Fantasy XI will be in October, but at this point no details are known beyond the usual monthly content cycles. Still, while that would be a bit less content than the past few patches, it should be buoyed by the Autumn Full Throttle Campaign just announced, which is all about […]
Guild Wars 2 preps tournament week, while community website Dulfy.net disappears
Guild Wars 2's PvP scene is a lot like hanging out at the pool. Some players are content to sit on the sidelines, some want to dip their toes into the WvW water, and some fully dive into the full arena experience. ArenaNet is hoping to tempt more players into the pool with its announcement […]
The Stream Team: Happy 10th birthday Final Fantasy XIV!
Double digits unlocked! FFXIV turns 10 today — if you count from the day first launch. (With A Realm Reborn, the game enjoyed a very successful second launch.) Massively OP's MJ is not about to miss this milestone; besides, if the first iteration didn't happen, we wouldn't have the second, right? Also, it's been too […]
Today's Crowfall patch adds guild alliances, mounts, and performance boosts
Crowfall's much-touted guild alliance update has arrived to the beta today, along with the rest of the 6.100 content, which includes the alliance system, mounts, faction banking, crafting improvements, and performance boosts that should increase the total number of players in battle to 175. "The Alliance system is now live offering a new path to […]
PWE is delaying Magic Legends' launch to spring 2021
Back in January, PWE announced that Magic Legends, no longer an MMO, would launch for PC in 2020, with console releases to follow in 2021. Given that we're just about in the last quarter of the year, and a whole lot has happened in the world since January, you might have wondered whether that date […]
PSA: Lord of the Rings Online has switched its payment processors – RIP Subway gift cards
You can no longer pay for things in Lord of the Rings Online via Subway gift cards. No, really. This is a thing. Anyone and everyone who had opted to pay for stuff in the game via a gift card intended for delicious sandwiches is someone not to be messed with. Unfortunately, some messing may […]
Perfect Ten: 10 tools MMOs use to tell stories
While some players like to rebel against the notion that MMORPGs are storytelling experiencies, that narrative is exactly why I show up to these games in the first place. The social atmosphere and persistent worlds are nice, but if I'm going to be spending hundreds of hours in a virtual world, I want to be […]
World of Warcraft explains Shadowlands' Conduit levels, preps stress test for today
With less than a month until the announced launch date for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, players are anxiously crying out in one voice for just several dozen things. Seriously, there's a lot of consternation in the playerbase right now. But one of the points of anxiety has been the functionality of conduits, and the latest official […]
Black Desert confirms backwards compatibility with PS5 and Xbox Series X
So, you like to play Black Desert on console, but you also are excited for the next generation of consoles that are coming soon. What do you do? You don't worry is what you do because Pearl Abyss has recently confirmed that the game will be fully backwards compatible with the new PlayStation 5 and […]
Here's Torchlight III's headstart pre-launch is going to work in October
Hot on the heels of its launch announcement yesterday, Torchlight III's Echtra Games and PWE posted another state of the game piece meant for existing players and testers. Notably, the studios say, the early access period will come to a close with the launch of the game and the 1.0 release, though early access players […]
Elite: Dangerous elaborates on how Odyssey moves careers and missions to NPCs, stations, and settlements
Most of the time, getting a mission in Elite: Dangerous involved docking into a spaceport and navigating a UI from the seat of your spaceship. That's all completely changing when the Odyssey expansion arrives, though, as the ability to leave the ship and walk around stations and space ports will now deliver mission giving in […]
PBS Kids' kart-centric MMO Kart Kingdom is sunsetting today after five years online
While a game like Kart Kingdom is not often touched upon here, it's still a valuable place in the MMO sphere, especially since there are fewer MMOs aimed at children nowadays. Unfortunately, that number is decreasing by one more as Kart Kingdom announced its shutdown after five years of operation. For those unaware, Kart Kingdom […]
CD Projekt Red goes back on its word regarding Cyberpunk 2077 crunch
Crunch — the period of development time where studios enact overtime to get a product ready to ship — is a controversial and harmful practice that has come under increased fire in recent years. Last year, CD Projekt Red took a vocal stand against crunch, saying that it would most definitely, most assuredly not enact […]
The Daily Grind: Why didn't RIFT do better?
Want to make me sad? All you need to do is remind me that RIFT is stagnating in the hands of Gamigo, which hasn't seen fit to do much with this incredible MMO since it acquired it from Trion Worlds. It's really depressing to see this title languish when it could be thriving under the […]
The Stream Team: Avenging dragons in Guild Wars 2
Have you heard of Guild Wars 2-sday? Well now you have! Massively OP's MJ has decided that it's the perfect day to continue her Tyria adventures. And those adventures are focused on avenging a dragon! Little did she know last time that her heart would shatter just like the dragon. Join us live at 8:00 […]
Pokemon Sword and Shield teases dungeons, Pokemon Go will finally connect to Home
Today's Pokemon Direct had some surprising news for franchise fans. First, the second Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion, The Crown Tundra, is coming out October 22nd, 2020. We've previously discussed how some kind of movement dungeons would be involved, and as represented in the video, it seems teams of up to four players will simply […]
Path of Exile's developers are working at improving Heist rewards and making Heists shorter
After about two weeks of elegant heist antics in Path of Exile, the developers are hard at work improving the experience. This includes literal experience, too; right now, Heist enemies are just not providing enough experience for fighting through them. So one of the big areas the team is working on is providing more experience (especially […]
Hearthstone begins Halloween celebrations with the Masquerade Ball event
Some balls are held for charity and some for fancy dress, but the ball being held in Hearthstone's Scholomace Academy is the one we'll be talking about. Starting today, the Masquerade Ball event is beginning, bringing some Halloween-themed fun and a few wrinkles to the game modes of the online CCG. Starting today, players will […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 290: African expedition
Justin and Bree discuss Ultima Online New Legacy, Phantasy Star Online 2's New Genesis, LOTRO's new class, WoW and BlizzConline, The Wagadu Chronicles, and Secret World Legends, with adventures in WoW, Guild Wars, and City of Heroes, plus mailbag topics on representation in MMOs and favorite jumping puzzles.
Shroud of the Avatar adds Lord British's castle, details food updates, player dungeon creature spawners, and even bigger player towns
The latest newsletter from Shroud of the Avatar has a lot of ground to cover this time around in terms of content being added or soon to be added. On the "added" front is the Lord British's castle adventure, which readers will recall was first opened to Episode 2 early access buyers this past July. […]
Diablo IV devs discuss 'major changes' for the game's skill and talent systems
Hey, remember how Blizzard is still work on Diablo IV? Yeah, one or two other major things in 2020 may have made that slip from your mind. But today the studio released another quarterly update on the game's development. Lead Systems Designer David Kim says the studio has been busy tweaking ancestral, demonic, and angelic […]
City of Heroes: Homecoming previews Page 6 content, preps for Halloween, and shares the cost of operations
We've got a whole lot of news pouring out of the Homecoming rogue servers for City of Heroes, so let's dive right in. First off, we've got a preview of Page 6 content, which will be introducing a new Sonic Manipulation secondary powerset for Blasters, a whole slew of endgame balance adjustments that will mostly […]
Phantasy Star Online 2's episode 5 launches tomorrow with new hero class, level cap bump, and raids
Tomorrow's patch day for Phantasy Star Online 2, SEGA announced today, complete with new trailer and pics too. Episode 5 begins tomorrow, meaning that the "road to episode 5" content is nearing completion tonight. "In Episode 5, following the aid of those on Earth, players discover a mysterious portal that leads to another dimension, called […]
PSA: Migrate your Closers account by December or lose it all
The account migration for Closers Online is now live, an event which follows August's announcement that Krafton was dissolving En Masse Entertainment and transferring the game's operation back to Naddic, its original developer. The team created a step-by-step guide to walk you through the process of creating a Naddic account and getting your Closers roster […]
Leaderboard: To which WoW expansion era will you send your Shadowlands alts first?
One of the more intriguing things about World of Warcraft Shadowlands, at least for me, is the game's new leveling system. While brand-new accounts will have to play a tutorial and then Battle for Azeroth before pushing into Shadowlands, alts will have the opportunity to choose any of the expansions, including the Cataclysm vanilla zones […]
Epic/Apple lawsuit proceeds to trial by jury as early as July 2021, Fortnite still barred on iOS
It looks like the ongoing legal tussle between Epic Games and Apple over Fortnite and the 30% App Store cut will be moving to the courts. In a hearing on Monday, Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers has stated that the antitrust matter should now move to a trial by jury, which could happen as early as […]
Global Chat: Why is LOTRO charging for its fall update?
Roger over at Contains Moderate Peril recently ducked into the upcoming DLC for Lord of the Rings Online to see what it contained and if it was worth the $20 price tag. He reports that it looks pretty standard for an update and considers it a little strange why SSG is charging for it. "I […]
As US COVID deaths pass 200,000, the LA ComicCon refuses to cancel
Since January, we've been covering the endless stream of gaming and geek conventions that have closed their doors and gone online in an effort to avoid exacerbating the spread of the deadly COVID pandemic that's killed over 200,000 people in the US and over a million around the world. But not the LA Comic Con! […]
World of Warcraft is wiping Shadowlands characters and pulls back its release candidate of the pre-patch
Well, this is slightly less than heartening for World of Warcraft players. There's less than a month until the stated launch date for Shadowlands, but despite player predictions putting the patch today, there is still no pre-patch and the most recent test server build actually removed the release candidate status. On top of that, the beta […]
Torchlight III finally has a launch date: It's now coming October 13
The long-delayed Torchlight III has just revealed its formal launch date: October 13th. PWE and Echtra Games made the announcement this morning, putting a $39.99 final price on the Steam, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 MMO-lite. And yes, if you're already playing the early access version, you'll be upgraded automagically. "In Torchlight III, it's been […]
Elite: Dangerous makes the Horizons expansion part of its base edition in October
The base game of Elite: Dangerous has just gotten a little more interesting for those who didn't buy in to the Horizons expansion pack. On Tuesday, October 27th, Horizons will be completely free, becoming a part of the base game on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 as well as a part of the base game […]
2015 sci-fantasy MMORPG Skyforge is launching on the Nintendo Switch this fall
Here's a fun Tuesday morning surprise: Skyforge of all games is coming to the Nintendo Switch. My.Games made the announcement this morning, promising a rollout on the platform later this fall. "For the first time ever, players can take their intergalactic adventures on the go thanks to the signature portability of Nintendo Switch. Skyforge can […]
Cryptic partners with Gameheads charity, Star Trek Online buffs up the Year of the Klingon
MMO developer Cryptic Studios announced this week that it's partnering with Gameheads, an NPO that's dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth in California's Bay Area to land education and internships in tech industries. "Cryptic Studios has always had a dedication to mentoring the future of the video game industry," said Cryptic CEO Stephen D'Angelo. "With this […]
The Daily Grind: What MMO has the best login screen?
You might think this is a trivial thing, but I heartily disagree, and all I have to do is point to a login screen I don't love to explain why: LOTRO's. Even once you get past the gotta-put-your-password-in-every-time launcher, the login screen is fairly static. It was built before you could have so many characters […]
The Stream Team: Delving Elder Scrolls Online's Skyrim and finding lost treasures
In Elder Scrolls Online, you can delve into dungeons, or you can delve into delves. ESO's current Western Skyrim event has three options, and Massively OP's MJ has been choosing to explore the various delves of the region. There's also a community-wide hunt for lost treasures! Tune in live at 8:00 p.m. to see where […]
Diablo III prepares its next season and item changes for public testing on October 1
The dawn of another season in Diablo III will soon be upon us, but before that is the daybreak of an upcoming PTR session to test out the next season's content as well as a variety of legendary and item set changes that are planned. This round of testing will happen in two waves, with […]
Fortnite celebrates the third birthday of Battle Royale with challenges and free goodies
Happy birthday to Fortnite! Specifically to Battle Royale, aka the primary mode of the game now. It's been three years, and the folks at Epic Games are eager to celebrate the milestone with a birthday bash that introduces birthday challenges to earn rewards like a Wrap, Spray, Emoji, XP, and a Back Bling. There's also […]
Torchlight III's game designer shows off favorite character builds, teases next big update
One of the nice things about having a limited action bar is that you can put together some fun builds given time and futzing around with upgrade options. Such is the illustration of Torchlight III's most recent State of the Game post, which features several character builds as shared by Echtra Games dev Michael "Mayhem" […]
MMO Business Roundup: FarmVille's sunset, Netmarble's acquisitions, Intrepid hiring, WoW esports, PUBG India
Welcome back to another roundup of gaming industry news relevant to MMOs and MMO adjacent-titles. PUBG India: Earlier this month, we covered how PUBG Corp. (now merged back into Krafton) was working overtime to avoid Indian's ban on Chinese games and apps. PUBG Corp. had removed Tencent as publisher of the game, though Tencent continued […]
Fractured AMA covers questions about fast travel, PvP, pricing, and testing plans
Dynamight Studios' CEO Jacopo Gallelli decided to open an AMA for Fractured, and curious players responded with a wide swath of questions about the developing sandbox's systems. One of the first questions asked about the game's recent price reduction and whether that represented a "weakness" in business plans. Gallelli admitted that the initial pricing for […]
