Massively-on-the-Go: Niantic's 'Mega' missteps in Pokemon Go
Previously in our Massively-on-the-Go column, we covered the deluge of events and updates Pokemon Go has seen this season, with a bit of commentary. While we normally don't cover every little update that the game receives, many of these updates were confusing, but none so much as the upcoming Mega Evolution updates. We spelled out exactly […]
Epic's latest legal clapback says it couldn't steal from Apple something Apple never owned
The Epic v. Apple lawsuit is slated to begin in full next May, which means 10 more months of smaller salvos between the companies. The most recent came Friday, when Epic Games responded to Apple's claim that Epic's "flagrant disregard for its contractual commitments and other misconduct has caused significant harm to Apple." "Apple's repeated […]
Elite Dangerous has merged Horizons into the base game as of today
Last month, Frontier made a whole lot of sci-fi MMO fans take notice when it announced it would be merging Elite Dangerous' Horizons expansion into the base game, effectively giving it away to players who never bought it. The day of the merge is now finally upon us. "Today we are merging Elite Dangerous and […]
Destiny 2 fans clamor over some datamined story hints ahead of Beyond Light
With only a couple of weeks left before the Beyond Light expansion arrives to Destiny 2 on November 10th, an intriguing leaked image has stirred up some fan hype. Datamined code from the PlayStation Store reveals some new logo artwork for the game, which seems pretty innocuous until you look closer and see what looks […]
World of Warcraft loses Dave Kosak to new studio as uninformed players show up for Shadowlands
World of Warcraft Lead Narrative Designer Dave Kosak has struck out from Blizzard for a new opportunity, according to an announcement that he made yesterday. Kosak said that he left the studio after 12 years in order to take a creative director role at Deviation Games where he is making something "secret" but "amazing." That's not […]
The Daily Grind: Is the 'forever game' philosophy healthy for MMOs?
A few weeks back, Remnant from the Ashes creative director David Adams did an interview on Gamasutra where he discussed how his team very specifically wanted to avoid the "forever game" mentality when it came to development. MMO players, of course, grew up thinking the forever game was the norm and the ideal, but then […]
Indie fantasy MMO Past Fate strives to make 'dynamic and rewarding' combat
Following up on the small but successful Kickstarter campaign this past summer, indie MMO Past Fate has been pretty quiet with no early access release in sight. That doesn't mean the team isn't working on it, of course. In fact, earlier this month Icy North Games brought fans up to speed on the project on […]
Gloria Victis revamps horses, tweaks castles, and prepares Forefathers' Eve for Halloween
Gloria Victis has clearly been busy, if its latest press blast is any indication: Black Eye Games is talking up the addition of a well timed attack effectively parrying an incoming blow and a cleave mechanic for taking on multiple foes, the addition of crouching, and optimizations to mounted combat in an effort to fighting […]
Wurm Online tweaks favor earnings, favor spells, and PvP ahead of Halloween events
There's been an update to Wurm Online, and while it touches on a variety of things, some of the larger sections in the latest patch notes are tied to favor earnings and PvP adjustments. On the subject of favor, this patch now allows for more regular casts of global ritual spells on smaller and less […]
PvP-centric mobile MMO A3: Still Alive confirms a global launch on November 10
We've been covering the arrival of A3: Still Alive a couple of times now, first with its initial reveal in 2019, then with some further details this past September including a global pre-registration event. The game basically tries to merge open-world RPGs and battle royale together, with an always-open PvP environment and PvP and Player […]
Roblox invites kids to a virtual Halloween block party to make up for lost trick-or-treating
It goes without saying — but I'm going to say it anyway — that this year's Halloween isn't going to be quite normal due to the pandemic. A lot of families and kids are looking for alternate experiences this week, which is why Roblox is going all out to throw a virtual Halloween Block Party […]
Life sim Identity languishes in early access development, asks for map builders
Life usually moves pretty fast — but for the aspiring simulator Identity, it's nearly slowed to a halt. The project, which we've been tracking for a few years now, has done little to suggest any forward momentum this year. In fact, it's last significant development was back in 2018, when it released the town center […]
RuneScape kicks off its 2020 Halloween event and improves quality of life for Slayers
Tired of Halloween events in MMOs? No? Awesome because RuneScape has one for you starting today! It all starts at Draynor Manor where players are tasked to help Death, Famine, Pestilence, and Muncher with a variety of tasks each day of the event, with cosmetic rewards like Death's Hood, Death's Scythe, and a Muncher pet […]
Halloween comes to ArcheAge, Defiance 2050, and more Gamigo MMORPGs
When you're a publisher like Gamigo, you have the benefit of casting a wide net with your announcements. Case in point: The announcement from the publisher about all the Halloween events running in games under the company's umbrella mentions Aura Kingdom, Echo of Soul, Twin Saga, Last Chaos, and Fiesta Online in one line as "oh, these games also […]
Final Fantasy XIV interviews main scenario writer and lore director Banri Oda
Every single interview with the Final Fantasy XIV development team makes it clear that the people working on this game have a deep and passionate love for the game and its community. The new internal interview with main scenario writer and lore director Banri Oda should help reinforce this fact, as Oda notes that the biggest […]
War Thunder announces graphical upgrades, next-gen console release with crossplay
There's New Power coming to the online multiplayer vehicle battler War Thunder. No, that's not a failure to understand proper capitalization, that's the name of the game's next update that will be bringing a bunch of graphical enhancements to the game thanks to updates to its Dagor Engine. Fans can look forward to subtle new […]
ArcheAge Unchained tweaks ArchePass mission cap, players rock out to Metallica
For those who mainline chase the ArchePass objectives in ArcheAge Unchained, your grinding life has gotten a whole lot better. A forum post has announced that the weekly cap for daily missions for the ArchePass will be raised from 12 missions to 20, starting on Thursday, October 29th, for the Season 5 ArchePass. Furthermore, the […]
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV's borrowed power is generously loaned
If you've been active in the larger MMO discussion sphere over the past few months… well, thanks! It's the field I work in, after all. Also, you have probably seen discussion about the concept of borrowed power come up, especially when it comes to some entire planet of fighting. Borrowed power, as a concept, refers to […]
Blockchain-powered creative MMO Blankos Block Party announces closed beta for November 17 and launches founder's packs
If you're hearing the sound of furniture being flipped from somewhere, that's evidently Bree's kids upending tables in excitement over Blankos Block Party, a new MMO coming from publisher Mythical Entertainment and developer Third Kind Games that was first revealed during the PC Gaming Show in June and is now confirmed for closed beta on […]
Not So Massively: StarCraft II's maintenance mode doesn't mean game over
Earlier this month, we learned that Blizzard was effectively putting StarCraft II into maintenance mode. Considering what a massive fan of StarCraft II I am, you may be surprised to learn that I am largely fine with this. I don't think this contradicts my earlier assertion that StarCraft II has been Blizzard's best-managed property in […]
World of Warcraft players are embracing the new leveling challenge of reaching level 50 without a spec
The launch of the pre-patch for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has brought with it an entirely new way to level via each individual expansion and plenty of adjustments to the low-level experience. But maybe that's not enough for you to really get a charge out of this content any longer. Maybe you need something harder to get […]
PSA: Oculus users who delete their linked Facebook account will lose their entire app library
So, remember when Facebook commanded that Oculus Rift or Quest users link the device to their Facebook accounts? Wasn't that such a grand idea? Well, it would appear that bottom has dropped out: UploadVR confirmed initial Twitter digging from tech experts that if you delete your Facebook account, you're also deleting your Oculus account as […]
Aion KR teases possible classic server, Aion EU brings update 7.7 to the early access server
There's some new scuttlebutt out of the world of Aion, specifically from different parts of our world. One of the most intriguing pieces of news is a rumor (big emphasis on rumor and maybe even wishful thinking here) that the Korean version is teasing a classic server, fueled mostly by the rather cryptic header message […]
That's no moon, it's EVE Online's gigantic supercarriers!
Supercarrier pilots in EVE Online have a lot to smile about in anticipation of all of the love that CCP is going to send their way next month. The studio posted an article sharing details of the November supercarrier patch that it's calling Vat Out of Hel. The intergalactic buff stick will strike these vessels […]
The Daily Grind: If a different studio could remake your favorite MMO, which one would you pick?
MOP reader Bruno recently tweeted me a topic so great I begged him to let me pitch it to all of you. He was discussing how EverQuest II is underappreciated and deserved some love – or even a remake from a new studio. His pick to remake EverQuest II? Guild Wars 2's ArenaNet. I'm sure […]
MMO Week in Review: No, LOTRO's War of Three Peaks is not an 'expansion'
This week, we took a first deep-dive into Torchlight III (we found it cheerfully "adequate"!) and struggled to puzzle out just why Standing Stone Games would try to spin Lord of the Rings Online's first paid patch ever as an "expansion" when it most definitely is not, and even if it were, players are unhappy […]
Battle Bards Episode 179: Arrr pirates!
Shiver me timbers — the Battle Bards are coming aboard and demanding that all capable musicians appear on the poop deck and blast out a few shanties and jigs for their pleasure! In today's episode, this motley crew examines the pirate themes that sail across many-a-MMO. Will they find rich booty — or only a […]
The MOP Up: Soulworker fulfills your greatest desire
Soulworker Online delighted fans with a huge content update this past week that added something called "Desire Workers" and "SinForce." We'll let the game explain: "With Desire Workers every playable character now can receive a new ability: SinForce! When SinForce is activated, some of your character's abilities are strengthened, and you be more powerful than ever […]
Destiny 2 provides a peek at changes to weapon types, exotics, and adept weapons coming in Beyond Light
As we've noted before, Destiny 2's Beyond Light expansion is going to be changing quite a bit. Earlier in the month there was a look at armor mod changes, and now with this week's Bungie post we get a look at weapon changes. The post first touches on adjustments being made to weapon types, with […]
Massively on the Go: All the events and promos coming Pokemon Go this fall
Pokemon Go has received a sudden influx of new events, updates, partnerships, and "heads-ups" from Niantic in the past few days. Most are small, a few are unclear, and others might be hard to understand without some background knowledge. Even press receive little to no warning on events and updates most of the time, meaning this […]
Apex Legends confirms Steam launch November 4, delays Nintendo Switch launch to 2021
In the blur of studio-specific reveal events that took place over the course of this past summer thanks to E3's closure, it's perhaps easy to have forgotten that Apex Legends had designs to release for Steam and Nintendo Switch in the fall. Well, here we are in the fall, and there's been a launch timing […]
One Shots: Rock out in your hideout
I don't have a full-blown lair, unless my work office counts, but if I did, I would aspire to put it someplace really cool. Like on the top pointy thing of the Great Pyramids or inside the mouth of George Washington in Mt. Rushmore. Or, you know, the moon. Mysecretid is way ahead of me […]
The Daily Grind: What do onlookers not understand about your MMO of choice?
I do not understand Guild Wars 2. I don't mean that solely in the sense of the game's mechanics not making sense (there are definitely some problems with making the stats more arcane than they need to be, though); I mean it in the very simple sense that I do not have firsthand knowledge of the […]
Global Chat: Which MMO has the best Halloween?
That's a really good question! While pretty much every MMO has some sort of autumn/harvest/Halloween event going on this month, there are a few standouts from the pack. MMO blog Nerdy Bookahs rendered this judgment: "It is actually a tie between LOTRO's Haunted Burrow and Guild Wars 2 with all activities taken together. LOTRO finds […]
ArenaNet confirms that work on improving Guild Wars 2 latency is still ongoing
If your Guild Wars 2 experience has been sub-optimal, the somewhat heartening news has been that ArenaNet is aware and working on it, as evidenced by a forum post in August. Unfortunately, the alluded-to long road of work doesn't appear to have an end in immediate sight according to an update post this past Friday. […]
APB Reloaded runs third beta test of update 2.1 to get it out 'sooner rather than later'
It's been a long, winding, and very likely frustrating road for APB Reloaded and its attempt to upgrade the game's engine, to the point that even the devs at Little Orbit appear to be sick of it. It's in that spirit of biting the bullet and launching update 2.1 sooner than later (their words) that […]
Fallout 76 drops the bomb — and a new Steel Dawn trailer
October in the Fallout 76 universe is Bombs Drop Day, the anniversary of the nuclear holocaust that ravaged the game world. To… celebrate? To mark this occasion, Fallout 76 is opening up all the game for free through October 26th and doubling up on XP and SCORE acquisition. Following that, the game will kick Halloween […]
Star Trek Online drums up support for the Trek the Vote grassroots initiative
This year's US election has some irrefutable importance for both the country and very likely the globe, so protecting and helping that process is of interest to a number of people. This brings us to the grassroots campaign Trek the Vote, which is now being promoted by no less than MMORPG Star Trek Online. Trek the […]
City of Heroes Homecoming's Issue 27 beta adds new story, travel changes, and enhancement overhaul
City of Heroes' Homecoming rogue server has been a bit sparse on new-content updates over the last little while; Issue 26, you'll recall, was all the way back in March. But as it turns out, that's because the player developers have been storing it up for the release of Issue 27, Second Chances, which just […]
WRUP: Who is the big stupid dumpster man edition
Wyatt: A big stupid man who lives in a dumpster, Wyatt is a strong candidate whom we should all consider for this. Liam: If anyone who is reading this is named Liam, I'm sorry. This isn't about you. This is about the other Liam, the one who is a big stupid dumpster man. All of […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMO does the creepiest Halloween?
While pretty much every MMORPG out there right now is running some sort of harvest or Halloween event, usually you get the same angle. It's all candy corn, cute disguises, trick-or-treating, Smashing Pumpkins (both the band and the activity), and a not-scary-at-all seasonal overlay in major city hubs. But are there MMOs out there that […]
Betawatch: New World approaches its autumn alpha apprehensively
No, no, don't worry. This will not be like the joke a couple of weeks ago with the letter P in front of things. New World has just got its autumn alpha going, and since leveling speeds appear to be slower, it seems like the game itself is a bit nervous. Perhaps… apprehensive? Look, it's really […]
Beyond the Wire thrusts you into a WWI multiplayer battlefield
While World War II has been done and done and done some more in the gaming space, its prequel hasn't gotten as much coverage. That's what makes Beyond the Wire so interesting, as it's a World War I multiplayer shooter that goes back to an earlier era of warfare. Available on Steam early access, Beyond […]
EVE Echoes plans Crimson Harvest events and module improvements next week
Halloween this year is invading space once again – yes, even in the still-got-that-new-car-smell EVE Echoes. In the mobile version of EVE, CCP Games and Netease are running The Crimson Harvest for the spooky season. "The Halloween in New Eden – The Crimson Harvest is coming! From Oct. 31 to Nov. 10, the Crimson Harvest […]
Voxelbox Staxel introduces a new area, new quests, and new items with the Hideaway Hollow update
I have to admit, the name of the newly launched update for the voxel sandbox Staxel sounds kind of cozy and kitsch, like a bed and breakfast that's decorated with almost too many cat-shaped porcelain knickknacks and knitwork tea cozies. The reality, of course, is entirely different but should be no less engaging for players. […]
H1Z1 kicks off Season 9 on PS4 with new rewards and minor vehicle spawn changes
Apparently, there's been an update for H1Z1 on the PlayStation 4. Don't get too excited, though; it's mostly the launch of the game's next season. Or get excited if you dig on this title's seasonal content, no judgment here. Honestly, the update's patch notes are skinny enough to be zero calorie: We know that Season […]
Avorion will introduce black markets, docking, and hacking with the Black Market DLC on November 2
Say, do you guys and gals remember Avorion? It's a space sandbox released on March 9th that described itself as a "procedural co-op space sandbox where players can build their own space ships out of dynamically scalable blocks," or as Justin put it, "space LEGOs." Our own MJ took a peek at it on OPTV […]
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Sword and Shield's Dynamax Adventure dungeons for the fan and MMO player
Helping to bring the Pokemon main-series games closer into the MMO realm, Pokemon Sword and Shield's new expansion, The Crown Tundra, introduced Dynamax Adventures, a kind of simplified dungeon experience. As we previously mentioned, in this content you're sent in groups of up to 4 players with rental pokemon, not your own team, sadly. The in-game reason is basically […]
Albion Online's Halloween event is prepping a solo dungeon
While you're going to have to wait until next week to experience Albion Online's Halloween event, the developers assure you that your patience will be rewarded. The Allhallows celebration is poised to deliver a lot of spooky fun right in time for the holiday. When the event kicks off on October 28th, it'll introduce a […]
SuperData September 2020: Fall Guys falls hard, WoW claws its way back up
SuperData's September report on the state of the game industry's global revenues is not going to shock anyone this month. On the PC side, League of Legends has once again resumed the throne, as Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which was #1 on the list last month with the "highest-earning launch of any PC title" since […]
