MMO Week in Review: Next-gen is now-gen
The Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 systems launched this week, which meant that a lot of companies who weren't launching games along with them got the heck out of the way, including many MMO studios. On MOP, we busied ourselves musing on the ups and downs of World of Warcraft, contemplating LOTRO's lifetime sub, and […]
Spellbreak addresses player uproar surrounding upgradeable cosmetics in the upcoming Chapter Pass
Spellbreak is a free-to-play game that also has to make money, and one of the most newly common ways for free titles to make cash is with the premium edition of a battle pass. With that in mind, the devs at Proletariat don't want to force people's hands into their wallets, as outlined in an […]
The MOP Up: League of Legends' possible stolen identity
Have you ever had this happen: A new video game character is introduced in one of the world's most popular MOBA — and it's based on you? All the time, we bet. Well, according to an author who identifies herself as "Stephanie," League of Legends' Seraphine is based on her. She points to a brief […]
PSA: Guild Wars 2's Path of Fire expansion is on sale at half price
It's time once more for another Guild Wars 2 sale. Specifically, the Path of Fire expansion has its price slashed in half (non-affiliate link), whether you get the standard or the deluxe edition. Additionally, both versions of the expansion will pack in Heart of Thorns expansion as well. The sale will be running until just […]
Global Chat: Don't look, but Fallout 76 is actually good now
Even the most jaded opponent of Fallout 76 has to admit that Bethesda has been making progress in bringing the online RPG up to spec. Cary over at Virtual Bastion said that this year's improvements, most specifically the One Wasteland leveling revamp and subsequent fix, has made a convert. "Long story short, wow…I had a […]
Return of Reckoning makes a bloody WAR even bloodier
Warhammer Online's rogue server, Return of Reckoning, has developed a reputation of being one of the most frequently updated emulators out there, which definitely helps with making this title feel as alive and vibrant as WAR was during its original run. So simply nod with respect as you see the November 11th patch notes scroll […]
One Shots: Bring your poor, your tired, your zombies
For a while now, IronSalamander's been taking amazing pictures of the colorful and stylish Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, but I think today's headliner was the first to really grab me. It's like looking at a screenshot of an animated film. "Here is the Zomboss version of the statue of Liberty, just after the […]
The Daily Grind: What's the ideal MMO raid length?
If you've been around in the MMO genre long enough, you know that the idea of raiding has changed a lot. In Ultima Online, the closest thing we had were crawls, and they'd go on for hours as people came and joined the fun. In EverQuest, raids went on as long as they needed to, […]
Make My MMO: Welcome to Kasa, Book of Travels' central city
This week in MMO crowdfunding, Book of Travels popped back on our radar with a preview of its capital city, Kasa, which will serve as the game's hub and shopping center and harbor. "With its deep waters, Kasa has been the launching and landing place for Travellers for time immemorial, and for most visitors it's […]
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go's quality-of-life changes aren't half bad
So, Niantic's pushed out a few more changes to Pokemon GO, and it's not all doom and gloom! In fact, a few changes have been either better than I predicted or outright unexpected. While we have several new cups for PvP, a better rating system, some UI changes, and legendary Pokemon returning to the reward pool, […]
The Stream Team: A look at the new lich challenge and creepy clown in AQ3D
AQ3D is known for its weekly updates, and this week's update packs in some goodies! First, there's a new lich challenge fight: Noxus' Return. Even though it cautions players to go in full gear (and the new max level of 31!), Massively OP's MJ is willing to dive in just to check it out. Next […]
The Stream Team: Honey, I shrunk the survival Saturday with Grounded's free weekend
Are you a fan of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids? Are you a fan of survival games? Massively OP's MJ loves both, and she just discovered a game that merges the two! She's checking out Grounded, a new survival sandbox in early access that just so happens to be hosting a free weekend right now. […]
LOTRO Legendarium: Was LOTRO's lifetime sub the best deal ever?
When Lord of the Rings Online ramped up to its launch in early 2007, Turbine offered a tantalizing deal to potential players. If they were willing to part with $299 up front ($199 for LOTRO's founders), the studio would flag their account as a lifetime subscription. This meant that from then on, they wouldn't have […]
Crowfall's developers discuss Domains and Update 6.3
As Crowfall's development team takes a moment to bask in the delivery of a big patch — and before it starts ramping up for Update 6.3 — ArtCraft's J. Todd Coleman and Thomas Blair sat down to cover all of the major movement on this PvP MMO. The November Q&A also talked up Domains, the […]
WRUP: Things Kyle has done that are total power moves this week edition
Told Mrs. Greenfield he didn't care about solving an equation: You could really tell that she didn't know what to say to that and was actually kind of put on the spot. Kyle just totally blew her off, and she told him to go to the principal afterwards, but you could tell she didn't know […]
The Daily Grind: How did the pandemic change your MMO gaming this year?
It's certainly been an unprecedented year for all of us, especially with the coronavirus impacting pretty much all spheres of our daily life. Even MMORPGs weren't immune to the pandemic, with many titles experiencing content delays, development teams transitioning to working from home, and conventions cancelled left and right. But now that we're in the […]
The Stream Team: Getting through Warframe's Glassmaker
Warframe's latest Nightwave season has reached its finale, which means the end is also on the horizon. So it is high time Massively OP's MJ dives into The Glassmaker! How far can she get in uncovering the mystery? Tune in live at 8:00 p.m. to see. What: Warframe Who: MJ Guthrie When: 8:00 p.m. EST on Friday, […]
Betawatch: Naïca begins its bepixeled open beta
What? Yes, I'm well aware that "bepixeled" isn't actually a word, as well as the fact that the whole "pixel graphics" thing is just making note of those pixels being meant for lower resolutions and all graphics on a screen involve pixels. Guess what? None of that actually matters, Naïca looks lovely, and it's in open […]
SEED MMO video tackles fan questions about gameplay mechanics and development
Fans of SEED have questions. Developer Klang Games has answers. It's a Q&A session by any other name, but the game's latest dev video presents it just a little bit differently. The Q&A session addressed a number of topics such as specializing a colony for combat or manufacturing to encourage different playstyles, managing Seedling needs […]
Craftopia introduces dual wielding, new bosses, snap-to-grid building features, and a multiplayer fix
It's been a hot minute since we've had a look back at Craftopia, the early access crafting-minded survival sandbox from developer Pocket Pair, though that's with some good reason as the devs said that update frequency was being scaled back to the far less insane cadence of "every single day." Since then, the game has […]
Final Fantasy XIV announces its next live letter for November 27
The next patch for Final Fantasy XIV is not so far away. That's an important takeaway from the announcement that the game's next live letter with producer and director Naoki Yoshida will occur on November 27th, covering more details about what's arriving in the game with patch 5.4. While this is not the same as an […]
Police evacuate Ubisoft Montreal over what appears to have been a fake threat report
[We're updating at the end; scroll down for the latest.] According to Canadian news outlet Journal de Montreal (now verified by several other Canadian news agencies), the physical building where Ubisoft Montreal (among multiple companies) is housed is under some sort of hostage situation, a revelation that's sending shockwaves across social media this afternoon. Overhead […]
RuneScape expands on Construction Contracts in a dev blog and livestream
So just what are Construction Contracts in RuneScape? That's a question that was answered in-depth by both a recent dev blog and a sneak peek livestream, but in summary, they're meant to be a way for players to train the Construction skill while getting all the XP normally earned in a player house. To begin […]
The Stream Team: Crystal Lake camping for Friday the 13th: The Game
It's Massively OP's MJ's favorite day! And now she has the perfect game to celebrate it in. For Friday the 13th, she'll be camping at Crystal Lake in Friday the 13th: The Game. Who will survive in this multiplayer horror fest where one player is the murderer and others try to flee that fate? Even […]
Nexon Q3 2020: Strong revenues and expectations for MapleStory and V4 growth
It turns out all Nexon had to do to see a great quarter was cancel everything you wanted to play, fire a bunch of people overseas, and retreat to the safety of mobile! OK, I'm exaggerating a smidge, but if you've been following Nexon the last few years, you know that's kinda how 2019 went […]
Champions Online is mopping up old game issues, starting with Eidolon
Good news for Champions Online fans: Cryptic is apparently poking around in the game's innards with an eye toward fixing longstanding problems. "We're taking a look at some of the beloved content from Champions Online's history that may have fallen into disrepair over the years," the studio says. "After the update to Therakiel's Temple, Eidolon […]
Star Citizen offers a look at ore refining features and new sniper scopes coming in alpha 3.12
When alpha 3.12 arrives to Star Citizen, you're going to have a few new things to do as a cruncher of space rocks. As CIG has been keen on bringing up over the past few weeks, refinery decks are coming to the game, and in this week's episode of Inside Star Citizen, we get a […]
WoW Factor: Does Blizzard even know what it wants World of Warcraft to be now?
Let's start by pre-empting someone who feels very clever. Yes, I hear you muttering "profitable" as an answer. That isn't accurate; that's answering what the powers that be want World of Warcraft to do. I'm asking if they know what they want WoW to actually be. The two questions feel related, but they're actually very different from one another […]
Elite Dangerous shares new screens and details for Odyssey ahead of free availability on EGS next week
Information regarding the upcoming Odyssey expansion of Elite: Dangerous has been a bit thin ever since the developer livestream last month, but thanks to a column in the latest issue of PC Gamer UK magazine, we've gotten a number of new details as well as several new screenshots. The shots themselves offer a look at […]
Star Wars: The Old Republic adds daily rewards and an emote window to its test build
Game Update 6.2 is looking more and more interesting for Star Wars: The Old Republic players, especially for those who appreciate a nice quality-of-life bump in their game. In addition to testing the new Mandalorian flashpoint, Spirit of Vengeance, BioWare added two fun features to the PTR this week. Roleplayers will definitely rejoice to see […]
Pearl Abyss Q3 2020: EVE Online's revenues are up 45% YOY, Crimson Desert reveal coming in December
It appears it's been hard for many gaming companies to top or match their revenue earlier this year when many customers were captive audiences, but that doesn't mean every MMORPG is struggling. As it turns out, Pearl Abyss has dropped a bit off its peak, but not dramatically so. According to the company's third quarter […]
World of Warcraft gets more pre-expansion changes while fans speculate about the future of Classic
The latest addition to the pre-patch notes for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is pretty meaty. Enhancement Shaman gets some buffs across the board, tanking classes get the ability to Provoke earlier (and have another ability pushed later), and there are some general tuning changes. All of the changes are going live on November 17th, so this […]
Star Trek Online is about to upgrade its loadouts
While furiously punching buttons might make you feel like you're a Starfleet officer trying to recalibrate the spatial whatever to defeat the technowhoosit, it gets old after a while — especially if you find yourself constantly changing your Star Trek Online build to meet the situation. Good news, then, captains: Cryptic is going to be […]
PUBG Mobile hosts K-pop group BLACKPINK in a special 'Fun Match' collab broadcast
For readers who happen to be fans of both PUBG Mobile and the K-pop group BLACKPINK, this morning is going to be a good time for you as the battle royale shooter will be hosting members of the group in a "Fun Match" gameplay broadcast. Members of the group will be joined by South Korean […]
The Daily Grind: What aborted MMORPG do you wish had seen the light of day?
So who remembers the Nintendo "gigaleak"? Probably no one, since it got covered back in July, which in 2020 measurements was at least five years ago. But one of the interesting bits about it was the 2004 proposal for a Pokemon MMO, which if it had ever happened would've probably come out in that weird […]
The Stream Team: Returning to Garl's Tomb in Dungeon & Dragons Online
A while back, Massively OP's MJ and the D&D night crew explored Garl's Tomb in DDO. There, they vanquished mant troglodytes and learned the secrets of the tomb. Tonight, they head back for Garl's Tomb part 2: Old Grey Garl. It wouldn't be right to have the same old/same old, so instead of troglodytes, they […]
Massively Overthinking: What one piece of advice would you like to give to MMO devs?
Over the last couple of weeks, MOP's Eliot has pointed his Vague Patch Notes column at some friendly (and amusing) advice for MMO studios, including when it's OK to piss off the fans and when they should probably just stop talking. For this week's Massively Overthinking, I thought it would be fun to take a […]
Temtem adjusts radars for rare monsters after community feedback
If you're a devout follower of the Pokemon-like MMO Temtem, you likely already know the deal with radars, but for those on the sidelines, here's a quick-and-dirty rundown: Back in late October, the game added the new radar item that would allow players chasing rare Tems to improve their chances of getting the critter they […]
Black Desert Mobile announces the Grand Desert expansion and plans for a one-year anniversary
There are a whole lot of future plans for Black Desert Mobile waiting in the wings, chief of which being some new content in the form of the Grand Desert expansion, which adds the titular region and promises temples, treasures, quests, and rewards for players to chase in the area. The title will also be […]
Not So Massively roundup: Main Assembly, Atlas, ARK, Grounded, Runeterra, and Minecraft Dungeons
We may be an MMORPG website, but we still keep an eyeball on multiplayer games that our audience is interested in. Here's a quick skim through some of the "not so massively" titles we're watching and their most recent happenings! Main Assembly: Team17 and Bad Yolk Games' early access robot sandbox added underwater content, a […]
Blade & Soul adds the Golden Harvest Festival and a new area with its next patch
When the next patch arrives for Blade & Soul, you can take part in the Golden Harvest Festival and make yourself some good eats. Put together a secret family recipe or just a good old-fashioned harvest feast, then chow down and get rewards at the Wheel of Fate. That all sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? Because […]
Hearthstone patches in early access duels and progression revamp ahead of its upcoming expansion
While the next expansion for Hearthstone, Madness at the Darkmoon Faire, is still set to bring some new cards (naturally), some of its other previously announced features have landed ahead of the expack's launch. The game's 19.0 update has introduced the early access/pre-season of duels, granting players a few days' worth of time in the […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 digs into its Thanksgiving event, offers Guilty Gear and BlazBlue costumes
Phantasy Star Online 2 is cranking up for a packed — and delicious — November. SEGA announced that the global MMO just kicked off its Thanksgiving festival with thematic decorations, special event quests, and chase rewards such as a turkey leg skin for guns. The event will continue through December 8th. If that's not enough […]
Fractured's fall alpha has testers knee-deep in player cities, farming, and mounts
As promised, Fractured's fall alpha is fully upon us now, as the in-development sandbox expands its content and its testing pool once again. Over the last few weeks, Dynamight has been teasing what players will actually be testing in the latest update: everything from the talent tree and smithing to player cities and resource nodes […]
EverQuesting: A sweet sixteen EverQuest II anniversary retrospective
Happy birthday, sweet sixteen! If you think I've waited 16 years to be able to sing that to EverQuest II, well, you aren't wrong. It isn't often an MMO gets to commemorate 16 years of life, so I am taking full advantage of it and celebrating with my favorite Norrath. But beyond the birthday, how […]
You can play last-gen Warframe on the new Xbox Series X/S right now
'Tis the season of the next generation of consoles, which incidentally is also the season for a number of MMORPGs and multiplayer titles to get in on that backwards compatibility action as recent reporting has no doubt illustrated. Count Warframe among that number, then, as Digital Extremes has offered up some more details on what […]
From dockyard disaster to sailing success: How World of Warships learned from the Puerto Rico event fiasco
Gamers tend to harp on game companies for the very public mistakes they make. While most of the criticism is clearly deserved, occasionally a studio will learn from the misstep, listen to the playerbase, and come up with a solution that both meets the financial needs of the studio and the expectations of the players. […]
Final Fantasy XIV offers a few notes for players playing on the PlayStation 5 version
There is not currently a specific version of Final Fantasy XIV made for the PlayStation 5, but while the console does not feature ping-pong ball suspending technology, it does have backwards compatibility. That means owners of the new console can still play the game if they already own it on PlayStation 4, and the official site has […]
ArcheAge's Rise of Nehliya patch is live, adding new zone, quests, and farmhands
As promised, Gamigo has formally posted the Rise of Nehliya patch to both ArcheAge and ArcheAge Unchained as of today. Do note this is an update, meaning it's free, unlike the game's modern DLC. Nehliya includes nine new quests in the main story arc, the new farmhand system, and the Mysthrane Gorge zone. "Mysthrane Gorge […]
Gamers welcomed Microsoft's record-setting Xbox Series X launch with vaping memes
The release of Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S systems has reportedly been one of the largest for the company, at least according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who shared in a tweet that the latest generation marks the largest launch in Xbox history. "In 24 hrs more new consoles sold, in more countries, […]
