Asheron's Call 2 died 17 years ago, then came back, then died again, and here we are
On December 30th, 2005, Asheron's Call 2 was shut down – the first time. That was 15 years ago. And then, without warning, seven years later, the game was brought back to life on December 13th, 2012… only to die again five years later, this time with its predecessor on January 31st, 2017. And unlike […]
Fallout 76 looks back at 2020 with recaps and stats, shares a calendar of events for the first quarter of 2021
As December continues to draw to a close, the developers of Fallout 76 are looking back at the past year's efforts in the most recent dev blog. As one would expect, the post lauds the wide variety of updates made to the multiplayer title, not the least of which being the big Wastelanders update, the […]
Massively Overthinking: Our MMO predictions for 2021
So… 2020 didn't go exactly as anyone planned. Our predictions for this past year were pretty janked up by that whole pandemic thing and the whole games industry going way off course. And we don't have much reason to think that at least the beginning of 2021 will be dramatically better. But so what? It's […]
World of Warcraft is making Torghast easier and faster to clear in response to player behavior
Torghast isn't too hard for what the developers had intended in World of Warcraft, but it is too hard for how players had actually been playing it. That's been the important takeaway that developers have learned according to a new interview with game director Ion Hazzikostas. While the original plan was to have layers of Torghast […]
Massively OP's 2020 Awards: Biggest MMO Surprise of 2020
MassivelyOP's end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for Biggest MMO Surprise of 2020, which was awarded to the revival of City of Heroes last year. It's one of our younger awards, and we've brought it back again because it's something quite different from just a big story or disappointment or blunder: It's […]
Star Citizen releases alpha 3.12, celebrates the holidays, and gives away a hoverbike for referring a friend
Star Citizen has kicked out a bunch of updates and details in what we can only assume was a mad rush from the game's PR department to turn in its final pieces of work before dashing home for the holidays. There's a lot of ground to cover, so let's get started with the bullet points: […]
Albion Online studio Sandbox Interactive just got bought out for more than €100M
As it turns out, the MMO industry is going to see one more big buyout move before 2021 is upon us. Last night, Albion Online studio Sandbox Interactive announced on its forums that it's been bought out by a company called Stillfront Group AB, a Stockholm-based mobile games publisher. Sillfront's own press release says it's […]
Sony yeets Cyberpunk 2077 off the PlayStation Store, offering full refunds
File this one under "comeuppance for months of crunch that didn't even really get the game to a launch state before Christmas": The Cyberpunk 2077 launch fiasco has only ramped up as now Sony has yanked the game from the PlayStation Store. Platform reps last night tweeted that it will be granting full refunds to […]
Diablo Immortal kicks off technical alpha, confirms that it's free-to-play
Queries about telephonic ownership aside, Diablo Immortal still has the attention of many who would dearly like to see an official Diablo on a mobile device. The Blizzard-NetEase project dropped a whole ton of information this week, including confirmation of the game's business model and an imminent start to testing. First things first: A "limited […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG offered the best PvP experience in 2020?
A few years back, we retired our award for the best PvP experience in an MMO, largely because neither our writers nor readers really seemed enthusiastic about it. It seemed to our community at the time that PvP was a side game in most MMOs, so the debates wound up being about whether we preferred […]
The Stream Team: Squelching Neverwinter's spellplague
The spellplague is taking over The Chasm in Neverwinter, and Massively OP's MJ is on hand to help to squelch it! She and her team will be helping Quorthon take care of the Acolytes of Corruption. Tune in live at 9:00 p.m. as the D&D night crew adventure in… What: Neverwinter Who: MJ Guthrie When: […]
Greg 'Ghostcrawler' Street confirms that Riot Games is working on a League of Legends MMO
Are you ready for that League of Legends MMO? Because it looks as though it's actually going to be coming your way. On Thursday evening, former World of Warcraft developer Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street dropped one heckuva bomb on Twitter when he announced that he's heading up a "massive" project at Riot Games to expand the […]
Closers adds a new character, a winter event dungeon, and several events in latest update
Closers is ready to rock, release a new character, open a winter dungeon, celebrate the holidays, and sell you stuff on Steam. If all of that seems like tonal whiplash, worry not; it's effectively part of the action MMO's most recent updates. See? Totally makes collective sense. The tentpole attraction of the game's latest patch […]
Mabinogi introduces new story and characters with today's Hypernova: Eclipse update
Mabinogi's story presses onward today with the release of the Hypernova: Eclipse update, the first part of the game's overall G25 update series. Hypernova: Eclipse introduces the final story of Chapter 7 and the sixth night of the Seven Nightmares, along with some new NPCs to meet along the way. Just in case you're looking […]
Grim and glad tidings spread across Blade and Soul
Do you like your holiday season dour or delightful? If you venture into Blade and Soul this week, you can have both! This week's Grim Tidings update is named after the addition of a new Blade Dancer specialization, the Way of the Grim Blade. "The new specialization takes managing effects and skill timing and combines […]
Atlas Rogues brings Nix and Aurora into its roster with its newest update
The nice part for Atlas Rogues is that it has a lot of the eponymous rogues to add into the game just based on fan expectation. The newest update, for example, adds both Aurora and Nix into the game's overall roster, with Aurora sliding into the standard roster as well. That right there gives players […]
Albion Online celebrates the season with the return of Uncle Frost
It's time for the Yule season in Albion Online, and that means the return of Uncle Frost. Rather than being a more paternal figure, Uncle Frost is more like your uncle who gets a bit slanted on Christmas and winds up starting a brawl; he's got a chance to appear in dungeons dropping a variety […]
Elite Dangerous' latest Odyssey dev diary focuses on FPS combat
In the latest hype builder for Elite: Dangerous' forthcoming Odyssey expansion, the devs of the game talk up the various features and foci of FPS combat in the third episode of the Road to Odyssey video series. The video not only offers up a look at FPS gameplay in action but also talks up the […]
Winter holiday events around the MMO universe, 2020 edition
Ho ho ho, it's Santa's younger brother Derrick here to do all of the jobs that Nick can't be bothered with this holiday season! Oh, my big brother always shows up when there are cookies and eggnog to snarf down, but when there's actual work to be done, he's like, "Gotta go, I have to […]
Warframe shows off Lavos, a new co-op event, and a first look at content updates arriving in 2021
It's the final devstream of the year for Warframe, and as is often the case with livestreams from this game, there is plenty to talk about, with a look at coming attractions for the game's next update and beyond. The stream offered a full look at the next 'Frame, Lavos, which ran alongside a premiere […]
Chronicles of Elyria is still in development, new video from Soulbound vows
Chronicles of Elyria's 2020 saga is without a doubt of the most concerning MMO stories of the entire year. This past spring, after reaching pre-alpha and running a funding campaign, developer Soulbound Studios abruptly announced it had run out of funds, laid off the entire staff, shuttered the studio, and ended development on the game, […]
Dual Universe is changing the schematic prices that players blasted in the last patch
Last week, the Dual Universe community erupted in frustration over the beta's 0.23 patch, which touched on everything from buy orders to blueprints and seems to have annoyed nearly everyone with the perception of intense grind and expensive schematics, especially in a paid beta. But now, Novaquark is responding, explaining why it made those decisions […]
Massively OP's 2020 Awards: Best MMO Business Model
MassivelyOP's end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for Best MMO Business Model, which we could not reach a staff consensus on last year, meaning we awarded it to no MMO at all. The award is intended to recognize a live MMORPG of any age that has demonstrated an exemplary business model specifically […]
Funcom says it's expanded the DUNE game's scope with Tencent's backing
There's a little nugget of interest in Funcom's traditional holiday letter to fans and press this week, at least if you're waiting impatiently for the DUNE game whose development was expedited by the Tencent takeover earlier this year. Apparently, Funcom's actually expanded the game's scope this year. "[T]here is also our upcoming Dune survival game," […]
Vague Patch Notes: The verbs of MMOs
Even if you don't like crafting, you should care if your MMO of choice has meaningful crafting. And you should especially care if it has housing because one tends to lead to the other for connected reasons. Even if you don't care about housing, you have a richer experience in a game by housing being […]
Pearl Abyss devs talk up the visuals, story, and gameplay features of Crimson Desert's solo adventure
If the preview video of the upcoming Crimson Desert whet your appetite for more detailed video footage, then you're going to absolutely gobble up a new video featuring the game's devs that provides a little more context and a few details about what players can look forward to while playing the game's single-player adventure. A […]
Black Desert starts pre-creation for Nova and the winter season
The latest patch for Black Desert is all about pre-creation. Do you want to create your Nova character now ahead of the full class release? Go to town. Do you want to be ready for the winter season when it kicks off with a character all created? Get prepped up. Heck, you can even get […]
World of Warcraft welcomes back Winter Veil, raises Canadian subscription rates
Ho ho holy moly, are we at the end of 2020 already? It must be, because World of Warcraft's Feast of Winter Veil is here to wrap up the year with Christmas cheer and… sleigh rides? That's right, the popular festival now includes a magical sleigh ride over Orgrimmar and Ironforge. Blizzard also added a […]
Legends of Aria apologizes for COVID-related update and communication delays, shares details for Season 7
Season 7 is underway in Legends of Aria. This would likely be welcome news for most players but it's also possible that they were looking more forward to Point Release 11 and have otherwise been concerned about a lapse in communication and updates on that front. The latest post from Citadel Studio has an explanation, […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMOs did you personally have the most fun with in 2020?
I had a lot of fun with Final Fantasy XIV this year. This is not in and of itself unusual; I usually have a lot of fun with the game. But I feel like that's different from an evaluation of the game's quality in an objective sense. I think that the game was, on a whole, among […]
Here's how to get ridiculously festive ship skins in Elite Dangerous tomorrow
Have you ever wanted your Elite: Dangerous spaceship to look like a literal flying present? Then you'll get your extremely specific wish granted by watching a livestream this coming Thursday, December 17th. Provided you're okay with waking up early in the morning, anyway. The festive skins on display are part of the game's Twitch Drops, […]
The Stream Team: SWTOR's Echoes of Vengeance repeats itself
When Massively OP's Larry and MJ attempted to cruise into the new SWTOR Echoes of Vengeance content last week, they crashed and burned instead. However, with the pesky reinstall from Steam now out of the way, their first look at this adventure gets a repeat performance. (Now with more Mando! Maybe.) What choices await the […]
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Echoes of Vengeance pumps out a couple of new music tracks
Music is always an integral part of the Star Wars experience, so it's good to see that SWTOR isn't neglecting this aspect of the game. With the release of this month's Update 6.2: Echoes of Vengeance, BioWare commissioned a couple of new tracks by Composer Jesse Harlin to underscore the momentous story beats. It starts […]
Drakensang Online adds new quests, item variations, and system revamps in the Dark Legacy update
In what's being touted as Drakensang Online's "biggest content expansion to date," the Dark Legacy update has brought some pretty hefty numbers of things to the MMOARPG this month. Of note is a brand-new story arc with more than 150 quests that promises players "will meet new friends, face new foes, and reforge old alliances" […]
Defiance and Defiance 2050 celebrate the holidays while offering server compensation
Ho-ho-hopefully you like fighting the Volge in Defiance and Defiance 2050 because that's the game's Christmas event this year. Yes, running until January 11th, both games are summoning special Arkfalls with 2050 offering a selection of new prototype weaponry and gear while the original game offers special contracts to clear. It wouldn't quite be right to say […]
Overwatch's Winter Wonderland and Hearthstone's Winter Veil events go live
For those who like to celebrate the season by blowing away enemy teams or playing card games, it is now the most wonderful time of the year as Overwatch and Hearthstone have both begun their holiday-themed events. In Hearthstone, there's Winter Veil shenanigans including a Gift Exchange Tavern Brawl and the Wacky Waxy Winter Veil […]
RuneScape introduces a wintry Yak Track, improves Diango's UI, and brings back Violet for a holiday quest
It's Christmastime in RuneScape (just in case the advent calendar's return wasn't a hint enough) and the game has decked the halls in its weekly update report with word of several festive-minded updates. First, Violet is back and is once more needing the help of players to uncover the mystery of why Yeti Town is […]
The Elder Scrolls Online's holiday event returns with new rewards and new Imperial quests
The New Life festival is coming once again to The Elder Scrolls Online this upcoming Thursday, December 17th, and while a number of the event details for this year are similar to past events, there are a few notable new additions to the festivities including a new Snowball Buddy pet and Imperial Charity Writs that […]
The Stream Team: Decking the halls (and snowmen and fish) in Star Trek Online's Winter Wonderland
Christmastime in Star Trek Online can be quite the violent affair. What else would you expect with Q in charge? Instead of decking halls, Massively OP's MJ will be punching gummy fish, pelting snowmen (and snow borg!), and pummeling Kramp'Ihri. At least the ice-skating race doesn't involve destruction. Join us live at 2:00 p.m. for […]
CCP Games partners with Sperasoft for the latest in a long line of EVE franchise shooters
It's no secret at all that CCP Games has been working on a new multiplayer online game, or at least it shouldn't be if you read MOP regularly. That's because the company has been slipping out hiring notices for the game for the last several years, and of course in August, Hilmar Petursson himself openly […]
Enter to win a Perfect World International mount and pet in honor of the Celestials update
PWE's Perfect World International doesn't get enough attention from the MMO community, but if you're a fan, you'll want to feast your eyes on it today. That's because the game has just launched its Northern Realms: Celestials update. There are four components to the update: a new PvP mode, the codex system for cosmetics and […]
Funcom's Conan Chop Chop isn't dead, and it's really launching next year
Funcom's Conan Chop Chop, originally introduced as a rogue-like ARPG back in 2019, wrecked our predictions for 2020 by not launching, and I'm holding a grudge. OK, I'm not. But it really has been a long time coming, something that Funcom acknowledges in today's press release. See, in 2019, Funcom and developer Mighty Kingdom delayed the […]
Massively OP's 2020 Awards: Biggest MMO Disappointment of 2020
MassivelyOP's end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for Biggest MMO Disappointment of 2020, which was awarded jointly to the cancellation of Peria Chronicles and the decline of Guild Wars 2 last year. Disappointments can be games, launches, patches, trends, stories, sunsets, all manner of topics in the MMORPG genre and orbiting sub-genres. […]
Torchlight III's Snow & Steam update is live with updates for Forged and Forts
Torchlight III is emulating the blizzard smacking the Northeast US right now by dumping winter all over the gameworld too. Today's Snow & Steam update has rolled out to PC and all three consoles, marking the biggest update the game's seen since launch. There are new arctic-themed weapons, new high-level armor, an overhaul for the […]
End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO stories of 2020
Here's a fun question for you: What's the difference between the biggest surprises of a year and the biggest stories of the year? The answer, in short, is that it's something we actually debate and discuss a lot here as well because there isn't a very clear dividing line and we're doing our best to find […]
Free character transfers for World of Warcraft are closing on Thursday
Some servers in World of Warcraft are just more populated than others. That's a simple reality. In the hopes of having some players move off the more populated realms and to emptier ones, Blizzard turned on some free transfers back in November. However, the window for free transfers will be closed as of Thursday, December 17th; […]
Project Gorgon patches in winter festivities plus Deer and Ice Magic revamps
Project Gorgon doesn't technically have Christmas – but it does have Ri-Shin Day and New Year's Day, which means it's party season over in Elder Game's MMO. "Townsfolk who are your Friends will offer you gifts when you speak with them. (Make sure to have your favorite combat skills active in case they give you […]
Amazon's New World improves alpha combat with a new axe and shield
Who's pumped for New World to come out next year? There's a lot of hope and expectations riding on how much Amazon Game Studio can improve and flesh out the upcoming MMO before its 2021 release, and a key part of this is fine-tuning New World's combat system. On Tuesday, Amazon put the title through […]
Diablo IV works to 'get itemization right,' promises something 'chunky' for BlizzConline
When you come to a Diablo game, your brain is often just craving one thing: those loot explosions. Gear is a major source of those juicy endorphins, and it's a part of the game that Blizzard knows it absolutely has to get right as it continues to craft Diablo IV. After a "top to bottom" […]
The Daily Grind: What was the best new zone added to an MMO in 2020?
Way back in 2016, MOP reader Agemyth suggested that we debate the best new zone added to an MMO for the last couple of years. This year marks our fifth go-round, and I'm always glad to bring it back because it's one of those pseudo-awards that really is different every year, by definition. No game gets an […]
