Bless Unleashed opens up pre-registration for its next PC closed beta and notes upcoming improvements
For those who are curious about Bless Unleashed but aren't curious enough to just play the game on console, then your time to add your name to the PC closed beta testing hat has come. The game has announced that pre-registration for a second CBT is now available between now and January 10th, 2021, simply […]
Albion Online adds 20v20 Crystal League battles and adjusts group warfare features in latest update
Crystals are super important in the world of Albion Online, apparently. Or at least, they're important enough that 40 people will want to fight over them. I bring that up because Crystal Battles are one of the centerpieces of the game's latest patch, which lets two teams of 20 players duke it out in six […]
For Science: Researchers investigate why some players invert their directional controls
When you have an analog stick to control the camera, does pushing the stick forward tilt the camera up or down? The Guardian published a whole piece about inverting the Y-axis on controls, and the discussion around it prompted researchers to sit up and say "hey, this is actually a field worth studying." So now […]
EVE Online is planning a native macOS client, with testing planned for early 2021
In a time when some games are reducing support for new Mac machines, EVE Online is doubling down to capture Apple fans thanks to its new Mac client. "Today CCP is excited to unveil work on a native macOS EVE Online client is underway," the studio wrote. "The native macOS client will enable native support […]
Crowfall's December ACE Q&A talks up active skills, shows off a new castle, and confirms some VIP benefits
The beginning of December for Crowfall means yet another ACE Q&A livestream video featuring J. Todd Coleman and Thomas the Beard. This month, both directors talked up the overall positive work with 6.200 testing and bug squashing, spent a vast majority of the stream discussing the replacement of passive skills with active ones, and showcased […]
Inside Star Citizen discusses the Perseus gunship and a multitool tractor beam
Star Citizen's shiny new Perseus gunship, which readers will recall debuted at this year's IAE as a $600 purchasable concept, once again gets a spotlight cast on it during this week's episode of Inside Star Citizen. The Perseus, as one would expect with its suite of weapons on-board, is meant to blow up other ships […]
Lord of the Rings Online boasts at least 11,000 quests
Maybe at this point, Frodo and Sam should feel some pity toward the rest of us. After all, Lord of the Rings Online players have gone on far more quests than the Fellowship could even conceive. Curious players petitioned developer Jeff Libby to help them figure out roughly how many quests that LOTRO has as […]
Star Wars The Old Republic announces December 9 release for GU 6.2, December events, and a new CM
It's almost time once more for Star Wars: The Old Republic players to find out just what Valkorion is up to. Again. The game's Twitter has confirmed that Update 6.2, aka Echoes of Oblivion, will be arriving this coming Wednesday, December 9th, bringing with it a number of features including a new storyline, a new […]
WoW Factor: The five paths forward for WoW Classic
Throughout its lifespan, WoW Classic has had an interesting relationship with the future. Not just because it is and always was an explicitly back-looking piece of World of Warcraft, but because the game was essentially launched as a complete product with the last-patch balancing all done. What remained to be seen was not what would happen […]
Pokemon GO's 2020 community day won't include 2017 CD moves but does grants Shiny Celebi
The month of December is generally Pokemon Go's double-feature catch-up Community Day. Over the course of two days (December 12th and 13th this year), players can traditionally evolve previously featured Community Day pokemon to have meta-defining moves – Meteor Mash Metagross – which goes from D-tier all around to A-tier. Many of them also have […]
Npixel reveals stunning 'space-time' MMORPG Chrono Odyssey
If you like Gran Saga but want something a bit less cartoony, you're going to want to feast your eyes on the second MMO coming from Npixel. The newly unveiled game is called Chrono Odyssey, and it boasts a "space-time" open-world fantasy MMORPG theme and stunning photorealistic graphics. "Chrono Odyssey, which is formerly known as […]
Final Fantasy XIV posts the preliminary notes for Tuesday's patch 5.4, Futures Rewritten
The posting of patch notes for Final Fantasy XIV is a long-respected tradition because they're always extensive and they first come out before the full patch. As it has always been, as it still is for patch 5.4, Futures Rewritten, which now has its preliminary patch notes available for players to peruse at their pleasure. And […]
BioWare loses GM Casey Hudson and Exec Producer Mark Darrah
If you felt a seismic shift in the foundation of the world last night, it may be that questionable burrito you bought from 7-11… or it could be the departure of two of BioWare's biggest executives. Yesterday evening, the Star Wars: The Old Republic studio announced that General Manager Casey Hudson and Executive Producer Mark […]
The Daily Grind: What MMO needs a waaaaay better tutorial?
Ultima Online studio Broadsword is currently hard at work on a new game mode and server that is explicitly meant to onboard new players and ease them into what is a very old and frankly very complicated sandbox. And it really, really needs it. The studio is not wrong to be setting its priorities to […]
The Stream Team: Descending into Neverwinter's The Chasm
After ascending Icespire Peaks, it's time to descend into The Chasm. Massively OP's MJ is leaving the iciness behind and moving on to the rocky depths of a festering pit where the Spellplague accumulates and malforms creatures. Join us live at 9:00 p.m. as MJ experiences this zone for the first time. What: Neverwinter Who: […]
Massively Overthinking: MMO cash shop confessions
Do you ever pick up a drink absentmindedly, thinking it's going to be something, but it's actually something totally different that you hate? You know that feeling of first surprise and then revulsion? I had this experience with an industry article a few weeks ago. I sat down to read it based on its title, […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 is launching Episode 6 on December 9
It's almost time to reach for new heights in Phantasy Star Online 2. The game started running its campaign for the road to episode 6 late last month, but that road is nearly over as the game reaches its destination on December 9th. Yes, that's when the patch arrives, bringing in all sorts of new things […]
Final Fantasy XI previews its December version update without any Odyssey content
It says something about this particular year that it's actually comfortable and refreshing to find something being delayed just because it isn't quite polished enough for prime time. Yes, it's sad that the next Final Fantasy XI update will be launching without new Odyssey content, but the reason stated by the team is just that it […]
Temtem answers questions about early access on PlayStation 5 on December 8
It's a good thing that Temtem is going into early access on the PlayStation 5 as of December 8th, as that means a chance for more players to enjoy the game. It's an even better thing that it will feature crossplay with the game's PC version, so players can hang out with their friends even on […]
PSA: The standard edition of Elder Scrolls Online is free-to-play until December 9
It's the most wonderful time of the year. Not just the start of the holiday season, but the start of yet another free play promotion for Elder Scrolls Online. The standard edition of the MMORPG, anyway. From now until Wednesday, December 9th, at 10:00 a.m. EST, players can hop in to MMO Tamriel on PC, […]
Spellbreak is tying lore to gameplay and arriving to Steam with the Spellstorm update December 15
What are your motivations for playing battle royale? Progression? The chance at victory? Because you've hitched your YouTube channel to a single game and you desperately need content to feed the ever-ravening ur-beast known as the Algorithm? With the upcoming Spellstorm update arriving to magic-using battle royale title Spellbreak, the devs at Proletariat are offering […]
Indie MMO Gloria Victis has just rolled its way into beta
Happy beta launch week to Gloria Victis! No, really. The MMO has been in early access alpha since 2016, but it's finally moving out of alpha and into beta, though apparently it's staying in early access – but only for now. "[T]he beta will last a few months and will prepare us to leave Early […]
Crowfall plans to replace stat-building passive skills with active skills in its next update
Players unfamiliar with Crowfall's terminology should know that "passive skills" in the game mean they allow players to accrue stats over time whether they play or not and were even needed in some cases to gain access to certain types of content. This, effectively, has meant that players who have been playing longer have access […]
Changyou's World of Shadowbane is gearing up for a global Steam launch in January
Remember way back in 2015, when Chinese studio Changyou bought up the rights to classic territorial warfare MMORPG Shadowbane and relaunched it overseas as World of Shadowbane? It was welcome news, though western players were still stuck playing on emulators instead. But six months ago, Changyou began testing an international version of the game, and […]
Dauntless shares patch notes for its Reforged update as Phoenix Labs expands its operations
Today is the day where Dauntless gets Reforged. The much-ballyhooed update that shifts a number of the multiplayer RPG's base systems — particularly how players find Behemoths to hunt and how they progress — is going live today and has shared some patch notes ahead of time. The notes themselves, as one would expect, link […]
Sea of Thieves announces Seasons, the arrival of a battle pass, and the end of active development for Arena
It's been some time since Sea of Thieves kicked out a news bulletin video — three months to be exact — but that time away has meant that the most recent news video is chock full of information about where the pirating sandbox (oceanbox?) is going as the new year rolls forward. The video first […]
The Soapbox: Red Dead Online is just not as fun as it should be
A few weeks ago, I detailed my newfound adventures in the single-player title Red Dead Redemption 2. More relevant to our interests here on MassivelyOP, when I purchased the game it came with an MMO version, Red Dead Online. As a fan of MMOs and someone who has thoroughly enjoyed RDR2, I naturally decided to […]
Skyforge has delayed its planned fall Nintendo Switch launch to February 2021
One of the highlights of the end of 2020 was meant to be Skyforge's Switch launch, but unfortunately, My.games has opted to delay the release until next year. The hard date is now February 4th, 2021. "We know many of you were looking forward to playing it sooner, and we're sorry that we couldn't make […]
Vague Patch Notes: You are and are not who you are in MMOs
If you've never been hit in the face, you're not really prepared for when someone does it, much less when it's a fist instead of an open-palmed slap. There's a sort of misfire that happens in your brain acknowledging that you've just been struck in the face, something that sends a hot flame down your […]
Pearl Abyss plans to reveal Crimson Desert during this year's Game Awards
If you wanted a clear-cut reason to watch The Game Awards on December 10th, Pearl Abyss is happy to oblige: It's planning on releasing its first gameplay trailer for Crimson Desert during the show. Crimson Desert, of course, is one of multiple new MMORPGs that the Black Desert studio announced in the fall of 2019, […]
RIFT's Fae Yule has a few surprises in store for Telara's faithful, including a new world event
What better present could starved and hungry RIFT players ask for — and receive — than some brand-new content for their neglected MMO? Thanks to the good people over at Ghar Station and their datamining efforts, we know that such a gift is on the way to all good little Guardians and Defiants. With the […]
Final Fantasy XIV updates its site for patch 5.4 with more details on gear, side activities, and rewards
It's only a few more days until Final Fantasy XIV brings players into the content-filled world of patch 5.4, but there's still a bit more to show off on the special site ahead of the full update. Players can, for example, get a glance at the new gear available for Allagan Tomestones of Revelations, along with […]
New World of Warcraft trailers drop for WoW Classic's Naxxramas and Shadowlands
Today is a momentous day for WoW Classic, as Blizzard is triggering the ultimate patch for the vanilla-era edition of the game. That's right, it's time to head into Naxxramas and raid to your heart's content (granted that you're properly geared and don't have a fear of spiders and dead things). Blizzard accidentally released the […]
The Daily Grind: Are you more hopeful about Daybreak after the latest sale?
There's a strong sense of cynicism around these parts when it comes to Daybreak, probably due to how frequently Daybreak goes to extreme lengths to Daybreak. But now Daybreak has been acquired by another company, again, and the acquisition seems to have gone off as one big sale even after Daybreak's last owner went to […]
The Stream Team: Fractured for friends
Would you become Fractured for a friend? Massively OP's MJ would! Although she hasn't really wandered around in this world since the spring stress test, she's happy to hop back in to honor MOP friends' requests. It does mean starting all over with a new character, but she's up for the challenge. How are things […]
Econia is a 'new MMO business simulator' out now on mobile and arriving to PC in 2021
So what if you had a business tycoon game where you focused on running a major business and had to compete against other players in real time? That's the overall thrust of Econia, a newly released mobile game that challenges 14 players to play against one another in one map to run a successful business […]
Whatever happened to pre-alpha indie MMORPG Arcfall?
Earlier this year when we last checked in with Arcfall, an Ultima Online-inspired indie MMO, we learned that the team had hopes to officially launch the game by the end of the year. So how's that shaping up? Well, it doesn't look like that release is going to happen in 2020, considering that the MMO […]
Osiris: New Dawn's Survival update doubles down on survival mechanics and improves performance
If you prefer more "survival" in your survival sandbox gaming, then last week's appropriately named Survival update to Osiris: New Dawn is likely going to be right up your alley, as the update has put a greater emphasis on survival mechanics: Environmental hazards are more brutal, tools will have to be repaired as they deteriorate, […]
Mankind Reborn offers updates on territory control, Cliea 5A48, and several system overhauls
It's been rather quiet on the news front for Mankind Reborn, the spiritual successor for the sunsetted sandbox MMO Face of Mankind; the last update we got was in May. However, the devs at Far Frontier Studios have resurfaced once again with new updates as well as an explanation for the radio silence. In short, […]
Trove, ArcheAge, Defiance, and RIFT start handing out digital advent calendars for the holidays
I'd never been really familiar with advent calendars until I met my husband, who is from Wales, and we bought ourselves an advent calendar for the holidays one year. I've never really understood why I've not seen them around me a lot, especially since they clearly come in some interesting varieties. The point of all […]
City of Heroes: Homecoming starts its holiday event and improves long-range transport
Oh, there's no place like City of Heroes: Homecoming for the holidays, for no matter how far you should roam… you can always get back to where you need to be with the help of long-range teleportation. Yes, this rogue server has turned on its winter event this year, and if you've celebrated in the pat you'll […]
Red Dead Online is now just $5 as a standalone product, plus the bounty hunter expansion is live
If you haven't played Red Dead Online yet because you didn't want to shell out for Red Dead Redemption 2, now is the time to act: Rockstar has now made good on its plan to offer Red Dead Online as a standalone product, and it's cheap as heck too right now at just $4.99 through […]
The Elder Scrolls Online promises a crash fix patch for PC and console next week
Update 28 of The Elder Scrolls Online has apparently not exactly landed on all fours for many people, according to a series of tweets from the game's official account, with several players on both PC and consoles experiencing "active game crashes" among a host of other problems. That said, the same tweet thread promises that […]
Fortnite closes Chapter 2 Season 4 with a Galactus fight and launches Season 5 with the Mandalorian
The world of Fortnite has gone off-the-rails wild as its moved through the seasons of Chapter 2. Season 4 closed out yesterday with a massive in-game event involving flying the Battle Bus in an arcade shooter to fight Galactus, which reportedly saw some big numbers: 15.3 million concurrent players and 3.4 million watching on YouTube […]
Lord of the Rings Online composer revives his music company after ponzi scheme fiasco
Two years after fraud ruined his company, Chance Thomas is back. The Academy Award-winning composer (and composer of great portions of Lord of the Rings Online's soundtrack) announced this week that he's bringing his company back from financial ruin. "Two years after fraud destroyed HUGEsound, I've finally extracted the record company," Chance said. "This includes […]
Desert Oasis: Black Desert Online should be 2020's MMO of the year
Well here we are again, heading to the end of another year. And while many are eager for this year to end, us gamers have a tradition that can't be ignored: declaring the games that defined our year. And today, I take my little mole hill and build it into a mountain: Black Desert Online should […]
Camelot Unchained talks up development of new Verdant Forest biome and RvR map
The month of November saw the devs of Camelot Unchained improving the game's landmass quite a bit. In the latest newsletter, we get a look at the creation of the new and improved Verdant Forest biome as well as word of a new RvR map. The new Verdant Forest not only brings some dark fantasy […]
Console LOTRO and DCUO's huge playerbase: Everything we just learned about Daybreak thanks to EG7
MMO twitter has been ablaze since yesterday's announcement that Daybreak is being bought up in its entirety by Swedish games company Enad Global 7, largely thanks to the huge swath of information EG7 is offering to investors on Daybreak, a company that has been notoriously tight-lipped about its plans to the point that it actually […]
End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO surprises of 2020
Whew. We're finally getting close to the end of 2020, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that it cannot get here fast enough. This year has been awful, and I'm not even the first person to point that out. And as we start in on our end-of-year roundups, it's […]
Guild Wars 2 rolls out a PvP class balance patch
It's that old adage of MMOs that nobody wants developers to mess with their classes — unless the devs totally buff those classes up even more. So there is always some fear and trepidation when you read through an MMO's balance pass to see if you're in for some love, some hate, or some major […]
