The Cycle's 3.5 season extension blankets part of the game world in Christmas cheer
Happy patch week for fans of the early access MMOFPS The Cycle: Developer Yager has released Season 3.5, an extension for the third season dubbed Stormchasers. Notably for the hardest core players, 3.5 includes 50 more Fortuna Pass levels (if you'd already paid for the Fortuna pass, the new stuff is included), along with new outfits, […]
RuneScape unleashes Raksha the Shadow Colossus of Orthen, OSRS unleashes Christmas
One game has deigned to drop a colossal boss monster. The other has unfurled its holiday plans. Which one sounds like a cozier time to you? You've got your choice in RuneScape and Old School RuneScape as both games have had some pretty sizeable updates today, even if they are thematically divergent. Until you picture […]
Final Fantasy XI brings out new story and new Ambuscade foes with its latest update
Enjoying the Voracious Resurgence storyline in Final Fantasy XI, either for the story itself or just because it's more story content when the game seemed destined not to receive any more of that? Because the latest version update has arrived, and that means more Voracious Resurgence as well as the usual monthly cycle of new Ambuscade […]
ArcheAge brings new Chronicles quests, reopens Auroria, and adds a new community center December 17
Mark your calendars, ArcheAge players: Thursday, December 17th, is bringing a new content update with a host of new things to explore and experience for both ArcheAge and ArcheAge Unchained. At the top of the list is the expansion of the Chronicles quest line series as players are tasked to learn more about a presence […]
Titan Reach shares details of its quest system, new armor, and new map in latest dev blog
Titan Reach is starting to make good on its promise of more communication as the devs of the old-school-styled MMORPG have posted a fresh new development blog to showcase some of its progress. First on the list is work on a new questing system that can allow the team at Square Root Studios to put […]
Blade & Soul's final major update of the year includes a new specialization and heroic dungeon
The last update for Blade & Soul this year arrives on December 16th, and it brings with it a third specialization for Blade Dancer. The new Way of the Grim Blade allows you to summon a spectral Grimreaver to join in on your slashes, with its attacks assured of causing nightmares. That seems less effective than […]
Dual Universe releases 0.23 beta patch as players lament grind and invalid keys
Dual Universe studio Novaquark patched up the beta this week, adding a range of quality-of-life and economy fixes with its 0.23 release. Most notably and as promised by the company's earlier dev blog, the patch notes include ship canopies, internal schematic banks for industry units, better map drill-downs, graphical improvements, changes to buy orders, tweaks […]
Vague Patch Notes: Defining the vague mass that is the MMO community
The community is important when it comes to talking about an MMO. This is an established fact; I wrote an entire column about how the community both is and is not an MMO, after all. But the tricky element when discussing it is partly that just "the community" is already a vague and amorphous concept. […]
MMO Business Roundup: Twitch's anti-hate policies, Cyberpunk's concurrency, and the CASE Act
Welcome back to our irregular roundup of MMO (and MMO-adjacent) industry news! Twitch: This week, Twitch introduced yet another round of policy changes in regard to conduct on the streaming platform. The updated Hateful Conduct and Harassment Policy, which takes effect on January 22nd, specifically defines harassment as targeted attacks designed to "disrupt, harm and […]
Massively OP's 2020 Awards: Most Underrated MMO
Welcome to Massively Overpowered's formal end-of-the-year 2020 awards! Every year, we poll our writers on the best and worst MMOs, stories, studios, and trends and assign awards to the winners (and "winners"). For the last six years now, we've been splitting our awards into individual articles so we can explain them in detail, and we're doing that again, […]
Star Citizen deep-dives the $600 Perseus gunship and its 'bespoke ammunition'
For players of Star Citizen who have questions about the in-development Perseus gunship but weren't otherwise sated by the details shared in the last ISC video, then perhaps there are some answers in a recent dedicated Q&A post. One of the first answers of note is the Perseus is currently only in the concept stages […]
The untold story of Lord of the Rings' cancelled MMORPG
Considering how popular the Middle Earth IP is, it is no surprise that there have been multiple stabs at creating a Lord of the Rings MMO over the years — including PLATO's Moria, the aborted Middle-Earth Online, our beloved LOTRO, and Amazon's upcoming Second Age title. But what you might not have known is that […]
Dungeons & Dragons Online patches in a number of Augment fixes
The newest update for Dungeons & Dragons Online has a whole lot of stuff about augments in there. Some of it is as simple as bugfixes – for example, removing legacy augments will no longer cause the color of an augment slot to swap. Others are more extensive, like how all items will now display their […]
Lord of the Rings Online starts Yuletide, improves PvP, and unlocks progression Gondor
The term "kitchen sink" gets tossed around by a lot of people who have very little experience with installing sinks, such as yours truly. But this is the only way to describe today's Update 28.2 for Lord of the Rings Online: It's a kitchen sink patch with a whole lot of everything. It's starts with […]
The Daily Grind: What are the MMOs you're worried about for the coming year?
While it's technically launching in Korea today, I'm worried that Elyon missed its ideal window here in the west due to all its redesigns and changes. There was a time when that game was pretty high on my list of things I was looking forward to, but since we've had only indirect clues that the […]
The Stream Team: Cruising into SWTOR's Echoes of Vengeance content
Did someone say new SWTOR content?! Why yes, yes they did! And that means Massively OP's Larry and MJ are taking a break from the searching for the Shroud to return to the main story. And that means you, dear viewers, get to return to Choose My Alignment! Join us live at 8:00 p.m. as […]
Sea of Thieves' Festival of Giving brings a list of seasonal events and the return of gilded voyages
Just because the game is called Sea of Thieves doesn't mean that the holiday spirit can't be felt by the pirates of the game. That spirit is felt all throughout the the Festival of Giving, which has kicked off starting today. The Festival of Giving features a host of new seasonal events. The 12 Deeds […]
MMO Business Roundup: Activision's Netflix lawsuit, Tolkien's house, Roblox in China, and more
Welcome back to another quick spin through MMO and MMO-adjacent industry news! Fortnite – It doesn't look as if gaming companies are feeling too hopeful about their in-person prospects in 2021. Epic Games announced that it will not be holding in-person events even next year, meaning the Fortnite World Cup will once again be hosted […]
Grim Dawn shows off more new regions and new armor sets arriving in its next update
Trust me, in true Grim Dawn fashion, I was highly tempted to spell "more" as "MOAR" in that headline, but I don't know that Bree would like that very much. Be that as it may, more is indeed coming to the multiplayer ARPG, specifically even more regions and more armor sets as evidenced by some […]
Time Warpers is a multiplayer FPS sequel of the 'incremental' idle game Time Clickers
The MMO and multiplayer game genres never seem to stop surprising me. For instance, I was not necessarily aware of the "incremental game" sub-genre, which sounds a bit like simply surviving waves of enemies and growing stronger, kind of like Risk of Rain 2. With that in mind, allow us to introduce you to Time […]
EVE Online kicks off a ton of seasonal events for its icy-themed Winter Nexus
You might not think EVE Online is the type of MMO to get festive for the holidays, but it is! Although this blend of festive is, you know, mostly trying to kill you. This year's Winter Nexus fun has a big long list of space fun themed around the season in the Northern Hemisphere. To […]
Star Wars The Old Republic's Echoes of Vengeance update is live with new story and flashpoint
Star Wars The Old Republic's Echoes of Vengeance may not be the game's largest patch ever, but it's aiming to catch the attention of the greater Star Wars fandom all the same. GU 6.2, which is live as of today, tweaks the login rewards, adjusts the emote window, and adds new ranked PvP rewards, and […]
CIG announces support for Tobii Eye Tracking technology in Star Citizen update 3.12
If you notice a weird, hollow blob squidging its way across your screen while watching some post-game footage of your time in Star Citizen update 3.12, don't be alarmed; it's just the Tobii Eye Tracker working its magic. Unless, of course, you don't have Tobii Eye Tracking hardware and software in use and you have […]
Black Desert launches the Outlaw Zone on mobile, adds Stormbringer Karanda and new moles to PC
It's another week in Black Desert, which means a couple of the game's versions have had a few new updates. Most of these updates, as one would expect, are about fighting things, whether it's new bosses, other players, or a variety of new moles. One of which is named Pudgy Mole. Now you're just trying […]
Elyon's western publisher begins promoting English website ahead of Korean launch
Tomorrow's an exciting day for Korean MMORPG fans: Elyon, aka Ascent Infinite Realm, is finally launching in the region after several years of teasing, testing, and title-changes. But what about those of us across the Pacific? While we knew the game was getting a global release, hard details on when and how have been scarce. […]
Project-V is an upcoming multiplayer online co-op title that blends MOBA and MMO dungeon raid gameplay
First off, no, this isn't Pearl Abyss' Project V where the "V" is a Roman numeral; this is Project-V, an upcoming "MOCO" (that's "multiplayer online co-op") game that seeks to combine "the teamplay and skill of a MOBA with the adventure of an MMO dungeon raid." Project-V comes by way of Vela Games, which includes […]
End-of-Year Eleven: The healthiest live MMOs going into 2021
It is only natural that, when you are shopping around for a different MMORPG to play, to consider the health of potential play candidates. Your mind may not term it as such, but it's not uncommon to be thinking questions like, "Does this game have an active and thriving population?" "Is this MMO seeing a […]
Final Fantasy XIV prepares for the annual Starlight Celebration starting December 14
It's almost time for the Starlight Celebration in Final Fantasy XIV, just a week after the game's most recent patch (which dropped yesterday), and this year the theme seems to be all about letting it snow. That's evident in the rewards if nowhere else, as players can get a perpetually frost-covered evergreen for the outdoors or […]
Temtem has officially rolled into $39.99 early access on the PS5
One of the biggest MMO-ish Kickstarters of 2018 was Temtem, a Pokemon-esque "massively multiplayer creature-collection adventure" (MMCCA?) that pulled in more than half a million dollars in crowdfunds. And unlike so many Kickstarter projects, it didn't just piss away that money and vanish! No sir. It pushed into alpha last year, and then this year, […]
Check out the World of Warcraft cinematic from the end of Castle Nathria
The first tier of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands raiding is out there now if you're playing on normal or heroic. If you're opting to go for the raid finder, though, you'll have to wait until next week to get started and four weeks after that to have full access. Can't wait that long to find out […]
Phantasy Star Online 2's Episode 6 is live today with new story, classes, and Christmas fun
Christmas is upon us today – at least if we're in Phantasy Star Online 2. But you won't need to be in the holiday spirit to participate, as episode 6 is also live in Sega's global edition of the game. First, episode 6: Sega is calling this a "huge" content update; it pushes forward the […]
Destiny 2 promises to add a host of weapon-related improvements, transmog, and cross-play in 2021
If you have some strong feelings about how weapons and their associated Power levels are working right now in Destiny 2, then you might be interested to know about what assistant game director Joe Blackburn has written in a dev blog about the subject, particularly with regards to plans the team has to address matters […]
The Elder Scrolls Online teases 2021 content with new lore clip, full reveal tomorrow
What does the next year of DLC hold for The Elder Scrolls Online? Probably not Skyrim again, since one of those just got wrapped up. But if you're curious about what the next year of updates will actually hold, you should tune in to watch the Game Awards on Thursday because that's when the trailer will be […]
The Daily Grind: How do you feel about MMOs you don't play getting publicity?
I know full well that it's a strange feeling when a game you're totally not into or playing is at the center of a swirl of publicity, press, and public enthusiasm. I've always felt mixed about it, to be honest. On one hand, it's annoying that the Thing You Like is being overshadowed by That […]
The Stream Team: The Departing in Guild Wars 2
After finding the lost city, Massively OP's MJ is moving on in Guild Wars 2's Path of Fire. Next up is Chapter 9: The Departing, where she must start off by climbing the spire at Skimshallow Cove. What will she find when she arrives? And will it depart? Join us live at 8:00 p.m. to […]
The Elder Scrolls Blades introduces new cursed portal quests, prepares the Life Festival holiday event
There's a chill in the air of The Elder Scrolls: Blades. Partially because the game's central hub Rivercrest is now being blanketed by snow, but mostly because the most recent update has included the Life Festival holiday event, which will bring new events to the game on December 24th all the way to January 2nd. […]
Shroud of the Avatar talks about the first phase of its streamer rewards program
Shroud of the Avatar is keen to reward its streamers, so for those who are eager to join the game's streamer rewards program and get those rewards, the most recent newsletter has some information that you'll want to know. The first phase of SOTA's streamer rewards program is pretty simple overall: Interested broadcasters will need […]
Dauntless responds to feedback from the Reforged update, outlines some planned adjustments
When I previewed the Reforged update of Dauntless, one of my first impressions was that we're not going to really know how effective the game's changes to progression were going to be until it was in the hands of the wider playerbase. Now that there's been just under a week since Reforged went live, the […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 300: It's beginning to feel a lot like Daybreak
Justin and Bree discuss the Daybreak sale, World of Warcraft, SWTOR, City of Heroes, Skyforge, and min-maxing in MMOs in this live-recorded 300th podcast.
DC Universe Online asks you to rescue Christmas, one gift at a time
Daybreak Game Company's number one MMO (we can say that now, we have hard data) doesn't quite do the holidays like everyone else. Here, the presents have been stolen, and only the world's best and most powerful superbeings can get them back and save Whoville, er, Metropolis from a glum Christmas morn. That's right, Seasons […]
Old School RuneScape starts testing for its Steam release
While RuneScape is basking in the joy of being on Steam, Old School RuneScape hasn't made the jump yet. This is because, according to Jagex, the Java client didn't cooperate with some of Steam's features. That's required the studio to rebuild the game in C++, and as a result, now it is time to get […]
The Division 2 brings the Optimization Station, Summit improvements, and a host of gameplay changes in TU12
It's time for another title update to The Division 2. The 12th such update, to be exact: Title Update 12 is now online, and the patch notes offer up a number of details about what's available in-game. Much of what's in TU12 we've touched on before, such as some adjustments to the Summit encounter, the […]
Guild Wars 2 plans Wintersday for next week as the community debates hacking and toxicity
As expected, Guild Wars 2 is capping off 2020 with its holiday events in the form of the official release of Wintersday next week, along with a half-off sale for the game's expansion bundle starting on December 15th and running up through Christmas Eve. "The annual Wintersday festival arrives next week! Participate in traditional festivities […]
Choose My Adventure: Fallout 76 and my fight against the all too familiar feeling of not caring
I wish I could say that I'm arriving to Fallout 76 without any sort of pre-formed opinions. I haven't ever touched this game since it first made its less than stellar debut or even after it started to pull itself together with the Wastelanders update, but I'd be lying if I didn't also admit that […]
PSA: Cyberpunk 2077 includes light sequences known to trigger epileptic seizures
We've all seen it in a wide variety of games that have been recently released: the epilepsy warning about how certain sequences of flashing colored lights trigger photosensitive seizures in people, even those without a history of the condition. However, in the case of the soon to be released Cyberpunk 2077, there's a very specific […]
Flameseeker Chronicles: An honest second look at Guild Wars 2's dragon response missions
As longtime readers surely know, Flameseeker Chronicles is an opinion column, one of many on Massively OP, though this one's about Guild Wars 2. Sometimes my opinion is going to differ from that of the current zeitgeist. You're free to respectfully disagree with that opinion; that's how opinions work, and that's what the comments are […]
EVE Online brings its Japanese localization online and celebrates with fireworks and store sales
The Japanese playerbase of EVE Online has reason to celebrate today as the localization of the game to Japanese has officially gone live. CCP Games touted the release as "a successful cooperation between CCP, the Japanese EVE-playing community, and [its] experienced partners" and promised further refinements and improvements to localization for all of the languages […]
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go goes retro with its Red and Green Event in 2021
Pokemon Go's not done with announcing big events this fall, not by a long shot. In addition to the current seasonal events and Community Day + Movie promo events, Niantic just announced how it's celebrating the game's fifth anniversary: with the Pokemon Go Tour: Kanto ticketed event for Saturday, February 20th, from 9 a.m. to […]
EverQuest 27th expansion, Claws of Veeshan, is set to go live this afternoon
Happy expansion day, EverQuest! Yes, the newly purchased Daybreak is delivering Claws of Veeshan to one of its apparently still much-loved classic MMOs today. The expansion boasts six new zones, the Dragon's Hoard storage system, and the usual assortment of new quests, raids, abilities, and collectibles. "Velious is overwhelmed with writhing ice. Frozen undead swarm […]
Blizzard claims World of Warcraft Shadowlands is the fastest-selling PC game of all time
Blizzard is breathlessly proclaiming this morning that World of Warcraft Shadowlands is the fastest-selling PC game of all time, by virtue of its having sold 3.7M units globally between when preorders went live November 1st, 2019, and its launch just before Thanksgiving 2020. Whether you think a year of preorders counts as fast, of course, […]
