MMO Week in Review: Gamestonk, Amazon, Jagex, and Blackwood
Well this was a fun week – the week everyone learned how to stock market, and it was all thanks to GameStop, which is finally good for something! Meanwhile, Amazon is a dumpster fire, Jagex is in the midst of what we can describe only as a right proper imbroglio, and Elder Scrolls Online is […]
AdventureQuest 3D pits werewolves against vampires, adds Bernie's memeworthy mittens
Just in time for Valentine's Day, werewolves, vampires, and horror is overtaking AdventureQuest 3D. Hey, this game doesn't follow the traditional holiday schedule! In the cross-platform fantasy MMO's latest patch, a secret down in the basement of Boog's tavern will unleash a terror that no one — no, not even you — is prepared to handle. […]
The MOP Up: Dark Age of Camelot's 2020 roadmap
For an older MMORPG, Dark Age of Camelot isn't resting on its cyber-laurels. The RvR title posted its initial plans for 2020, and all of it sounds exciting! "We will have patch 1.128 coming out directly to live servers [this past] week with several much-requested bug fixes, including the social window display issue, some new […]
Shadow Arena introduces two new heroes and adjusts defense points in latest update
Shadow Arena, aka the battle royale game with fun modes but nobody around to play them, continues to push out updates in defiance of its low player numbers. This latest update has unleashed a couple of new heroes to the game's roster as well as adjusted how defense points (DP) work. First, the new heroes: […]
Global Chat: Amazing quality-of-life MMO mechanics
Little things can mean a whole lot, especially if they impact your gameplay for the better. MMO blogger Contains Moderate Peril wrote a list of five quality-of-life features that he's loved in his games. "I feel that Guild Wars 2 handles this mechanic the best, insofar as every player has the ability to revive another," he […]
Star Trek Online's new Legendary Anniversary Pack unleashes a torrent of rage from players
In case you somehow missed it, Star Trek Online has released a new Legendary Anniversary Pack to commemorate the game's 11th year of operation. The reaction from players to this new bundle, however, has not been exactly warm. Unless you consider flames to be warm, but that's a bit too literal. The game's official Reddit […]
One Shots: Where do you find penguin wear?
When you head out to the final frontier in Star Citizen, make sure that you take your favorite, um, penguin? Sure, that sounds like an essential addition to the crew. And if you take a penguin, you best go shopping for warm penguin wear, because you don't want this little guy to get chilly. He's […]
The Daily Grind: What one change would you make on a rogue server for a live MMO?
Wow! Great news here, you are personally allowed to operate a rogue server for that live game you like! Seriously, you've got a whole team ready to support you running that server, that's pretty awesome. No, don't ask about how it happened. The negotiations of the hypothetical thought experiment legal department are arcane and best […]
Ashes of Creation plans a new website, 20 biomes, and February 19 milestone test
The month of January is almost over, but there's still some news to be heard from the devs of Ashes of Creation in the form of their monthly development update stream, which gives fans and backers a progress report on what's being worked on and what's coming next for the MMORPG. In terms of updates, […]
World of Warcraft makes Torghast unlocks account-wide
Here's some really good news for players who are groaning in anticipation at running those lengthy Torghast levels in World of Warcraft! Blizzard hotfixed a way to share those achievements across your entire account, meaning that you only have to accomplish this once to enjoy the benefits for your army of alts. "Now, when you've […]
The Game Archaeologist: Lost Continents, the Jules Verne MMO we never got
If you're looking for an alternate vision of futuristic science fiction, you would do well to dive back into the worlds of 19th century author Jules Verne. His forward-thinking designs and stories influenced movies such as Back to the Future Part III and theme parks such as Euro Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea. Jules Verne's imaginary […]
The Stream Team: Checking in on the now free-to-play Will to Live Online
Although development has been steady (and the game is now free-to-play), it has been a very long time since Massively OP's MJ has been in to check out Will to Live Online. Maybe her will just wasn't strong enough, or perhaps she was scarred too much by the rats! Whatever the reason, she has blocked […]
Camelot Unchained previews the Verdant Forest and creation of 21 different races
The latest Unveiled newsletter from Camelot Unchained has a lot to talk about, but then again when you're trying to describe the creation of a forest biome and 21 different in-game races, you're going to end up with a lengthy newsletter and a monthly blog recap to top it off. On the subject of the […]
Report exposes mismanagement, bro culture, and trend-chasing at Amazon Game Studios
We've all heard about how someone or something is "too big to fail," but in the case of Amazon Game Studios, it's been one failure after another, with the cancellation of Breakaway after a development hiatus, the beta do-over and then full cancellation of Crucible, and a wholesale direction shift for New World, which led […]
WRUP: Beekeeping strategies edition
DON'T: Yell at your bees. DO: Yell encouraging things at flowers while making it clear that the yelling is not directed at the bees. DON'T: Throw fire at your bees. DO: Teach your bees about alternating and direct current in electricity. DON'T: Take all of your clothing off and run around your beehives while dripping […]
The Daily Grind: How often do you start over in MMOs?
One of my all-time favorite things to do in MMORPGs is to wipe the slate clean and start over. I've been going nuts doing that this month, rerolling in several of my favorite games and experiencing that "fresh character smell" that hints of possibility and future adventures. Sure, this isn't always practical if you have […]
The Stream Team: AdventureQuest 3D's Blood Moon is about to rise
AQ3D's Darkovia story continues this week with the release of the next chapter, Before the Blood Moon. Now that Saferia and Constantine are in charge of the Vampires and werewolves, peace between the two races can finally happen. But there is an ancient power that can disrupt it all — or perhaps even help! Massively […]
Betawatch: Magic Legends hits open beta on March 23
It took a bit longer than expected, possibly longer than the developers had hoped, but it's finally happening. Magic Legends has an official open beta date of March 23rd, far enough away that there's time for refinement ahead of the date itself but close enough that it's worth looking forward to. Isn't it nice when things […]
Mu Online launches Season 15 Part 2, Mu Origin 2 introduces a new Rune system
Talk about MMOs that have way too many versions of themselves; it's time to look at some new updates to Mu! Specifically, the PC game Mu Online and the mobile title MU Origin 2, both of which have gotten some fresh injections of content. In Mu Online, Season 15 Part 2 is now live, bringing […]
Aion asks players to defend the Garden of Growth with its new auto-hunting mechanics
Darn, hunting things in the Garden of Growth in Aion is going to take a while. Seriously, the whole thing that players are doing is popping enemies for an hour while gaining experience boosters and occasional stones. If only there were a way to just set the game to play itself for you during the […]
Runes of Magic opens the Dasein's Labyrinth event zone for a limited time
Yes, the event zone that has been introduced in Runes of Magic calls itself Dasein's Labyrinth, which implies that it introduces one of our community's most hated MMO features. This one, however, doesn't sound so bad, and there's even an option to fight a boss instead. From now until Thursday, February 4th, players that are […]
Gamigo's Echo of Soul gets a new level cap, dungeons, and advancement systems in 3.0 update
Echo of Soul has received a pretty sizeable update. Normally that would be enough of a lede before getting in to the details, but this game requires a bit more specificity, as this update is for the EOS Phoenix version run by Gamigo and not EOS The Blue run by Blue Potion Games on Steam, […]
Shroud of the Avatar brings a new scene, buff-providing statues, and quality-of-life features in Release 86
Most of the recent news out of Shroud of the Avatar has been leading up to this point: the launch of Release 86, which brings a number of features and paves the way for some other things to come down the pike. In terms of immediate updates, R86 adds the Well of Aldur adventure scene […]
Magic Legends previews overland combat and map ahead of spring open beta
I kinda feel a smidge sorry for Magic Legends this week as its open beta announcement and slew of videos have been a bit overshadowed by the runaway train that is Gamestock. Nevertheless, on Tuesday PWE dropped a deckbuilding trailer and state-of-the-game video, along with the announcement that it's rolling into open beta come March […]
Star Trek Online previews its Legendary Anniversary Pack's first ship, a Legendary Bird of Prey
The 10th anniversary pack for Star Trek Online gave players access to some legendary ships with new and improved visuals, and the same style of pack is back for the 11th anniversary in the near future. The full pack will contain four legendary ships (two Klingon ships, two Federation ships) along with a variety of other […]
Discrimination class-action lawsuit against Riot proceeds in spite of Riot's arbitration success
In the summer of 2018, which seems like an eternity ago now, Kotaku published a massive expose of Riot Games' "culture of sexism," the poor corporate response to which ultimately triggered an employee walkout, multiple lawsuits, and a story about how a VP who repeatedly grabbed subordinates' balls was punished with only unpaid leave over […]
Path of Exile is still working out some post-Echoes of the Atlas bugs and issues
With Echoes of the Atlas and its first patch behind us, Path of Exile is looking ahead to a few other changes in the near future. To wit: The team is working on multiple bug fixes that are in or will be soon, including Maven invites not sending, invisible enemies during rituals, Mark on Hit […]
Lawful Neutral: The bizarre corporate effort to buy RuneScape studio Jagex
Would it really be a new year without Runescape developer Jagex being involved in some sort of weird corporate sale only to be blocked by a lawsuit that says, "You can't sell because you don't own it?" Well, technically, yes it would be a new year. But it's hard to feel as if Jagex's ownership […]
Destiny 2 adds new seasonal challenges, discontinues Crimson Days event
There's good news and bad news for Destiny 2 fans. The bad news is that the Season of the Hunt is almost over. The good news is that means a new season is gearing up to begin. We don't know what it's called yet, but Bungie says it'll reveal that with the new trailer this […]
WoW Factor: The pros and cons of deterministic gear systems
One of the big changes that's hit World of Warcraft over the years is in regard to deterministic gear systems. In the original launch version of the game, gear was entirely randomized and obtained through nothing but random drops, but the game's first two expansions built up a deterministic system over time in which you could […]
Star Citizen discusses the creation of logos, docking arms, outpost buildings, and more vehicles
It's time for your weekly dose of Star Citizen news in video form as CIG has released another episode of Inside Star Citizen. The video first kicks off with a look at how the devs create the logos for in-game brands like microTech, Crusader, and in a more detailed look, Gino's Hot Bird. Incidentally, I […]
With some trading restrictions lifted, GameStop stock is taking off again
The GME train keeps on a rollin' here on Friday. As daytraders and retail stock-buyers have been organizing on Reddit to buy GameStop stock and urging each other to "hold the line," the price of that stock has lurched around all week and been the star of even the mainstream news cycle as politicians rage, […]
Fallen Earth sees 'significant pre-production,' APB Reloaded gets a marketing push
The small studio of Little Orbit has a whole lot on its plate for 2021, starting with the recent early access launch of Unsung Story, a tactical RPG. But of particular interest to us is the studio's recent mentions of both Fallen Earth and APB Reloaded. As for the post-apocalyptic MMORPG, Little Orbit CEO Matt […]
Blade and Soul Revolution starts taking mobile pre-registrations
Fans of Blade and Soul are just a short time away from having that experience in the palm of their hands. Blade and Soul Revolution, the mobile edition created by Netmarble, has opened pre-registrations in advance of the game's release. While there's no set date for the launch as of yet, this move is a […]
The Daily Grind: How do you handle MMO sunsets?
You probably read the news over the holidays that Zynga finally shut the original FarmVille down, owing to the deprecation of Flash and development of other titles in the franchise. I haven't looked at the game in over a decade, but as it turns out, my dad was still playing and was pretty peeved about […]
The Stream Team: A Neverwinter night raid to put Drow slavers out of business
Massively OP's MJ and her D&D night crew have moved on to Neverwinter's Rothe Valley to rid the area of Drow slavers who've come to bolster their commodities with locals. The group is going to put a stop to it, starting with tonight's The Night Raid. Tune in live at 9:00 p.m. to smash some […]
Massively Overthinking: Are you susceptible to second-hand MMO hype?
So there's a thing going around the MOP virtual offices lately: Elite Dangerous hype. Between Chris and Ben especially, the excitement for Odyssey is palpable. I didn't do a formal headcount, but I bet half our staff seems to be hyped for it, and the other half is watching it with a curious eye. This […]
There's lots to love in Pokemon Go's February update and new events
Ah, February. A time for love. For nostalgia. For fighting back criminals who steal items and monsters. Well, at least in Pokemon Go. Niantic has jammed the month full of events, from holidays from Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year to a retro-Rocket week and the regional tour finale that is the Kanto Tour. We're […]
Nine Chronicles is a 'decentralized' peer-to-peer blockchain MMO with open source modification features
Admittedly, that headline has a lot of techbro buzzword nonsense in it, so let's try to break down what Nine Chronicles is. At the brass tacks level, it's a side-scrolling MMO that promises dungeons, crafting, trading, arena-based PvP, and nine worlds to explore. The game is also open-source, making it fully customizable thanks to a […]
Final Fantasy XI preps for big campaigns in early February
The next major update for Final Fantasy XI is due in early February, with more Voracious Resurgence content along with Odyssey updates. But why stop there? The game certainly isn't as it kicks off a series of enhancement campaigns starting on February 11th, with the campaigns running one week before kicking into even higher gear with […]
Path of Exile promises more texture-streaming and frame-rate adjustments
If you've ever been annoyed by dropped frames and stutter in Path of Exile, take heart: Grinding Gear Games is still working on the problem. "Historically, Path of Exile's engine would drop a lot of frames (causing a bad stutter) whenever a new asset needed to be rendered but hadn't been loaded yet," GGG's Chris […]
The Day Before is an open-world survival MMO set in a post-zombie pandemic apocalypse
Zombies? Check. Surviving in a post-apoc world? Check. Guns to shoot? Yup. Plenty of familiar tropes are present and accounted for in the upcoming open-world MMO The Day Before, but it's still worth a moment to cast a spotlight on the upcoming title because that's just what we do here at MOP. Also, at least […]
Fallout 76's next update will finally allow players to build and store multiple C.A.M.P.s
Fallout 76 just pumped out an update – and Bethesda is already looking ahead to the next one. Most notably, the studio is working on what it's calling S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Loadouts – i.e., ways to reset your attributes – plus a new aim assist setting, batch crafting, world activity menu tweaks, melee buffs, and an expansion […]
Old School RuneScape is finally launching on Steam
Every once in a while, I'll bump into a long-running MMORPG that isn't on Steam and think, wait, what? How is that thing not on here yet? Old School RuneScape gave me just that sort of head-spin today as it's announced that's it's finally dropping on Steam on February 24th, joining core RuneScape itself, which […]
Cubox is a blocky open-world MMORPG mixture of building, crafting, and fighting
What do you get when a game smashes together elements from Minecraft, Diablo, Tibia, and Don't Starve? You apparently get something like Cubox, at least by the lone developer's own reckoning. This self-described stew of games offers up a blocky open world for players to explore, craft, and build in, with open-world PvP, battle royale […]
MMO Business Roundup: Activision-Blizzard rebuffs diversity proposal, gaming Kickstarters are on the rise again
Welcome back to another roundup of MMO and MMO-adjacent gaming industry news! MMO Kickstarters may have lost the faith of the genre's playerbase, but for video games on the whole, the platform is raising more money than ever. According to a new ICO Partners report (via GIbiz), video games scored $23M through Kickstarter last year, […]
Final Fantasy XIV previews Delubrum Reginae, Blue Mage updates, and Skysteel Tool improvements
Patch 5.45 arrives in Final Fantasy XIV on February 2nd, and that means the game's special site for patch content has been updated with previews of the new content involved. Blue Mage fans, for example, can start leveling up to 70 along with the Blue Mage log being updated for 4.x content, and naturally there are […]
Vague Patch Notes: The difficult value of MMOs
If given the option, I would probably get a lifetime subscription to Final Fantasy XIV. But the key word there is probably, and this is a game where I have spent lots of money over the years. It'd be a bit hard to convince me that there was some particular additional value to having a one-time lifetime price […]
Dual Universe offers up a detailed look at its upcoming mission system
Making money in Dual Universe requires a bit more legwork than most MMO players might be used to, particularly since traders need to haul their items to specific markets to sell. That's being fixed with the upcoming mission system, which seeks to not only help merchants focus on creating products but also help new players […]
Elyon KR unveils the new Slayer class arriving on February 3
Sure, Elyon already has a class that wields a really big weapon (a couple of them, arguably), but none of those classes have a heckin' big sword paired with a lot of anger. That's what the Slayer class is bringing to the MMORPG, which was recently unveiled for the Korean version of the game as […]
