The Stream Team: Checking out Warframe's big Corpus Proxima Railjack update
Warframe's big Corpus Railjack update is live, and Massively OP's MJ can't wait to check it out! She can finally get her own railjack, and now she can even hire crew. There are also new railjack missions to run with Corpus to cull, so join us live at 8:00 p.m. to launch into some new […]
Betawatch: Dual Universe gets better graphics in its biggest beta update
This is the biggest update for Dual Universe since it was first playable, according to the studio itself. That's sizable! This update is big (yeah, yeah, yeah)! And it includes not only better graphics but better jet packs, if you felt yourself previously weighed down by poorer graphics and less enjoyable jet packs. More beta […]
Frozen Flame introduces a prologue, a new starter location, and an updated combat system
While the axiom says you never get a second chance to make a first impression, the opening hours of multiplayer survival RPG Frozen Flame would beg to differ as the game's latest early access update has made a number of changes to the starting experience. First off, the update has added a prologue that tells […]
Wild Terra 2's newest patch adds criminal status, more farming crops, and a new combat skill
Good news to all innocent players who don't want your stuff ruined in Wild Terra 2: The game's latest patch has added something to help you! This sounds like good news until you notice that it's just flagging people who do untoward things as "criminals" and give them a risk to lose items even in […]
Dauntless outlines plans to make Trials 'more accessible, more fair, more fun' in the next two patches
For a while now, the developers of Dauntless have been promising that Trials mode would be getting some attention, and it looks like the next couple of patches will be when that promise is kept. An official Reddit post has outlined what these two patches will do to Trials as Phoenix Labs seeks to make […]
Crowfall player demonstrates how fast it is to reach max level via the new tutorial progression system
Crowfall's latest update made a number of changes to the game that our PvP columnist found to be extremely beneficial, but one of those adjustments — the new player progression and tutorial — has a video spotlight to showcase just how far its come as well as to demonstrate how quickly a new arrival can […]
Among Us will launch The Airship patch at the end of March
Don't tell my kids, but Among Us is getting a juicy free update this month. It's called The Airship, and studio Innersloth says it constitutes the game's largest map ever. "This free update will have all new tasks, the ability to pick the room you start in, ladders, a basic account system for moderation and… […]
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Online takes the single-player sandbox and turns it into an MMO
If you enjoy the sandbox nonsense you can get up to in Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord but wish that you had other people to share in your shenanigans, we've got good news for you. Bannerlord Online is a mod for the game that lets up to 800 people at once stomp around the medieval sandbox, meaning […]
Champions Online hosts a costume contest to make a player action figure
Costume contests and superhero games go together like Blizzard Entertainment and layoffs. However, in most of them you don't get a chance to immortalize your character in the game itself. That's what the upcoming contest in Champions Online is going to change. On March 26th, a contest hosted by the developers will take place at […]
GDC 2021: What attracts – and motivates – mobile and MMO gamers?
GDC 2021 has been running this week, but sadly there aren't a lot of relevant panels for MMO or online game enthusiasts. However, it hasn't been a total wash for industry watchers. One nice thing that GDC does that other cons don't is focus on developers and their strategies, and that means we can see […]
PlanetSide 2 announces delays for PTS testing and release for Chapter 3
For those players of PlanetSide 2 who are eager for Chapter 3's release, there's some bad news. The game's lead designer has reported that the new update is being pushed back in order to "hit the quality bar" that the devs want. This means that the PTS launch of the update is obviously not meeting […]
GDC 2021: Intel and Spirit AI's Bleep aims to filter live audio – and toxicity
At Intel's GDC 2021 panel "Billions of Gamers, Thousands of Needs" this week, Intel and Spirit AI announced a new end-user application designed "to detect and redact audio" based on a list of preferences. Called Bleep, the application seems to be a kind of Windows overlay, though the details were scant and there was no […]
Final Fantasy XIV schedules its next producer letter for April 2
Final Fantasy XIV fans do not have some of the usual mysteries to answer about patch 5.5 at this point. It's a well-known fact that the patch will arrive on April 13th, since that's also the start of the game's PlayStation 5 beta testing. However, there are still plenty of details yet to be revealed […]
WoW Factor: The long wait for patch 9.1 in World of Warcraft
We don't yet have a date for patch 9.1, but considering that patch 9.0.5 just released recently and the patch isn't even up on the test server, I'd say it's probably still a while off. Most of the people whose predictions I trust suspect it will be some time between late May and early July. […]
Sea of Thieves celebrates third birthday with 20M total players
Sea of Thieves is celebrating a birthday this week as the multiplayer title hits three years old – and 20 million players. Total, not at the same time, but that's not shabby at all, given that this is a buy-to-play title and those sales all add up. There isn't much by way of actual content coming […]
ArcheAge welcomes spring with the Cherry Blossom Festival
Is there a more welcome sign of spring than the mass blooming of cherry blossom trees? Such flowering doesn't just occur in real life; it happens in our virtual ones as well. Yesterday, both versions of ArcheAge kicked off their annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which will continue all the way until April 1st. Players will […]
Star Citizen plans additional Theaters of War testing, discusses FPS tools and asteroids in video
Back in May we highlighted a Reddit thread that linked up some business connections between CIG and Liverpool, UK, game studio Firesprite, and further pondered a few outcomes for what the partnership could mean for Star Citizen. We now have an answer, as a press release has announced that the two companies are working in […]
World of Warcraft fundraises for Doctors Without Borders by offering pet incentives
Everyone loves a good vanity pet, right? Well, what about donating money toward a very good cause? Both pet and human lovers can find something pleasing in Blizzard's latest charity initiative, as the studio is challenging its community to donate toward Doctors Without Borders' COVID-19 Crisis Fund. Blizzard said that it'll be tracking player donations […]
The Daily Grind: Are you a fan of ice physics and mechanics in MMOs?
RPS had a fun headline a while back that made me let out a laugh while I was strolling through my feeds: We must end the tyranny of sliding ice puzzles. Apparently, people really hate sliding physics mechanics! I'd never thought about this before. We've talked about winter events and snow zones and water maps, […]
The Stream Team: Dungeons & Dragons Online anniversary, hard mode
There's celebrating a birthday, and then there's celebrating it hard mode! With violins! And one serious gingerbread giant. More than that, DDO lets you run the anniversary missions at higher levels, and Massively OP's MJ and her team want the increased rewards! Make the dev bosses a little stronger, what could go wrong? Tune in […]
Massively Overthinking: Are MMO social hubs overrated?
MMO reader Random recently winged us an article from Kotaku arguing for the abolishment of pointless social hubs in video games. "Here's a radical idea," it begins, "Turn every social space in a video game into a menu." It suggests that many social hubs are wastes of time and space and we'd all be better […]
Starbase discusses the creation of new tools and new devices in latest updates
We're back with another peek into the ongoing development of Starbase, the building-focused space sandbox being crafted by Finnish studio Frozenbyte. First up, the past couple of weekly updates have the usual extremely specific development alerts like work on Ship Diagnostic Scanner and Salvage Collector tools, continued work on easy build mode, the end of […]
Multiplayer survival shooter Scavengers touts the features of SpatialOS and how the tech changes gameplay
Stop me if you've heard this before: Improbable's SpatialOS is going to be leveraged by the developers of Scavengers in a way that other multiplayer games are incapable of thanks to the scales it can work with. That's part of the message in a recent interview with Improbable chief technology officer Lincoln Wallen and developer […]
Star Wars The Old Republic announces The Dark Descent update with new flashpoint and 'galactic seasons'
Remember when Star Wars The Old Republic's last update fell a little flat and we said we hoped that the promised influx of updates for the game in the wake of Anthem Next's cancelation really brought the goods? You can be the judge of whether that's the case, as as BioWare announced 6.3: The Dark […]
Former Halo Wars game designer talks about the Halo MMO we never got to see
How do you think an MMO in the Halo universe would have played out? Would it just be like a really large multiplayer deathmatch? Would it work like the open-world single-player portion of Halo Infinite at scale? Or would it just be another Destiny 2? We don't necessarily need to wonder, as game designer Sandy […]
DreamWorld promises an 'infinite open world MMO,' seeks $10K on Kickstarter
DreamWorld Realities, Inc. says its new MMO, DreamWorld, is "the last game you'll ever play," and we're not sure whether that's a threat, but it's definitely a slogan. In its new Kickstarter, the game is billed as an "infinite open world MMO" with "millions of players" in "one single world" made up of "thousands of […]
The Stream Team: Dancing with the Bad Luck Sneevils for AQ3D's Lucky Day
Silly and St. Patrick's Day fit perfectly together, so Massively OP's MJ is delighted to find the two combined for AdventureQuest 3D's Lucky Day festivities. There's definitely silliness afoot: She'll be dancing with Bad Luck Sneevil and Cloverzards while collecting the best in shamrock attire. Join us live at 2:00 p.m. to see Sneevils, stay […]
Darkfall: Rise of Agon introduces buff-granting Obelisks in its latest update
Ready for a bit of capture the flag in Darkfall: Rise of Agon? No, it's not a separate game mode, but the Dayar update has introduced Obelisks that grant buffs to players so long as they bring them back to their clan cities. So it's a bit like CTF except the match never really ends. […]
Magic Legends outlines the regional reputations system and previews each area's rewards
Yes, Magic Legends will have a rep grind according to the game's latest preview post. Specifically, the multiplayer ARPG's reputation system won't be with a particular faction so much as a specific region, unlocking 100 levels of reputations and daily quests once players have completed that region's specific story missions. So why go through this […]
Past Fate's new video series shows off the alpha's new dynamic combat and gloomy New Harbor
This week, Icy North Games began a new series of dev videos that give players a glimpse into the current state of Past Fate's development – this first one in particularly showing off the latest alpha patch. The walkthrough starts in an area called New Harbor, which is gloomy and dank and has apparently been […]
Crayta is a newer, Fortniteyer Roblox, and it's now live on the Epic Games Store
If Roblox hasn't already permanently taken the "games-within-a-game" spot in your heart – or on your kids' devices – then you might want to take a peek at its most likely competitor: Unit 2 Games' Crayta. Launched last summer as a Stadia exclusive, the game looks like a Roblox and Fortnite mash-up; it essentially allows […]
EVE Online's upcoming March 23 patch adjusts Jump Clone installation, Burst Jammers, and wormholes
If we're judging by the contents and the literal title of EVE Online's next update, there's some quality-of-life improvements coming to the internet spaceship sandbox on Tuesday, March 23rd. This update will introduce the ability to install multiple Jump Clones in the same station or structure, as long as it has a Clone Bay facility; […]
Torchlight III hoists the sails (and upgrades the engine) for its next update
Hope you got everything done with Torchlight III's Snow & Steam contract because Echtra and PWE disabled that content in preparation for the next phase of the game. "The update this afternoon turns off the Snow & Steam contract and includes an engine update which further prepares us for the next upcoming content patch," the […]
Final Fantasy XIV posts the first iteration of the special site for patch 5.5, Death Unto Dawn
The next major patch for Final Fantasy XIV arrives in just under a month, and that means it's high time for players to scope out some of what's coming next with the first iteration of the patch's special site. It's a bit bare-bones at the moment, but it does show off the key art for the […]
Blade and Soul's Slithering Shadows update is live
Yesterday was patch day for Blade and Soul, introducing the Slithering Shadows update to the game along with a set of patch notes to accompany the launch. As one might expect, the notes give some more details about the refreshed Soulstone Plains and the rewards awaiting within, the new raid weapon, and the new Twisted […]
The first part of Dual Universe's 'biggest beta update' arrives with fancier graphics and better jetpacks
Better-looking eye candy? Jetpacks that perform as expected? Wallets to organize all of your hard-earned currency? Yes, please, and pile on some more of that delicious Dual Universe 0.24 patch while you're at it! The first part of the space sandbox's "biggest update since beta began" last summer is now live on the servers. The […]
Hands-on with Magic Legends: A solid action game that could be even more
So, real talk: I am kind of an easy mark for Magic Legends. The initial conception of it, at least. I was very excited to see an MMO using Magic: the Gathering as a starting point rather than simply adapting the card game directly, and I was similarly more than a little disappointed at the […]
The Daily Grind: Do you know the names of the people behind your favorite MMO?
Part of my job involves interviewing developers and talking with them. That means that it's important for me to remember who these people are, obviously. A good chunk of my job centers around knowing who works as the director, the producer, the leads of various departments, and so forth with any given game. This is […]
The Stream Team: Relishing the Republic side of SWTOR's droid hunt
Massively OP's Larry may not be very fond of the Republic side of SWTOR, but MJ is relishing her time there! Her Jedi is happy to be wandering around, searching for droids on Taris and Balmorra. She's going to savor every moment on the light side. Tune in live at 8:00 p.m. as Massively OP's […]
Ashes of Creation asks its players about guild hall features they want to see
Most of the time when a game developer or studio asks its players a question, it's usually nothing more than a means to engage with its fanbase at a fun but shallow level or to drum up hype for a new release. A question being asked by fans of Ashes of Creation is a little […]
RuneScape announces an upcoming picture book to mark the MMORPG's 20-year history
When you have a game that's been running for 20 years, there's bound to be a whole lot of artwork to share. That's just what Jagex intends to do when it releases a new picture book with Dark Horse that chronicles the history of RuneScape in pictures and developer insights. The book, RuneScape: The First […]
Ultima Online releases pub 110, stresses that New Legacy is not just Classic UO
Ultima Online's 110th update has officially rolled out to the live shards this week, and as promised, it includes tweaks to dynamic events and a new round of Black Market rewards and veteran rewards, including an option for three-year-plus accounts that allows the storage of up to 25 runebooks in a single storage object. Unfortunately, […]
Elder Scrolls Online's Flames of Ambition lands on console as ZeniMax preps April Fools' shenanigans
If Neverwinter's Iron Tooth isn't whetting your console MMO whistle, then point your eyeballs over at Elder Scrolls Online's Flames of Ambition and update 29, which dropped on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this week as promised. Update 29 is free for everyone and introduces the massive overhaul to the Champion Point system, while […]
The Stream Team: St. Qubeslick's shenanigans in Trove
Being Irish herself, Massively OP's MJ loves to celebrate St. Patrick's Day any and everywhere. And Trove's St Qubeslick event is the perfect place to spend the holiday! It involves feats, farming, and tater tots… er, totter tates. Bring some luck o' the Irish and join us live at 3:00 p.m. for some shenanigans. What: […]
Conan Exiles improves Siptah with more NPCs, new Purges, new factions, and an offline mode
The latest update for Conan Exiles is out now for PC players, and it's chiefly focused around a pretty big revamp to the Isle of Siptah. Broadly, this is split between two different sides of things. One is adding new stuff to the island, which includes more NPC camps, more factions, and points of interest across […]
Skyforge celebrates green week with costumes and emotes
Green costumes! Emotes that feature the color green! Mounts that are also probably green! Envy! Money! Yes, it's Green Week in Skyforge, and that means a whole lot of green across the game, with players finding green dancers throughout the game that they are best served by helping out. They're a bit mysterious and they […]
Star Citizen's devs answer questions about customization, aliens, and animated cloth
Members of CIG's character tech teams took to the Star Citizen forums to host an AMA about all things character-related, and while much of the answers probably won't blow doors open, it did provide a little more detail about what's in the works for in-game avatars. The very first question was simply: "Beards?" which was […]
Neverwinter's Sharandar: Iron Tooth episode has officially launched on PS4 and Xbox One
It's a happy week for console MMO players, as not only can Black Desert consolers begin designing their very own Sage, but two big content drops that were previously playable only by PC gamers have finally landed on the console versions. One of those games is Neverwinter, where Sharandar's first episode, Iron Tooth, rolled out […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 introduces an ultra hard fight against the Face of the Abyss
If the headline for this particular bit of Phantasy Star Online 2 content makes things sound rather dire, that would be by design, as one of the recently added Urgent Quests beseeches players to "let the love and aspirations of those [they] care about empower [them] with light, that we might chase this darkness back […]
Aliens Fireteam devs discuss City of Heroes' lasting popularity and Cryptic's canceled Marvel MMO
Earlier this month, we finally got some hard info on Cold Iron's Aliens Fireteam, the Alien-franchise shooter that's been under wraps for six years while the former Cryptic devs who founded it tinkered on the game and teased its MMO pedigree. Last year, the studio was bought out by Daybreak, which itself was bought out […]