Destiny 2's proposed transmog system is out to punish you for looking fine
Close your eyes and imagine a cosmetic transmog system for a looter shooter like Destiny 2. Not too complicated, right? Now open your eyes and behold the convoluted and grindy system that Bungie is proposing. In a perfect example of a studio over-complicating what should be an engaging and streamlined, Bungie has come up with […]
WRUP: Unpopular Mario games edition
Super Mario's Underwhelming Adventure (Super Nintendo, 1991) Mama mia! Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach… sort of! She's actually already free and said that Bowser seems kind of depressed, like his heart's not really in this one. Hop very occasionally and sort of bop through 64 levels of ambivalent enemy placement, too much generosity with power-ups, […]
The Daily Grind: What's the last positive encounter you had with a random stranger in an MMO?
We all know that MMO developers seem to think that "socialization" means "shoving players into raids together," but the reality is more varied and widespread than that. For me, I tend to treasure more those random encounters with strangers that end up being a positive experience. It's the sort of thing that only can happen […]
Betawatch: Skydome offers closed beta signups ahead of April 27
Remember Skydome? You should; we just talked about it earlier this month! It's a new sort of MOBA and tower defense hybrid from Gamigo. Anyhow, the game is starting its first closed beta test later this month on April 27th, and players can register now for a shot at getting into the closed beta. Don't […]
The Stream Team: Sandsea side quests in AQ3D
AQ3D's Sandsea isn't all about the story quest — there are side quests, too! And while last time, Massively OP's MJ was finally able to stay focused enough to wrap up the available main story, she left side ones undone. Let's see, after scrubbing down some statues, she forgot to fetch some water bottles. Now […]
Battle Bards Episode 191: Digging up the past
Today's episode of the Battle Bards was phoned in — phoned in with 2800-baud modems from the 1990s, that is! Steff, Syl, and Syp return to the early era of graphical MMOs to see what video game music existed in that time. From the bleeps to the bombastic, this show digs deep into the past […]
Wild Terra 2 adds in dungeon difficulties and solo dungeons with its latest patch
Ready to go dungeon diving in Wild Terra 2? What do you mean no? The developers gave you a whole patch just for that! See, there's even a difficulty selection option that lets you move between five different settings, with harder settings rewarding better loot! Heck, there are even solo iron mines and a mysterious hideout to […]
ARK Survival Evolved merges its classic PvP clusters, announces a new Conquest season on April 27
PvP-loving players of ARK: Survival Evolved are seeing some fresh things to their portion of the game according to an announcement post on the game's forums. Earlier this week, the A and B clusters of the game's Classic PvP Clusters were merged, and next week will see the end of the current PvP season and […]
Atlas is bringing faster boat travel, railing modules, and a new map in the Tradewinds update April 28
This coming Wednesday, April 28th, is bringing some new features to the early access pirating sandbox of Atlas with the Tradewinds update, which is being touted by the developers at Grapeshot Games as a patch that's bringing big changes. While deeper details on what these changes are weren't shared, the announcement post did showcase some […]
Apex Legends brings its Legacy season online and announces plans for a mobile version
Now is the time for Apex Legends players to build their legacy. Or at the very least leap in to the Legacy season of the battle royale shooter, which features a new character by the name of Valkyrie and her rocket-powered jetpack, a new bow and arrow weapon that promises high medium-range damage for those […]
Cozy Grove studio continues hiring for upcoming 'non-violent' MMO, suggests mobile and PC/console play
Back in January, we covered a tiny announcement from games developer Spry Fox. It's a studio best known for Road Not Taken and a slew of other games, most recently the adorable Cozy Grove – not games we would normally cover as they aren't multiplayer. But earlier this year, the company revealed through job postings […]
Conan Exiles' 2.4 update is live on PC with map expansion and new biomes
As promised, Funcom dropped Conan Exiles' 2.4 update on PC yesterday, expanding the size of the Isle of Siptah, adding new boss-summoning tools, a new religion, and even a way to engage in combat while swimming. "The Isle of Siptah expansion is getting another great set of improvements with a big increase in its map […]
Classic Guild Wars is about to turn 16 years old and the party has begun in Shing Jea
If you want to get absolutely technical about it, Classic Guild Wars doesn't officially turn 16 years old until Monday. But if we waited until Monday to remind you, you'd miss this weekend of festivities because ArenaNet has already turned them on and the party has already started its annual rollout in Shing Jea Monastery. […]
Magic: Legends is looking ahead to the endgame amidst another patch of bug fixes
How's stuff going for you in the endgame for Magic: Legends? The bad news is that the game's latest patch is not going to address that, so if that's what you're currently most unhappy about, it's not going to be fixed with this particular update. The good news is that the developers indicate directly in […]
World of Warships adds the real Leroy Jenkins as a playable ship commander
Not gonna lie, when I first saw the subject line for the press release, the first thing that leaped to my mind was who asked for this – assuming, incorrectly, that it referred to Leeroy Jenkins of World of Warcraft fame. But nope! In fact, World of Warships has added Leroy Jenkins as a playable […]
Warframe's Tennocon 2021 will again be digital-only, benefiting homelessness relief
It won't come as much of a surprise, given the pandemic still raging across the globe, that Tennocon is going digital again in 2021. Digital Extremes announed this week that the Warframe con will broadcast on all the usual streaming platforms on Saturday, July 17th, with no in-person option. Cue MJ's sadness. "TennoCon 2021 is […]
Vague Patch Notes: What we mean when we talk about MMO maintenance mode
I've mentioned before that this column's title was inspired by the vague patch notes of Final Fantasy XI, and here we are diving into that game all over again because it turns out that it screwed something else up. No, not its patch notes; those are still a bit vague, but not like they used to […]
Elite Dangerous announces Odyssey alpha phase 4 start date and details of character snapshot timing
The final phase of Odyssey's alpha is coming a lot sooner than maybe some players of Elite: Dangerous expected. Shortly following the announcement of the expansion's May 19th release on PC, Frontier Developments offered some dates and details for the final phase of alpha testing. The test itself will kick off on Wednesday, April 28th, […]
Star Citizen brings alpha 3.13 online with new vehicles and features, talks with devs at Turbulent in video
Last night saw Star Citizen add a fresh layer to its alpha build with the release of 3.13, otherwise known as Underground Infamy. The new update brings new larger caverns to explore with ships and vehicles, ship-to-ship docking features, new visual effects for ship shields, a reputation system, new mining components, and two new land […]
Valheim could be modded into a 1,000-player MMORPG
While Valheim seemed content to populate its online worlds with a bare handful of brave Vikings, some players are working on a mod that could turn the game into a proper MMORPG. According to PC Gamer, there's a project out there called VaLNGOS that is working to turn the 10-player worlds into realms that can […]
Ex-Overwatch lead Jeff Kaplan posts fond farewell to Redditors
After briefly announcing his departure from Blizzard Entertainment earlier this week, Jeff Kaplan is making the rounds to say farewell to the fans who supported him and the Overwatch team during his tenure at the company. The former game director dropped in at the Overwatch subreddits, saying, "The communities on r/overwatch and r/Competitiveoverwatch have meant […]
The Daily Grind: Where do you stand on cutscenes in MMOs?
Truth time: I am not the kind of person who honestly enjoys cutscenes in video games. I really want to be the kind of person who Appreciates The Art and gets immersed in the story, and maybe I can think of a rare few games that actually grabbed me and made me feel something with […]
The Stream Team: Going after fire giants and dragons in Neverwinter
Massively OP's MJ is (sadly) almost done with her Neverwinter adventures in the hot spot Mount Hotenow. But she does get to volcano dive one last time to go after the more fire giants like Gommoth, who was causing all the trouble! It's time for the big end dungeon (and dragon!), so tune in live […]
Massively Overthinking: How much are you spending on MMOs every month right now?
A while back, MOP's Justin joked that his wife, who loves econ PvP in MMOs, was funding a year of his play on Classic and Retail World of Warcraft through her skilled trading, by way of the WoW Token system. Obviously not every game offers something like this; some games don't charge anything at all, […]
Whatever happened to Kickstarted sci-fi MMOFPS Pantropy?
Way the heck back in 2017, we covered a sci-fi MMOFPS called Pantropy. The pitch was that it was a sci-fi faction-based MMO shooter with "mechs and focus on building and crafting." The game ran two Kickstarters, one that was canceled and a reboot that pulled in almost $90,000 US to fund development. By early […]
Old-school MMORPG Ravendawn has a whole lot in common with Tibia
If you've been reading the MMORPG subreddit lately, you'll know that the mods there are making an attempt to feature indie MMO developers and games. But the first game highlighted through this new initiative, Ravendawn, has already sparked controversy. It's apparently been in development since 2017 for PC with mobile support, and if you like […]
Dauntless introduces a new cell and adjusts the reward cache in latest update
When Dauntless put out its last update, it adjusted the way wounding works (and arguably made the war pike weapon that inflicts wounds extremely valuable). With the most recent update, wound-hunting players have a new reason to cheer thanks to the addition of the Relentless cell, which increases the duration of the aether charged buff […]
Fallout 76's Locked and Loaded update lands April 27 – here's the new trailer
It feels as if we've been covering Fallout 76's Locked and Loaded patch for a really long time, and I guess it kinda has, since we knew the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. loadouts were supposed to have launched in March according to the post back in December when the feature was pegged to the roadmap, and we previewed […]
Black Desert's companion app, Black Desert+, is available now
If you play a lot of Black Desert, you might wish there were a way to get a little bit more of the game even when you're not playing it. Good news, then, because the game's companion app, Black Desert+, is now available for players on iOS and Android devices. After a bit of setting up […]
World of Warcraft opens up pre-orders for the Sylvanas novel
Are you a World of Warcraft fan eager to get some more Sylvanas content? Really? Well, you're an odd one, but you're going to get what you want with the next tie-in novel for the game that's now available for pre-order. World of Warcraft: Sylvanas is written by Christie Golden and as the title implies explores Sylvanas' […]
Final Fantasy XIV posts the full event schedule for its digital fan festival
It's just a little more than three weeks until Final Fantasy XIV holds its digital fan festival, and if you'd forgotten it in the wake of the game's most recent patch, perhaps a bit of event scheduling will pique your interest yet again. The full schedule of digital events is now available on the official site, […]
Fractured invites you to test its spring alpha. Yes, you.
As we noted yesterday, indie MMO sandbox Fractured is in the middle of its spring alpha run, with several big patches under its belt already. Chief among the tweaks have been a full pass on PvP, new character and city respecs, and a big upgrade for client performance that everyone should notice. Wanna play? Dynamight […]
Albion Online confirms summer mobile launch, opens preregistration and German test
RuneScape isn't the only MMO with major mobile news today: Sandbox Interactive has opened registrations for Albion Online's mobile version too. If you follow the game, you already know that the global mobile launch is coming out this summer. The studio said just that in March! "This latest milestone will fulfill the studio's long-standing promise […]
Neverwinter announces the end of PvP seasons as the devs 'explore ways to evolve PvP'
It looks like there's a paradigm shift to PvPing on the way to Neverwinter. While Season 14 is still coming — specifically between now and May 20th — it will be the last PvP season while the devs plot out where to take PvP from here. "PvP Queues will continue to be available but no […]
Almost four years after its first announcement, RuneScape is finally hitting mobile this summer
We've been eyeballing RunesScape mobile for a really long time, folks: We covered the original announcement for a mobile client all the way back in the fall of 2017. Old School RuneScape rolled out to Android and iOS a year later and has done very well for itself there with over 2M installs just in […]
Swords of Legends Online showcases a cosmetics-filled cash shop in livestream
There's been a lot of show and tell coming out of Swords of Legends Online over the past week or so, first with trailers for all six of the game's classes, then the release of pre-orders and beta buy-in details, and now with a developer livestream that's offered a few more peeks at the western […]
Lord of the Rings Online rings in its 14th anniversary
It was 14 years ago that the shadowy forces of evil in Middle-earth faced an incoming horde of intrepid adventurers who were dedicated to fighting for the Free Peoples. And every year since Lord of the Rings Online's launch, the MMO has marked its anniversary with gifts and a festival. The 14th anniversary celebration is […]
New World talks up recently added PvP features, repeats desire to make PvP and PvE gameplay coexist
"New World offers both PvP and PvE gameplay, and balancing these two modes is as important to us as it is to many of you," opens a dev blog shared by the devs at Amazon Games Studio, which then moves in to a synopsis of recently introduced PvP gameplay features and the overall vision for […]
Elite Dangerous Odyssey confirms a May 19 release date on PC
It looks like the progress being made in the Elite: Dangerous Odyssey alpha is moving at a predictable enough pace that Frontier Developments can announce when the expansion will release. A recent tweet confirms that the PC version of the Odyssey expansion will land on Wednesday, May 19th, to Steam, the Epic Games Store, and […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 will launch New Genesis globally in June, closed beta signups up are live now
Just a week ago, SEGA announced that it was planning to open the global beta test for Phantasy Star Online 2's New Genesis sequel soon, with a beta starting March 14th. You had to know we'd be getting harder dates, and now we have, as signups have kicked off. "Experience the vast open world of […]
Diablo Immortal is testing endgame content and the Crusader class in alpha
As you continue your grand quest to secure a phone to play the upcoming Diablo Immortal, Blizzard has moved the mobile game into its next phase of closed alpha testing. Lead Designer Wyatt Cheng popped in for a short update on the alpha, saying that the team is starting to push into endgame content. This […]
The Daily Grind: Are you worried about Blizzard in the wake of all of its high-profile departures?
In some ways, Jeff Kaplan leaving Blizzard after 19 years is not a stunning event, what with the ongoing process of people leaving the company lately. But then, that's kind of the point. A lot of high-profile people have been leaving the company over the past few months (and years), with a slow trickle of […]
The Stream Team: Guess the deaths in The Shroud's lair in SWTOR
How many deaths does it take to get to the center of The Shroud's lair in SWTOR? Massively OP's Larry says many! And he doesn't mean just MJ's deaths, either. Can you guess? Come on, take a wild stab at it. After all, Larry and MJ will be stabbing (and shooting and slicing). In fact, […]
Early access title Craftopia patches in a new biome, new gear, and new skills for spring
The latest Craftopia patch has arrived for the game's early access, and it contains what may be the greatest patch note of all time within its larger list of changes: – The new enemy "Cassowary" has been added. They will kick you so hard, for real. Sure, you might not being kicked so hard, but you […]
TitanReach hints at a new area, opens a wiki, and showcases better animated chickens
As early access for TitanReach rolls on, so too do the development update blogs from Square Root Studios. The latest post offers another round of previews for what's next, such as a look at new party UI designs, new textures, new props, a number of new animations for character crafting and chickens, and a list […]
Starbase showcases easy build mode in new video, outlines progress on mining backpacks and new tutorials
Followers of the building-centric sandbox MMO Starbase know that the past few progress notes posts have made a lot of noise about the game's developing easy build mode. Now, we finally have a look at this feature in action by way of a new video. This new mode lets players clap together pre-built modules into […]
Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore is a new 'high risk-reward' old-school MMORPG, now in alpha
Let's have a peek today at Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore (formerly Blocky Ages), which is listed on Steam as an early access alpha MMO, though the only way to get in right now appears through alpha. Three-person developer Gellyberry Studios says it's inspired by old-school MMORPGs from the late '90s, which pretty much means games […]
Elder Scrolls Online's Blackwood is ready for you to break it on the PTS
If you're so eager to see Elder Scrolls Online's Blackwood and update 30 aka ESO 7.0.0 that you're willing to test it out, it's your time to shine, as ZeniMax has opened the PTS with all the bells and whistles, including max-level copied test characters. You'll be poking around the new companion system, new 12-person […]
Open Perpetuum players mark three years by blowing each other up as Patch 21 content is promised for April
Cast your minds back to about three years ago, when Perpetuum Online, aka EVE Online but Robots, was being shut down by developer Avatar Creations only to be resurrected by the players with the original devs' blessing in the form of the Open Perpetuum Project. Now the players and devs are marking the anniversary of […]
Black Desert PC unleashes the Awakened Sage, launches new events, and introduces rare hunts
Can't you hear, can't you hear that thunder? No, it's not Men at Work calling to you; it's the arrival of the Awakened Sage to Black Desert on PC as the headlining part of this week's update, letting players trade in their Doctor Strange-like spellcaster for a more Thor-like one. As evidenced in last week's […]
