Raph Koster expounds on MMO fun, retention, and cynicism in the genre
MMORPG developer Raph Koster has been having words about the MMO industry ahead of the reveal of the MMO that his new studio Playable Worlds is working on. Really, kind of a lot of words. This latest piece is all about ensuring that you're having the fun. Koster notes the conflict between what players want […]
World of Warcraft details exactly how adjustments to drops and mechanics will work in The Burning Crusade Classic
So, if you were wondering how exactly WoW Classic would handle the changes implemented over the course of The Burning Crusade, your questions have now been answered officially. The short version? It's a lot like the original WoW Classic in that various stages of attunement, mechanics, and reputation requirements will remain as their launch version […]
Tamriel Infinium: Previewing The Elder Scrolls Online's Blackwood and companion system
While fans of the Elder Scrolls series patiently await any scrap of information pertaining to TES6, players of The Elder Scrolls Online continue to enjoy vast and persistent amounts of content on a highly predictable schedule. Fresh on the heels of the Flames of Ambition dungeon update, ZeniMax Online Studios has begun to release a […]
SWG Galaxies Restoration III's CU/NGE blend rogue server says launch is 'imminent'
If you follow the Star Wars Galaxies emulation community at all, you're probably waiting on a very big announcement from a certain rogue server today. So are we. But this post is actually about a different emu, and its press release – yes, a real press release from an emu, gotta love it – is […]
City of Titans recaps efforts on music, powers, multiplayer, and more
MMO superhero fans have been watching a slew of Kickstarted and fan-funded MMO ventures ever since City of Heroes was sunsetted – City of Titans among them. Funded back in 2013, the game was once widely considered the best hope for the subgenre. But a lot has changed in the ensuing years, including and perhaps […]
The Daily Grind: What was the last thing you built in an MMO?
MMO builders, this Daily Grind is for you. And I don't mean people who build MMOs; I mean people who build in MMOs. And with a few prominent exceptions, that's actually a ton of MMOs – so many online games allow you to build houses or cities or spaceships. At minimum, you can probably at […]
The Stream Team: Hunting eggs and adventure in Dungeons & Dragons Online
If you thought only Christmas liked to assert itself as dominant over many weeks, you haven't met Easter! Also dissatisfied with only one day of celebrating, Easter events keep coming in MMORPGs, and Massively OP's MJ is just fine with that. Tonight, she gets to leap across rooftops in DDO on the hunt for colorful […]
Massively Overthinking: The 2021 MMORPG outlook is good, actually
Early this week, I saw a mainstream gaming headline in my feeds about how we should all just give up on 2021 since it's obviously going to be a year full of fails and catch-ups and delays. But over here in the MMORPG genre itself, I'm actually feeling pretty good about it – we have […]
Occupy White Walls introduces gallery music, grid snapping, and a new plaza in the CloudSound update
I haven't peeked in on the multiplayer art gallery builder Occupy White Walls, but I always sort of assumed it had music of some sort happening in there. Apparently, there's going to be a lot more music with the CloudSound update, which has the tentpole feature of letting players pipe in music from SoundCloud into […]
ArcheAge brings back the Hereafter Festival to mark the in-game sacrifice of goddess Nui
One of the chief lore points of ArcheAge's story is the sacrifice of the goddess Nui when the realm of Auroria fell to Kyrios, so naturally there's an associated in-game event known as the Hereafter Festival. This holiday of remembrance is back once more, offering rewards for players who complete some steps to honor Nui. […]
The Warcraft movie twitter shares some deleted scenes from the film
You may not have thought about the fact that there was a Warcraft movie for years, bu it turns out that there's still a bit left in the vault for that particular cinematic outing. After years of dormancy, the film's official Twitter account came back to life to share a collection of about 14 minutes' […]
Final Fantasy XIV restores the world visit system after technical outages
Good news for people trapped on other world servers in Final Fantasy XIV, these prison bars shall jail you no longer. The development team has announced that following the game's emergency maintenance, the issue appears to be fixed and world visit will be turned back on, with housing timers to be turned back on in […]
Dual Universe adds self-support features, posts dev letters on live game challenges and costs
Dual Universe has taken to the belief that players of the game should be allowed to help themselves and one another instead of coming to the game's support team for things like stuck characters or constructs. With the most recent update, players can now utilize features like an /unstuck slash command for when their characters […]
Activision launches lawsuit against indie game dev over Warzone trademark
RPS has a juicy piece up this week on a lawsuit Activision is waging against an indie game developer that should probably prompt Activision to graciously move on. But it's Activision, so of course instead it's turning into a big lawsuit and articles that make it look like a jerk stomping all over indie developers […]
Elder Scrolls Online's new Endeavors dailies offer a new path to lockbox loot
If dailies aren't your thing in MMOs, you can probably keep on scrolling. But if they are, or if you're planning to return to Elder Scrolls Online when Blackwood rolls out in June, then you should probably point your eyeballs over at ZeniMax's latest dev blog, as the studio has today revealed full details on […]
Grab a free set of Magic Legends Crusader Armor courtesy of PWE and MOP
With the April beta patch for Magic Legends now under the devs' belt, Cryptic and PWE are eager to get player eyeballs back on the free-to-play game, and if you're going to jump in, you're going to want to look spiffy doing it, right? The studios have granted Massively OP a stack of keys for […]
Magic Legends drops April patch, says work on console and performance continues
While the latest patch for Magic Legends is light on new content, it's absolutely laden with fixes and improvements for the multiplayer ARPG, addressing a wide swath of problems with the game. Players are now effectively ghosts in the game, as character collision has been removed. Those with low-end machines should benefit from further performance […]
Scan plants for fun and profit in Elite Dangerous' Odyssey alpha phase three, which is live today
While there are certainly no shortage of ways to rake in the space cheddar in Elite: Dangerous, the newest phase of alpha testing for the Odyssey expansion will grant players their first opportunity to try out a new form of money-making: exo-biology. Taking part of this new gameplay loop involves wearing the newly-added Artemis suit, […]
Vague Patch Notes: Playing MMOs as an introvert
I've heard people say that the idea of "extroverts" and "introverts" isn't really all that accurate to the way that human beings actually behave, and let me tell you something: We'd have words if any of us would ever leave our homes to talk with another human being. I mean… more than usual right now […]
Ashes of Creation promises to sell more alpha keys, heads back to the studio
Like bees spying a honey buffet, Ashes of Creation fans are buzzing about this coming June's non-NDA Alpha One test. In this month's creative director's letter, Intrepid Studios' Steven Sharif updated followers on the development of this test — and how you might still gain access to it. Sharif said that additional keys are likely […]
More World of Warcraft Update 9.1 discoveries: glasses, bonus rolls, and a mega-dungeon
One has to imagine that World of Warcraft putting a patch on a test server these days must feel like a studio inviting someone over to its house only to have a horde slam through the door, barge through every room, and poke around every cupboard, vent, and closet looking for additional hidden details. Such […]
Elyon answers more player questions about PvP, cash shop items, and PvE plans in Reddit AMA
The community manager for Elyon seems to be hard at work. Following a Q&A session held on a fansite's Discord, Elyon CM Yukimura took to Reddit to open an AMA, fielding a variety of questions from the MMORPG subreddit community. Many of the questions answered touched on PvP, noting that players can look forward to […]
Swords of Legends Online reveals the trailer for the Bard, an 'elegant monk'
Gameforge and Wangyuan Shengtang have been cranking out hype for Swords of Legends Online all week, but this game has only been on the MMO radar about that long, so you'd be forgiven for feeling as if it's come almost out of nowhere. So far, we've seen glimpses of the Reaper, Berserker, and Spellsword classes; […]
The Daily Grind: Do you play MMOs in early access?
Playing at least one or two early access games is just kind of part of the nature of playing video games these days, especially on the PC. You're going to play something that's still heavily into the testing phase and that's just to be expected. But playing an early access MMO is something different. No, […]
Ubisoft announces shutdown dates for several of its older online titles
Today's bad news for legacy online support is that some of Ubisoft's older titles now have a firm date of online shutdown. If you've still been enjoying the online features of Might & Magic X, Assassin's Creed 2, or Anno 1404, you should be ready to wave farewell to those games once the servers get […]
Gamigo reveals another upcoming game: Mobile turn-based arena battler Heroes of Twilight
Last week, we noted that Gamigo's parent company's investor report talked up an "increased number of game launches" on its 2021 roadmap – one of which was revealed as Kinship Entertainment's 4v4 MOBA hybrid called Skydome. Today, we're being treated to yet another one of them, though this one is also not an MMORPG – […]
Squad-based WWII shooter Enlisted makes its open beta debut on all platforms
Looking for a new multiplayer squad shooter set in WWII? Wait, really? Well then publisher Gaijin Entertainment and developer Darkflow Studio has your number as their game Enlisted officially entered open beta on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S last week. The game's open beta touts two campaigns set in the Battle for […]
TitanReach's latest early access patch update adds character customization and a PvP island
Good news, TitanReach players, you can now head to an island to kill your friends. Why are you doing this? Well, we assume they're not very good friends. Or maybe they are and this is just how you show affection (you did all pay a bunch of money to get into this game's testing phase); […]
Pokemon Go promotes its 'Sustainability Campaign' with project seed money and game rewards
We've known since Pokemon Go's April event details that Niantic had an Earth Day-related event on deck, but this week's preview shows the event is far more inclusive than you might have expected. Gameplay-wise, the new details revealed that Binacle will make its debut in POGO for the event (April 20th through 25th), as will shiny Trubbish. There'll […]
PlanetSide 2 pushes back Chapter 3 and focuses on Containment Site updates after enthusiastic testing
Judging by reports from PlanetSide 2's lead designer Michael "Wrel" Henderson, the upcoming Containment Site battlefield is going over a treat, so much so that the devs will be focusing on updating the area and make it ready to go for the final week of April while pushing back Chapter 3 content for the week […]
Phantasy Star Online New Genesis plans global closed beta for May 14
Hey, so remember how Phantasy Star Online 2 is supposed to be reinventing itself as New Genesis this year, not all that long after finally launching in the west? Yeah, it's been a whirlwind for this antique MMORPG, and it's only going to get more exciting as SEGA has just announced when we can expect […]
Path of Exile releases patch notes, passive tree data, and item filter information for the Ultimatum update
While the Ultimatum League for Path of Exile is still two days away from arriving to PC players, the folks at Grinding Gear Games have very helpfully allowed fans to pass those two days by reading some exhaustive patch notes and filing through passive tree and item changes. How thoughtful. In true GGG fashion, the […]
Black Desert adds Sage and cooking content on PC, character tagging and item copying on console
Hey cooks and likeminded lifeskillers! It's your time to shine in Black Desert, as the PC version of the core MMORPG has today launched Martina Finto's Cooking Festival. Players will want to take a character over level 30 and mosey on over to Finto farm to kick off the questline. Get cooking – we're hungry! The […]
Star Citizen announces October 9 date for all-virtual CitizenCon
This won't surprise anyone, I suspect: Cloud Imperium has once again opted for an all-virtual CitizenCon for Star Citizen fans this year. "As circumstances continue to keep us from gathering in person, we're bringing that electric CitizenCon energy to your homes in the form of an online show that's open and accessible to everyone on […]
Blade and Soul releases the patch notes for today's Mischief Makers update
I didn't know I needed a class spec that involves a cat in a flying saucer shooting goofy weapons at enemies, but luckily the folks at Blade and Soul knew better and have added this option to the Summoner class as part of the Mischief Makers update, which is launching today. The main attraction of […]
Perfect Ten: How to deal with MMO burnout
I remember the first time I got hit hard by the powerhouse slugger known as "burnout." It was during my second stint in World of Warcraft, oddly enough, which by then had extended to a year-and-a-half of continuous play. I was clocking in three to five hours of game time on a daily basis (this […]
Final Fantasy XIV temporarily disables world visits and housing demolition after patch 5.5
If you wanted to get some content done in Final Fantasy XIV yesterday, it was the perfect day to do it, as the arrival of patch 5.5 meant tons of new stuff to do. If, however, you wanted to go visit your friends on another server – or go back to your own because you […]
Swords of Legends Online's Spellsword class will literally throw swords at your face
The class previews for upcoming action MMORPG Swords of Legends Online continue to roll on. Following video previews of the Reaper and Berserker classes comes the Spellsword, which one would assume would be about swinging a sword and casting spells right until the video showcases the first spec, Sword Artist, which is actually a ranged […]
Warframe rolls out to the Xbox X|S with multiplatform Call of the Tempestarii, now live
If you love the railjack experience in Warframe, you're going to want to follow the Call of the Tempestarii, which is live on all platforms, including the Xbox Series X|S, as of this week. Digital Extremes is calling it a "new defining moment" for the game, both because of the new railjack and the launch […]
EVE Online plans testing for its native MacOS client tomorrow and releases its industry update
Players of EVE Online on a Mac are one step closer to getting their own native client for the game. The devs at CCP Games will be holding a playtest for a native MacOS client, which runs between April 15th and April 21st. As one might expect, this is not a finished product, requiring players […]
Hellgate is back yet again, this time as a terrible VR game
It's the corpse that refuses to be buried — and it's back to take a stab at virtual reality gamers. That's right, Hellgate London has returned for the billionth time. Developer T3 Entertainment and publisher Hanbitsoft, which simply refuse to let this property rest in peace, adapted the title for VR and pushed it out […]
World of Warcraft posts Update 9.1 notes and raid test schedule
The patch notes for Update 9.1 are up in anticipation of the test realm opening its doors, and you can hear the collective sigh of World of Warcraft's community: "Finally." The long-overdue post-expansion content release is called Chains of Domination and include a whole lot of class changes, additional covenant campaign chapters, new soulbind tiers, […]
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite MMO public transport system?
We talk about mounts an awful lot in this space, but what about the other ways that MMOs help us get around? Most all of these games have some sort of public transport system, whether it be City of Heroes' subways, World of Warcraft's flight paths, or EverQuest's boats. One of my personal favorite was […]
The Stream Team: Silly shenanigans in Guild Wars 2's Super Adventure Box
Life can get too serious, so Massively OP's MJ is getting a dose of silliness in Guild Wars 2's Super Adventure Box! Bopping around with bumble pugs while searching for glitches, farming ooze, and facing fantastical giant frogs are just the shenanigans she needs to lighten and brighten her day. (I mean, have you seen […]
RuneScape begins 'awesome April' with a week-long boost to gathering skills, welcomes in the final wave of locked accounts
It's time for April to be awesome by RuneScape's reckoning as the MMORPG's latest update has kicked off Skilling Week for players. Between now and April 19th, players can enjoy 50% more XP for a variety of gathering skills like Divination, Farming, Fishing, and screening and excavating in Archaeology, as well as a 50% bonus […]
Path of Exile writes a development manifesto for game balance changes arriving in Ultimatum
Path of Exile fans know that the devs of Grinding Gear Games love to write their development manifestos, and with the Ultimatum League arriving later this week for PC players, there's a recently released manifesto that's all about balance plans for the expansion. The post calls out a variety of changes for life-costing skills and […]
MMO Business Roundup: Roblox prank, Hi-Rez, Wargaming, Epic's funding round, CCP's metaverse
Welcome back to another roundup of MMO (and MMO-adjacent) industry news! A Roblox player from a goofy political meme group apparently pulled quite a stunt on the White House. Politico reports that a gamer going by Kacey "Lego" Montagu whipped up a fake persona as a White House pool reporter, along with a popular Twitter […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 317: Stay awhile and listen
Justin and Bree discuss MMO Kickstarters, Path of Exile 2, Global Agenda 2, Dual Universe, and Wizard101, with adventures in WoW Classic, Fallout 76, Diablo 2 Resurrected, and Guild Wars 2, plus mailbag topics on Steam and FOMO, Diablo 3, and No Man's Sky.
Elyon's western closed beta will run May 6 through 10 – without the cash shop
When Krafton and Krafton opened up Elyon's new English website and started tooting the beta horn, you had to know this announcement wasn't far behind: Today, the company has posted direct closed beta signups, which are live through April 25th. The closed beta itself will run from May 6th through 10th, with client preloading beginning […]
Elder Scrolls Online details Blackwood's multi-armed bosses, the ruinachs
As hype for Elder Scrolls Online's Blackwood chapter continues to mount, ZeniMax is pushing out more dev blogs exploring the lore behind the content. Today's piece focuses on the Ruinachs – literally the big bads that serve the daedric prince Mehrunes Dagon, and they're daedra-ish, but more like hulking scamps rather than the more reptilian […]
