PAX West returns to its in-person format this fall
As much of the United States returns to normal after a year of social distancing and virtual events, the organizers of PAX West have decided that it's safe enough to bring back the event in person after last year's online-only format. PAX West, which will run from September 3rd through the 6th, will take place […]
Dungeons and Dragons Online brings Saltmarsh dungeons, endgame item changes, and more to PTS
The PTS of Dungeons and Dragons Online is once again flush with new things for players to check out as this past Tuesday saw a preview of Update 50 go online. The headline attraction of this new update is the Saltmarsh adventure area, which is modeled after the AD&D module of the same name and […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 fixes bugs and addresses fresh issues with Microsoft store
It's patch day for Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, though the update is largely focused on fixing bugs than on adding content. SEGA says it fixed multiple issues with boosters, interface currency displays, and that whole thing where people would literally fall through the world when trying to join an urgent quest. Good grief. […]
The Elder Scrolls Online kicks off the Midyear Mayhem Festival for PvP fun times
Why should you get in your fighting on a Saturday night and no other time? No, The Elder Scrolls Online wants you to get in your fighting all the time. Saturday night, Saturday morning, every other day of the week. See, it's the Midyear Mayhem Festival starting on June 24th, and that means it's time […]
Perfect Ten: 10 reasons you'd never want to live in an MMORPG
Escapism and daydreams are, in my opinion, wonderful and part of what fuels our creativity and excitement. I mean, most of us probably engage in some form of escapism just by the act of playing MMOs. These are settings that make us heroes, gives us clearly defined objectives with assured rewards, and continually dole out […]
Aion Classic is officially live in the west- are you playing? Or at least in the queue?
Listen, if you're reading this at work, then you're already behind in Aion Classic, I'm sorry to say. That's because after a brief delay, the new version of the old game just officially launched in the Americas (and for Europeans savvy enough to switch their location settings), and the day-one challenges are already live. You […]
You can make your Black Desert Corsair right now (and play her next week)
On this week's podcast, we were discussing how few pirate classes there are in MMORPGs despite pirate NPCs being in pretty much all of them. So a 21-cannon salute to Black Desert, which is in the final stages of preparing the Corsair for her June 29th debut. But just because you need to wait until […]
Casually Classic: What retail WoW could (re)learn from Burning Crusade Classic's class progression
Now that we're weeks into Burning Crusade Classic, players are discovering that despite many antiquated design elements, this expansion is still a whole lot of fun with scads of stuff to do. While many (but not all!) of the community is already engaged with the endgame of raiding, dailies, and hard mode dungeons, one of […]
$100K Star Citizen whale discusses why he supports the game – and what he's worried about
For those who orbit Star Citizen news and are aghast at why its business model — a winner of this site's Worst Business Model award for four years running — keeps on raking in money, you might be interested in hearing the thoughts of one of the game's whales who was interviewed by the folks […]
Blocky sandbox Trove has finally launched on the Nintendo Switch
Trove's summer releases just keep rolling: Just a week after dropping the Bard update on PC, now Gamigo's blocky MMORPG has launched on the Nintendo Switch. The game is well-loved around here, thanks to its nifty housing and club world system, its flexible class mechanics, and constantly expanding crafting tools. "In a seamless blend of […]
Star Trek Online's Risa vacaycay pays out in a T6 ship and a tsunami gun
Forget voyaging to strange new worlds and investigating that pesky anomaly in the next sector — you're going to want to engage at maximum warp all the way over to Star Trek Online's Risa next month for the Lohlunat Festival. This annual summer holiday is scheduled to run the entire month of July. You're going […]
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has its first major patch, Chains of Domination, available for pre-loading
It feels like it's taken a really, really long time for the first content patch to arrive for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. That would be because it has taken a really long time; specifically, it's going to be right around eight months before release when all is said and done. But the patch is finally […]
Amazon Games responds to complaints that Lost Ark character redesigns are 'censorship'
Lost Ark has yet to release here in the west and it's already got its first stupid controversy. When Amazon Games first announced that it was going to publish the MMOARPG, the company noted that they would be making some adjustments to characters and character creation in an effort to make more players "feel at […]
Xianxia action MMORPG Swords of Legends Online is launching July 9
We've finally gotten a date for Swords of Legends Online: July 9th. I say this as if it's been a game we've been covering a long time, but in reality, we didn't even know it existed as a possibility here in the west until April when Gameforge casually announced it, so this has been a […]
The Daily Grind: Is it too late for others to start your MMO?
One of the eternal questions that you'll see asked in every MMORPG's Reddit, forum, and discussion is if it's too late for a new (or even very lapsed) player to jump in and derive a meaningful level of enjoyment and participation — or have they missed the boat completely. I know the knee-jerk response here […]
New World talks about the lore and gameplay influences of magic in new interview
If you're exploring an island where there are undead things or malevolent forces scuttling about, you're no doubt in a world steeped in magic, so obviously New World has magic in it. It's that power and what it does to the game's story, creatures, and gameplay that was the subject of a new interview on […]
Square-Enix states that Outriders is off to a good start thanks in part to Xbox Game Pass
Do you remember Outriders? The answer is no, you do not. If you think you do, you are either lying or delusional. No one remembers Outriders. But it did actually launched, and despite the aforementioned fact that no one remembers it exists, it… apparently did pretty well for itself. And some of that is attributed […]
ArcheAge adds June update, offers players free stuff for the summer
Are you playing ArcheAge right now? How about now? Wait, the developers know what will get your interest – free stuff. Everybody likes free stuff, right? If you like free stuff, you'll be quite happy to learn that ArcheAge is giving everyone free stuff with free weekly gift packages in the Glyph store from now […]
Wizard101 announces a 'guild-lite' system and group perks
"Providing opportunities for socialization" is the watch-phrase going around Wizard101 these days. Game Director Leah Ruben charted a manifesto this week about how KingsIsle is walking a fine line of encouraging socialization without requiring it, saying that it's fun and gratifying to share experiences. The letter isn't just feel-good concepts, as Ruben outlined several initiatives that […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 327: Ducks all the way down
Justin and Bree discuss WoW 9.1, Elder Scrolls Online, LOTRO Classic, RuneScape Mobile, and Black Desert's Corsair, with adventures in Final Fantasy XIV, WoW Classic, Albion Online, and SWG Legends, plus mailbag topics on developer promises and skills we learned in MMOs.
Aion Classic will officially make its western debut at noon tomorrow
Good news for MMO players raring to go in Aion Classic: You won't even need to get out of bed early to do it. NCsoft has announced that the fun begins tomorrow at noon EDT – that's 9 a.m. PDT and 6 p.m. CEST. Naturally, there are some speed challenges on offer for those who […]
New World's latest alpha update reduces PvP penalties, adjusts experience requirements again
Amazon's New World apparently has a couple more patches in store for alpha players after all. Today's update behind closed doors has several changes small and large, including new PvE faction missions, tweaks to guild war declarations, reductions in penalties for PvP death, new and more diverse gear, revamped titles, improved intro cinematic, harder expeditions, […]
Dauntless' roadmap updates include a Repeater refresh, the Omnicell sub-class system, and shock changes
Players of Dauntless have likely been busying themselves with hunting the Chronovore or chasing after Exotics, but it never hurts to look at what's coming, which brings us to the game's roadmap and a host of planned updates. We begin with Omnicells, which is the name granted to the RPG's proposed sub-class system. These Omnicells […]
Guild Wars 2 kicks off Dragon Bash today
Meanwhile, the Dragon Bash festival has returned to Guild Wars 2 as of this afternoon, sending players to Hoelbrak for racing, drinking, moas, drinking, arena PvP, drinking, and the stampede. And drinking. The game is running a login sweepstakes as well that could see you win a sweet monitor or headset just for playing. "Dragon […]
Massively on the Go: Niantic is partially rolling back Pokemon Go's COVID bonuses
Almost a month ago I argued that Pokemon GO's COVID changes should not be rolled back. I was under no illusions that Niantic would necessarily listen to me as an individual, but hoped that I could at least add another voice to the choir singing, "Don't do it." In some ways, I think Niantic has […]
Second Life turns 18 years old this week, counting 70M lifetime accounts
I'm gonna say the M word in this post, and I'm sorry, but metaverse metaverse metaverse. That's because Second Life is back in the news this week, but for happy reasons, as it's turning 18 years old tomorrow. Linden Lab says it will "be marking the milestone with activities ranging from community-created SL18B exhibitions, Meet […]
Choose My Adventure: Awestruck by Star Wars Galaxies' crafting and housing potential
This week has been something of a rollercoaster for me. Of emotions. Of discovery. And, slowly yet surely, of deeper appreciation and enjoyment of Star Wars Galaxies. By the slimmest of margins, setting up some housing beat out digging into crafting in last week's poll, but I soon started to discover that they absolutely both […]
Final Fantasy XIV ups tomestone limits and timeworn artifact rewards with patch 5.57
Have some relic weapons left over to grind? Have a dire need for some tomestone upgrades? The process of both is getting a fair bit easier in Final Fantasy XIV with the latest minor patch, 5.57, which buffs up the timeworn artifacts earned from Delubrum Reginae to three per run. That means getting past that […]
First Impressions: Diving into Oblivion portals with companions in Elder Scrolls Online's Blackwood
Like clockwork, The Elder Scrolls Online has flung wide the gates of its annual chapter release. This time, in Blackwood, we are headed to southern Cyrodiil, where the remnants of the once great empire meet the borders of the Argonian homeland of Blackmarsh. The Elder Scrolls Online loves to capitalize on nostalgia, and Blackwood is […]
Saga of Lucimia on its comms blackout: 'We do not have a firm timeline on anything'
For well over a year now, we have been concerned about the state of Saga of Lucimia's development — namely, if it's even happening any more at all. Back in March, hope for the hardcore MMORPG's future was dimmed by the announcement that founders and project leads Timothy and Joseph Anderson had parted ways with […]
A slim majority of Acti-Blizz investors approved its 'say-on-pay' policy after vote extension
Score another win for the C-suite. As we've been covering, Activision-Blizzard investors purportedly represented by CtW Investment Group had been agitating to vote down the company's "say-on-pay" policy and curb its executive payout excesses. Last year, the group was successful at EA but could only declare spiritual victory at AB when it convinced only 43% […]
Sea of Thieves kicks off its third season with new goodies, new enemies, and its Pirates of the Caribbean adventure
He's the pauper of the surf, the jester of Tortuga, and as of today he's now officially part of the Sea of Thieves. Today marks the launch of the piratical sandbox's third season, featuring an all new set of five Tall Tales titled A Pirate's Life that sees players teaming up with Captain Jack Sparrow […]
EVE Online brings its stealth ship-centric Enter the Portal update online
If you were in the PTS of EVE Online, you already knew about the Enter the Portal update and what it was doing for black ops ships. If you weren't, then you can now experience the adjustments made to these sneaky spacecraft as the update is now officially live. In case you happened to miss […]
The Daily Grind: Would you play a LOTRO Classic server?
Lord of the Rings Online devs surprised players this past weekend by saying that a Classic server for LOTRO might be on the table, after years of dismissing the idea. I was initially intrigued by the idea since I tend to love Classic servers… and then MOP's Justin brought me back to reality, pointing out […]
Ascendants Rising is a co-op action RPG that pits players against randomized bosses in arena combat
"Do you like MMORPGs? Are you tired of the tedious grind, the group hunting, and the long treks before you are allowed to have fun? Or maybe you just don't have time for this anymore? Then, do we have the game for you!" This is the opening salvo from Ascendants Rising, an early access co-op […]
Multiplayer survival sandbox Smalland shares a new gameplay trailer, announces early access later this year
It's been a long time since we heard a peep out of Smalland, the multiplayer survival sandbox game where players are shrunken down to the tiny insect size (read: bite size) that we first got wind of in March 2018. The game has since sprung back up on the radar thanks to a new gameplay […]
Hood: Outlaws and Legends releases its new mountainous heist map and lays out future updates
There has been a lot of noise coming from team-based PvPvE title Hood: Outlaws & Legends recently. Following a video that talked up a wide variety of changes and updates coming to the game, the devs at Sumo Digital have added a new Mountain map free for all players that features a snowy new fort […]
Profane shares updates on developing gameplay features, test scheduling, and textures
Insane Studios has put together another pair of Twitter threads that offer up a wide swath of update details for the developing PvP MMO. In the first thread, we get the largest number of updates that link together with another roadmap update. The devs have managed to figure out how to fix a player movement […]
World of Warships introduces a mode with super battleships for PC, adds new American battleships to console
What's a game like World of Warships without a whole bunch of warships in it? A mistitled game, for one. Luckily for fans of the multiplayer naval battler, there's not going to be a shortage of ships going to war anytime soon, as both PC and console versions have gotten some new updates. The PC […]
Whatever happened to Villagers and Heroes?
Boy, it's been a few minutes since we took a peek into Villagers & Heroes. It's certainly not for lack of appreciation, of course – the game was counted by Justin among one of the perfect 10 MMOs to break you out of a gaming rut. So allow us to catch up with what's been […]
RuneScape releases the next quest in its year-long Elder God Wars storyline on PC and mobile
Today sees RuneScape take yet another step in the year-long Elder God Wars questline. The City of Senntisten quest has officially launched, arriving to both PC and mobile players of the MMORPG, and bringing with it the promise of a wealth of challenges and rewards. "The Elder God Wars is a year-long epic saga that […]
EA is testing transparent lockboxes in a FIFA game
Remember two years ago when the ESA announced an optional new policy for the US games industry that would theoretically encourage games companies to catch up with the then-already-present trend to disclose the odds of items hidden in gambleboxes, lootboxes, and lockboxes? We were all pretty skeptical that anything would ever come of it, since […]
Elyon recaps its first closed beta and plans its second for mid-August
The first closed beta phase for Elyon has passed, and the team is now recapping how that test went and what player feedback was like. One of the first things that the developers noticed was that there was a significant faction imbalance in favor of the Ontari, which is something that the second closed beta […]
Not So Massively: First impressions of Dungeons & Dragons Dark Alliance
I'll admit I had low expectations for the new co-op action game Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance. The graphics looked a bit dated, and the trailers made it seem a pretty campy. But I play a heroic amount of D&D IRL, and I like action games, so how bad could it be? "How bad could […]
Six months later, Sony is finally putting Cyberpunk 2077 back on the PlayStation store
When Cyberpunk 2077 crashed and burned at launch last Christmas, one of the more surprising side-effects was Sony's decision to not just refund purchases but pull the game from the PlayStation storefront altogether. That decision has held for just a hair over six months now, and CD Projekt Red even cited it as a reason […]
Wisdom of Nym: Things to do in Final Fantasy XIV while you're waiting for Endwalker
At the time I am writing this sentence, there are 151 days until Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker kicks off early access. That's not all that many! That's also a very, very long time. Especially considering that up until this year, we'd currently be staring down the expansion coming out in just a couple weeks at […]
Obituary: Prominent Secret World Legends community leader HolloPoint
I'm sorry to report some devastating news out of the Secret World Legends community today: Prominent community member Mark "HolloPoint" Innes has apparently passed away. The news comes via his friends on the official forums and the Zero Point Report twitter feed. If the name HolloPoint sounds familiar, it should. In fact, we recently joked […]
Legends of Aria dev Citadel Studios will publish CODEX, a 'seasonal shared world adventure' MMO
It would appear that Citadel Studios, the developers of sandbox MMORPG Legends of Aria, has its fingers in a new pie. Readers will recall that the studio announced it was making a multiplayer Viking-themed survival RPG known as The End, and now there's word of the company entering the publishing realm with the announcement of […]
Blizzard surveys World of Warcraft players about their Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker intentions
"A rising tide raises all ships," or so the axiom goes, which is appropriate when one considers how healthy competition is between bigger MMORPGs. And while it's made very clear that there's no animosity-filled feud between Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft (and people should stop beating tribal war drums over it), it's very […]
Lost Ark KR showcases the Sorceress class and some summertime fun in a preview video
Now that we know for certain that the MMOARPG Lost Ark will be heading to the west this fall, preview footage and announcements from the Korean version of the game have a little bit more excitement to them. While we're all going to likely miss out on the contents of this summer update from Korea, […]
