The Daily Grind: Have you ever fallen in love with MMO-ish content in non-MMOs?
Today's Daily Grind is inspired by a thread I spotted on the MMORPG subreddit a while back. The author was talking about stumbling into a non-MMO – Monster Hunter World, in this case – and finding some of the MMORPG content that he wasn't getting out of real MMORPGs, specifically a sense of progression, discovery, […]
Neverwinter prepares for the eighth Protector's Jubilee starting on June 17
The eponymous city in Neverwinter has some problems. Literally, the place is an adventure magnet, and that means it's constantly besieged by monsters, demons, demonic monsters, wildlife, fey arsenals… at some point we think there might have been a squirrel invasion. But the city is still (more or less) in one piece, and to thank […]
Microsoft executives talk about expanding game services, game accessibility, inclusivity, and first-party releases
The head execs at Microsoft have some lofty plans for the wider gaming world if several statements are anything to go by. The company held a pre-brief ahead of this year's E3 showcase featuring a number of gaming executives, all of whom talked up big strategies to expand Microsoft's reach into the gaming market – […]
Among Us outlines plans for more players, more colors, and more features in a roadmap
The popular multiplayer deception game Among Us has lots of plans for new content according to a recent video roadmap. In no particular order, according to the video. Leading off the list is a new Hide & Seek mode that appears to operate about the way one would expect, followed by the addition of Sheriff […]
Lord of the Rings Online previews its new speedy and plodding progression servers
Even as Lord of the Rings Online shuts down its underpopulated Ithil legendary server this week, Standing Stone Games is preparing to launch a pair of new progression servers for the community to enjoy. The twist? This time each one will come with a speed adjustment. According to SSG, Shadowfax — named after Gandalf's swift […]
SWG Legends begins Empire Day festivities, talks Bespin apartments and post-Bespin content
With Bespin already a month in the rear-view mirror, it's patch day for Star Wars Galaxies Legends. The rogue server's update on Monday kicks off the Independence Day-inspired celebrations of Empire Day and Remembrance Day, depending on whether you're a Rebel or Imperial character; players can expect new badges and collections for the event. The […]
Swords of Legends Online offers up videos of its Ancestral Records gameplay
Remember last week when Swords of Legends Online talked up its various gameplay modes in the Ancestral Records? Well, the good news is that you can check that out now in a quartet of new videos about the game. The first one is just about the Ancestral Record in general, but the other three show […]
Diablo II Resurrected executive producer talks about alpha feedback, beta features, and other Diablo title developments
Shortly after Diablo II: Resurrected got its time in the E3 sun to unveil its launch date, Blizzard's Rod Fergusson went into greater detail on the game's testing phases, among other things, in a post-announcement interview. Fergusson stated that the recent alpha test went well overall and received a lot of positive feedback, which led […]
E3 2021: EVE Online talks up the launch of its EVE Academy website
EVE Online promised that it was going to talk about something during the PC Gaming Show portion of this year's E3, and sure enough, it did. Specifically, CCP Games talked up the EVE Academy, which readers will recall was first spotlighted this past May. Not too much has changed since the website's first introduction: Interested […]
Warhammer Online rogue server Return of Reckoning previews new fan-built dungeon
Once in a while the MMORPG subreddit plays host to some exclusive and unique reveals for our genre – for instance, the devs of the Warhammer Online rogue server Return of Reckoning shared an exclusive preview of an all-new dungeon that's coming to the server sometime soon. The dungeon is known as Hunter's Vale and […]
Fight or Kite: Leafling Online is a retro-inspired action MMO for PvPers – and grinders
When I spied our recent article on Leafling Online, I almost immediately jumped in. It's currently in early access, but studio Celtaria Productions claims it's designed to be a free-to-play game with a cosmetic-only cash shop. I'm loving the visuals, the animations, and the whole concept. A retro-stylized MMO is extremely enticing to me. I've […]
The Elder Scrolls Online brings back a free trial of its ESO Plus subscription this week
Did the reveals from E3 pique your interest in The Elder Scrolls Online? Did you happen to miss out on the last time the game offered this kind of promotion? In either case, ESO is once more offering a free trial of its ESO Plus subscription. Just like last time, this trial will not require […]
Wisdom of Nym: Speculating about the mechanics of Final Fantasy XIV's Reaper way too early
So! Last week, I speculated about Sage in what will almost certainly be incorrect predictions regarding the job's mechanics and overall playstyle. Was this a good idea? Who knows! It was an idea, let's leave it at that while also noting that I have a long history of making my predictions public. If I'm wrong, […]
Crowfall's latest Q&A covers the roadmap before and after launch
The June ACE Q&A video from Crowfall is online, and you'll never guess what J. Todd Coleman and Thomas Blair had to talk about. Yes, it's the MMO's upcoming launch, obviously, and the two lead devs took some moments to look back at the progress made and offer a little detail of what's happening next. […]
Ashes of Creation fields fan questions about combat, classes, content challenge, PvP, and social interactions
Yesterday, creative director Steven Sharif joined with the MMORPG subreddit's community rep Protobear to answer several fan questions about Ashes of Creation, which ran the usual broad-reaching gamut of inquiries about various systems and matters related to the developing MMORPG. As ever, Sharif had a lot to say, so strap yourselves in. Sharif first fielded […]
New World offers a brief explanation of Expeditions in newest video
Care to take a delve into the Expeditions of New World? Then perhaps you'll enjoy the game's latest video, which offers a look at how these instanced dungeons (by any other name) operate in the upcoming MMO. The video lauds Expeditions as places where players can find unique foes to fight, puzzles to solve, and […]
E3 2021: Transformers Heavy Metal, Icarus, Halo Infinite, The Crew 2, Babylon's Fall, Ascent, Rawmen, Naraka Bladepoint, Chivalry 2
In addition to The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 76, Diablo II Resurrected, Sea of Thieves, Riders Republic, and Redfall, there are a few more multiplayer games of note that were featured as part of E3 and E3-adjacent events. Let's do a quick rundown! Transformers Heavy Metal: Don't tell MOP's Eliot but Pokemon Go company Niantic […]
PSA: LOTRO's Ithil progression server players have until June 15 to log in to their characters before shutdown
Consider this a friendly reminder prompted by SSG's own friendly reminder of the impending shutdown of the Ithil progression server in Lord of the Rings Online. The server will be unavailable for login this coming Tuesday, June 15th, and will ultimately be going dark the following Wednesday; players of the server will have before the […]
E3 2021: Bethesda's Redfall pits co-op teams against a vampire invasion
If you've had it up to here with sparkly vampire love stories, then grab a gun and get to blasting a few of those blood-suckers back into the grave. That's the spirit behind Redfall, a new open world co-op shooter coming out next year from Bethesda subsidiary Arkane Austin. "Play it solo or in co-op […]
The Daily Grind: How do you introduce friends to old MMORPGs?
Whoever said that teachers teach because they can't do has never tried to teach someone new how to play an old MMORPG. Holy crap, this is hard! Over the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to help Chris acclimate to Star Wars Galaxies for his Choose My Adventure series, and he's been gamely following […]
MMO Week in Review: MMOs are back
I don't know about you folks, but I feel as if I'm barely treading water when it comes to keeping up with all the MMO news from the last week. It's damn hard to convince yourself MMOs are in trouble when we're looking at ESO Blackwood, PSO2 New Genesis, Lost Ark, Crowfall, Elyon, Albion Online, […]
The MOP Up: Guild Wars 2 organizes new player tips thread
If you're getting into Guild Wars 2 for the first time or can actually admit that you don't know everything about the game, there's a handy new resource for you to learn all sorts of tips and tricks. ArenaNet organized a #GW2Info thread to populate it with studio and player tips for the MMO. Enjoy! […]
E3 2021: Sea of Thieves kicks off season three with Pirates of the Caribbean collab A Pirate's Life
I can't be the only person who's been watching Sea of Thieves' lack of content lately and wondered what the heck Rare is doing over there. It turns out it's been working on a new story campaign called A Pirate's Life that is essentially a collab between the game and Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. […]
E3 2021: Diablo II Resurrected launches September 23 following open beta; preorders are live now
We've known that Blizzard was working on Diablo II: Resurrected since the big reveal at BlizzConline, but it wasn't a sure bet when it was launching. Now we know: At E3 today, the company put a September 23rd launch date on the remastered title, following an August open beta that will include five of the […]
E3 2021: Elder Scrolls Online announces Waking Flame and Deadlands, Fallout 76 plans Steel Reign and The Pitt
The Xbox-plus-Bethsoft E3 games showcase held a bit of news for MMO players, if you can rip your eyeballs away from Starfield long enough to get caught up! First, Elder Scrolls Online fans already knew that Console Enhanced had been delayed a smidge. It's now coming June 15th, though, so you haven't got long to […]
PSO2 New Genesis wrestles with server lag and unhappy players post-launch
So, how has your time in Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis been? Personally speaking, I've enjoyed myself quite a bit but also have experienced a great deal of lag, which is certainly the case for a large number of players. The game recently went through some unscheduled downtime in order to address server lag, […]
E3 2021: Multiplayer extreme sports playground Riders Republic unveils September 2 release date
Do you recall the multiplayer extreme sports title Riders Republic? This one was first unveiled in September of last year and announced a shift in release timing from February 2021 to "later this year." During Ubisoft's E3 presentation, we learned just when precisely later this year is: Thursday, September 2nd. The presentation also offered up […]
One Shots: The emperor's new cosmetics
"Ever had one of those dreams where you're declared the sultana's champion at a royal banquet in FFXIV and realize you aren't wearing pants?" Hirku Two asked. In game, no. In real life, yes, but just once. At least when you're in an MMORPG, there's no shame, because someone out there has a cosmetic that's […]
The Daily Grind: What sort of monster do you love to kill in an MMO?
We've made jokes before about how MMORPGs have certain predictable elements in their bestiaries. After all, most games feature the really cute thing (or things) you'd prefer not to fight, the legless blob, the dragon thing, and so forth. But there's also always one sort of enemy you love to kill. Whether it's due to constant […]
Tiny MMO Book of Travels hits early access August 9 with its 'chapter zero' release
Well here's a happy weekend announcement for MMO fans: Book of Travels has just revealed that it's launching into early access on August 9th, further compounding your game choices this wild summer of MMO launches. That means no more delays for the Kickstarted MMO that took home our "most anticipated" award at the end of […]
Secret World Legends' community organizes fourth anniversary events
With Funcom seemingly doing the absolute bare minimum to keep the lights on over at Secret World Legends, it's a sad commentary on the state of the game that it's the players that are picking up the slack to throw an anniversary party for the game. Megaversary 4: The Fourth Age Door is scheduled to […]
LOTRO's community puts on a Shirefest concert series
If you have some spare time this weekend and a hankering to enjoy good music amongst friends, make your way over to Lord of the Rings Online's Crickhollow, where Shirefest 2021 is raging all the way through Sunday. With this player concert series, 30 bands are using the in-game music system to perform sets of […]
The Stream Team: Canoe racing and milk fountains in ARK: Genesis 2
Last week, Massively OP's MJ took her first steps into ARK's latest and last new map, Genesis 2. Now she'll be taking her first canoe ride; it turns out Genesis 2 has a canoe race for a mission. There are also a number of new creatures tamed to show off, including one that apparently creates […]
E3's digital event officially kicks off today with a hype trailer
It's either gaming's biggest event, its most annoying event, or a swiftly obsolete event, depending on whom you ask. One way or another, E3 is starting today at 1:00 p.m. EDT, and the event is drumming up the hype with an announcement trailer. As readers will recall, the pandemic has forced E3 to be an […]
Lost Ark's technical alpha dissolved into a technical mess, but it's sorted out now
We are still grappling with the realization that Lost Ark is actually going to be launching here in the west this fall. However, if the current state of the alpha is any indication, the MMOARPG has a few hurdles to overcome before that big day. The start of yesterday's closed alpha test was delayed for […]
WRUP: How to feel good about yourself edition
Oh, fun! We're doing the big one! I think I've got this down, and it's all thanks to what I refer to as my Perfect Zone of Happiness theory. Basically, what's the usual thing that makes you feel bad about yourself? The fact that no one likes you because you're awkward and weird and smell […]
The Daily Grind: What camping options do you wish your MMO had?
I've always been a little disappointed in how most MMORPGs ignore camping as a basic feature of the game. After all, we're spending so much time venturing out into virtual nature — but we almost never stop to build a campsite and hunker down around a flickering fire. Instead, we hit that port back to […]
Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance offers up a co-op loot grinder later this month
Old school console players may well know the name "Dark Alliance," as it was a pair of console action RPGs that came out in the early 2000s. Now the name is being revived for a spiritual successor called Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, and this time you can bring your online friends along for the […]
Whatever happened to Nexon's action-combat MMO Vindictus?
It's been half of forever since we talked about Vindictus, the Nexon MMO that launched in North America way back in 2010 and at least for a little while was touted as one of the genre's key examples of action combat. We last gave it a peek in 2020 just as the pandemic was ramping […]
Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore outlines plans for how spells and abilities are unlocked
What's a self-described "high risk-reward" MMORPG without some spells and abilities? Probably one where the risk and reward would involve angrily glowering at one another or threatening to use hug emotes. Mercifully (or sadly), there will not be hug fights in the game because there will be spells and abilities. Game designer Amar Duranovic took […]
City of Titans shares several music tracks for the MMO's different areas
It's pretty clear from a recent Massively Overthinking post that there's a lot of opinion and emotion linked to music in MMOs, which means getting a soundtrack right can be a pretty vital layer to a game's overall feel. The devs of City of Titans certainly appreciate music's importance and have offered up a preview […]
Albion Online crowns season 12 PvP winner, runs Crystal League Championship this weekend
If you can pull yourself away from the Albion Online mobile launch, the game would like your attention for the kickoff of the Crystal League Championship tomorrow. "The wait is almost over: the Season 12 Crystal League Championship is this weekend! Starting Saturday at 17:00 UTC, tune in to AlbionTV to watch all the action […]
Warhammer Eternal Crusade is sunsetting on September 10
So who remembers Warhammer Eternal Crusade? I sure had forgotten all about it. When last we checked in on it, it was 2018 and already the subject of a "whatever happened to" article, which is never a good sign. Readers will recall that it actually launched back in 2016, but it didn't go well; MOP's […]
The Anacrusis is a co-op multiplayer retro sci-fi shooter from the writer of Portal, Half-Life 2, and Left 4 Dead
Multiplayer co-op shooters like Left 4 Dead, Deep Rock Galactic, and GTFO certainly can feel like they're a dime a dozen, but perhaps the setting and the pedigree behind the upcoming shooter The Anacrusis will perk some ears. For one thing, the game is set in a retro-futurist world where four unlikely survivors must work […]
Horse MMO Star Stable apologizes for the dust-up over its Pride event
File this one under this is why we can't have nice things: Horse-themed MMO Star Stable has been a bit of a mess thanks to its well-intentioned efforts to support Pride. The chaos began on Wednesday when the Star Stable team announced the Rainbow Festival event for its playerbase and expressly sent "extra warm wishes […]
Star Citizen debuts a new Xi'an cargo ship and offers a brief history of the game's alien races
Some of the most unique and distinctive ships in the Star Citizen range come from the game's alien manufacturers, and in the newest Inside Star Citizen video we get a look at a brand-new addition to the lineup of Xi'an designs in the form of the Railen. This new craft, currently in the concept phase, […]
New World's Summer Game Fest video addresses player feedback, content, and pay-to-win
As part of the Summer Game Fest this week, Amazon's New World team has delivered a deep-dive into the game with a new video that dips into the game's lore and plot, its locations, its villains (including Isabella and the Empress!), its mob groups, its gear, its combat, and its content. There are a few […]
EVE Online's upcoming Enter the Portal update features adjustments to the game's sneaky spaceships
For the cloak and dagger-loving EVE Online player, the variety of black ops ships are some pretty good choices, but they could be better. That's the aim of the upcoming Enter the Portal update, which plans to make several changes to black ops battleships and covert ops exploration ships. Black ops battleships are getting a […]
Diablo III's season 24 adds Diablo II-inspired Ethereal weapons
It's not the Diablo you probably want to be hearing about, but it is the Diablo getting some love right now: It's Diablo III, and Blizzard remembered it exists long enough to put the 2.7.1 update on the test server, or will starting next week. "Diablo II left us with fond memories when it released […]
Lord of the Rings Online delays The Fall of Khazad-dûm raid's tier rollout
Good news for you, raiders of Lord of the Rings Online: Standing Stone is giving you more time to fail at The Fall of Khazad-dûm, the raid added in this week's Update 30: Blood of Azog. The company is postponing the opening of the later tiers of the raid: "We are adjusting the schedule for […]
