Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick: 'The leadership team has heard you loud and clear'
As ATVI stock dips and Blizzard employees plan a walkout tomorrow, Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has finally publicly addressed the company's workers in regard to the ongoing sexism lawsuit and fallout. He says that the company's initial responses were "tone deaf" and apologizes for the lack of empathy. "The leadership team has heard you loud […]
Blaugust blog writing initiative returns to challenge bloggers to write for a whole month
Regular readers of MOP doubtlessly know that we're all about highlighting and supporting MMO gaming blogs. Regulars also know that we like to signal boost the Blaugust writing initiative, a blogging community event kicked off by Belghast of Tales of the Aggronaut that seeks to encourage new and returning blog writers back to the writing […]
Perfect World Revolution is available for everyone to play now with one hand
You want to play an MMORPG of some kind, any kind, but you also have a delicious sandwich to eat. What can you do about this situation? Until very recently, you'd have to accept that modern technology had failed you by either eating the sandwich or playing the game. But Perfect World Revolution has finally […]
Aether Story melds 'glory days' of classic JRPGs with the modern MMO
Two tastes that go good together: Peanut butter and chocolate. Strawberry and kiwi. Vanilla Ice and Ninja Turtles. And old school-style Japanese RPGs and… MMOs? If you've ever imagined what an MMO would look like if Final Fantasy III was taken into an online format, then you might be in the vicinity of Aether Story, […]
Pathfinder Online, Kickstarted for $1M in 2012, will sunset in November
I'm sorry to report that Paizo has announced the end of Pathfinder Online. MOP readers know that the MMO was Kickstarted for over a million dollars back in 2012, but its development and staffing struggles led to mass Goblinworks layoffs in 2015, followed by several years of Paizo attempting to salvage the game and find new investors. […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 332: Does every voice really matter at Blizzard?
Justin and Bree discuss the Blizzard sexism lawsuit, with brief stops in New World, Lineage II, and Ship of Heroes.
Massively on the Go: August is recycling month in Pokemon Go
Well, we're finally on the downside of the Pokemon GO rollercoaster this year it seems, but things may still be exciting for some of us, at least until Niantic reveals what the third Ultra Unlock is. We previously mentioned how Part 1 (now live) was focused on fossil pokemon and Dialga, while part 2 starting on August […]
GDC 2021: Biometrics, advertising, and charming communities in video games
While other gaming conventions do big game reveals, the beauty of GDC is that we hear about some of the cool tech and practices going on behind the scenes. It helps devs out, for sure, but it also helps players paying attention better understand market trends and practices that guide our hobby. Oh, and there […]
Blizzard workers plan walkout over sexism scandal, WoW team addresses playerbase
Axios is reporting that Blizzard workers have organized a walkout tomorrow to protest the company's handling of the sexual harassment and sexual discrimination lawsuit that broke last week. According to the report, employees will walk out in-person at 1 p.m. EDT, while virtual workers appear to be invited to join all day. This particular leg […]
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem releases its Arise update after a brief delay
Multiplayer ARPG Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem has gotten some new content after a short launch delay. Yesterday saw the developers release the Arise update, which brings a variety of features including a rework of summons that features improved visuals, auto-respawning, and summon power levels scaling with player characters, along with new areas, new endgame armor, […]
Grab a MU Online scroll key to buff your new Gun Crusher toon on the speed server
Webzen MU Online is embarking on a new journey today with the release of the first chunk of its 16th season, which includes a brand-new toon and a quick-leveling server. "Season 16 Part 1 brings a special giveaway to celebrate the arrival of a new character, 'Gun Crusher' with the addition of a new Speed […]
Neverwinter's Jewel of the North is live on PC with the new Bard class and level squish
It's a big day for Neverwinter players, as Jewel of the North is live on the platform. This is the big update that's adding the Bard class and squishing and improving the game's entire leveling experience and tutorial. "Along with the new class, Neverwinter: Jewel of the North brings major game-changing improvements that make it […]
Guild Wars 2's End of Dragons expansion launches February 2022, with preorders live now
The day is finally here: We're getting our first look at Cantha Cantha Cantha! Yes, Guild Wars 2 is taking the wraps off its long-awaited third expansion, End of Dragons. We're crossing our fingers for some launch details (as the expansion was delayed from 2021 to 2022 already), plus ArenaNet has promised "expansion features, a […]
Elite Dangerous details issue tracker work, Update 6 features, and four-player multicrew in July update post
Elite: Dangerous continues to try and do right by its fans with the next monthly roundup of its promised series of posts updating players on what's being done to correct the PC version of the Odyssey expansion. In the July update bulletin, Frontier Developments first starts off with some issue tracker items that are being […]
Choose My Adventure: Wakfu definitely isn't my cup of tea (and that's alright)
Well, I tried, everyone. I really did. But sometimes you just have to sort of admit when you're diametrically opposed to a game. Thus is the way with me and Wakfu, a game that I had some curiosity about that has since been wholly and completely sated. And I came to that decision in alarmingly […]
PAX West 2021 will require attendees to prove they're vaccinated or COVID-free
PAX West won't be letting folks through the doors unless they're vaccinated or have successfully passed a recent COVID-19 test. The convention will require proof of one of the other and ID verification to go along with it. "[W]e feel confident that verification of fully vaccination or negative test, along with continued face covering requirements […]
Casually Classic: Making the call to quit WoW or not
A week ago I didn't think I'd be sitting here and writing this, but I'm done with WoW Classic — and with this column. As you've no doubt read, last Wednesday highly disturbing allegations of company-wide abuse and discrimination came to light as the state of California filed a lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard. Considering how intensive […]
Old School RuneScape became a gold seller's paradise fueled by Venezuelan hyperinflation
We can all agree that gold farmers in an MMORPG are a blight and that people shouldn't support such "businesses," but the problem of gold sellers being drawn in to Old School RuneScape some years ago has a few more wrinkles to it than one might expect. In the most recent episode of NPR's Planet […]
Elyon locks in on a September 29 launch date
Kakao's steampunk fantasy MMO Elyon, formerly Ascent Infinite Air, finally has set a date for you and it to get much better acquainted. On September 29th, Elyon is scheduled to splash down in the west — and sink or swim. However, there's an easy way to get into the game before the 29th, thanks to […]
The Daily Grind: Do you reroll old familiar classes on MMO progression servers?
When Aion Classic opened its doors last month, I saw an intriguing thread on the game's subreddit about what class they were going to roll, framed in the context of whether they were going to roll something new or pick something they'd never tried before. Maybe it shouldn't have been a shock, given that these […]
The Wagadu Chronicles takes followers on a visual tour of the Emere people's village buildings
The devs of the afrofantasy MMORPG The Wagadu Chronicles would like to take fans on a little trip through the rainforest and the villages of the Emere people by way of a Twitter thread, which shows off several pieces of concept art and outlines the function and design inspirations of several of the in-game culture's […]
Paladins releases a new character – Rei – as Hi-Rez debuts a new logo and slogan
Are you ready for some new Paladins content? That's right, the multiplayer hero shooter from Hi-Rez Studio's sub-studio Evil Mojo has kicked out a new update that brings the game's 50th roster member, an animated series crossover, and more, all of which were previewed in June but have gone live as of last week. This […]
EverQuest II ushers in Tinkerfest 2021, EverQuest releases new Overseer packs
Summer is never dull in Norrath, and no matter what MMO you pick, there's something happening. Over in EverQuest II, Norrath is in the grips of Tinkerfest 2021. Raging until August 5th, Tinkerfest offers four hubs of Gnome-related activities. Daybreak added some new merchant items and Overseer quests and agents for the event. "There are […]
Final Fantasy XI brings back the Sunbreeze Festival once again
Considering the sheer number of world-shattering threats that your character has no doubt dealt with in Final Fantasy XI, it would make sense if there were a stage show in-universe commemorating that. But no, instead you have to watch Mumor perform on stage and back up her antics in order to get rewards. Why? Well, […]
Neverwinter's Summer Festival offers returning contests and new rewards on July 29
You have to love that good ol' seasonal event MMORPG content. If you do and your chosen MMORPG is Neverwinter, then you'll be glad to learn that the Summer Festival is coming back, starting on Thursday, July 29th, and running through to Thursday, August 19th. The summertime event brings back a host of familiar contests […]
GDC 2021: Accessibility in gaming means innovation for everyone
You may have noticed that accessibility comes up a lot whenever we cover GDC, and GDC 2021 won't be much different. However, while presentations often repeat some of their advice, one thing I keep noting as a player is that developers have all kinds of interesting tech and approaches but outside of certain developers, games feel like they're stuck […]
Destiny 2 will eliminate the armor transmog bounty currency starting in Season 15
The armor transmog system of Destiny 2 – you know, the one that was widely unpopular – is going to see an adjustment with the arrival of Season 15. Bungie's weekly newsletter confirms that the Synthstrand currency, which is passively earned and is currently required to purchase the bounties needed for armor synthesis, will be […]
Profane provides a look at a tropical region cenote in latest Twitter thread
Today we're all going to learn more about some of the tropical landscape of Profane as well as a new word: cenote. That's basically what the newest Twitter thread from the devs has to offer. Just what is a cenote, exactly? It's a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that […]
Aliens: Fireteam Elite starts selling pre-order packs — now with bandanas!
For Aliens fans, August 24th can't come soon enough. That's the date when Cold Iron Studios' Daybreak-published Aliens: Fireteam Elite will deliver the latest generation of multiplayer co-op shooters set in this dark universe. And if you're contemplating picking up a flamethrower or pulse rifle to comb space stations and derelicts with your buddies, you […]
Guild Wars 2 unveils two more voice actors ahead of tomorrow's End of Dragons showcase
The hype train keeps on chuggin' along for Guild Wars 2's End of Dragons expansion. ArenaNet has pulled the curtain off of two more voice actor reveals: Tina Huang, an actress who has starred in series like Rizzoli & Isles and The Night Shift; and Rina Hoshino, a bilingual actress known most recently as one […]
PSA: Square-Enix is reprinting the Final Fantasy XIV lore books once again, and they're up for pre-order
If you're a fan of Final Fantasy XIV and want more of the lore behind this game, the Encyclopaedia Eorzea volumes one and two are invaluable pieces of your collection. They're hardcover, handsomely bound, full of lore facts, cleverly written, stuffed with lovely art… and largely inaccessible, because they sold through their print runs in […]
Wisdom of Nym: Guessing at the next jobs of Final Fantasy XIV beyond Endwalker
So what are our next few jobs in Final Fantasy XIV? No, I don't mean for Endwalker, we already know what we're getting there. I mean what are our next few jobs after the next expansion? What do you mean there's no point in speculating about that because it's not going to be here for […]
Blade and Soul 2 officially launches in South Korea next month
There has been a lot of news coming from Blade and Soul 2 recently, such as an August launch window and additional game reveals like the starting races and a preview of its main theme among other things. An announcement from NCSoft this past Friday now changes that August launch window to an August launch […]
Pantheon drums up financial support with a promise of a special test event
Do you have a cool grand (or better yet, ten large?) that you don't mind parting with this month? If so, you can buy your way into a special test event that Pantheon is planning late next week. Visionary Realms announced that any and all VIP pledge packages purchased by Thursday, July 29th would be […]
Blizzard's sexism scandal continues, 2500 devs sign letter condemning Acti-Blizz response
It's now been a week since California filed a brutal discrimination and harassment lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard following a two-year investigation. Last week and over the weekend, we covered both the "leaked" memos from within Blizzard and Activision as well as the formal statements from former Blizzard leaders like Mike Morhaime and Chris Metzen, which were then […]
Path of Exile addresses Expedition's launch, adjustments, and low player numbers
Normally a new release brings a bit of a spike of returning or new players to an MMO, but in the case of Path of Exile it would appear that the opposite is happening, as one Redditor put together a chart that shows weekend release peaks for every League's launch. In terms of Expedition, there […]
Lost Ark introduces new founder's pack with normalized pricing to combat black market sellers
It would appear that key resellers are making a mess of Lost Ark's economy before the game even gets out of technical alpha, if an announcement from Amazon Games is to be believed. According to the post, key resellers are using alternate accounts to exploit regional pricing for founder's packs, which by Amazon's reckoning compromises […]
New World cleared 200,000 concurrent beta players over the weekend
You have to imagine that there are some Amazon Game Studios executives and producers who are breathing a little easier this week after seeing the phenomenal response to New World's closed beta test. Not only is the beta itself getting great reviews and word-of-mouth, but it's absolutely packed with players eager for a good, new […]
The Daily Grind: Which Kickstarter MMOs do you actually still want when they launch?
Not long after Crowfall launched, I had a fun chat with MOP reader Brandon, who mentioned that one of his friends was an early backer of the game but had bailed and passed along his account loot to him. The conversation echoed something I have said on our podcast: that people need to be allowed […]
MMO Week in Review: RIP to the Blizzard you thought you knew
It probably shouldn't surprise anyone that a video game company long-maligned and even boycotted over everything from political censorship and mass-layoffs to labor abuses and excessive executive compensation also apparently fostered a corporate culture of sexism, racism, discrimination, harassment, and sexual abuse that allegedly led to the death of a staffer. But that's exactly the […]
Nexon's Project Magnum, a sci-fi looter shooter, emerges from the wings
With the proven success (amid several failures) of the online looter shooter, it's not unsurprising that Nexon wants to get in on the action with its own Destiny 2-like service. The company announced this week that it's bringing to bear a new game code-named Project Magnum that it hopes to be a strong competitor in […]
The MOP Up: ArcheAge heads to the beach for sand and surf
Both versions of ArcheAge are urging players to take a break from their usual routine of species extermination to play in the sand and get a tan. It's the Blue Salt Festival, and it's not just fun and games — it's fun, games, and rewards. "It's that time of year, heroes, when we relax on […]
MapleStory's second part of Neo: Light's Wrath adds a new boss and a new quest line
The second part of the Neo: Light's Wrath content that marks MapleStory's summer is now officially live and it has… a hotel that's springing up out of the desert? This game's storylines are kind of all over the place, so that tracks, actually. This newly-arrived Hotel Arcus zone is one of the update's headline features, […]
The Stream Team: Exploring some player-made missions in City of Heroes Homecoming
Players of MMOs, given the tools and the time, can make some pretty awesome things, and while many MMOs and MMORPGs seem to be killing player-built quest tools left and right, City of Heroes has no such restriction with its Mission Architect feature. Join MOP's Chris today at 12:00 p.m. EDT as he hops into […]
SoulWorker releases its sniper rifle-wielding ninth character in newest update
SoulWorker, the action anime MMO that's now being self-published by developer Lion Games, has introduced its ninth roster member with its most recent update, which readers will recall was first revealed as part of the MMO's lineup of July updates. This new character, a sniper by the name of Lee Nabi, marks SoulWorker's first-ever ranged […]
One Shots: A story in a single picture
I've always had a great fondness for when video games can tell a quick story without words but rather with objects placed in such a way that the viewer can suss out what's happened. Hurbster is a sucker for environmental storytelling, giving us this screenshot that tells us of mutually assured destruction between an adventurer […]
Chris Metzen offers apology for Blizzard's culture of 'harassment, inequality, and indifference'
Perhaps having seen how badly Mike Morhaime's apology to the women of Blizzard backfired, Chris Metzen took the better part of an extra day to issue his own letter to the industry in response to the situation surrounding the explosive California state lawsuit alleging systemic sexual harassment and discrimination at Activision-Blizzard. He begins by offering […]
The Daily Grind: Do you follow Discord servers for specific MMOs?
On some level this might be a case of an old man yelling at clouds, but I really dislike joining Discord servers for specific MMOs. I have no problem joining Discord servers for communities within games, naturally, but joining an entire server just to see such basic things as news and updates makes my eye […]
Valiance Online enters into beta phase for investors of the game
This past March, we decided to recount what happened to Valiance Online, noting that the team at Silverhelm was hit hard by COVID and had an updated internal build roughly two weeks ago. In short, things are soldiering on though a bit slow-going. If that sounded a bit disheartening, perhaps you'll be glad to note […]
EVE Online announces vague plans to end resource scarcity later this year
This one requires a bit of backstory to fully understand, so allow us a moment to recap: Back as early as December 2019, CCP Games had started making changes to EVE Online's resource availability, removing or vastly reducing yields for null sec mining and moon mining and then shifting ore spawn types and quantities in […]
