Fallout 76 plans to re-open the public test server this month
You thought you were done with the Fallout 76 public test server just because the game's Steel Reign update is out in the wild and has been for about a week now? Don't be foolish. There's still so much more to do, and the developers intend to have you testing more stuff this month in […]
Path of Exile's battle royale mode returns for weekend fun
Do you miss Path of Exile's 2018 April Fools' joke battle royale mode made real? Or did you miss out on it completely as I regrettably did? Either way, if you've been yearning to play it, then today's your lucky day — and a good start to the weekend! That's because Path of Exile: Royale, […]
Path of Exile's Expedition league sets off next week
The show's over, folks, but the journey has just begun! Grinding Gear Games just concluded its reveal livestream for Path of Exile's 3.15 expansion and challenge league that starts July 23rd. And this one has players going on an Expedition! GGG Managing Director Chris Wilson not only unveiled the new Expedition league and its introduction […]
Path of Exile is about to unveil its long-teased 3.15 expansion
It's showtime for Path of Exile: Grinding Gear Games is finally taking the wraps of its next expansion. Not a whole lot is public right now, apart from the date – it's launching July 23 on PC and July 28 on console – and the extremely brief teaser video. "Exact details of our upcoming expansion […]
Elyon opens preorders and CBT2 signups on July 26, confirms 'early fall' western launch
MMO players already knew that Kakao was plotting a second round of beta for Elyon in August. We knew this because the studio has been telling us so for month. But as of today, we have more details on what to expect thanks to a new outline from the studio and the launch of its […]
Grand Theft Auto Online is bringing the Los Santos Tuners update on July 20
Do you have a customized, tricked-out vehicle just made for gracing the streets in Grand Theft Auto Online? Then the Los Santos Tuners update is made just for you. Not only will the update see you starting out with the new Los Santos Car Meet where you get to show off your custom-made ride, it'll […]
Top-down looter shooter Space Punks begins its paid-for early access journey exclusively on the Epic Games Store
Earlier this month we showcased Space Punks, a multiplayer top-down looter shooter from developer Flying Wild Hog and publisher Jagex Partners. For those who'd rather not re-read that link, it's an ARPG-like title that has players taking up several different characters to blow up enemies, hoover in loot, and experience what was described at the […]
Valve announces portable PC gaming device called Steam Deck
If you've ever wanted a device that smooshes your PC games with something cute and portable like a Switch, welp, Valve has your toy. It's just unveiled the long-rumored Steam Deck, a slightly-larger-and-much-more-powerful-than-the-Switch device using a version of SteamOS that will run all your Steam games, though according to IGN, it'll also run your non-Steam […]
Guild Wars 2 gives a full technical accounting of last year's server rollbacks
Guild Wars 2 studio ArenaNet has been the subject of many side-eyes over the last few years, amassing a reputation as a studio with a messy and opaque technical side and a messy and opaque leadership side – and the mass layoffs in 2019 didn't help. Earlier this month, however, the company finally publicly admitted […]
Elite Dangerous deploys a fix to weapons engineering in an effort to alleviate material grinds
The materials required to engineer weapons in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey are pretty high right now, all things considered. With a recent small patch applied to the game, Frontier Developments appears to be trying to address this issue, while the patch announcement itself has kicked off a discussion about material grinds in the expansion. The patch's […]
EVE Online announces the return of the 10v10 Alliance Tournament PvP event
After a two year-long hiatus, fans of official PvP tournament action in EVE Online as CCP Games announced the return of the Alliance Tournament this coming November, a double elimination 10 vs. 10 PvP throwdown where alliance representatives will duke it out for glory and prizes. Sing-ups for the tournament begin this coming Monday, July […]
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen offers up more details and video footage of the new Monk class
Developer Visionary Realms is really excited to showcase the Monk class that's being added to Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. Hot on the heels of an in-depth gameplay breakdown video, the devs have put out some supplemental details on the class. For those who like a bit of lore sprinkled in with their class information, […]
Ashes of Creation kicks off its long-awaited Alpha One playtest
Arriving amid a frantic summer season where every MMO is clawing for attention and engagement, the Ashes of Creation Alpha One test hopes to make an impact on the gaming community and prove that it has the chops to be a serious contender. The Alpha One playtest kicked off yesterday after a series of delays […]
RIFT's Summerfest has finally, silently begun in Europe
If you've been wondering where RIFT's Summerfest event was this year, you're not alone. Apparently, the festival rolled out to EU servers this morning without any official studio announcement, while North American servers are still waiting for both an announcement and the patch. Readers will recall that Gamigo, which bought RIFT in the Trion firesale […]
Chronicles of Elyria tweaks NDA, locks down Reddit over death threats, and proposes NFT land trades
A week ago, Chronicles of Elyria backers sounded the alarm on a new NDA that Soulbound Studios was asking them to sign in conjunction with the Kingdoms of Elyria testing. It included a clause that seemingly waived the players' rights to engage in class-action lawsuits, among other things. While as we noted that's not an […]
Google's Stadia monetizes game engagement, pressuring studios to keep players around
Perhaps you haven't heard the latest news about Stadia. That would be fair, considering that the platform's been in crisis mode ever since its poor release and reception. And no, the news isn't that Google's pulled the plug on Stadia — but rather that the mega-corporation has shifted the platform's business model so that studios […]
LOTRO considers improving its business model as players present Weatherstock XIII
After years of guarded communication, Lord of the Rings Online's fanbase has a new champion in Producer Oleg "Raninia" Brodskiy, who joined SSG a few months ago. In yet another public interview, Brodskiy spent over an hour talking with YouTuber Bludborn about many of the current hot topics, such as the legendary item revamp and […]
The Daily Grind: Should MMO PvP be about skill or loot?
Classic Guild Wars was a bit of an awakening for me. I'd grown up in MMORPGs where the PvP was often predetermined by your level and your loot rather than your physical skills, so when Guild Wars equalized the playing field in PvP, I was really intrigued. I didn't do tons of PvP there myself […]
VR MMO Zenith showcases zipline traversal in latest video snippet
What's a great way to get around in a forest? Flight? Walking on giant suspended bridges? How about ziplining from one place to another? That's just what players are going to do in the developing VR MMO Zenith according to a newly released video demonstration. This short clip is pretty self-explanatory, as it shows a […]
SoulWorker fills the month of July with events and a new character arrival
This July is seeing the anime action MMO SoulWorker get itself a new character. Her name is Lee Nabi, a firearms-wielding firecracker who brings a whole lot of guns to a gun fight. This new character will be arriving to the game on Thursday, July 22nd, along with a leveling event running between July 22nd […]
Old School RuneScape makes several Slayer improvements and talks about bug abuse
This week in Old School RuneScape, Slayers are seeing a lot of love with the introduction of Poll 75 improvements for the skill line. These improvements include refreshed Slayer helmet visuals, the option to store Slayer tasks for later with an unlocked feature that coasts 1,000 Slayer Points, and a host of Slayer-related task adjustments. […]
TitanReach adds revamped Glimmermoore and standalone launcher in today's early access update
At long last, after lots of tweaking and adjusting and development, TitanReach has opened the doors to the new and improved Glimmermoore with the launch of today's early access update. Followers of the game know that it's taken some time for the devs at Square Root Studios to get to this point, with the most […]
Fiesta Online plans to release its Realm of the Gods expansion on July 28
Ready to climb up to the top of power and fight some deities? Fiesta Online is counting on exactly that with its upcoming Realm of the Gods update, which is arriving on July 28th for fans of the game. And it's a pretty big one, with players gaining another five levels of power along with […]
Australian MP plans to introduce a bill banning lockbox sales to minors
You may remember back last year that there was some noise made in Australia about banning the sale of video game lootboxes to people under the age of 18. It looks like those recommendations and suggestions were taken to heart, as one of the Australian MPs, Andrew Wilkie, has announced his plan to introduce a […]
Black Desert sets Atoraxxion launch for July 21 as console counts 3M players
I'm sorry to report that Cursed, the Netflix TV show that Black Desert collaborated with on a whole patch last year, has been canceled. This isn't exactly Defiance levels of transmedia synergy sadness, but hey, this thing was up for a Golden Yachtie last year, so it's a bummer to follow it up with bad […]
The Stream Team: Mission running in Elite Dangerous Odyssey
Last time MOP's Chris took to the stars of Elite: Dangerous, he was in the final leg of Odyssey's alpha test, and in spite of the launch fiasco that has happened since, the call of internet spaceship shenanigans is too strong to be stopped. Tune in today at 2:00 p.m. EDT as he takes flight […]
New World teases next week's closed beta test – and no, there's no NDA
Just this morning we asked our readers what expectations they had for Amazon's New World, and hopefully somewhere in that thread, someone asked for a solid beta. That's certainly what Amazon is hoping for, as today it's posted a recap of the plan for pre-launch event, now just a week away on July 20th and […]
Crowfall addresses launch issues, Australian campaigns, marketing, and the game's first post-launch update
Crowfall's Executive Producer Gordon Walton has penned a fresh dev blog this afternoon, one week in to the game's launch, to discuss the state of the MMO and ArtCraft's plans going forward. Walton reiterates what players experienced with the launch last week: that it was marred by some technical difficulties and DDOS attacks but that […]
Indeed, Final Fantasy XIV is getting an official cookbook
If you've ever looked with envy at the polygonal meals lining the tables in Final Fantasy XIV's inns and thought, "I'd eat the crap out of THAT!" — your day is about to come. Apparently there's an official FFXIV cookbook in the works that's coming out this fall. This was spotted by Twitter user Wario64, […]
Perfect Ten: MMOs with the noisiest fanbases
In my particular neck of the woods, there are a lot of big fans of the Boston Red Sox. There's also something of a joke about that. How do you know if someone is a fan of the Red Sox? The answer is "don't worry, they'll tell you." Or, you know, you could look at […]
Bless Unleashed hypes up its August 6 Steam launch with a new trailer
Round8 Studios is very excited to remind players that Bless Unleashed is arriving to Steam this coming Friday, August 6th. So excited, in fact, that it's kicking out a new teaser trailer weeks ahead of time. The devs really want you to know the game's coming to the platform is what we're getting at. The […]
Blade & Soul hands scythe weapons to Warlocks and adds new events in today's Endless Night update
Demons attacking a village, people swinging scythes, an update subtitled Endless Night: It all sounds like Blade and Soul is desperate to celebrate Halloween early. We're not complaining, though, as the MMORPG's newest update has plenty of spooky-sounding delights for players to revel in. The update's tentpole feature is the new Way of the Reaver […]
Diablo 2 Resurrected adds QOL and accessibility features ahead of August 'early access beta'
Blizzard has posted a hefty Diablo 2 Resurrected dev blog this week that covers everything from how the team's implementing alpha feedback to the next phase of beta. For example, the studio has made multiple tweaks to graphical effects and icons – yeah, no more ugly potions and gemmies, but they are still recognizably Diablo […]
WoW Factor: The Blizzard 'leak' is probably fake, but it's still valuable
So right now it doesn't need to be said that stuff with World of Warcraft is kind of a mess. Shadowlands might have been better received than Battle for Azeroth was at launch, but that goodwill faded pretty quickly, especially with the long wait for patch 9.1 to actually be released. And now that patch […]
Red Dead Online brings on fresh criminal activities with the launch of the Blood Money update
We were pretty sure there were plenty of unsavory criminal acts to be had in Red Dead Online, but with yesterday's Blood Money update, there's even more crime to be had and a greater reason to commit more crime. Basically, it's a good day to be a baddie in this game's version of the American […]
Book of Travels explains why it's going with seasons that advance time
While MMORPGs are very much evolving and growing worlds, often their game worlds are stuck in time where lands, characters, and events are kept locked in place. The upcoming Book of Travels is looking to eschew this design in favor of pushing the timeline forward through its periodic "seasons." The Might and Delight dev team […]
The Daily Grind: What expectations do you have for Amazon's New World?
It's already been a crazy busy summer for MMO tests, patches, expansions, and launches — and we are far from done. One of the big tentpole releases for the year is still on its way, as Amazon's New World is coming out in late August. And I'm looking forward to it. I am. I don't […]
No, Cryptic isn't giving Magic Legends refugees 7K Zen – but here's what you *are* getting
Cryptic giveth and Cryptic taketh away: PWE and Cryptic sent 'round an email to some Magic Legends players today night, a "thank-you gift" for fans left adrift following the cancellation of the game earlier this month. And at least initially, the gift looked almost outrageously generous. As enticement to play Cryptic MMO Star Trek Online, […]
The Steam Team: Underwater racing and Guild Wars 2 Living World Season 4
Before things went crazy, Massively OP's MJ was on the shore waiting to run the underwater skimmer race in Guild Wars 2, the next step in teaching her skimmer to swim. Today she finally gets to do it! And after that, she'll be starting up Living World Season 4. Tune in live at 8:00 p.m. […]
Multiplayer survival shooter Vigor brings back classic cosmetics with its first Legacy season
Developer Bohemia Interactive is bringing back some classics in the multiplayer shooter Vigor with the launch of a so-called Legacy season, which progresses parallel to regular seasons, though players have to own a premium pass for the respective season in order to progress it. This first Legacy season brings back cosmetics from the game's very […]
Fortnite sees basketball superstar LeBron James drop in and adds the Inflate-A-Bull invention item
In our modern times, one of the bigger indications of hitting superstar status is being introduced as a playable character in Fortnite, and while basketball great LeBron James likely didn't need the affirmation, he is indeed being immortalized as the latest addition to the game's Icon Series. James arrives to the shooter's in-game store this […]
Pearl Abyss is building an art center in order to 'create more realistic and cinematic games'
It appears that publisher/developer Pearl Abyss is very serious about making its upcoming titles as realistic as possible. How serious, you ask? Try spending $26M on a building for precisely that purpose serious. This new building, which is tentatively being called the Pearl Abyss Art Center, will be based in Pyeongchon, Anyang City, South Korea, […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 330: Swords of Crows Online
Justin and Bree discuss the launches of Crowfall and Swords of Legends Online, Fallout 76, WoW's story mess, and Elite Dangerous, with adventures in Albion Online, LOTRO, SWG Legends, Crowfall, WoW Classic, and FFXIV, plus a quick mailbag topic on Albion crafting.
Runes of Magic promises to improve performance, merge servers, and introduce new content (again)
This summer will be bringing some updates to Runes of Magic, which won't be involving any new content but will hopefully make life in the game's world a little bit nicer. First off, the devs are going to be introducing an update that introduces some long-awaited performance improvements and crash fixes. While this patch likely […]
Trove celebrates sixth birthday with Sunfest party, questing, and cake
Sunfest has returned to Trove just as the game is celebrating its sixth birthday, at least if you're on PC or a console not made by Nintendo, as the Switch festival has apparently been delayed "temporarily" and will run for its full two weeks at a later date. "Trove celebrates 6 years of existence, 6 […]
EverQuest II deploys a multi-faceted patch of fixes
Sometimes you just need to make a boss's stare less smoldering. Other times you need to make sure that a Necromancer's pet is referred to by the right name. All that and more is in the latest patch for EverQuest II, which annoyingly enough for those of us who write about these things lacks any […]
Palia shares more key character details and a peaceful outdoor scene
Followers of the upcoming self-described community simulation MMO Palia are likely eager to get any new details they can get out of the developing title (especially since pre-alpha invites were slow to come and scarce), so how about some more NPC informational cards? After all, this game is very much about cooperation and meeting people […]
Action MMO Vindictus adds the rapier-wielding character Tessa in latest update
Just this past June we were wondering whatever happened to Nexon's action combat MMO Vindictus, a game that launched back in 2010. At the time we noted that the game is still online and rounded up some updates of note over the past few months, so consider this a supplement to that report as well […]
Guild Wars 2 adds legendary armory and Twisted Marionette boss today, picks up Homeland actress for End of Dragons
Guild Wars 2 is about to have a pretty big day, what with the launch of both the legendary armory and the return of the Twisted Marionette in this afternoon's update. The legendary armory, of course, essentially turns legendary items into account-centered rather than character-centered items, allowing players to put these legendaries on all of […]
Perfect Ten: The 10 most huggable boss monsters in multiplayer online hunting RPGs
Have you ever fought a boss monster that didn't feel like it deserved your fatal blows? Sure, it's just a video game, and the pang of guilt can sometimes be described as fleeting at best, but now and again I run into a fight that really makes me pause for a moment and wonder what […]
