Activision-Blizzard Day 14: Brack and Meschuk departures, the fraud lawsuit, the proto-union, and the Q2 financials
It's been a helluva Tuesday in the swamps of the Activision-Blizzard sexism scandal: The day opened with the departure of J. Allen Brack from Blizzard and closed with the Activision-Blizzard Q2 2021 investor call, which showed Activision revenues up but Blizzard revenues and monthly active users down, in spite of the release of WoW Classic's […]
Apex Legends adds a new character, updates its map, and kicks off ranked arenas in Emergence update
The battle royale shooting of Apex Legends has gotten a little bit more artistic. That's according to the general vibe of the title's latest roster addition at least, which is a tentpole feature of the overall Emergence update that has gone live today. The new character is named Seer, a man who brings "microdrones and […]
Corepunk delays its beta testing until December
Bad news to anyone who was heavily anticipating Corepunk's previously planned first beta test happening this month. The developers made a short video today announcing that technical issues made it unavoidable that the team would have to delay, and while the team is optimistic and targeting October internally, the beta test has been pushed back […]
Q2 2021: Activision revenues are up, Blizzard MAUs are down amid sexism scandal
Back in May, we got quite a bit of unexpected attention here at MassivelyOP as the headline for our coverage of Activision-Blizzard's Q1 2021 financials – Blizzard has lost almost 29% of its overall active playerbase in three years – went viral across social media and Reddit. We, like many journalists and gamers, had been […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 333: Dragon us back to Guild Wars 2
Justin and Bree discuss Guild Wars 2's End of Dragons, Pathfinder Online, Crimson Desert, and Week Two of the Blizzard Scandal, with adventures in LOTRO, FFXIV, Albion, Guild Wars 2, and SWG Legends, plus a mailbag topic on boycotts in the MMO space.
Pokemon Go skips multiple generations and trash pokemon to land on Sword/Shield legendaries
Players once thought that Pokemon GO's third Ultra Unlock from GoFest 2021 was just a simple release of Giratina, or perhaps Gen 4's Mythical god-status pokemon, Arceus. We thought it would be a nice time to rest. Apparently, that's not the case. Whether it's a way to reward players or distract from the PokeStop/Gym radius nerf […]
Guild Wars 2's One Path Ends is free for all players this week as game perks hit Amazon Prime Gaming
End of Dragons may have everyone buzzing, but Guild Wars 2 has stuff going on right now that won't require you to wait until next February. For starters, One Path Ends is this week's freebie episode; originally released in 2017, it was the capstone episode for season six, which led into Path of Fire itself. The […]
The Soapbox: Pokemon Unite's monetization is gross and threatens a competent game
By now, you've probably seen several articles about the poor monetization in Pokemon Unite, often based on Reddit posts or streamer hot takes. Most talk about pay-to-win play, though the better ones note that it should eventually even out. Few mention that the gacha loot boxes are problematic as well. While I think most of us […]
Dual Universe launches beta patch 0.26 'Apollo' today with shield, asteroids, and chairs
Are you sitting down? Because that's a thing you can do in Dual Universe with the game's most recent patch. Beta patch 0.26, known as "Apollo" to its friends, has added new elements to the game like actual chairs you can sit in for all the luxury and enjoyment you would ask for from a […]
Tencent reacts to Chinese state media calling online games 'spiritual opium' by adding new restrictions
Young online game fans in China are going to be facing some new restrictions from Tencent-operated games. That's in response to an article from the Chinese newspaper Economic Information Daily (EID), an affiliate of the country's state-run Xinhua news agency, which called the company's mobile MOBA Honor of Kings "spiritual opium." "'Spiritual opium' has grown […]
Choose My Adventure: Tearing through the colorful world of Trove at breakneck speeds
The idea to play Trove this month ended up being something of a needed breath of fresh air for me. With all of the miserable news surrounding the industry recently as well as my general distaste for last month's game, I'm delighted to be able to play something so colorful and cheerful and fun. I […]
Enter to win a Star Trek Online Klingon Personnel Package in honor of today's House United console launch
Console players of Star Trek Online are in for a treat today with the launch of House United on Xbox One and PS4. "Starting today, console players can log into the free-to-play MMORPG based on the Star Trek universe and experience the long-awaited finale of the Klingon Civil War. The game's newest season features some of […]
Craig Morrison announces his departure from Blizzard
It's time for the departure of yet another name you might recognize from Blizzard, but you might recognize him from other projects as well. Craig Morrison has announced via Twitter that he is no longer at Blizzard Entertainment, noting that his departure was in the works for some time and took place last week, but […]
Flameseeker Chronicles: The End of Dragons reveal didn't wow people – and that's OK
We finally have our first real peek at the features and story of Guild Wars 2's third expansion, End of Dragons. It has been a long time since this game got a proper expansion, and hopes were high for what was in store. Could we be getting a new class? A new race? Housing? A […]
The gamer in the infamous BlizzCon video says she 'dodged a bullet' by not working at Blizzard
When Xantia stepped up at BlizzCon to address World of Warcraft's character design and ask that women in the game not all look as if they had stepped out in just their underwear, it wasn't the flippant dismissal of her question by the designers that bothered her. No, it was the sound of a large […]
EVE Online's record-breaking World War Bee 2 has seemingly come to an end
In an unexpected twist, one of the largest and longest-running wars in EVE Online came to a close with a fizzle instead of a bang last night. World War Bee 2 (WWB2) ended with The Imperium (aka Goonswarm Federation) declaring victory after all members of the PAPI (PandaFam Alliance Please Ignore) coalition ordered forces to […]
Bless Unleashed dev discusses PC version's release, post-launch content, and cash shop promises in video
With only a few days left before Bless Unleashed makes its PC debut, Round 8 Studio's head of development Koven Park decided to take a few moments and answer some questions about the MMORPG's launch in a video, where he talked about the game's final test, content for the MMO after launch, and it's monetization. […]
Elyon amps up the PvP options for this month's beta test
With a second closed beta kicking off on August 18th and a full launch at the end of September, Elyon is a very busy bee these days. Kakao said that testers who show up for CBT2 will find one marked difference from the first beta round: far more PvP options. In CBT2, Elyon will feature […]
Blizzard's J. Allen Brack is stepping down ahead of today's investor call
J. Allen Brack is out at Blizzard today ahead of the investor call this afternoon, replaced by a pair of co-leaders. Activision-Blizzard President and COO Daniel Alegre announced the news to the company this morning. "I am pleased to announce that, effective immediately, Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra have been appointed co-leaders of Blizzard. Jen […]
The Daily Grind: How realistic should MMO armor be?
One of the things that has me excited about New World is the specific realism of its armor. If I'm playing a warrior type of toon in a more realistic MMO, I really strongly prefer to have heavier armor. Maybe I don't want to fully rock the "boxy" armor look, but I also don't want […]
Massively Uplifting: Summer goodness from SOLO, EVE, Bungie, Warframe, and Guild Wars
When the news gets filled with dark and horrible things (and maybe you start to be disgusted with companies and people), it is natural to turn toward some comfort news that focuses on the good and uplifting things happening around us. Filling up on this is more than satisfying; it is balm for the soul. […]
Nevergrind Online is an upcoming cooperative multiplayer title dressed up in classic RPG style
Update: An MOP reader pointed us to the history of this particular developer, which appears to involve publicly promoting anti-vax conspiracies. We do not support and will not be covering this game further. Do you like the classic battle system of a game like Dragon Warrior or Wizardry but would rather play it online with […]
Wolcen Lords of Mayhem details plans for summons and endgame activities
With the Arise update of Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem already in players' hands, there's perhaps some question on what the multiplayer ARPG has next up its sleeve. In their July 2021 monthly update, the devs of Wolcen Studio offer some word on what's in the works for the near future. Further scaling improvements to summons […]
Star Sonata 2 adjusts support classes, adds a new zone, and introduces base upgrading features
Let's check in on Star Sonata 2, shall we? After all, the last time we had a peek in on this one it had made its free-to-play debut on Steam in June 2020. So what's been going on since then? Quite a lot, actually, if you flip through the game's dev blog. One topic of […]
Star Wars Galaxies Legends just restored language-learning and expanded smuggler slicing
I have grumped before about logging into an MMORPG and having a mechanic upended so thoroughly that it's cost me days or weeks of playtime or piles of credits, but while the recent SWG Legends patch does just that, I am not at all sad about it. And that's because it's in the service of […]
Crowfall launches The Shadow update, opens new recruiting campaign
This won't surprise anyone who was already participating in Crowfall's pre-launch recruiting programs, but it's worth noting all the same that the live game is also embarking on a promotion to pull in new players. "Starting today, all Crowfall players can use their personal CrowLink (Crowfall.com/join/displayname) to invite friends to join you in Crowfall," ArtCraft says. […]
Competitive MMO Lands of Kehliel posts slow but sure progress on its first match
Do you remember Lands of Kehliel? It first crossed our desk in November of last year, promising a competition-focused open world MMORPG experience where four teams of four players can fight monsters and one another, use soul shards from slain players in crafting, and race to complete quests that can only be snapped up by […]
SEED dev blogs discuss city building, player testing reactions, and the first version of an economy
If you were worried that the somewhat sort list suggested by this story's headline meant that there weren't a lot of developer blogs roaring out of SEED, then don't be. There's plenty for the devs at Klang Games to talk about as the team moves its way along the development pipeline of the colony building […]
Mortal Online 2 revamps pet XP, adjusts clade gifts, and adds new monsters in latest update
Mortal Online 2's newest content patch is yet another little cornucopia of different things, whether it's fixes for bugs, adjustments to abilities or pet behaviors, or improvements to UI. There are a couple of highlights in this patch we'd like to call attention to, particularly those who bring pets along into battle. The pet experience […]
TERA PC adds new dungeon content, new gear, and a new armor boon system in Build 108
PC players of TERA have a few new dungeon things to do with the launch of Build 108, particularly since there are two new five-player dungeons in the form of the Cursed Fusion Laboratory (in normal and cursed versions) and the Stormed Citadel, along with new Mahtnan gear found in Ace Dungeons and Echoes of […]
DragonCon 2021 plans hybrid setup, implements COVID precautions for in-person event
Since 1987, DragonCon's put out a yearly call for geeks, the hardcore, and cosplay royalty to gather together to get their nerd on. When it returns on September 2nd, fans will find the same celebratory spirit couched in new precautions due to the ongoing pandemic. According to an August 1st update, the organizers said that […]
Wisdom of Nym: What will Final Fantasy XIV add to its magical DPS?
The biggest issue that Final Fantasy XIV has with its casters, as a rule, is that casters in the series all basically work like Black Mage but have to work differently in the game. That isn't a problem for adding new abilities, of course; it's just an interesting fact to consider when thinking about the […]
Star Wars: The Old Republic offers lore-filled look at Legacy of the Sith's new planet Manaan
Fans of KOTOR are already very familiar with the planet Manaan, which is coming in the Legacy of the Sith expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic. That said, this is still a new version of the old favorite, and there are — conceivably at least — new players who have never even heard of […]
Not So Massively: Magic the Gathering Arena is great, but it can't replace Magic Legends
I've been playing a bit more of Magic: Legends lately — might as well enjoy it while I can — and two things have really struck me: Yes, it really is a dumpster fire, and yes, I really do like it. I am going to miss it when it sunsets this fall. That wistful feeling […]
Indie MMO TitanReach's free-to-play access is live — for a limited time
TitanReach, an indie MMO with an ambition to marry old and new school design together, may have been out of your financial reach with its previous $70 and then $38 early access price tag. Fortunately, now the cost has been reduced to $0 for anyone who wants to peek a head into the test. As […]
Ashes of Creation talks about its next testing steps and previews melee combat adjustments
Like clockwork, Ashes of Creation is striding into August with its July development update livestream, and also like clockwork, the stream has plenty of things for followers of the sandbox MMORPG to take in. At the start of the broadcast, creative director Steven Sharif talked about what would be happening next once the game's Alpha […]
City of Titans adds flight and avatar builder UI improvements in latest alpha patch
Fans and followers of the developing City of Titans were likely eager to get their hands on some superheroic flying after it was showcased this past May, and while the travel power's debut was delayed in July, there's some good news to report: The latest build of the game now has flight ready to go. […]
Embers Adrift offers a progress report on world locations, character models, and gameplay systems
It's been just over a month since we learned that Saga of Lucimia is wholesale rebranding and rejiggering itself into a new title: Embers Adrift. So just what's been happening in the past year? The devs at Stormhaven Studios have offered up a progress report on what's different for the MMORPG. The first part of […]
The Daily Grind: What part of your MMO's endgame do you participate in?
In the comments of our recent piece on the Guild Wars 2 legendary armory, several of our regular readers got into a discussion on whether the armory constituted a good use of developer time as a relatively low percentage of players actually have legendaries or do the endgame content that legendaries enable. From there, the […]
MMO Week in Review: End of Dragons and the Blizzard walkout
Activision-Blizzard's sexism scandal continued ramping up this week, as Bobby Kotick issued a letter reassuring stockholders while staffers condemned the corporate response, staging a walkout on Wednesday. Fortunately, there are plenty of MMORPGs for frustrated WoW players to turn to, including New World, which has been tearing up the concurrency charts; Guild Wars 2, which […]
Post-apoc Dreadlands joins the latest $10 Humble Bundle
Dreadlands is a game we haven't touched on for a while, but if your amazing memory serves, you might recall that it's this odd turned-based online co-op strategy game set in a post-apocalyptic world. It launched back in November 2020 with a $25 price tag, but if you've been patient waiting for a sale, you […]
The MOP Up: Warface tops 117 million registered players, Skyforge is up to 13 million
Warface — no, not Warframe, it's that other game — is being held up as one of the crown jewels in My.Games' portfolio. My.Games posted its Q2 2021 earnings report this past week, proclaiming that the studio made $297 million in the first half of this year. This 18% year-over-year growth is in large part […]
Shroud of the Avatar revamps potions, adds new UI features, and brings new crafting recipes in Release 92
Whether you knock back refreshing potions, look at UI elements, or craft things, there's a little something for you in Release 92 of Shroud of the Avatar. In this update, health, focus, and restoration potions now have an "aether" tier, which is a higher tier than imbued potions. In addition, all potions of these type […]
The Stream Team: Making a return trip to Craftopia's latest early access build
Last time MOP's Chris took a crack at Craftopia's early access build, it was still just evolving, with a fair bit of potential surrounded by some rough spots. After some time, however, the game has made a host of updates and it's about time that we take a look back to see how much has […]
Former ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain calls for game dev unionization
Jeff Strain, a former employee of Blizzard, former co-founder of ArenaNet, and current founder of Undead Labs, is joining the cavalcade of voices condemning Activision-Blizzard's culture. In a letter sent to his employees that he invited them to publish to the public, Strain is calling on the video game industry to unionize and inviting his […]
One Shots: When the sun goes down over New Yang City
When the sun begins to set over the horizon in Blade and Soul, Utakata knows that another thrilling summer night is about to commence. But for now? Now we look at that gorgeous pastel sky, listen to the birds call over the water, and feel a city settle down into slumber. Ardra is calming down […]
The Daily Grind: What convinces you to accept an MMO studio's apology?
MMO studios are going to screw up sooner or later. Some are better or worse about how often those screwups happen, but these studios are going to make mistakes and then they're going to apologize to you later. For some reason that's been on my mind lately, and as usual that gets me thinking about […]
Make My MMO: Chronicles of Elyria gets a parody vid, Pathfinder Online gets a sunset date
This week in crowdfunded MMOs, YouTuber MadR built a parody version of Chronicles of Elyria to rib Soulbound Studios for its ongoing shenanigans. And they are indeed ongoing, between dodgy NDA, crypto, and the lawsuit. (Cheers for alerting us to this vid, Pepperzine!) The last few weeks were just as wild: Ashes of Creation hit […]
Ship of Heroes previews the playable missions of its upcoming August beta event
As we reported earlier this month, Ship of Heroes is going to be entering a limited-time beta starting in August, which will include among other things some missions for players to take on. But what kind of missions are they? Well, curious superhero, the devs at Heroic Games have penned just the preview for you. […]
Camelot Unchained focuses on delivering a 'solid foundation' for immersive animation
Even as City State throttles down a little for summer vacations, it doesn't spell a complete stop for the Camelot Unchained train. The studio's monthly newsletter arrived to touch on several of the initiatives that emerged in July, including the male Hamadryad mob concept art, changes to the Heavy Fighters and Archers, better player motion, […]
