Former developers of 38 Studios are receiving a portion of their final paychecks after a nine year wait
The long, sad story of Curt Schilling's defunct 38 Studios has written its final chapter, and much like the entire history of the game studio, it ends in disappointment. The developers who worked for the company are finally getting the court-ordered last paychecks that Schilling owed them before he abruptly shut down the studio and […]
Blue Protocol begins highlighting various NPCs on Twitter ahead of its theme song release
Every good game needs a catchy theme song, and the developing Japanese MMORPG Blue Protocol is certainly no exception. To that point, the game proudly crowed at the tail end of May that Japanese rock band L'arc-en-Ciel's song Mirai would be the theme for the game. On top of that, the song would be released […]
Bless Unleashed gets a boost from Chinese players as Round8 renames servers
If you've paid attention to the concurrency numbers that Bless Unleashed is doing on SteamDB, you might be wondering how a game that largely gets a shrug from most MMO fans around these parts is doing such gangbuster numbers – nearly 70K in the last 24-hour peak as of this story's writing. A video by […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMO is the most fun when you're losing?
The other day my guildies were chatting about their favorite shooters, and one of them pointed out that he'd rather play a quick pick-up shooter like Overwatch than a PUBG-style battle royale battleground. "I'd rather die in 10 close-up firefights than spend the same five minutes hunting fruitlessly for tiny, distant specks before dying once. […]
MMO Week in Review: World of Warships' blunder, Elyon's beta
Has World of Warships ever made it into the MMO Week in Review before? We don't think so, not even that time when Steven Seagal became its spokesman, but it can claim that honor now, just not for great reasons, as this week we reported on a massive monetization dust-up in the community that led […]
Gamescom 2021 touts over 70 devs and publishers, highlights panels on education and societal change
While this year's Gamescom is going to be different as it's forced to go all-digital due to COVID-19, the event itself is going to be no small affair. The event's latest presser touts over 70 developers and publishers are participating in the event and promises a whole lot of things for players and industry types […]
The MOP Up: Ankama, the studio behind Wakfu and Dofus, turns 20
This past week marked a huge milestone for the parent studio of Wakfu and Dofus, as Ankama turned 20 years old. To celebrate, Ankama unveiled a new logo and promised more gaming goodness in the years to come. "We'll continue to develop our various worlds: All the ones you know, love and take part in, […]
Bad news: Halo Infinite won't have co-op multiplayer systems at launch
It's been a grueling wait for 343 Industries' Halo Infinite to arrive, especially as the game was delayed from last year to this. And now we've learned that even when it launches this fall, it won't include the multiplayer features that fans had been anticipating, just the PvP. In a video announcement, 343 said that […]
The Stream Team: Playing games in the multiplayer 'virtual party world' of Tower Unite
Today, we're doing a little something different for our OPTV viewers. MOP's Chris will be firing up Tower Unite, an early access game that, basically, is just a metaverse of games. Whether it's arcade games, bowling, a typing racing game, or full-on multiplayer games featuring zombie wave survival, racing in hamster balls or go-karts, or […]
LOTRO community Q&A asks about closed server transfers, graphics upgrades, and new events
It's not your imagination: Lord of the Rings Online really has been doing a whole bunch of interviews over past month or two. The barrage of questions being thrown at SSG is indicative of how much the community wants to know about the game and its future — and how happy people are to finally […]
One Shots: Catniss Everkeen
"The true endgame of FFXIV is fashion, but in the process of documenting my many many glamours sometimes I get a cool action shot," RimaHadley shared. And that's the great secret of the One Shotter: Sometimes you get that amazing screenshot by sheer dumb luck. So keep snapping away and trust to the law of […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMO have you played with the worst voice acting?
There was a particular line from the male Norn back in the beta for Guild Wars 2 that made me laugh much more than it should have, an enthusiastic declaration of, "I will find these problems and fix them!" It was meant to establish how the game's overall flow was meant to work, but it […]
Make My MMO: Star Citizen 3.14, Ship of Heroes' mission beta
This last few weeks in crowdfunded MMOs, were actually surprisingly light, which is a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Among the highlights: Ship of Heroes is well into its mission beta (and we had a surprisingly good time when we checked it out. Star Citizen is running a free-fly […]
Beta testing of EVE Online's browser-based EVE Anywhere client expands to more European countries
EVE Anywhere, the browser-based client of EVE Online that we first reported on in March, has been going through its beta testing phases rather swimmingly according to CCP Games. So swimmingly, in fact, that the beta testing is going to expand to more countries in Europe. Just in case you're not following along, EVE Anywhere […]
PlanetSide 2 offers a rundown of the new player experience arriving in the next update
The first few steps of life in PlanetSide 2 are about to get a big reset with the game's next update. Lead designer Michael "Wrel" Henderson has penned a pretty in-depth look at these changes, which will be affecting practically every aspect of a new player's experience The changes begin right at character creation, which […]
New World explains all those split-face statues and the race behind them
As we continue the seemingly never-ending wait for Amazon's New World to arrive, we can console ourselves with learning scraps of the game's setting and lore through dev videos. In fact, the latest one came out this week covering the Ancients — the very old and very extinct race of beings that apparently inspired all […]
LOTRO Legendarium: Why Lord of the Rings Online is worth playing in 2021
It has come to my attention that there are more MMO nomads than normal this summer who are casting about for a new game world to call "home." With so many shinier and newer alternatives out there, it might be a tough case to make that Lord of the Rings Online should be that pick […]
PSA: Aion Classic is handing out a three day-long subscription bonus to all players this weekend
Are you enjoying your time in Aion Classic but not enough to buy the buff-granting subscription? Then you'll probably want to know more about a weekend-long giveaway that's handing out the same buff that subscribers get for free, at least for a limited time. From now until Monday, August 23rd, all players can claim a […]
WRUP: Clipping edition
If you no longer wish to attend our sporting event, we are sorry, but the doors are sealed to prevent anyone from reaching the parking lot and shooting off fireworks during the event itself. However, you can clip through the terrain to exit the building if it becomes necessary. Please use one of the following […]
The Daily Grind: List your favorite expansion to every MMO you've played
Lists — we're doing one today. And it has the potential to be a really fun one! The challenge is fairly simple: Make a list of all of the MMOs that you played for any good length of time (i.e., not ones you tried for about six seconds before your morning coffee that one time). […]
Betawatch: Elyon and Diablo II Resurrected kick off beta events
More closed beta for Elyon? It's more likely than you think. It's actually certain, in fact. The game has showed off its rune attributes system as well as all six classes as the closed beta helpfully hums onward. A lot of people wanted to check this one out, so we're curious what people thought about […]
PWE's Remnant: From the Ashes turns two with a new trailer and sale
PWE's co-op shooter Remnant: From the Ashes hasn't gotten much press lately, in spite of being just two years old, but that's to be expected as the game got its last real DLC back in 2020, and a few other things happened that year that might have stolen your attention. In any case, it's back […]
Hi-Rez's Paladins is adding a new trickshot champion and 'urban' map rework
Hi-Rez's shooter Paladins is getting playtime in my house again thanks to the dumpster fire still raging over at Blizzard that's made Overwatch persona non grata, so the preview of a new champion has a sliver of my attention. Her name's Saati, and she's a bounty hunter with some gunslinger and drow vibes. "No expense […]
Conan Exiles PC launches server transfers, adds small animal pens, and balances weapons in latest patch
The latest update to survival sandbox Conan Exiles on PC doesn't really come with any expansion-level updates or content additions, but what it does feature is a lot of little additions and quality-of-life improvements that are still likely very welcome to players. One of the top features of this new patch is the introduction of […]
Project X is a mobile 'social sandbox MMO' full of resource gathering and house building in closed beta
This one will need a little bit of context because the name Project X carries a tiny bit of history here. Back in 2018 we got a look at a tactical shooter MMO called Project X, which was being built for SpatialOS and developed by UK studio Automaton Games; the shooter later changed its name […]
EverQuest II's player-run Festival of Unity is back this weekend with a variety of games and events
The self-described longest running player event in EverQuest II history has returned for another year of in-game summer fun. It's the Festival of Unity, an event that promises song, dance, and plenty of games for players to take part in, and it runs all the way until this coming Monday, August 23rd. The festivities already […]
Final Fantasy XIV brings back The Rising for its eighth anniversary on August 27
Another year of operation is moving into the rear-view mirror for Final Fantasy XIV, and that means another iteration of The Rising coming around once again starting on August 27th. This year's celebration has a faintly ominous tone to it from the preview that we've gotten so far, although considering that Endwalker is just around […]
Mortal Online 2 announces 'savage' September 6 stress test
After a goodly while in closed alpha combat testing, Mortal Online 2 thinks that it's ready for the next best step and is proposing that you join it in holy betamony. On September 6th, this hardcore PvP MMORPG will kick off a stress test for those fortunate enough to get a key. During the beta, […]
Star Citizen showcases hospitals and hints at related gameplay mechanics coming in alpha 3.15
Generally, nobody wants to visit a hospital, but the location's arrival to Star Citizen with the upcoming alpha 3.15 release will make going to a hospital on various planets something of a necessary matter, at least according to the reveals from this week's episode of Inside Star Citizen. The next alpha build will feature four […]
Grab a Conqueror's Blade Aswaran Hero Attire key from My.Games and MOP
We're deep into Conqueror's Blade's eighth season, Dynasty, with the Sun Dragon Festival at its height. In celebration, My.Games has granted MOP a bundle of keys for our readers! The keys unlock the Aswaran Hero Attire Pack, which includes Aswaran Hero Attire, Radiant Sun Banner, and Optimal Cannon, with an approximate value of $20 US.: "Donning […]
Pantheon recaps new hire and pre-alpha, outlines to-do list before alpha
Pantheon's August producer letter has arrived this week with a bunch of good news for fans of the game: Visionary Realms has hired a new associate content creator straight out of the community, and it's still riding high from the pre-alpha session held earlier this month. "It was 33 straight hours of testing and it […]
Global Chat: Hitting that endgame wall in MMOs
MMO blogger Digital Visceral recently wrote about a situation that many of us encounter in our games: Hitting that max level and feeling at a loss as to where to go from there. In this case, it was maxing out in Fallout 76. "In Fallout 76, 50 is the last meaningful character level threshold. Crossing 50 […]
Roblox's shameless exploitation of child labor is why we can't have nice things
I didn't think I'd be back so soon writing "Roblox" and "this is why we can't have nice things" in the same post two days in a row, but here we are. People Make Games has put out a video confirming everything you already suspected about the game: that it's overvalued and grotesquely exploitative. Quintin […]
Perfect Ten: My top 10 MMO pet peeves
In general, I try to be an optimistic fellow. When it comes to MMO gaming — you know, that hobby we apparently love and enjoy — I'd rather look on the bright side than the angry, cynical, disgruntled dark side most days of the week. There needs to be balance between such outlooks to be […]
Former RuneScape composer sentenced to 22 months in prison for sexual assault
Ian Taylor, the former composer for both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, has admitted to the sexual assault of a young girl and has been sentenced to prison for 22 months for the crime. The assault apparently took place in December but wasn't reported to family and police until early 2021; according to Taylor's confession, […]
QuakeCon 2021: Skyrim's anniversary edition, Elder Scrolls Online Waking Flame, Fallout 76's Fallout Worlds
While most gamers are preoccupied with the big Skyrim news out of QuakeCon – that Skyrim is getting its 14th edition, the Skyrim anniversary edition, on November 11th, with some solid mods packaged in – our audience is going to be laser-focused on the announcements for Bethsoft's multiplayer titles. Elder Scrolls Online hyped up the […]
CODEX, an MMO based on the Shards engine, launches early access today after a brief delay
Just last week we first reported on CODEX, a project that licensed Legends of Aria's Shards Engine for the purpose of creating an MMO. This title's hook is that players will encounter "seasons" of the game with a beginning, middle, and resolution before the almighty reset button is hit. While CODEX's early access prologue was […]
World of Warcraft reverses course on player customization and promises more
Back in February, Blizzard reversed its stance on player customization options for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. Originally, players had been told that further customization options for the various races would be added throughout the expansion, but during BlizzConline it was instead stated that there would be no further customizations added. Apparently, some combination of recent […]
The Daily Grind: What do you think about taxes in MMORPGs?
Today I want to talk about everyone's least favorite thing: taxes. I snagged the idea from a Reddit thread a while back that was complaining about the tax system in Albion Online. The way it works is that guilds with built-up islands and territories and players who rent and outfit crafting stations in base-game cities […]
Massively Overthinking: The MMO roadmaps worth following
This week's Massively Overthinking comes to us from longtime reader KenFromChicago. "As MMO reporters covering the MMO field, having some idea what to look for coming down the pike seems beneficial," he writes. "As such, what 'roadmaps' do you like from MMOs, and what qualities do you like about the best of them?" I thought this […]
Swords 'n Magic and Stuff promises housing, mod support, world events, dungeons, and more in roadmap
There's plenty of things to come for the cutesy cubic multiplayer RPG Swords 'n Magic and Stuff, at least according to a roadmap update shared by the devs of Kindred Games. The map itself, which is embedded below, promises a wide variety of items in progress like housing, in-game mail, and a detailed stats panel, […]
EverQuest II's ongoing server hardware upgrades should produce results by September
EverQuest II has suffered some legendary outages in the last year – one even kept players offline for over a week, and there were additional incidents in April and June. Daybreak has been tackling the issues with hardware upgrades, which it says is going well – so well that it's going to keep at it […]
PlanetSide 2's NSO faction revamp arrives to PlayStation 4 on August 25
If you've been following along with the news coming out of PlanetSide 2, you know that it's been mostly about the Nanite System Operatives faction revamp. You also know that most of those updates have been arriving to the PC version of the game. But fear not, PlayStation 4 robot friends, because the devs at […]
PSA: Star Citizen is holding another free fly event until August 27
You want to hop into the 'Verse of Star Citizen but you also don't feel like investing in a starting package for a game that is taking years to leave alpha. Or maybe you've read all the grumbling or the effusive praise and want to know what things are like for yourself. Whatever your reason, […]
Roblox sees net losses for Q2 2021, struggles with toxic player-generated content
We've got a bunch of Roblox news on deck today. First, there's the Q2 2021 investor report. Readers will remember that in Q1, the company behind the game had just gone public and was just issuing its first earnings report, which was eye-opening, as it reported gross revenues of $387M but net losses of $134.2M. […]
Fallout 76 doubles its experience ahead of this weekend's QuakeCon
It's just about time for QuakeCon, an event wherein every Bethesda game gets a seat at the table. Yes, even Fallout 76 is getting to show off what's coming next and what's happened recently, and the team is eager for you to check out the various panels over the weekend. But you'll also have a […]
Starbase plans to amend its stance on stream sniping citing language that is 'too encouraging'
We're not sure exactly what Starbase developer Frozenbyte thought would happen when the game's griefing policies outright read "stream sniping is allowed," but apparently there's been enough of a whirlwind reaping that the devs have acknowledged on Twitter the policy was "currently too encouraging" to the behavior, leading to an incoming amendment to the policy. […]
SOE's Jeff Butler gives an epic three-hour interview on EverQuest, Vanguard, and EverQuest Next
If you're going to interview one of the most notable names behind EverQuest and Vanguard, it helps if you also worked at SOE back in the day. Therefore, it's great to see former EverQuest Game Designer Shawn Lord interview former EverQuest Producer Jeff Butler on his time with the MMO. In this dense and fascinating […]
LOTRO producer interview talks more about legendary item and monetization revamps
You'd barely even know that there's an expansion on the way for Lord of the Rings Online if you only took in the current pulse of the game's community. That's because everyone is downright eager to hear what SSG is doing in regards to two problem areas in the game: the obtuse legendary item system […]
Final Fantasy XIV plans a stress test for the Japanese data centers… but not North America or Europe
Ahead of the release of the Endwalker expansion, Final Fantasy XIV's staff wants to make sure that the game's servers are up for the imminent strain they'll encounter. This is both a reasonable and understandable plan. As such, a stress test will be run on the Mana data center, one of the game's Japanese centers, […]
