Into the Super-verse: First impressions of Ship of Heroes' mission beta
With other City of Heroes spiritual successors lagging behind in development, the weight of our hope for the future of superhero MMOs lays upon the shoulders of Ship of Heroes. Heroic Games is making great strides in bringing this title to market, although it's not quite there yet. What is here, however, is Ship of […]
Valheim's Hearth and Home update changes up the food system
When a hard-working Viking is done with a day of slaughter and plunder, it's nice to come home to warmth, food, and probably Netflix. Valheim's been big on letting players create their own dream house, and with the upcoming Hearth and Home update, it's only going to get better from here. Scheduled to arrive in […]
Blizzard workers address the drawbacks of boycotts, gamers lament WoW's deep decline
Ever since California filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard, the industry has been appalled, but it's also been squabbling over what exactly to do. And as the word "boycott" has floated up into our field of view as one option, some Blizzard staffers have agitated against it. Axios has a piece up […]
LOTRO devs talk housing improvements and hook consolidation
Housing may not be at the forefront of Lord of the Rings Online's feature set, but believe it or not, there are some very passionate people about making homes in Middle-earth — both on the side of SSG and the community. In a new interview at Deco du Milieu, the devs fielded many questions about […]
You can start testing the first three Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons' elite specs next week
So who's ready to see the first three End of Dragons' elite specs confirmed? Not today, Guild Wars 2 fans – but soon. ArenaNet is taking the wraps off the first three later this week, and then you'll get to play them next week. "The first Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons™ elite specialization beta […]
PAX Australia 2021 has been canceled due to COVID, replaced by online event
PAX Australia has canceled its in-person event originally planned for October 8th through 10th, Reedpop announced late last night. "At the start of the year, we were optimistic that we'd all be able to come together in person this October," the company says. "We've been working hard with our partners and exhibitors to deliver the […]
Astellia Online has now officially announced an October 29 sunset
Yesterday afternoon, the MMO community raised a collective eyebrow at the realization that Astellia Online and Astellia Royal had vanished from Steam without so much as a word. Further digging provided the knowledge that the game's Reddit was dead and spammers were picking the carcass of the official forums clean. Late last night, the company that […]
The Daily Grind: Has there been a demographic shift in who plays MMOs, and why?
I feel as if we've heard thousands of arguments about shifting demographics in the MMO industry. The prevailing wisdom is that many gamers "age out" of the genre or at least some corners of the genre, that their changing life priorities – jobs, houses, spouses, children – make playing certain old-school, time-intensive, grindy games unpalatable. […]
Star Trek Online shares some epic Klingon heavy metal
It's time to bang your bumpy, circlet-adorned, honorable combat-loving head. Star Trek Online was apparently in the mood to rock when singer/songwriter Jason Charles Miller and actress Mary Chieffo unleashed the song Steel and Flame, a metal ballad in the game's House United update that describes L'Rell's return and rise to power within the Klingon […]
Starbase releases hotfixes for research trees, markets, and miscellaneous bugs
With Starbase officially in early access, it would make sense for the devs at Frozenbyte to make updates and adjustments as players work through the sci-fi building sandbox. To that point, there have been a couple of hotfixes recently applied that aren't necessarily huge in terms of content but are useful for addressing some bugs […]
Fiesta Online pushes out huge Realm of the Mad Gods expansion
Gamigo's anime MMO Fiesta Online is having a heckuva month, as the colorful title just got its biggest expansion to date: Realm of the Mad Gods. This is an actual expansion, starting with the addition of three new zones in the titular divine realm — Teva, Apoline, and Cypian — that come with over 100 […]
Vendetta Online adds a new ore, capital ship changes, cargo tractor beams, and instant travel in Deneb
Have you been keeping up with the updates applied to space sandbox of Vendetta Online? If not, then you're in luck because the game's latest newsletter is full of details on what's been introduced to the game recently. One of the first things pointed out is the addition of a new Sammic ore, a highly […]
Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis drives SEGA profits in Q2 2021
Despite falling off the radar due to how much has happened in the MMORPG space this summer, Phantasy Star Online 2's New Genesis re-launch proved to be a financial boon for parent company SEGA. The studio posted its Q2 2021 financials, noting that the MMO "strongly performed" during this quarter as its number two top […]
Voidtrain is a survival sandbox where players build an interdimensional train and explore islands by rail
Looking through the description of Voidtrain and watching video footage, the closest I can come to in terms of a summary is that it looks a bit like Worlds Adrift meets Raft but in a vaguely steampunk style, and even that might be short shrift since this survival sandbox appears to be a pretty unique […]
The Elder Scrolls Online previews one of the lorebooks of the Waking Flame DLC
We all know why you play The Elder Scrolls Online. It's not for exciting combat, it's not for boundless exploration, and it sure as heck isn't for immersive crafting. It's because you want to read in-game lore books, and gosh, does the upcoming Waking Flame DLC ever deliver on that particular goal. But if you […]
Neverwinter is selling charity item bundles to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America
Would you like to get your Neverwinter character a big fluffy stag mount and a bunch of other goodies while also helping out a good cause? Then you're going to want to know about the game's latest charity initiative, which is letting players buy up some unique packs to help out a good cause. The […]
Whatever happened to Astellia and Astellia Royal?
So it's been quite some time since we heard anything about Astellia (which is buy-to-play) or its free-to-play cousin Astellia Royal, hasn't it? And unfortunately, sometimes looking into the questions of what might be happening doesn't actually result in a happy story. Longtime friend of MOP Connor over at MMO Fallout noted that both games […]
Fight or Kite: Crowfall's latest release brings RvR and 'pop-up PvP' to the forefront
It's been about a month since the release of Crowfall, and the team at ArtCraft hasn't let off the gas yet. This past week we saw the completion of the first post-launch campaign and an update called The Shadow. The Shadow brought with it a new campaign refocusing players attention on some traditional RvR style […]
Unsealed court documents outline Google's consideration to buy 'some or all' of Epic
Most of the headlines regarding the Epic vs. Apple vs. Google antitrust lawsuits have been focused on the spat between Epic and Apple owing to it making the most noise, but we can't forget that Epic is taking Google to court over pretty much the same matter. When last we looked, Google tried to dismiss […]
Massively on the Go: Niantic's response to Pokemon Go's community is painfully deficient
Well, the timing of my last Pokemon Go article on the release of the ill-timed spin/interaction nerf was interesting in that it coincided with what felt like a last-minute, 24-hour boycott of the game. Good on the streamers who organized this, but it won't be enough. The game's rating on Googleplay hasn't dropped even 0.1 percent since […]
DC Universe Online's next update arrives to PTS with a new social hub, endgame tweaks, and an allies system
Remember when DC Universe Online said that its August update was going to be "a significant departure" from its usual episode formats? If that piqued your interest (along with all of the episode's planned features), then now is the time for players to hop into PTS and take a look at the upcoming House of […]
Wisdom of Nym: A letter to new players and old hands in Final Fantasy XIV
The population surge in Final Fantasy XIV must be stopping. It absolutely must be nearly over at this point or already over. It absolutely cannot be filled with surging population any longer at this point. I cannot believe it. And then literally as I typed this line and went over to check, the server page […]
SWTOR: Legacy of the Sith's combat styles 'separate story from gameplay'
Forget a new planet or the resurgence of the Republic vs. Empire conflict in Star Wars: The Old Republic — when Legacy of the Sith arrives this winter, you know that everyone's going to be showing up for the much-vaunted combat styles. So let's talk about combat styles, then! BioWare put out a new dev […]
Black Desert's Corsair awakens with swashbuckling otter crewmates on August 11
The Corsair class of Black Desert already has some pretty neat tricks by all accounts. After all, being able to slice up enemies, call down a whale breaching, or temporarily transforming into a mermaid are impressive as it is. But what if she instead traded a rapier for a gunblade and mermaid powers for otter […]
Bless Unleashed will now let PC founder's pack buyers redeem their rewards on all servers
This past weekend, we checked in on the PC launch of Bless Unleashed, which had a number of problems including one where founder's pack buyers were getting their paid-for rewards when moving from one region or server to another — a process that the devs said they would be correcting in order to "avoid confusion." […]
Lord of the Rings Online leak outlines legendary item revamp
Many Lord of the Rings Online players would finger the game's outdated, obtuse, and convoluted legendary item system as the biggest sore spot. And despite the studio making noise about addressing this for pretty much forever, a promised revamp has yet to materialize. This may soon change, as SSG said that an actual revamp is […]
The Daily Grind: How do you know when it's time to throw in the towel on your favorite MMO?
Over the weekend, MOP reader Joey tipped us off to the news that the last major German World of Warcraft fansite has put a halt to publishing. Vanion.de had been running for over 11 years; the current editor cites both the current scandal and the design philosophies of the game and studio in recent months, […]
MMO Week in Review: New World's delay, Bless Unleashed's launch, Blizzard's dumpster fire
Doesn't it feel as if J. Allen Brack stepping down as head of Blizzard was a long time ago? But it was only Tuesday, the same day Activision-Blizzard announced its quarterly financials and we learned that Blizzard's revenues were down and it had lost yet another 1M monthly active users across all its games, meaning […]
Runes of Magic offers an FAQ ahead of its upcoming server merges
Server merges! They're fun for the family, assuming that the family in question has some really weird definitions of fun. Also, they're coming to Runes of Magic, with several European servers and two North American servers merging into one in order to ensure a better overall player experience. We probably should have led with that […]
The MOP Up: Wild Terra 2 invites you to have a good time on, uhhh… Plague Island
With a name like "Plague Island," you know you're in for a great time! This zone will be the first seasonal continent that Wild Terra 2 is adding to the game, only lasting for three to four months. "The first season starts this fall! Travelers will sail to the island, where they will face a […]
PSA: Ashes of Creation's Alpha One test shifts its end date to August 15
As the month of August rolls on and Ashes of Creation's final round of Alpha One testing progresses, many players were perhaps looking at the clock as the test was originally set to end on August 13th. That, however, has changed as the devs at Intrepid Studios have announced there are two more days added […]
The Stream Team: Live first impressions of Bless Unleashed on PC
After some beta testing and some delays, Bless Unleashed has arrived to the PC, and it's time for MOP's Chris to dive in for really real this time and see whether the weeks spent refining the game has made any significant changes to his initial beta impressions. Just us today at 12:00 p.m. EDT and […]
Diablo community manager recounts low pay, a sexually threatening culture, and mistreatment at Blizzard
Back in March 2020, we reported on the departure of Diablo III community manager Brandy "Nevalistis" Camel, who noted in her statement that she was not leaving "for any ill reasons." However, she has now joined myriad others in calling out Activision-Blizzard for its now unveiled culture of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination by way […]
One Shots: Eye love you
While giant floating eyeballs always seem imposing, I can't help but feel bad about their life situation. Eyes are vulnerable enough when they're tucked into a protective skull, but when you make them a huge floating target, you must assume that their entire life is a living hell of cornea infections. "My misadventures in ArcheAge […]
The Daily Grind: Are there any MMOs you know are good that just didn't grab you?
There are friends I know who didn't enjoy City of Heroes. Not that they think the game was bad; it's pretty easy to agree that while the game had its weaknesses (mitten hands!), it was always a good game. But for various reasons the game just didn't click for them. Little things about it were […]
Global Chat: How New World and Star Wars Galaxies are linked
New World and Star Wars Galaxies aren't often mentioned in the same sentence together, unless you're reading MMO blog Unidentified Signal Source. The author recently tried out the New World beta and came away with an intriguing comparison point. "In the most general sense, it feels like a very different flavor of Star Wars Galaxies […]
Star Citizen opens up the landing zone of Orison, adds new ships and ship features in alpha 3.14
Last night saw the Stanton system of Star Citizen expand by one more planet as the gas giant Crusader, and by extension the landing zone of Orison aka the city in the clouds, is now a destination in the release of alpha 3.14. The new landing zone is a primary feature of this new alpha […]
Bless Unleashed's PC launch is marked by 61K arrivals, server issues, region block, and rough Steam reviews
So, how did the PC launch of Bless Unleashed go? I guess we'll say "bumpy" to start off with. The action MMORPG's launch certainly saw a lot of early interest, with SteamDB recording over 61,000 players hopping in initially and just about as many in-game at the time of this writing. However, this hasn't happened […]
Ariana Grande performs in Fortnite this weekend as part of her Rift Tour
We're betting that social media has already blasted the fact that Grammy-winner Ariana Grande is rocking the Fortnite scene this weekend as she performs multiple shows for the game's murderous population. "Building on and incorporating other celebrated Fortnite moments, the Rift Tour will begin with experiences that pair popular tracks with moments based on elements […]
The Game Archaeologist: Defining the eras of MMORPG history
With MMO history stretching back to the early 1980s (and even before), this genre has accumulated a whole lot of history over the years. Taking a bird's eye view of this history is interesting, because you can see the outlines of several distinct (and many more muddled) eras that defined certain years. For a while […]
Activision-Blizzard: Frances Townsend steps down from one studio post, Jeff Kurtenacker departs
It's a day that ends in "y," which means there's another new development in the ongoing Blizzard sexual harassment and sexual discrimination scandal. This time the story revolves around Frances Townsend, the company's president for corporate affairs, who readers will recall sent out a spectacularly combative internal memo that drew a letter of condemnation from […]
WRUP: Directions for homemade almond milk edition
Ingredients: Almonds, milk Directions: In a large saucepan, pour in your milk. Then pour in the almonds. See, it's almond milk! Isn't that clever? See, everyone laugh. Also, it's now crunchy, because almonds are crunchy. Yes, this was all a setup for this joke. Oh, Aidan, now's the time you have to bring up your […]
The Daily Grind: What's the most impractical-looking MMO weapon?
As a long-time purveyor of MMORPGs, I totally get that visuals and style are the true game and all else supports that. We love to get new armor and weapon models, and the spiffier, the better. Yet what starts as a gradual increase in quality — a chipped wood sword upgrading to a battered tin […]
Betawatch: New World gets delayed once again
What's that? New World with another delay? All right, look, it's not funny any more, folks. This game has been delayed so many times that we all expected this to happen, and even then it was meant to be a joke rather than another actual thing that happened. Seriously, at some point you need to […]
Destiny 2 outlines changes coming to sandbox PvE in season 15 and Crucible PvP in future seasons
The devs of Destiny 2 are looking far forward into the future with regard to the shooter's PvE and PvP experiences. In the game's weekly newsletter, combat gameplay designer Eric Smith took a close look at sandbox changes that are coming, which include a separate melee action button, ability changes for Stasis and class-specific skills […]
PSA: Rhino Prime and Nyx Prime return to Warframe on August 10
The Prime Vault could only hope to contain them for so long. Or something like that. That's probably just a bit more flavor than Warframe's latest announcement needed, but the fact remains that both Rhino Prime and Nyx Prime are going to be coming out of the Prime Vault and back into the game starting […]
Ashes of Creation gives rapid-fire answers to dozens of community queries
There's never enough time in any studio AMA or livestream Q&A to address all of the questions that players put out there. This is why Ashes of Creation followed up its recent stream with a forum post answering dozens of questions from fans that didn't get covered. The weird thing is, this forum post is […]
ArcheAge and ArcheAge Unchained tout an August full of events and a list of returning ArchePasses
Are you eager for some new content in ArcheAge and ArcheAge Unchained? Too bad, it's leftovers month as this August is mostly about returning events and promotions. That might be unfortunate news for players looking for something new, but it also might be welcome news for those who missed out on certain things. Headlining the […]
Inside Star Citizen casts a spotlight on a dev, previews bombs, flying while drunk, and a new star system
The latest episode for Star Citizen's regular video digest is, by its own admission, taking the opportunity to do a little something different as the devs at CIG are heads down for presentations and reveals for this year's digital CitizenCon. The video first starts off with a segment Cloud Imperium is calling Origin Stories, highlighting […]
Skyforge prepares players for a month of invasions and a summer event in August
What's the true meaning of summer? Fighting off snake monsters. No, wait, maybe it's fighting off demons. Depending on your platform for playing Skyforge, it's going to be one or the other. Players on the Xbox, PlayStation, and PC are still dealing with the Gorgonide invasion and fighting off snakes, but players on the Nintendo […]
