Niantic is shutting down Catan: World Explorers after a lackluster early access run
Not everything Niantic touches turns to gold — or becomes an instant hit. Case in point, Catan: World Explorers has been kind of a dud ever since coming to early access in 2020. While the board game is a legitimate hit, the thought of running all over the real world to pick up sheep and […]
PSA: Closers is handing out free level 85 boosts until November 3
Want to play Closers but can't be bothered to do all of that leveling up or playing the game? Then you're going to jump for joy for the game's returning Jumping Character event, which is dishing out a ticket to boost characters up to level 85 and a whole bunch of related goodies for doing […]
Wild Terra 2 adds over 25 new peaceful skills, plans to open Plague Island seasonal content October 14
Wild Terra 2 would like players to both enjoy new peaceful skills and prepare for Plague Island. Both of these things sound diametrically opposed to one another, but that's basically the thrust of the game's content updates, starting with the game's most recent update, which has introduced over 25 new passive and active abilities for […]
Starbase introduces new modules, replenishes asteroids, and makes various fixes in latest update
Starbase's latest patch is being flagged as a "major" patch, but reading the notes you might be let down by the fact it doesn't bring anything game-changing to the table. That said, there are still a lot of things being added with the update regardless. At the top of the list are the addition of […]
The feds are now investigating Activision-Blizzard as the SEC subpoenas execs including Bobby Kotick
Early on in our coverage of the Activision-Blizzard sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit scandal, we noted that the company's response took some ineffective swipes at the state of California bureau heading the investigation and all but threatened to leave the state over the suit. Activision-Blizzard may want to set aside that posturing now, as it'll […]
Uncharted Waters Online hopes to boost visibility with its 'first' official trailer
It's safe to say that Uncharted Waters Online isn't the name that's on every MMO player's lips. The quirky seafaring title has labored in obscurity for many years now under several different owners, most recently Papaya with a 2017 relaunch. Getting eyes on the game's been a challenge for the current owners, so any excuse […]
MapleStory M adds the Dual Blade class and the Victoria Road region in recent patch
If your MMO doesn't have a character that can expertly wave two bladed weapons about with precision, guile, and agility, then what are you even doing with yourself? Luckily, MapleStory M isn't suffering from such a shortage as the game received the Dual Blade class this past Thursday, along with a new region to check […]
MechWarrior Online is tweaking weapons, chassis, and a map as MechWarrior 5 unveils its next expansion
Tomorrow will see a fresh update to the online Mech battler MechWarrior Online, bringing with it some revamps, reworks, and tweaks including a new version of the Caustic Valley map, adjustments to several weapons, and changes to 'Mechs like the Flea, the Vindicator, and the Hatamoto-Chi. The patch will also add a second set of […]
SEED shares blogs about multiplayer appointments, economy, Seedling interactions, and horrifying mutations
Well, I did it to myself. Last time I reported on SEED, I remarked with surprise that the devs at Klang Games only kicked out one dev blog. The fates heard me, smirked among themselves, and saw fit to send a muse to the devs so that they may release another deluge of blog posts. […]
EVE Online players speculate at least 110K players are subscribed based on the August economic report
Last month we reported on some number crunching done by a Redditor that took a stat from EVE Online's July economic report to tease out some possible subscriber numbers. In that report, the Redditor known as Angry Mustache noted that the data had imperfections and that a clearer picture may be available once August's econ […]
Diablo II Resurrected devs talk about maintaining the core experience and hint at post-release content
Remastering a game as venerable as Diablo II has got to be something of a tightrope walk. On the one hand, you're expected to maintain the core experience of the game, but at the same time it's also 21 years old and things have progressed. Toeing that line was a big part of an interview […]
Fight or Kite: Spellbreak's wizardry battles wage on with new content
It's been a hot minute since I spent any time playing Spellbreak. When it first launched, it was a nice part of my nightly gaming rotation. It has a lot of the things that I typically enjoy in my PvP: nice cosmetics, build customization, and intense combat moments. When last we saw our hero (in […]
World of Warcraft makes the Ignore function account-wide in patch 9.1.5
So let's say you ignore someone on World of Warcraft with the poetic name of Clownfart. This is probably a sensible reaction just to the name chosen for the character, but Clownfart was actually being an annoying troll so you doubly didn't want to hear from him. Undaunted, Clownfart logged over to his alt, Clownorgan, and […]
Wisdom of Nym: Reactions to Final Fantasy XIV's job changes from the live letter
One of the things that excites me every time about Final Fantasy XIV is the way that the game can tell you up-front exactly what it's going to be revealing to the point that you know the reveals beyond a shadow of a doubt going in… and yet at the same time it can still […]
Warhammer Online: Return of Reckoning finally adds capital cities that Mythic axed
So a little Warhammer Online history lesson for you today: Originally when Mythic Entertainment was developing the game, it had plans to include up to six capital cities that would be the culmination of the RvR siege experience. However, prior to the game's release, the studio cut that number back to just two. What's interesting […]
Mobile 4X strategy MMO Star Trek Fleet Command makes its debut on PC today
Did you know that there's a massively multiplayer 4X strategy game based in the Star Trek universe? Perhaps it's because you're one of those who shuns all things mobile gaming, but indeed there is such a game. It's called Star Trek Fleet Command, which first made its launch to mobile devices in November 2018 with […]
TitanReach plans its comeback after suddenly receiving full funding from a mysterious benefactor
Apparently, some beneficent soul descended upon Square Root Studios' TitanReach and saw fit to bring the game back up from the dead. After the devs announced in August that development was being suspended due to a lack of funding, studio co-founder Unravel announced on Discord yesterday that the game has suddenly been fully funded by […]
The Elder Scrolls Online is getting new Nvidia anti-aliasing tech in Update 32
When Update 32 of Elder Scrolls Online goes live, it's not only going to be bringing changes to combat to address power creep, it will also apparently be bringing in some shiny new tricks to make things look smoother. Creative director Rich Lambert unveiled the addition of Nvidia's Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing, or DLAA, which works […]
The Daily Grind: Are there MMOs with simply too much to do?
MMO blogger Bhagpuss recently penned a solid article about his time in Guild Wars 2, arguing in part that the game's problem isn't that it doesn't have enough to do but that the content is "designed to be consumed and forgotten" – and there's almost too much of it. "[T]he problem is never not having […]
MMO Week in Review: Elder Scrolls, End of Dragons, and Endwalker
Guild Wars 2 continued its rollout of major End of Dragons reveals this past week, including three new elite specs as we head into the upcoming second beta, which includes DX11 testing. Plus: Mortal Online 2 scrapped its early access plans and pushed launch to 2022, EverQuest II announced Visions of Vetrovia, New World teased […]
Destiny 2 adds a new exotic rifle, shares a calendar of events, and tweaks Trials of Osiris
Bungie is once again full of information about Destiny 2 in this week's newsletter, leading off with the recently added quest for the exotic Ager's Scepter, a Stasis trace rifle full of frigid features. The weapon can be chased now, while its catalyst will be available after reset on Tuesday, September 21st. The newsletter then […]
The MOP Up: Ravendawn's PvP system goes down in infamy
Ravendawn's newest dev blog tackles the meat and potatoes of the MMO's player-vs.-player conflict. Basically, the game is trying to pave the way for open world player killing with an infamy system. It's never been done right before, but hey, maybe the 1,000th time is the charm? "The Infamy System is what keeps the devious […]
Global Chat: New World beta pleases some, fails to grab others
The buzz around MMO Town these days is on New World, and specifically, the open beta that wrapped up last week. So far, the verdict seems pretty positive! SparkoMarcoGaming said, "Overall my first impressions of the game were good, it looks nice even on low settings, and the quests were straight-forward." Alysianah Noire noted that "it […]
The Stream Team: Another attempt at peeking into Voidtrain's early access
Aw snap, here we go again. Last time he tried this, MOP's Chris ran into some technical issues that cut the stream off at the knees, but this time will (hopefully) be different as he peek into the intriguing early access survival sandbox of Voidtrain. Tune in today at 12:00 p.m. EDT to check out […]
Dual Universe outlines changes to warping and docking coming in the Ares update
Earlier this week Dual Universe started writing up details about adjustments planned for the Ares update, with the first post discussing stress a stress system for construct cores, shield changes, and the closure of a couple of PvP exploits. Novaquark has now kicked out a second dev blog covering changes to warping and docking that […]
One Shots: Boom, said the world
You'd think that a world that's already been nuked into a radioactive wasteland wouldn't need any additional bombs lobbed at its surface, but several Fallout 76 players disagree, seeing as how they do it at a regular cadence. For some, like Greaterdivinity, a nuclear explosion is kind of like a fireworks show. Break out the […]
The Daily Grind: What feels like a sufficiently interesting central MMO expansion feature to you?
So while we don't yet have the full picture of how masteries will look for Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons, thus far I am not impressed. I am the opposite of impressed. Fishing is a feature I usually take pains to avoid in MMOs, so the prospect of having various things focused on fishing as […]
Guild Wars 2 stream previews End of Dragons' Vindicator, Bladesworn, and Catalyst
Guild Wars 2 players are getting no shortage of new expansion info lately, between last week's fishing and skiff stream and last month's preview of the first three elite specs. If you are still waiting on info for your favorite class's new elite spec, perhaps you will see it in this week's Guild Chat stream, […]
Diablo II recaps the backstory leading to the start of the game
While it is not like Diablo II's lore is exactly fresh, new stuff in the gaming world, it's entirely possible that you and everyone else has forgotten about the actual backstory to this classic action-RPG. Ergo, to freshen memories and get people hyped about the upcoming launch of Diablo II: Resurrected, Blizzard posted the full […]
DokeV dev talks about world size, finding Dokebi, multiplayer features, and the pivot away from an MMORPG
There are a great number of us who are intrigued by DokeV, the colorful multiplayer open world game being crafted by Pearl Abyss full of battling monsters and interesting modern vistas. While it does appear that we're going to be waiting a while before this one comes out, there's an interview with lead producer Sangyoung […]
Age of Empires IV's stress test is open to all this weekend
There are few titles more anticipated in 2021 than Microsoft's Age of Empires IV. Fans of the series are crossing every digit they have that the studio has made a sequel worthy of this legendary franchise. And if that's you, then you can satisfy your curiosity right now. This weekend only, Microsoft is running a […]
LOTRO Legendarium: Why do we know so little about Fate of Gundabad?
Over the past few months, my general sense of rising hope for Lord of the Rings Online has been tempered by a nagging disquiet about one area in particular. Considering that we've known for two years now that Standing Stone Games was working on a Gundabad expansion for the game, I'd say it's gone from […]
Final Fantasy XIV reveals job actions and battle changes in its latest live letter
The are changes coming to Final Fantasy XIV with the next expansion, and that includes a whole lot of changes to job actions for all 19 of the game's jobs. (Well, changes for 17 of them; two of them will be completely new.) Last night's live letter from the producer went into detail on all […]
WRUP: Photos I will skip over on my phone's camera roll as we talk edition
A blurry shot of my feet that will be excused with "oh, not that one." Seventeen pictures of my cats. A picture of an advertisement in a video game store (I will not explain myself to you). Another blurry shot of my feet that I will pause on for several minutes before saying "oh, right, […]
The Daily Grind: What makes an MMO map amazing?
I love maps. Love love love maps. I spend a stupid amount of time exploring the world on Google Maps, and no, that's not a typo. Not Google Earth, Google Maps. I love following roads and seeing how places are tied together. I love MMO maps. Love love love MMO maps. You could show me […]
Betawatch: Book of Travels begins teasing early access, again
In the long saga of Book of Travels doing almost everything other than actually entering its promised early access state, this week marked an odd departure as the freeform roleplaying sandbox insisted that its early access isn't so far away. It also doesn't like gamers describing the delay as "indefinite," in spite of the fact that […]
MMO Business Roundup: Discord's funding, Bungie's lawsuit, and harassment in online gaming
Welcome back to another roundup of MMO and MMO-adjacent business news. Discord: Investors love dumping money into Discord, and they're continuing the trend, as the chat company gamers know best raised another $500M in its latest funding round. That apparently puts the company at a value of $15B, significantly more than the reported $10B Microsoft […]
Sea of Thieves teases underwater adventuring arriving with Season 4 on September 23
Looking forward to more underwater excursions in Sea of Thieves? No? Well too bad because underwater stuff is going to be happening with the game's fourth season if this teaser trailer is anything to be believed. Underwater exploring. Underwater combat. What fun. Details on what exactly is happening with Season 4 are a bit sparse […]
Champions Online's anniversary continues with a Dr. Destroyer invasion, DC Universe Online celebrates Batman Day with free gifts
It's all about some superheroic celebration going on in both Champions Online and DC Universe Online, with both games marking some noteworthy dates on their respective calendars. Which, of course, means free goodies for players of either MMO. In Champs, the game's anniversary festivities roll on into their third week, which will feature an invasion […]
Final Fantasy XIV posts its fourth anniversary story ahead of the live letter this evening
Another Friday means that it's time for another installment of the Final Fantasy XIV anniversary fiction, and this one is taking aim at a largely unnoticed character. Kan-E-Senna is definitely an important figure, but very little storytelling focuses around her or her particular struggles. So it's a refreshing change to get a portrait of who she […]
Pantheon discusses world building, new hires, gathering nodes, and the path to alpha
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's latest producer letter adds to last month's good news with the announcement of yet another hire: environment artist Tim Schuhler. He'll join the devs already hard at work on building out Wild's End. "In addition to our focus on developing Wild's End, world building efforts are ramping up this month […]
Star Citizen highlights alpha 3.15's location-based inventory management system
Are you ready for some hot and spicy inventory management action? Then put on your three-point harness and prepare for the ride of your life, as Star Citizen's latest video digest is all about alpha 3.15's physicalized inventory — the five dollar term CIG is using to mean inventory that's specific to planets, ships, and […]
Kingdom Under Fire 2 is shutting down in October
It's almost time to wave farewell to Kingdom Under Fire 2; publisher Gameforge has announced that the title will sunset for good on October 26th, with the game already unavailable for new players to download and premium currency purchases being disabled. Players can still use any currency they already have, which seems like a tacit statement […]
Elder Scrolls Online's Update 32 aims to tackle combat and power creep
ZeniMax Online Studios is already looking ahead to Elder Scrolls Online's Update 32, which is set to bring major combat changes to the game – specifically in the form of proc set balance and hybridization improvements. "In Update 30 we introduced item proc set scaling, which aimed to lower the ease of access of 'free' […]
Fallout 76 has a couple more patches coming for 2021
The reception of Fallout Worlds in Fallout 76 has been a bit of a mixed bag this month, with some players loving the anything-goes experimental rulesets and others feeling like it was a total waste of resources (especially considering that the main servers still lack basic functions such as text chat and guilds). No matter […]
Kickstarted MMO sandbox Fractured enters fall alpha on September 22
Dynamight Studios is gearing up for Fractured's next testing phase, as it's announced this week that the fall alpha will begin on September 22nd. Notably, players will be testing new abilities, world events, PvP sieges, new points of interest, new monsters, treasure hunting, lockpicking, an expansion for gear and crafting, and an "overhaul of [the] […]
Ashes of Creation snags former Elder Scrolls Online lead writer as new senior narrative designer
It would be easy to assume that Ashes of Creation will be thin on lore owing to its PvP sandbox nature and its main throughline of player actions having an impact on the world. That might not be exactly the case, however, as the game has recently picked up a new hire that will very […]
Design Mockument: Fresh ideas for City of Heroes 2 in 2021
Back in 2019, I had the idea to make Design Mockument semi-regular column because I like doing this sort of thing. I put out one installment of it out talking about a hypothetical sequel to The Matrix Online, and then, uh… 2020 happened, and then most of 2021 happened, and I actually totally forgot this […]
Raph Koster's plan is to build the metaverse tech, build a sandbox MMORPG on it, then open it all up
If Raph Koster's metaverse talk has you more confused than before, then don't worry; his new more technical blog is going to scramble your brains even more. Essential, he argues that Playable Worlds' metaverse tech will help solve some of the difficulty and cost of building MMOs in the modern world, making sharding, custom rulesets, […]
Guild Wars 2: 'Upgrading to DirectX11 is the first step toward being able to do more shiny things'
If the Revenant, Warrior, and Elementalist aren't your Cup of Light-Roasted Coffee, then next week's Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons beta round might not spark your attention. But not so fast: There's more to the beta than just the new elite specs. As promised, ArenaNet is also going to run the DirectX 11 beta […]
