The Stream Team: Descending into Neverwinter's The Chasm
After ascending Icespire Peaks, it's time to descend into The Chasm. Massively OP's MJ is leaving the iciness behind and moving on to the rocky depths of a festering pit where the Spellplague accumulates and malforms creatures. Join us live at 9:00 p.m. as MJ experiences this zone for the first time. What: Neverwinter Who: […]
Massively Overthinking: MMO cash shop confessions
Do you ever pick up a drink absentmindedly, thinking it's going to be something, but it's actually something totally different that you hate? You know that feeling of first surprise and then revulsion? I had this experience with an industry article a few weeks ago. I sat down to read it based on its title, […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 is launching Episode 6 on December 9
It's almost time to reach for new heights in Phantasy Star Online 2. The game started running its campaign for the road to episode 6 late last month, but that road is nearly over as the game reaches its destination on December 9th. Yes, that's when the patch arrives, bringing in all sorts of new things […]
Final Fantasy XI previews its December version update without any Odyssey content
It says something about this particular year that it's actually comfortable and refreshing to find something being delayed just because it isn't quite polished enough for prime time. Yes, it's sad that the next Final Fantasy XI update will be launching without new Odyssey content, but the reason stated by the team is just that it […]
Temtem answers questions about early access on PlayStation 5 on December 8
It's a good thing that Temtem is going into early access on the PlayStation 5 as of December 8th, as that means a chance for more players to enjoy the game. It's an even better thing that it will feature crossplay with the game's PC version, so players can hang out with their friends even on […]
PSA: The standard edition of Elder Scrolls Online is free-to-play until December 9
It's the most wonderful time of the year. Not just the start of the holiday season, but the start of yet another free play promotion for Elder Scrolls Online. The standard edition of the MMORPG, anyway. From now until Wednesday, December 9th, at 10:00 a.m. EST, players can hop in to MMO Tamriel on PC, […]
Spellbreak is tying lore to gameplay and arriving to Steam with the Spellstorm update December 15
What are your motivations for playing battle royale? Progression? The chance at victory? Because you've hitched your YouTube channel to a single game and you desperately need content to feed the ever-ravening ur-beast known as the Algorithm? With the upcoming Spellstorm update arriving to magic-using battle royale title Spellbreak, the devs at Proletariat are offering […]
Indie MMO Gloria Victis has just rolled its way into beta
Happy beta launch week to Gloria Victis! No, really. The MMO has been in early access alpha since 2016, but it's finally moving out of alpha and into beta, though apparently it's staying in early access – but only for now. "[T]he beta will last a few months and will prepare us to leave Early […]
Crowfall plans to replace stat-building passive skills with active skills in its next update
Players unfamiliar with Crowfall's terminology should know that "passive skills" in the game mean they allow players to accrue stats over time whether they play or not and were even needed in some cases to gain access to certain types of content. This, effectively, has meant that players who have been playing longer have access […]
Changyou's World of Shadowbane is gearing up for a global Steam launch in January
Remember way back in 2015, when Chinese studio Changyou bought up the rights to classic territorial warfare MMORPG Shadowbane and relaunched it overseas as World of Shadowbane? It was welcome news, though western players were still stuck playing on emulators instead. But six months ago, Changyou began testing an international version of the game, and […]
Dauntless shares patch notes for its Reforged update as Phoenix Labs expands its operations
Today is the day where Dauntless gets Reforged. The much-ballyhooed update that shifts a number of the multiplayer RPG's base systems — particularly how players find Behemoths to hunt and how they progress — is going live today and has shared some patch notes ahead of time. The notes themselves, as one would expect, link […]
Sea of Thieves announces Seasons, the arrival of a battle pass, and the end of active development for Arena
It's been some time since Sea of Thieves kicked out a news bulletin video — three months to be exact — but that time away has meant that the most recent news video is chock full of information about where the pirating sandbox (oceanbox?) is going as the new year rolls forward. The video first […]
The Soapbox: Red Dead Online is just not as fun as it should be
A few weeks ago, I detailed my newfound adventures in the single-player title Red Dead Redemption 2. More relevant to our interests here on MassivelyOP, when I purchased the game it came with an MMO version, Red Dead Online. As a fan of MMOs and someone who has thoroughly enjoyed RDR2, I naturally decided to […]
Skyforge has delayed its planned fall Nintendo Switch launch to February 2021
One of the highlights of the end of 2020 was meant to be Skyforge's Switch launch, but unfortunately, My.games has opted to delay the release until next year. The hard date is now February 4th, 2021. "We know many of you were looking forward to playing it sooner, and we're sorry that we couldn't make […]
Vague Patch Notes: You are and are not who you are in MMOs
If you've never been hit in the face, you're not really prepared for when someone does it, much less when it's a fist instead of an open-palmed slap. There's a sort of misfire that happens in your brain acknowledging that you've just been struck in the face, something that sends a hot flame down your […]
Pearl Abyss plans to reveal Crimson Desert during this year's Game Awards
If you wanted a clear-cut reason to watch The Game Awards on December 10th, Pearl Abyss is happy to oblige: It's planning on releasing its first gameplay trailer for Crimson Desert during the show. Crimson Desert, of course, is one of multiple new MMORPGs that the Black Desert studio announced in the fall of 2019, […]
RIFT's Fae Yule has a few surprises in store for Telara's faithful, including a new world event
What better present could starved and hungry RIFT players ask for — and receive — than some brand-new content for their neglected MMO? Thanks to the good people over at Ghar Station and their datamining efforts, we know that such a gift is on the way to all good little Guardians and Defiants. With the […]
Final Fantasy XIV updates its site for patch 5.4 with more details on gear, side activities, and rewards
It's only a few more days until Final Fantasy XIV brings players into the content-filled world of patch 5.4, but there's still a bit more to show off on the special site ahead of the full update. Players can, for example, get a glance at the new gear available for Allagan Tomestones of Revelations, along with […]
New World of Warcraft trailers drop for WoW Classic's Naxxramas and Shadowlands
Today is a momentous day for WoW Classic, as Blizzard is triggering the ultimate patch for the vanilla-era edition of the game. That's right, it's time to head into Naxxramas and raid to your heart's content (granted that you're properly geared and don't have a fear of spiders and dead things). Blizzard accidentally released the […]
The Daily Grind: Are you more hopeful about Daybreak after the latest sale?
There's a strong sense of cynicism around these parts when it comes to Daybreak, probably due to how frequently Daybreak goes to extreme lengths to Daybreak. But now Daybreak has been acquired by another company, again, and the acquisition seems to have gone off as one big sale even after Daybreak's last owner went to […]
The Stream Team: Fractured for friends
Would you become Fractured for a friend? Massively OP's MJ would! Although she hasn't really wandered around in this world since the spring stress test, she's happy to hop back in to honor MOP friends' requests. It does mean starting all over with a new character, but she's up for the challenge. How are things […]
Econia is a 'new MMO business simulator' out now on mobile and arriving to PC in 2021
So what if you had a business tycoon game where you focused on running a major business and had to compete against other players in real time? That's the overall thrust of Econia, a newly released mobile game that challenges 14 players to play against one another in one map to run a successful business […]
Whatever happened to pre-alpha indie MMORPG Arcfall?
Earlier this year when we last checked in with Arcfall, an Ultima Online-inspired indie MMO, we learned that the team had hopes to officially launch the game by the end of the year. So how's that shaping up? Well, it doesn't look like that release is going to happen in 2020, considering that the MMO […]
Osiris: New Dawn's Survival update doubles down on survival mechanics and improves performance
If you prefer more "survival" in your survival sandbox gaming, then last week's appropriately named Survival update to Osiris: New Dawn is likely going to be right up your alley, as the update has put a greater emphasis on survival mechanics: Environmental hazards are more brutal, tools will have to be repaired as they deteriorate, […]
Mankind Reborn offers updates on territory control, Cliea 5A48, and several system overhauls
It's been rather quiet on the news front for Mankind Reborn, the spiritual successor for the sunsetted sandbox MMO Face of Mankind; the last update we got was in May. However, the devs at Far Frontier Studios have resurfaced once again with new updates as well as an explanation for the radio silence. In short, […]
Trove, ArcheAge, Defiance, and RIFT start handing out digital advent calendars for the holidays
I'd never been really familiar with advent calendars until I met my husband, who is from Wales, and we bought ourselves an advent calendar for the holidays one year. I've never really understood why I've not seen them around me a lot, especially since they clearly come in some interesting varieties. The point of all […]
City of Heroes: Homecoming starts its holiday event and improves long-range transport
Oh, there's no place like City of Heroes: Homecoming for the holidays, for no matter how far you should roam… you can always get back to where you need to be with the help of long-range teleportation. Yes, this rogue server has turned on its winter event this year, and if you've celebrated in the pat you'll […]
Red Dead Online is now just $5 as a standalone product, plus the bounty hunter expansion is live
If you haven't played Red Dead Online yet because you didn't want to shell out for Red Dead Redemption 2, now is the time to act: Rockstar has now made good on its plan to offer Red Dead Online as a standalone product, and it's cheap as heck too right now at just $4.99 through […]
The Elder Scrolls Online promises a crash fix patch for PC and console next week
Update 28 of The Elder Scrolls Online has apparently not exactly landed on all fours for many people, according to a series of tweets from the game's official account, with several players on both PC and consoles experiencing "active game crashes" among a host of other problems. That said, the same tweet thread promises that […]
Fortnite closes Chapter 2 Season 4 with a Galactus fight and launches Season 5 with the Mandalorian
The world of Fortnite has gone off-the-rails wild as its moved through the seasons of Chapter 2. Season 4 closed out yesterday with a massive in-game event involving flying the Battle Bus in an arcade shooter to fight Galactus, which reportedly saw some big numbers: 15.3 million concurrent players and 3.4 million watching on YouTube […]
Lord of the Rings Online composer revives his music company after ponzi scheme fiasco
Two years after fraud ruined his company, Chance Thomas is back. The Academy Award-winning composer (and composer of great portions of Lord of the Rings Online's soundtrack) announced this week that he's bringing his company back from financial ruin. "Two years after fraud destroyed HUGEsound, I've finally extracted the record company," Chance said. "This includes […]
Desert Oasis: Black Desert Online should be 2020's MMO of the year
Well here we are again, heading to the end of another year. And while many are eager for this year to end, us gamers have a tradition that can't be ignored: declaring the games that defined our year. And today, I take my little mole hill and build it into a mountain: Black Desert Online should […]
Camelot Unchained talks up development of new Verdant Forest biome and RvR map
The month of November saw the devs of Camelot Unchained improving the game's landmass quite a bit. In the latest newsletter, we get a look at the creation of the new and improved Verdant Forest biome as well as word of a new RvR map. The new Verdant Forest not only brings some dark fantasy […]
Console LOTRO and DCUO's huge playerbase: Everything we just learned about Daybreak thanks to EG7
MMO twitter has been ablaze since yesterday's announcement that Daybreak is being bought up in its entirety by Swedish games company Enad Global 7, largely thanks to the huge swath of information EG7 is offering to investors on Daybreak, a company that has been notoriously tight-lipped about its plans to the point that it actually […]
End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO surprises of 2020
Whew. We're finally getting close to the end of 2020, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that it cannot get here fast enough. This year has been awful, and I'm not even the first person to point that out. And as we start in on our end-of-year roundups, it's […]
Guild Wars 2 rolls out a PvP class balance patch
It's that old adage of MMOs that nobody wants developers to mess with their classes — unless the devs totally buff those classes up even more. So there is always some fear and trepidation when you read through an MMO's balance pass to see if you're in for some love, some hate, or some major […]
LOTRO, DDO, EverQuest, DCUO, and PlanetSide 2 studio heads reassure players about Daybreak sale
Following yesterday's revelation that Daybreak has been sold to Swedish company Enad Global 7 for $300M, the bosses at Daybreak's substudio have all now posted messages to their communities. Landon Falls, Senior Producer on Dimensional Ink's DC Universe Online, assured his fanbase that "this change will have next to no impact on DCUO's development" or […]
Preview: Dauntless' Reforged update brings new gameplay, new potential, and unanswered questions
As we've been covering over the past few weeks, Dauntless is going to be shaking up the basic way to play and progress with the Reforged update, all of which is due to arrive tomorrow. I had the opportunity to take a moment to dive into some of the major features of this update, including […]
The Daily Grind: What features from single-player games would you like to see in MMOs?
Let's be honest: Sometimes we might play games other than MMOs. Treason, I know, but that's also what's called being "well-rounded" and "a gamer geek." I actually think it's very healthy to have a wider gaming portfolio because it helps you gain a greater perspective on our hobby and our art. And I'm sure that […]
The Stream Team: EverQuest II's Ruins of Ssraeshza
Shadow veins of dark power appear to converge in the ruins of an EQII shissar temple on Luclin, and Massively OP's MJ needs to investigate. Besides the Blood of Luclin convergence point, she might also find Emperor Ssraeshza and his hordes of shissar there beyond the portal to the Ruins of Ssraeshza. Tune in live […]
A3: Still Alive introduces a new area, level cap raise, and new PvP content in latest update
A3: Still Alive has recently kicked out its first major post-launch update, which is bringing players of the mobile PvPvE title some new things to look forward to related to pretty much all of the letters of that acronym. At the top of the list is the arrival of a new region known as Metium, […]
Albion Online explains the big changes coming to PvP with the newest season
Don't you love when developers give you a choice? Albion Online has done that with its latest official dispatch, providing a video you can view below or a full text summary of the changes coming to the game's eleventh PvP season. But the choice also commes in with the new 20v20 battles in the Crystal League, […]
Path of Exile provides an advance look at starter gear for the Endless Delve event
Remember when Path of Exile announced a number of in-game events running through December? Just in case you forgot (or didn't click through that link), one of them will be the Endless Delve, which as its name suggests will be a never-ending delve into the Azerite Mine. Regular players should know that this particular location […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 299: Out of the Shadowlands and into the light
Eliot joins Justin and Bree to discuss World of Warcraft: Shadowlands' launch, Fallout 76's surprise patch, FFXIV's next patch, and TERA's console crossplay, with a Daily Grind Blitz to lead us in, plus mailbag topics on remaking older MMOs and storylines that wreck your roleplay.
RuneScape talks up a new boss fight, the Advent Calendar's return, and wide-reaching patch updates
The current week in RuneScape is pretty busy judging from the game's regular missive, with an event, a boss, and a patch that by its own admission is "all over the place." On the game news side, there's the start of this year's Advent Calendar, granting players free goodies every day up until Christmas. Those […]
What the heck is Krafton up to this week
Krafton Krafton Krafton. This massive Korean games company has been a whirlwind of confusion over the last couple of years as it's smooshed around its holdings and substudios and companies. Let's try to sort it out, shall we? Here's what we think we know: The company actually began life as Bluehole back in 2008 and […]
Skyforge details the improvements to the new player experience coming with the next patch
If you haven't played Skyforge yet, the developers would like you to do so. Obviously they would also like you to continue playing if you're already a fan of the game, but the new player experience that's being rolled out along with the next patch on December 2nd for PC players is focused on, well, new […]
Daybreak has been sold – again – this time to EG7 Global for $300M
Who had this on the end-of-the-year bingo card? Apparently, Daybreak has been bought out – again. The company holding the hot potato this round is EG7 Global, which you'll recall just recently made news for buying up Piranha Games, which runs Mechwarrior Online. According to the press release, the sale price for Daybreak was $300,000,000. […]
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go's Go Beyond update is surprisingly solid for vets and newcomers alike
Yes, in case you missed it, Pokemon Go's Go Beyond update is live. My preview piece was updated right up to the release, so if you're not sure what all the hubbub is about, feel free to give it a once over. The big points are the new level cap (50), XP retuning, Seasons (both […]
Black Desert pushes back its digital Calpheon Ball as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 is such a threat, it's even causing digital events to be delayed. According to an announcement post from Black Desert, preventative measures that are required to fight back a resurgent pandemic will cause this year's Calpheon Ball — which was already going digital because of COVID-19 — to be pushed back a week. The […]
