Eight-year-old Pirate101 is essentially in maintenance mode with no new content planned for the next year
We've got some unfortunate but not unexpected news from Pirate101 this week, as KingsIsle has admitted that its content drought will continue for the foreseeable future. "In the September 2019 producer letter, we discussed a bit about the future of our updates – specifically that we were not considering any new worlds but looking at […]
Taking a look at World of Warcraft's new starter experience, Exile's Reach
While we are still in a holding pattern to know the launch date of Shadowlands, the good news is that you don't have to wait a single moment to try out one of World of Warcraft's brand-new zones. With this week's patch 9.0, Blizzard added the fresh starting area of Exile's Reach, which is playable […]
Pantheon restructures to allow 'more rapid development,' will start next alpha phase this month
Acknowledging that there has been "a great deal of confusion" around the current state of Pantheon, Visionary Realms posted a new producer's letter to explain the history of the MMORPG's development and what's on the horizon. In a nutshell, the team acknowledged that it had "backed itself into a corner" with its hardcoding and was […]
'Welcome back Freelancers': It looks like Gamigo might be reviving Atlas Reactor
The date is June 28th, 2019. It's the crack of dawn. And Gamigo has just sunsetted Atlas Reactor, one of the multiple Trion Worlds games that Gamigo picked up when Trion went under two years ago. The game's got a weird sort of cult status in the genre, with elements of MMOs, MOBAs, shooters, and […]
EverQuest announces its 27th expansion, Claws of Veeshan
Perhaps EverQuest fans were a little concerned that Daybreak might not be able to put out its yearly expansion, what with COVID and all. Rest easy, fair Norrathans, because Claws of Veeshan is coming! The studio officially announced its 27th expansion for the MMO this week, saying that it will be taking pre-orders and putting […]
We finally know who's taking over TERA's NA PC version: It's Gameforge
Two days ago, we wrote with some consternation over the fact that we knew when En Masse's TERA servers would be closing down and even when currency would transfer to the new publisher – but even two months later, we still didn't know who exactly was taking over the North American PC version of the […]
The Daily Grind: How solid do you think your memory of your favorite MMO's history is?
Ages ago, I wrote a column in which I jokingly pointed out that in order to really get the WoW Classic experience, you should need add-ons to enable multiple action bars. People tried to counter that this was not the case, as the game already had the option… but it didn't at launch. Multiple action bars weren't […]
The Stream Team: A handful of droids on SWTOR's Hoth
Corellia took too long, so Massively OP's Larry and MJ were not really able to hunt down the droids on Hoth last time. But today, today is the day they brave the snow on their tauntauns (not in) to find each and every droid for that SWTOR achievement. And they won't leave until the last […]
Genshin Impact outlines its update schedule for its next three major patches
It appears that miHoYo's Genshin Impact has certainly had an… impact on potential players. (We have fun here.) But the developers are not resting on their collective laurels and assuming that all that needs to be done has already been done; instead, they're pushing forward with plans not just for the game's next update of version 1.1, […]
Phantasy Star Online 2 collaborates to sell NieR: Automata packs
Have you ever been playing one game and felt that it could be improved by importing characters and looks from a completely different franchise? Usually, such daydreams are beyond the reach of mortals, but in the case of Phantasy Star Online 2 and NieR: Automata, it's actually a thing. SEGA collaborated to do a crossover […]
Dauntless teases gliders, Halloween, new islands, and a frosty new Behemoth in its roadmap
While most folks playing Dauntless are likely focused on farming the latest horrifying tree beast, the devs at Phoenix Labs are working on a variety of new things as evidenced by a number of roadmap updates. One of the headlines is a new frost-powered Behemoth, though details on this new fight are thin as is […]
Wagadu Chronicles reaches Ikaki people and live musician stretch goals, showcases main theme
With the $160,000 barrier crossed in its Kickstarter campaign, The Wagadu Chronicles has committed itself to developing a new lineage of people (read: playable race) called the Ikaki. "The Ikaki (or Fish Folk) are often fishers, traders, soothsayers and even pirates. They are practical, hands-on people who love the sea," the team said. "We'll be […]
Guild Wars 2 studio ArenaNet appears to be suffering another round of layoffs
It looks as though ArenaNet is suffering a fresh round of layoffs, as Jennifer Scheurle, a lead designer on one of the Guild Wars 2 company's other in-development games, announced on Twitter that she's been let go "as part of a re-shuffling of projects." Well. I just lost my job at ArenaNet as of today […]
PlanetSide 2 kicks off Nanite of the Living Dead VII: The Seeds Must Flow today
The annual Halloween event has arrived in PlanetSide 2 as of today, and you get the vague sense that the designers really went all in on this one. Seriously, did you see that space pumpkin in the header? You need to shoot it for rewards, but one suspects that you'd be tempted to shoot it anyhow if you […]
Black Desert Mobile adds the Tamer class, Black Desert PC kicks off Halloween
The month of October brings with it another gaggle of treats for players of Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile, with both games introducing new things to enjoy like a new class or some new Halloween-themed events. On mobile, the Tamer class has officially launched, bringing with her a short sword, a trinket, and the […]
Overwatch's Halloween Terror is back once again with new cosmetics and challenge missions
The well-known (and regularly repeated) Halloween event of Overwatch is back once again. It's time for Halloween Terror 2020, bringing along the usual Junkenstein's Revenge content, which will add two challenge missions each week for a total of six over the course of the event's run. Expect things like faster moving and exploding Zomnics, heroes […]
Secret World Legends offers up public raids and daily login rewards for Samhain 2020
The Halloween season is especially near and dear to Secret World Legends' heart, what with its whole vibe of Anima-powered people taking on literal gods, monsters, and mythological terrors. So it stands to reason that the game will be celebrating with its Samhain 2020 event, though this one appears decidedly less meaty than previous Samhain […]
Some Assembly Required: How clever gamers solved Dual Universe's massive puzzle event in record time
If you are a fan of sandboxes and virtual worlds – and you are reading Some Assembly Required, so you probably are – then you are likely looking for more to do in your games than just quaff quests, delve dungeons, and run raids. You seek alternate activities. How about a deep, years-long scavenger hunt […]
Final Fantasy XIV announces the Make it Rain campaign starting on October 21
There will sadly be no All Saints' Wake in Final Fantasy XIV this year; the game's annual ghoulish celebration is a victim of the development delays in the wake of the global pandemic. This is unfortunate, but it does mean that the annual Make it Rain campaign is starting early and includes a representative from the […]
Explaining Genshin Impact's impact: The reinvention of gachapon
Yes, I know Genshin Impact isn't an MMORPG. It's not even an MMO; it's just regular old multiplayer. But when its first four days sees 17 million players and $50M in revenue, either something went really right or well-trodden MMO business models are beginning to show distinct flaws. Both MMO players and developers should be […]
Titan Reach devs admit their Kickstarter is doomed, plan Indiegogo instead
You might have noticed that the Kickstarter for "old school" MMORPG Titan's Reach has just a few days to go and yet has raised only $125,000 of its $421,578 goal. Sydney-based Square Root Studios isn't oblivious to this reality, either, and in fact the team has already posted plans for its next steps. "Unfortunately, we […]
Perfect Ten: 10 notable MMO developers that shut their doors
When En Masse Entertainment announced that it would be closing its doors this fall, we here at Massively OP came to the realization that there really haven't been as many studio shutdowns over the years in comparison to how many MMOs have been sunsetted. Titles are born and titles die, but their studios often live […]
Unions in Europe call on Blizzard employees in France to strike against the closure of the Versailles office
Last week we had reported the unfortunate news that Blizzard would be shutting down an office in Versailles, France, displacing 285 employees who handled a variety of tasks for EU players including customer service, localization, and marketing duties among other things. Now, a letter shared by YouTube channel Taliesin & Evitel calls for employees of […]
EVE Online launches Quadrant 4: Phoenix to cap off the Triglavian invasion arc
With 2020 finally and blessedly coming to an end, EVE Online is reaching the climax of its long-running Triglavian invasion content plot too, and today it's kicking off its final quadrant of the year, dubbed Phoenix. "As the Triglavian invasion comes to its year-long finale, EVE pilots will be faced with rebuilding New Eden and […]
Surprise! Gamigo's MMO RIFT is testing out a new zone area
Ever since the transfer of RIFT from Trion Worlds to Gamigo, players have experienced a content drought that's only been addressed with drips and dribbles of patches ever since. But could a more substantial patch be on the way? Well, yes and no. Don't get your hopes up too much, but when fan site The […]
World of Warcraft weathers a wild pre-patch launch night
After a very long wait for the servers to come back up yesterday, World of Warcraft officially jumped into the Shadowlands era last night with the release of its 9.0 pre-patch. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, especially for players in Europe, with WoW Tokens being taken offline, chat not working all of […]
The Daily Grind: What character customization option do you use in all your MMOs?
We are nothing if not creatures of habit, even when it comes to the wild game worlds we visit. There's also something to be said for creating continuity between MMOs by fashioning characters that sort of look like each other. At least for myself, I've noticed that I do tend to lean on the same […]
The Stream Team: Going to Glint's lair in Guild Wars 2
Last Guild Wars 2-sday, Massively OP's MJ collected all of the lost dragon's memory shards. Now, she must get to Glint's lair to search for that weapon before the enemy Balthazar does so she can keep the world safe. Tune in live at 8:00 p.m. for more GW2 Path of Fire story. What: Guild Wars […]
Shroud of the Avatar introduces players to the Breach adventure scene
Into the Breach with you, Shroud of the Avatar backers of a specific tier! That's the name of the next adventure scene being added to the MMORPG soon, with Episode 2 Access holders once again getting first crack at the location. The Breach is a modified version of Dysborg Ruins, a PvP scene located along […]
League of Legends officially reveals Seraphine the Starry-Eyed Songstress
At this point, the fact that there's now a pop star champion in the League of Legends roster should come as little surprise to fans, what with the whole K/DA thing and the fact that the character has already been on Twitter a fair bit. Be that as it may, we can now officially confirm […]
Crowfall hosts a week-long series of sieges to stress test the game and improve performance
The devs of Crowfall are trying their best to squeeze out as much performance from the game as possible, but to do that, they need data. That's where a week of Dregs campaign sieges comes into play. Starting between now and Friday, October 16th, ArtCraft will be working with the Unity engine team to record […]
Massively OP Podcast Episode 292: Burning down the Amazon gameforest
Justin and Bree discuss Crucible, Star Trek Online, Black Desert, FFXIV, Star Citizen, WoW, MMO Halloween, and new games from CCP and Zenimax, with adventures in LOTRO, WoW, SWG Legends, and Torchlight III, plus an audio mailbag topic on ragequitting.
Fallout 76 drops a huge bug fix patch, lays groundwork for Steel Dawn
Mutant radroaches may dominate the landscape of Fallout 76, but the truly insidious bugs are the ones that have been crawling all over the game for a long while now. So while it might be disappointing to some to see that today's Update 23 doesn't contain any new content or features, the Bethesda realist knows […]
Judge ensures Epic's Unreal Engine remains on Apple's iOS while warning of 'serious ramifications' for consoles
While we still have a long way to go before the Epic Apple feud begins its bench trial, there's been a couple of notable moves by Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers ahead of the official trial. A preliminary injunction released on Friday has ensured that Epic Games' developer account should stay in place, which includes Unreal […]
SMITE introduces the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as unique character skins in an upcoming battle pass
With the wild success of the Avatar and Korra battle pass, it's perhaps unsurprising that SMITE is going to try and pull the same trick, this time using the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A cinematic trailer has unveiled the TMNT Battle Pass which dresses up Osiris, Sun Wukong, Loki, and Mercury as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, […]
Guild Wars 2's Shadow of the Mad King Halloween 2020 is officially live
Shadow of the Mad King is back in Guild Wars 2 for the Halloween season of this hell year, and if you're really fast, you'll beat me to the candy corn. Nope, too slow, I already ate it all. But don't worry because there's plenty more to do: Players will be playing Mad King Says, […]
Neverwinter's Redeemed Citadel releases Milestone III on PC today
The continued growth of the Redeemed Citadel in Neverwinter has a date for PC players: today. Today's patch will see the beginning of Milestone III, which once again introduces a new server progress goal and a new leaderboard for players to climb. This milestone's leaderboard goal will be to summon Zariel as a companion, while […]
Choose My Adventure: Remnant From the Ashes is the action shooter MMO I didn't know I wanted
I miss out on a lot of games. It happens. It's bound to happen. There are likely countless numbers of titles that escape my notice, and that's fine. But I am genuinely upset at myself that I didn't try Remnant: From the Ashes sooner. Especially since I have nobody to blame but myself. It's not […]
Here's everything we know about the TERA PC, TERA Console, and Closers transfers
The handover of TERA and Closers from En Masse to its parent company Krafton and Naddic, respectively, has been… well let's be honest, it's been a confusing mess. The company is clearing trying to rectify that with some of its announcements this week, with some but not complete success. Let's start with TERA Console. On […]
Flameseeker Chronicles: Tips and tricks for Guild Wars 2's roller beetle racing
I'm not a big racing game person. Sure, I played my fair share of Mario Kart 64 back in the day, but beyond that, I'm just not that into that kind of high-speed, track-memorizing gameplay. So when Guild Wars 2 introduced roller beetle racing back in 2018, I didn't pay much attention to it. Recently, […]
Rumor: The next Final Fantasy XIV expansion is titled Forspoken
It's that time once more, when Final Fantasy XIV fans have scoured trademark registrations to discover the title of the next FFXIV expansion! After all, we all know it's happening and it's around the same time. And sure enough, a registration has turned up for "Forspoken," which places it within the right timeframe for registration and at […]
PWE and Echtra Games' Torchlight III has officially launched
It's not an MMO now, but it's finally live: Torchlight III has officially launched today. Originally pitched as a free-to-play MMORPG called Torchlight Frontiers by Echtra Games and PWE way back in 2018, the game won two of our "most anticipated" awards and lingered in long open test periods with worrying delays before admitting in January […]
World of Warcraft launches the Shadowlands pre-patch today
As of today, World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is over, because the Shadowlands pre-patch for the game has finally released! And there was much rejoicing. This means that the level squish will be in place, players will have access to several un-pruned abilities, new customization options, Chromie Time, and so forth. There's a whole lot of […]
Final Fantasy XIV patch 5.35 is out today with a community pilot program
It's time to take the fight to the Garlean Empire in a very small way on the Bozjan Southern Front in Final Fantasy XIV. Yes, it's patch day once again, and that means players now have access to new adventures in the aforementioned battleground that both serve as a leveling mechanism for underleveled jobs and a […]
ArcheAge plans Chronicle patch as players boggle over Unchained's proposed new ArchePass
Gamigo is rolling out a patch this week for ArcheAge as well as ArcheAge Unchained: Come October 15th, both versions of the game will see the addition of vehicle customization, the return of a lineage of bosses, and a new quest arc: "The episodic Chronicle quest-line, Calleil and the Crown Prince, unravels in a separate […]
Dungeons and Dragons Online: Fables of the Feywild's bundles includes a $130 edition
With Dungeons and Dragons Online's next expansion tentatively scheduled for November 4th, Standing Stone Games is urging players to get ready for Fables of the Feywild by placing their pre-orders now. The base edition is $40 and includes the actual game content plus the shapeshifting Shifter race. There are more expensive editions, with $80 and […]
The Daily Grind: Which MMOs out there could use a level squish of their own?
MOP backer and fellow blogger Terminally Nerdy pinged us a few weeks back with an interesting conundrum: He was trying to think of other MMOs that have implemented level squishes akin to World of Warcraft's. Off the top of our heads, we couldn't think of one – only corner cases that aren't quite the same […]
The Stream Team: Rescuing the pack to find Fennorian in Elder Scrolls Online's Greymoor
Mordal was frozen, Karthwatch is kaput, and now Massively OP's MJ needs to rescue a pack of werewolves down in Elder Scrolls Online's Blackreach caverns. Then Edjar will lead MJ to the evil Exarch who abducted Fennorian. Join us live at 8:00 p.m. to continue the Greymoor story. What: The Elder Scrolls Online Who: MJ […]
Spellbreak brings new weekly quests, deathmatch, and Halloween cosmetics on October 22
A storm is gathering in the battle royale title Spellbreak. A prologue of things to come. How do we know that? Because we've been told about Prologue: The Gathering Storm, the first seasonal content update that will land on Thursday, October 22nd, free to all players with a number of new things to do. The […]
Warframe showcases its next Frame, names the new Necramech, and previews new Deimos content
There's been another home devstream from the folks of Warframe, and as usual it crams a bunch of reveals in its hour-long runtime. In this stream we have a (possibly tentative) name for the next Necramech, an overview of the next Heart of Deimos update entitled Deimos Arcana along with several new infested weapons, a […]
