Playable Worlds
Playable Worlds business and news from across the web.
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MMO Week in Review: Destiny 2’s revival, Aion 2’s stress test
This week's MMO news covers Destiny 2's revival with unvaulted content, Aion 2's stress test, and Ultima Online's 29th anniversary. Dune Awakening launched on consoles, Elder Scrolls Online discussed experimental features, and Microsoft continued layoffs. World of Warcraft Forever is impressing players, while other news includes The Division 2, Marathon, Warframe, and various other MMO updates and discussions.
Make My MMO: Loftia’s impending beginning, Ship of Heroes’ inevitable end
This column tracks the status of crowdfunded MMOs, highlighting upcoming early access launches for Loftia and Monsters & Memories. It also reports on the sunsetting of Ship of Heroes, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's delay and layoffs, and updates on various other crowdfunded titles.
Stars Reach talks up building updates as it promises to ‘pay attention to growth’ and ‘features, not just fires’
Playable Worlds CEO Raph Koster announced that Stars Reach is shifting focus from reactive 'firefighting' to proactive feature development and growth. Upcoming updates will prioritize housing customization, new building pieces, and improved missions, with future plans including multi-story buildings and enhanced town management mechanics.
Stars Reach continues its hotfixing for crafting recipes, storage, and public events
Playable Worlds has released a hotfix for Stars Reach, addressing issues with crafting recipes, storage, and public events. The update includes normalization of crafting stations, reintroduction of oil and wood refining, and bug fixes for public events like boss projectile counts and meteor showers.
Make My MMO: Stars Reach’s prospects, Squadron 42’s postponements
This article provides an update on various crowdfunded MMORPGs. Stars Reach has launched into early access with server issues but is actively patching. Squadron 42 has been delayed again, citing Grand Theft Auto 6 as a reason, adding to its decade-long postponement. Pantheon Rise of the Fallen continues its slow development on a combat revamp, with player numbers declining significantly.
Planet Coaster studio Frontier Developments announces new title based on Disney IP
Industry leaders like Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and Playable Worlds CEO Raph Koster describe the current state of the video game industry as a "Crash 2.0," the worst since the 1980s. They cite escalating AAA development costs, component shortages exacerbated by AI infrastructure demand, and internal dysfunctions as key factors contributing to this downturn.
"This is the worst crash we've seen since the 1980s," says Tim Sweeney
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and other industry experts describe the current state of the gaming industry as "Crash 2.0," the worst since the 1980s. They cite escalating AAA development costs, component shortages driven by AI investment, and a lack of platform resets as major contributing factors to this severe disruption.
Stars Reach’s latest hotfix addresses lost homesteads, marketplace listing bugs, and stability
Stars Reach has released a new hotfix addressing several issues, including a serialization problem affecting marketplace listings and safeguards to prevent homesteads from being lost. The update also includes optimizations for flora and fauna and ongoing efforts to resolve server crashes. Access to two wild wormhole planets has been temporarily disabled while developers work on a fix.
Stars Reach’s latest early access patch buffs character speed and adds craftable player vendors
Playable Worlds has released a new patch for the early access MMORPG Stars Reach, addressing performance and stability issues, including server crashes and rubberbanding. The update also overhauls character movement speed, improves inventory management with a 'merge all' option, enhances structure placement, adds craftable player vendors, and refines the player market.
MMO Week in Review: Way too early access
This week's MMO news covers the early access launch of Stars Reach, which some consider premature. Other highlights include a look at Guild Wars 3's Kodan, Daybreak's acquisition of Cold Iron Studios, new content for EverQuest Legends, and an analysis of the survival game Stormforge. The article also touches on various other MMO updates, rumors, and industry discussions.
SWG lead's new MMO, Stars Reach, almost lost me—until I met an animal conservationist mayor
Stars Reach, an MMO from Raph Koster, known for Star Wars: Galaxies, has launched in early access with a high price point and a messy, unfinished state. While the game's vision of a socially-driven experience with diverse skill trees is apparent, its current implementation suffers from janky mechanics, a poor first impression, and a lack of direction, though glimpses of compelling player-driven community building offer hope for its future.
Stars Reach puts out a hotfix that attacks a wide list of bugs and issues
Playable Worlds has released a hotfix for their early access MMO, Stars Reach, addressing numerous bugs and issues. The patch includes fixes for rubberbanding, crafting, collection, and more, though the studio admits it's not a complete solution. User reviews remain mixed on Steam, with player concurrency numbers having dropped significantly since launch.
‘We aren’t where we want to be yet in terms of server stability,’ says Stars Reach boss
Stars Reach, an early access MMORPG sandbox, is experiencing significant server stability and performance issues shortly after its launch. Playable Worlds' Raph Koster acknowledged these problems, stating the team is working on patches to address bugs, optimization, and gameplay blockers. The game has struggled to maintain a large player base and has received mixed reviews due to its pre-alpha state.
Raph Koster’s Kickstarted sandbox MMORPG Stars Reach officially enters early access today
Stars Reach, the sandbox MMORPG spearheaded by veteran developer Raph Koster, has officially entered early access today. Developed by Playable Worlds, the game offers deep social, political, and crafting content with a focus on player-driven world transformation. The early access period will last at least six months, with a progression wipe planned before the 1.0 launch, which will be free-to-play.
Make My MMO: Stars Reach’s imminent early access, Book of Travels’ farewell
Stars Reach, an MMORPG developed by Raph Koster and Playable Worlds, is launching into early access soon, with Kickstarter backers able to collect their keys. Meanwhile, the tiny MMO Book of Travels has sunsetted its multiplayer version and is now available as a single-player game. The article also provides updates on various other crowdfunded MMO projects, highlighting both successes and failures in the genre.
Here’s how Stars Reach Kickstarter backers can get their Steam keys and cosmetic goodies
Playable Worlds has provided instructions for Stars Reach Kickstarter backers to receive their Steam keys and in-game cosmetic items for the game's upcoming early access launch. Backers can find their keys in their Firstlook portal, with Steam keys redeemed on Steam and cosmetic keys redeemed in-game. An AMA session is scheduled for August 14th to discuss early access and future development.
Stars Reach gets ready to ‘go dark’ for a week prior to its early access launch
Playable Worlds is preparing for the early access launch of its space sandbox MMO, Stars Reach, on August 18th. The team thanked players for their participation in a recent stress test and emphasized that the launch build will be an alpha, with the goal of player input shaping the final game. Despite facing numerous challenges including turnover, COVID-19, budget constraints, and the loss of two developers, the company persevered with $40 million in funding to bring the ambitious indie title to fruition.
Stars Reach is readying another server slam this afternoon ahead of early access
Playable Worlds is conducting a server slam event for its upcoming MMORPG, Stars Reach, today at 2:00 p.m. EDT, ahead of its early access launch on August 18th. The event aims to replicate early access conditions by having players create new characters and progress through the starting zone to gather data and test server stability.
Stars Reach is releasing its final pre-early access update to overhaul crafting, weapons, and the UI
Playable Worlds is releasing a final major update for Stars Reach before its early access launch on August 18, 2026. This patch overhauls the user interface, crafting system, weapons, and adds new features like a recipe book and pharmacology groundwork. The update is expected to drop today, accompanied by a seven-hour maintenance period.
Raph Koster’s MMORPG Stars Reach officially announces paid early access is coming August 18
Playable Worlds announced that Raph Koster's sandbox MMORPG, Stars Reach, will launch its paid early access on Steam on August 18th. The game will feature three tiers of entry, offering increasing rewards and cosmetics. The early access build will include combat, trade, and crafting across multiple planets, with future updates planned for features like PvP and factions.
