MMO Design
Ongoing coverage on MMO Design.
Latest coverage
World of Warcraft: Forever devs say a direct sequel like Guild Wars 2 is unlikely: 'Why would you throw that away…
World of Warcraft: Forever principal designer Kris Zierhut explains why a direct sequel like Guild Wars 2 is unlikely, citing the value of World of Warcraft's continuously developed engine and infrastructure. The article discusses the merits of remaking classic WoW versus starting anew, touching on technical debt and the appeal of older MMO design philosophies.
Smilegate will rescue Lost Ark's western servers, as Amazon ditches support while retreating from MMO development
Amazon Game Studios will cease support for the Western servers of Lost Ark in early 2027, with original developer Smilegate taking over operations. This transition will see Smilegate manage all global servers for the action RPG. While most account data will transfer, in-game mail, friends lists, and chat history will be wiped, and Spanish language support will be removed in October 2026.
Crimson Desert Is Better Than Before, Yet These 15 Issues Still Hurt It
Crimson Desert has seen improvements, achieving a "Mostly Positive" rating on Steam, but still suffers from 15 significant issues. These include problems with controller remapping, imprecise interaction prompts, a confusing 'stealing' mechanic, and a UI that requires further overhaul. The article also highlights issues with camera options, cutscene skipping, objective distance display, control toggles, HUD scaling, fast travel restrictions, non-permanent mounts, dragon mount cooldowns, skill tree usability, boss invincibility windows, and artifact management for specific characters.
