MMORPG
Ongoing coverage on MMORPG.
Latest coverage
‘It’s Difficult To Justify the Investment’ – How MMORPGs Built (and Lost) the Live-Service Throne
This article discusses how MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and EverQuest pioneered the live-service game model. It explores how these games built the foundation for the industry's current obsession with never-ending online experiences, while also touching on how this model has evolved and sometimes faltered.
Throne and Liberty transitions service from Amazon Games to NCsoft on November 10
Throne and Liberty will transition its service from Amazon Games to NCsoft on November 10th. Players are advised that the auction house and cash shop purchases will be suspended on October 26th, with character data, items, and progression carrying over. Cross-platform play will remain supported.
To make World of Warcraft: Forever's controversial Skyborne less "jarring" to look at, Blizzard is going…
Blizzard Entertainment is addressing player concerns about the controversial Skyborne race in World of Warcraft: Forever by developing a Standard Definition (SD) model for them, which will arrive in early 2027. While the HD Skyborne models are currently available, the studio acknowledges they can appear jarring alongside the older SD models of existing races. Despite this addition, some players remain displeased with the Skyborne's inclusion and price tag.
World of Warcraft: Forever drops the PvP grind so normal people can have fancy titles too
World of Warcraft: Forever is simplifying its Player versus Player (PvP) system to make prestigious titles and gear more accessible to a wider player base. The new system will use a currency and point-based progression, removing the intense weekly leaderboard grind that previously discouraged casual players.
WoW: Forever Players Love It When Things Look Old
Players in the World of Warcraft: Forever beta have expressed a strong preference for the game's original, older visual style over updated high-definition models. Despite Blizzard's inclusion of modern visuals, community feedback consistently pushes for the classic aesthetic, which the developers have largely heeded, reverting updated models and portraits to their original forms.
Mortal Online 2 previews its first ‘Era of Refinement’ patch ahead of an October 14 PTR run
Star Vault has previewed the first patch for Mortal Online 2's 'Era of Refinement' update, focusing on core feature improvements. The patch includes changes to stamina regeneration, parry mechanics, a new Mental Fortitude skill, improved debuff visuals, and expanded loot tables. Players can test these changes on the Public Test Realm starting October 14th.
EverQuest II kicks off its annual prelude event, EverQuest kicks off beta testing for Favors of Fortune
EverQuest II has launched its annual 'Path to Sedition' prelude event, which sets the stage for its upcoming expansion, Descent to Val’zyroth, featuring new quests and rewards. Meanwhile, the original EverQuest has begun beta testing for 'Favors of Fortune,' including the Dark Elf Bard race/class combo and new content accessible via pre-ordering the expansion.
Casually Classic: Five more World of Warcraft Forever features that look amazing
This opinion piece highlights five features of the upcoming World of Warcraft Classic "Forever" project that are expected to be amazing. The author praises the developers' understanding of what made Classic special, the addition of new stories and zones, improvements to class diversity, realmless rulesets, and the embrace of "friction" in game design.
ArchAge Chronicles summarizes its gameplay and confirms its early access monetization in new video
XLGames has released a new video digest for ArcheAge Chronicles, detailing its gameplay and monetization plans. The open-world action MMORPG will feature a box price at early access with no cosmetics, and a cash shop planned for full release that aims to avoid pay-to-win mechanics. The developer also confirmed a PvP-focused demo on October 19th.
Perfect Ten: Revisiting our last ten ‘Stormiest Future’ winners
This article revisits Massively Overpowered's past predictions for MMORPGs with 'stormy futures,' analyzing the outcomes for games like New World, Cryptic Studios' library, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, and Star Citizen. Many of the predicted 'stormy' futures materialized, with some games shutting down or facing significant challenges, while others, like World of Warcraft and Cryptic Studios, have shown resilience or recovery.
City of Heroes: Homecoming adds new powersets and PvPvE mode alongside its Halloween event
City of Heroes: Homecoming has released Issue 28, page 4, introducing a new MOBA-like PvPvE mode called Onslaught, new powersets like Light Affinity and Sonic Aura, and costume options. The update also revamps the Citadel task force and brings back the game's Halloween event.
A Star Trek Online player survey offers some vague yet intriguing possibilities for future features
A player survey for Star Trek Online is exploring potential future features, including deeper ship life activities, expanded exploration, more significant bridge officer roles, enhanced roleplaying with choices and character development, a focused Star Trek era, and fleet command capabilities. While these are hypothetical and may not be implemented, the developers are seeking player input on what excites them most.
RuneScape issues apologies and promises for its Reignited characters after the reveal enrages veterans
Jagex has apologized to veteran RuneScape players following backlash to the "Reignited" character reveal at RuneFest. The developer acknowledged making long-standing players feel overlooked and promised to ensure veteran progress remains intact and better integrated with the new system. Player reaction remains mixed, with skepticism and threats to cancel subscriptions.
The Daily Grind: Which of the seven deadly sins do you encounter the most in MMOs?
This article discusses the prevalence of the seven deadly sins within the MMORPG genre, posing a question to players about which vice they encounter most frequently. It explores examples like pride in gear, greed in loot, wrath in toxicity, and sloth in player behavior.
Pirates of the Burning Sea has popped up once again on Steam
The MMORPG Pirates of the Burning Sea, originally released in 2008, has reappeared with a Steam page, sparking hope for its relaunch. While the game's official website and social media have been inactive since 2020, its presence on Steam is listed as 'coming soon,' suggesting potential renewed activity for the nautical adventure.
Massively OP Podcast Episode 582: The year of MMO sequels is upon us
The Massively OP Podcast episode 582 covers the announcement of RuneScape 4 and RuneScape Reignited, alongside recent MMO launches like Aion 2 and Dune Awakening. Discussions also include The Lord of the Rings Online's new expansion and neighbor system, EverQuest expansions, and WoW Forever's beta developments.
Cancelled MMO spin-off Borderlands Online is playable once again, and the team behind the unofficial project thankfully didn't use any genAI to get it running
A cancelled free-to-play MMORPG spin-off of Borderlands, Borderlands Online, has been made playable again by a team of modders. The project, originally planned for release in China, was found as a build a year ago and has now been translated to English and made functional. The team emphasized their decision to use the project now due to concerns about the increasing power of AI in unofficial game development.
Aion 2 hits 400,000 concurrent players in global launch
NCSoft's new MMORPG, Aion 2, has achieved a strong global launch, reaching over 400,000 concurrent players on Steam. The sequel to the 2008 title features modernized visuals and a map significantly larger than its predecessor. It is also available on mobile devices in some regions.
Choose My Adventure: Preparing for the first steps into Aion 2 – with your help
This article introduces a new 'Choose My Adventure' format for covering Aion 2, where readers will guide the author's in-game decisions. The author shares initial impressions from a scale test, noting familiar elements from the original Aion and a generally positive presentation, though questioning the necessity of mouselook. The focus will be on exploring player-chosen content as a free-to-play experience.
Vitae Aeternum: History will remember New World falsely
This opinion piece argues that the MMORPG New World is misunderstood and will be remembered unfairly due to its rocky launch and initial reputation. The author contends that despite significant developer efforts to improve PvE content and overhaul the game, public perception remains stuck on its early flaws, unlike the more forgiving reception of Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch.
