This was definitely not my favorite week in MMO history: Not only did we get sunset announcements for both ArcheAge and Genfanad but Blizzard canceled BlizzCon 2024, WoW killed off its Companion App, and Elite Dangerous showed why playing with matches is a bad idea.
On the other hand, Neverwinter launched Adventures in Wildspace, EVE Online announced Equinox, City of Heroes turned 20 years old, Guild Wars turned 19 years old, Albion Online’s EU server opened its headstart doors, and both Age of Water and Bellwright entered early access. What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts, true, but sometimes you really wanted on those swings.
Read on to catch up with the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions today as every Sunday (since 2010!) in Massively Overpowered’s Week in Review!THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Kakao’s western version of ArcheAge is sunsetting in June - I'm sorry to report this morning that the western version of ArcheAge is apparently shutting down: While we were sleeping, Kakao announced that it will sunset its ArcheAge servers come…
As Warcraft turns 30, Blizzard has preemptively canceled BlizzCon for 2024 - Well, you can read the headline: There's no BlizzCon this year after all, in spite of the fact that this is Warcraft's 30th anniversary and World of Warcraft's 20th and…
Into the Super-verse: Why the resurrection of 20-year-old City of Heroes is worth celebrating, even if you don’t play - There's a certain poetry to the fact that this year, on the 20th anniversary of City of Heroes, we can all play the game again on a licensed server. Oh,…
WoW Factor: Exit BlizzCon, for good this time? - Back in 2021, we learned that there was not going to be a BlizzCon 2022. This did not surprise me, and I penned a whole column that included speculation that…
Vitae Aeternum: So just what is New World’s big June announcement? - For the past few months, Amazon Games has repeated the same mantra in regards to New World's future: Wait for the announcement in June. But what will this announcement be?…
Escape from Tarkov causes firestorm by locking PvE mode behind $250 special edition - Battlestate Games has decided that access to a PvE mode for its otherwise PvP-centric shooter Escape from Tarkov is worth a whole lot of money. Specifically $250, as playing the…
LOTRO Legendarium: 27 practical benefits of LOTRO’s player housing - There's this ongoing common perception in MMOs like Lord of the Rings Online that player housing is good for one and only one purpose: to be a Barbie dollhouse where…
Stick and Rudder: So let’s talk about those Elite Dangerous pre-built ships - Over the past couple of days, I've been watching and writing about the fun little tire fire that Elite: Dangerous ignited when it announced that it would be selling pre-built…
MapleStory gears up for its 19th anniversary, launches MapleStory Worlds in Korea - While MapleStory 2 has become a distant memory for many of us, the MapleStory franchise is still going strong in 2024. In fact, Nexon just launched a new version of…
MMO shooter Line of Defense confirms a switch to UE5, lets former early access buyers set up private servers - It's been almost another four years since Derek Smart last talked about his efforts to resurrect the MMO shooter Line of Defense, but this time is different and more substantial,…
Dune Awakening teases its movable, taxable, base-buildy but cozy player housing - Fans of Funcom's Conan Exiles will eagerly point to the game's building as one of its strongest features, so it's no surprise that the studio's survival MMORPG Dune Awakening will…
Massively Overthinking: Is there a feature or item in MMORPGs you won’t play without? - I was jolted into a near panic earlier this past weekend when I saw a tweet from Lord of the Rings Online in which Standing Stone Games told players that…
Embers Adrift puts a stop to its content compression plans after player feedback - Last week saw Embers Adrift begin testing of a "content compression" adjustment that would see the MMORPG's max level lowered in order to get more people grouping together and make…
World of Warcraft is retiring the Companion App as it looks forward to the Cataclysm Classic conversion - If you're still salty about being asked this ages ago, don't worry, World of Warcraft fans. Blizzard no longer cares if you have a phone. At least not as far…
Elite Dangerous provides an elaborate deep-dive on how Powerplay 2.0’s mechanics and rewards will work - Despite the backdrop of Frontier Developments setting Elite: Dangerous players on fire with talk about cash shop ship bundles, the studio came together for another Frontier Unlocked livestream to talk…
Kickstarted MMORPG-turned-TCG Genfanad gives up, will sunset April 30 - ArcheAge isn't the only MMORPG announcing a sunset this week: Kickstarter success Genfanad is apparently closing its doors too. Genfanad is a browser-based nostalgia-driven indie MMO that was first announced…
Seafaring survival MMO Age of Water hits Steam early access, addresses premium perks - After a week-long false start, publisher Gaijin Entertainment and developer Three Whales Studio have brought Age of Water into the roiling and (arguably) crowded seas of multiplayer survival sandbox early…
Vague Patch Notes: When MMO designers build traps for players - So last week, I spent a whole lot of words talking about what "the meta" actually means when it comes to MMOs. Put very simply, the meta is just a…
ArenaNet shifts more resources to Classic Guild Wars as it turns 19 years old - Just a few weeks ago, the MassivelyOP team gathered round to speculate on what the Classic Guild Wars anniversaries might look like (and what we'd wish them to look like).…
Tamriel Infinium: Will Elder Scrolls Online Gold Road’s spell scribing be a gamechanger? - All the way back in 1996, Bethesda introduced an interesting feature with its second Elder Scrolls RPG. Daggerfall included "spellcrafting," a system that allowed players to modify and combine spells…
Here’s how EverQuest and EverQuest II 2024 progression servers – Anashti Sul, Teek, and Tormax – will work - When Daybreak dropped producer letters for EverQuest and EverQuest II earlier this month, the MMORPG fanbase immediately started buzzing about the new progression servers on deck - and this week,…
Homecoming celebrates City of Heroes’ 20th anniversary with a Paragon Studios dev Q&A - Believe it or not, this week marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of the original City of Heroes - and naturally, the officially licensed Homecoming-branded City of Heroes servers…
Fallout 76’s population spikes to one million players in one day thanks to the TV series - The Fallout franchise really is taking the world by storm this month, largely thanks to the super-successful Amazon Prime series (which already has been renewed for a second season). And…
Game devs are concerned about the sustainability of live-service titles - It certainly feels like live service is being tacked on to many recent game releases (whether it makes sense or not), which of course leads to worries among gamers and…
Steam is altering the early access refund deal – pray it does not alter it any further - If ever you needed another reason not to purchase or play games in early access, Valve has stepped forward to give you a huge one with the latest update to…
Perfect Ten: Great MMO April Fools’ Day pranks from back in the day - There are two types of people on April 1st: those who are annoyed and indifferent to the tomfoolery going on all around them, and those who gleefully embrace the zany…
Community-led Infantry Online, SOE’s 25-year-old shooter, marches its way onto Steam - It's quite likely that we have several veterans of Infantry Online in our Massively OP audience. After all, this was a Sony Online Entertainment game from back in the EverQuest…
Albion Online has kicked off early headstart for its new European server – no more wipes - There was a bit of a hiccup in getting it off the ground this morning, but it's here now: Albion Online's Albion Europe server has officially entered its first phase…
Elite Dangerous plans to sell ship bundles – including its upcoming new ship – in the cash shop - A new announcement from Elite: Dangerous has lit a tinderbox among its playerbase, as Frontier Developments has confirmed that it plans to start selling internet spaceships to players in its…
The Daily Grind: Transform an MMO into a better game by changing one letter in its title - Last week, all productivity in the MOP office ground to a halt when we started playing a game to change an MMO's title into another one by swapping a single…
Palia’s spring-themed update adds new friendship quests, decor, seeds, and ammo pouches today - Palia's first beta update since its confusing Steam launch and the layoff of more than a third of its team is here today, complete with a springy theme and new…
Global MapleStory resolves to ‘follow its own direction’ away from Korean version parity - Western fans of MapleStory have some understandable concerns about the future of their favorite cutesy MMO following news from the Korean version, specifically Nexon's manipulation of gear-boosting cubes and attempts…
Choose My Adventure: Elder Scrolls Online makes a play to be my second home MMO - When it comes to MMORPG games, most of the time I hold just one home title -- an MMO that I stay subscribed to or play pretty religiously because I've…
Neverwinter’s 28th module, Adventures in Wildspace, lifts off on PC and console today - I can't tell you how relieved I am to see Neverwinter get back on the tracks of its traditional cadence, and that's exactly what's happening today, as the game's 28th…
Bellwright brings its brutal medieval world of multiplayer survival to Steam early access - Will the second verse be different different from the first for developer Donkey Crew -- and more importantly for those who buy in to its promises? We're all going to…
EVE Online’s Equinox expansion brings planetary mining and territory features to nullsec June 11 - Tuesday, June 11th, is promising to be "the first step towards a radical re-invigoration of nullsec space" in EVE Online thanks to the launch of the Equinox expansion, which is…
World of Warcraft previews the Dark Heart update arriving on May 7 - Hasn't World of Warcraft promised the final chapter in Dragonflight a couple of times now? Well hold on to your hats because the very absolutely definitely finalest possible chapter (we…
Star Citizen says alpha 3.23’s personal hangars would have made the game ‘literally unplayable’ - This past weekend, we reported on the news that Star Citizen had to delay the addition of personal hangars and other related gameplay elements from alpha 3.23, opting instead to…
Wisdom of Nym: Does Final Fantasy XIV not have enough minigames? - Based on a wholly out-of-context reading, the headline for this edition of Wisdom of Nym might sound completely ridiculous. Final Fantasy XIV is not a game lacking for minigames. Heck,…
Embracer Group announces plans to split itself into ‘three standalone publicly listed entities’ - That's right, friends, Embracer Group is back in the business headlines again. Following the stated end of restructuring efforts, corporate leadership has now decided to cut the company up into…
Diablo IV runs a charity promotion that sends millions of maggots to feed recovering birds - We appreciate that the idea of maggots paired with our "warm fuzzies" tag might seem at odds, but there's a really good reason why these otherwise disparate notions are being…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Massively OP Podcast Episode 466: Elder Scrolls Offline
Battle Bards Episode 232: Wayfinder’s soundtrack
The Stream Team: Heading into Nightingale’s multiplayer Watch hub
The Stream Team: Searching for Strahd’s story in Dungeons & Dragons Online
The Stream Team: Indoctrination via Party Animals weaponry
The Stream Team: Map clearing and exploration with a friend in Cat Quest II
The Stream Team: A whole new World 3 in Guild Wars 2’s SAB
The Stream Team: Fate’s Lost Dream in Elder Scrolls Online
The Stream Team: Towards The Wandering Light in AQ3D’s cemetery
The Stream Team: Celebrating City of Heroes 20th anniversary in Homecoming
The Stream Team: Chilling out with friends in the Final Fantasy XIV roulette
Every week, get caught up on the MMO genre’s latest news and Massively OP’s best content in our MMO Week in Review! Want more roundups of content? Try Friday’s Betawatch for MMO testing highlights, Saturday’s Make My MMO for MMO crowdfunding updates, and Sunday’s The MOP Up, which mops up all the bits of news we didn’t cover anywhere else.
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