https://massivelyop.com MMORPG news and opinions Sun, 11 Feb 2024 14:30:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/11/the-mop-up-fae-farm-launches-a-free-demo/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/11/the-mop-up-fae-farm-launches-a-free-demo/#respond Sun, 11 Feb 2024 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=478969 Was Fae Farm too rich for you blood? Now you can check it out for free on Nintendo Switch or PC thanks to a new single-player demo. “This single player demo, downloadable for free in Nintendo eShop, Steam, and the Epic Game Stores will allow anyone to play through the first chapters of the game, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/02/11/the-mop-up-fae-farm-launches-a-free-demo/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/riot-games-laid-off-over-500-people-last-night-and-no-we-dont-know-what-it-means-for-the-riot-mmo/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/riot-games-laid-off-over-500-people-last-night-and-no-we-dont-know-what-it-means-for-the-riot-mmo/#comments Tue, 23 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=476580 Riot Games is joining the seemingly endless list of game studios continuing to dump workers overboard: Last night, the company announced it is shedding a whopping 530 employees, representing 11% of the company. The studio tells players “the biggest impact [is] to teams outside of core development,” though the growing list of affected devs says […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/23/riot-games-laid-off-over-500-people-last-night-and-no-we-dont-know-what-it-means-for-the-riot-mmo/feed/ 15 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/18/massively-overthinking-the-slowest-and-fastest-combat-in-mmorpgs/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/18/massively-overthinking-the-slowest-and-fastest-combat-in-mmorpgs/#comments Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=475524 During a recent podcast discussion about City of Heroes’ official revival, the MOP writers were talking about its combat, which – let’s be honest – harkens back to a long-ago era of tab-target MMO combat that is relatively slow and tactical rather than fast and twitchy. In fact, I was hard-pressed to come up with […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/18/massively-overthinking-the-slowest-and-fastest-combat-in-mmorpgs/feed/ 17 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/18/heroes-of-the-storm-is-getting-another-patch-with-hero-buffs/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/18/heroes-of-the-storm-is-getting-another-patch-with-hero-buffs/#comments Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=475984 Back in autumn of last year, Blizzard created a minor stir by launching several small patches for its maintenance-moded MOBA Heroes of the Storm. Now the studio is at it again, with a new patch being released onto the game’s public test realm. As before, this patch is mostly bug fixes and minor polishing, but […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/18/heroes-of-the-storm-is-getting-another-patch-with-hero-buffs/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/13/hi-rez-teases-smite-year-11s-conquest-map-updates-new-god-and-big-balance-shake-ups/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/13/hi-rez-teases-smite-year-11s-conquest-map-updates-new-god-and-big-balance-shake-ups/#comments Sat, 13 Jan 2024 23:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=475334 While the majority of Hi-Rez’s attention is fixed on SMITE sequel SMITE 2, there are still things planned for the original game’s Year 11 update, most of which was sprinkled through its Twitter in-between all of the sequel news drops and esports hullabaloo. So allow us a moment to sweep these few dust bunnies together. […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/13/hi-rez-teases-smite-year-11s-conquest-map-updates-new-god-and-big-balance-shake-ups/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/12/hi-rez-just-officially-announced-smite-2-soft-launching-into-beta-this-year-but-smite-will-stay-online/ https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/12/hi-rez-just-officially-announced-smite-2-soft-launching-into-beta-this-year-but-smite-will-stay-online/#comments Fri, 12 Jan 2024 16:50:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=474542 Have you ever wanted to play SMITE but with better graphics, improved matchmaking, and more modes and special events? Well, soon you can! Except it will not be an overhaul of SMITE itself: Today, Hi-Rez’s studio Titan Forge has unveiled the MOBA’s sequel, SMITE 2, and it’s neither a season nor a balance pass. It’s […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/12/hi-rez-just-officially-announced-smite-2-soft-launching-into-beta-this-year-but-smite-will-stay-online/feed/ 6 https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/28/heroes-evolved-xmas-giveaway/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/28/heroes-evolved-xmas-giveaway/#respond Thu, 28 Dec 2023 18:30:29 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=473453 Heroes Evolved is one of multiple NetDragon games celebrating Christmas and the turn of the new year this week, and it’s doing it with something that everybody likes: free stuff! The studio has kindly granted us a gift key that unlocks multiple skins and goodies for our readers in the form of a multi-use code […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/28/heroes-evolved-xmas-giveaway/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/27/massivelyops-2023-golden-yachties-best-worst-mmo-transmedia-synergy/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/27/massivelyops-2023-golden-yachties-best-worst-mmo-transmedia-synergy/#comments Wed, 27 Dec 2023 21:00:05 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=468650 Welcome back to MassivelyOP’s not-so-serious end-of-the-year awards as we present our award for Best Worst MMO Transmedia Synergy. Yes, it’s the Golden Yachties series, named in honor of those bright sparks absolutely convinced that video game blogging is a lucrative career and we’re all sailing ’round the world on ships of gold. (Stay in school, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/27/massivelyops-2023-golden-yachties-best-worst-mmo-transmedia-synergy/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/24/the-mop-up-warhammer-onlines-return-of-reckoning-chickens-out/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/24/the-mop-up-warhammer-onlines-return-of-reckoning-chickens-out/#respond Sun, 24 Dec 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=472622 Return of Reckoning’s rogue server changed how combat buffs worked and added a new level 40 quest that pays out in, er, a “Chicken Trophy.” “This quest will send players back to T1 RvR Lakes and awards a choice of a Chicken Trophy for completion. As the previous requirements for the Chicken Trophies were largely […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/24/the-mop-up-warhammer-onlines-return-of-reckoning-chickens-out/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/18/revelation-online-will-sunset-on-march-13-2024/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/18/revelation-online-will-sunset-on-march-13-2024/#comments Mon, 18 Dec 2023 21:00:28 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=472473 The year 2023 has a few more things to take from the MMO industry, apparently: Revelation Online is heading to sunset. MY.GAMES and NetEase made the announcement this morning without explanation. “After eight years of adventures and quests throughout the realm of Nuanor, our journey has come to an end. Revelation Online will end all […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/18/revelation-online-will-sunset-on-march-13-2024/feed/ 4 https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/17/the-mop-up-valheims-christmas-surprise/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/17/the-mop-up-valheims-christmas-surprise/#respond Sun, 17 Dec 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=471396 As the nights turn frosty in Valheim, a strange wintry cheer spreads through the land. Could it be… could it be a plum pudding of a patch? “Firstly we have changed the seasonal items to be set to activate depending on the date,” the devs said. “Since we’re in December, that means the yuletide items […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/17/the-mop-up-valheims-christmas-surprise/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/16/valve-issues-gift-wrapped-permabans-to-dota-2-cheaters-and-smurfs-this-holiday-season/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/16/valve-issues-gift-wrapped-permabans-to-dota-2-cheaters-and-smurfs-this-holiday-season/#comments Sun, 17 Dec 2023 01:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=472135 The holiday season has arrived to the MOBA world of Dota 2, bringing gifts to all of its players. However, certain players who have been found cheating or smurfing (in which high-level players create a new account to steamroll low-level players, for those unfamiliar with the parlance) are getting a Christmas gift-wrapped permanent ban. This […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/16/valve-issues-gift-wrapped-permabans-to-dota-2-cheaters-and-smurfs-this-holiday-season/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/14/massively-overthinking-our-mmo-predictions-for-2024/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/14/massively-overthinking-our-mmo-predictions-for-2024/#comments Fri, 15 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=470340 It’s time once again for the MOP staff and readers to engage in our favorite end-of-the-year MMO: collectively guessing what’s going to happen next year. Yes, this Massively Overthinking will round up all of our predictions for 2024, relating to the MMORPG genre, of course. We have a pretty decent track record, as you’ll have […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/12/14/massively-overthinking-our-mmo-predictions-for-2024/feed/ 33 https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/28/fight-or-kite-smite-has-the-right-vibes-but-the-wrong-gameplay-for-this-pvp-fan/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/28/fight-or-kite-smite-has-the-right-vibes-but-the-wrong-gameplay-for-this-pvp-fan/#comments Tue, 28 Nov 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=468665 SMITE is one of the largest MOBAs on the planet and has been for years now. In fact, it’s currently celebrating its 10th anniversary! Quite the achievement. Honestly for several years I’ve seen gameplay and thought about how much I would like to really get into it. It’s pure, tactical PvP after all, right? There […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/28/fight-or-kite-smite-has-the-right-vibes-but-the-wrong-gameplay-for-this-pvp-fan/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/27/evercore-heroes-talks-upcoming-remaster-says-its-fighting-for-velas-survival-with-this-next-bet/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/27/evercore-heroes-talks-upcoming-remaster-says-its-fighting-for-velas-survival-with-this-next-bet/#comments Mon, 27 Nov 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=468902 It’s been an exceedingly rough year for Evercore Heroes, the fusion of MMO, MOBA, and bad luck. The project went into closed beta this past June and promptly spiraled downward from there, resulting in studio layoffs, underperforming financials, a closed North American server, and a freeze in development. However, instead of packing it in and […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/27/evercore-heroes-talks-upcoming-remaster-says-its-fighting-for-velas-survival-with-this-next-bet/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/19/the-mop-up-how-about-final-fantasy-xis-new-vanabout/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/19/the-mop-up-how-about-final-fantasy-xis-new-vanabout/#respond Sun, 19 Nov 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=467355 Final Fantasy XI had a busy week with a November patch, that “includes changes to foes in Normal and Intense Ambuscades, a new battlefield and more. Square-Enix also announced a new event coming late November, named Vana’Bout — an amazing co-op campaign where players from all over the world can work together to accumulate enough […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/19/the-mop-up-how-about-final-fantasy-xis-new-vanabout/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/17/dont-look-now-but-blizzard-has-been-quietly-patching-up-heroes-of-the-storm/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/17/dont-look-now-but-blizzard-has-been-quietly-patching-up-heroes-of-the-storm/#comments Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=467862 When it comes to Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard is putting the “maintenance” back in “maintenance mode” as November 16th saw a new patch for the MOBA, close on the heels of a smaller patch dropped in September, which was the first update for the game in over a year. If you were hoping for […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/17/dont-look-now-but-blizzard-has-been-quietly-patching-up-heroes-of-the-storm/feed/ 6 https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/16/fight-or-kite-paragon-the-overprime-resurrects-epics-lost-moba-paragon-again/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/16/fight-or-kite-paragon-the-overprime-resurrects-epics-lost-moba-paragon-again/#comments Thu, 16 Nov 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=466543 Some things never change. The sky is blue – except at night. The grass is green – except in winter. And Paragon is dead – except when another studio is putting the pieces back together again. It’s fairly wild to think that a game that one company found to be unsustainable has been picked up […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/16/fight-or-kite-paragon-the-overprime-resurrects-epics-lost-moba-paragon-again/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/06/league-of-legends-fighting-game-project-l-will-be-playable-during-worlds-2023-in-south-korea/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/06/league-of-legends-fighting-game-project-l-will-be-playable-during-worlds-2023-in-south-korea/#respond Mon, 06 Nov 2023 15:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=466010 How hungry are you to try out Project L, the fighting game that draws from the roster of Riot Games’ MOBA League of Legends? Are you willing to purchase a plane ticket to Seoul, South Korea, and then purchase a ticket to see the LOL Worlds 2023 esports event? Then you’re in luck because that’s […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/06/league-of-legends-fighting-game-project-l-will-be-playable-during-worlds-2023-in-south-korea/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/02/greg-street-formally-announces-his-new-mmorpg-dubbed-ghost-and-funded-by-netease/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/02/greg-street-formally-announces-his-new-mmorpg-dubbed-ghost-and-funded-by-netease/#comments Thu, 02 Nov 2023 13:00:30 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=464982 Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street has been talking big on Twitter about his new game studio and new MMORPG following his exit from Riot Games and the Riot MMO this past spring, and today, we finally know what it is – and who’s funding it: No less than NetEase Games announced today that Street is helming a […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/11/02/greg-street-formally-announces-his-new-mmorpg-dubbed-ghost-and-funded-by-netease/feed/ 26 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/28/blizzcons-schedule-highlights-world-of-warcraft-but-ditches-qas/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/28/blizzcons-schedule-highlights-world-of-warcraft-but-ditches-qas/#comments Sat, 28 Oct 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=464220 With a week to go before this year’s BlizzCon, the curiosity, hope, and cynicism are running strong toward the house that Warcraft built. While the specifics of what Blizzard is going to announce are still under wraps (rumors and leaks aside), the studio did post the broadcast schedule for the two-day event that shows some […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/28/blizzcons-schedule-highlights-world-of-warcraft-but-ditches-qas/feed/ 23 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/26/massively-overthinking-are-there-any-mmos-for-which-a-spin-off-mode-would-be-welcome/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/26/massively-overthinking-are-there-any-mmos-for-which-a-spin-off-mode-would-be-welcome/#comments Thu, 26 Oct 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=463557 Pantheon’s announcement that its developers are working on spinning out a monetized “247” extraction mode hasn’t engendered a whole lot of hope for the future of the Kickstarted game, though it’s hard topic to unravel. Players are concerned both because of Pantheon’s specifics and because so many other MMOs, from Ashes of Creation to Camelot […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/26/massively-overthinking-are-there-any-mmos-for-which-a-spin-off-mode-would-be-welcome/feed/ 13 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/24/smite-and-runescape-renew-their-collaboration-with-new-and-returning-hero-skins/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/24/smite-and-runescape-renew-their-collaboration-with-new-and-returning-hero-skins/#respond Tue, 24 Oct 2023 15:30:46 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=463670 Last November saw the unlikely combination of RuneScape and SMITE in a collaborative event that featured several members of the MOBA roster done up in low-poly style. Apparently that crossover was popular enough that Hi-Rez Studios and Jagex are doing it again, bringing back previous skins and adding three new ones for players to either […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/24/smite-and-runescape-renew-their-collaboration-with-new-and-returning-hero-skins/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/23/anime-hero-shooter-second-wave-shares-gameplay-footage-and-thoughts-from-its-first-beta/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/23/anime-hero-shooter-second-wave-shares-gameplay-footage-and-thoughts-from-its-first-beta/#respond Mon, 23 Oct 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=463380 Over the past couple of months we’ve been reporting on Second Wave, a hero shooter/MOBA hybrid dressed up in anime style from developer Challengers Games, a studio that counts alums from several other games like TERA and Black Desert among its team. The game first was first shown off this past March, then made its […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/23/anime-hero-shooter-second-wave-shares-gameplay-footage-and-thoughts-from-its-first-beta/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/19/massively-overthinking-whats-next-for-blizzard-under-microsoft/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/19/massively-overthinking-whats-next-for-blizzard-under-microsoft/#comments Thu, 19 Oct 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=462237 So the Microsoft acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is basically a done deal. Oh, sure, the FTC is still fumbling around with hapless appeals, but look, there’s a trailer now. It’s happening. It’s happened. It’s unlikely to be undone. Two years of wondering and now here we are. Only… what does “here” actually mean now? For this […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/19/massively-overthinking-whats-next-for-blizzard-under-microsoft/feed/ 21 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/18/evercore-heroes-dev-continues-internal-work-on-project-r-revamp-now-in-the-awkward-transition-phase/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/18/evercore-heroes-dev-continues-internal-work-on-project-r-revamp-now-in-the-awkward-transition-phase/#comments Wed, 18 Oct 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=462271 The shrinking of the PvE-focused MOBA/MMO Evercore Heroes continues. Readers will recall that the original game’s paid closed beta didn’t draw enough buyers to the point that the game laid off staffers, ended updates in August, and then shut down the beta version’s NA server, all while developer Vela Games refocused on a revamp codenamed […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/18/evercore-heroes-dev-continues-internal-work-on-project-r-revamp-now-in-the-awkward-transition-phase/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/18/perfect-ten-myths-about-balance-in-mmos/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/18/perfect-ten-myths-about-balance-in-mmos/#comments Wed, 18 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=462663 For some MMO players, “balance” is a dirty word. And I’m not going to lie, I can hardly blame them. If you’re not a fan of sitting around running math for various options, it’s the sort of thing that can easily feel like it’s a term just thrown around for removing various things you find […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/18/perfect-ten-myths-about-balance-in-mmos/feed/ 23 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/15/the-mop-up-aion-classic-finally-gets-its-delicious-revenge/ Sun, 15 Oct 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=462071 Aion Classic unleashed Update 2.4: Stormwing’s Revenge on its servers this past week: “Get ready to battle Stormwing and defeat Yamennes to loot heroic gear. Plus put your skills to the test in the Arena of Glory to be rewarded with Abyss points and Symbols of Glory.” Additionally, the MMO started up a new seasonal pass. […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/08/the-mop-up-its-the-great-albion-charlie-brown/ Sun, 08 Oct 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=460495 Albion Online is getting into the spirit of Halloween with its Harvest Challenge: “Fall has come to the world of Albion… the shadows are growing longer… and the Harvest Challenge is back! For the entire month of October, earn points for open-world activities, unlock chests to get spooky loot, and claim your very own Spectral […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/05/motigas-moba-gigantic-has-been-resurrected-for-33-hours-starting-this-afternoon/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/05/motigas-moba-gigantic-has-been-resurrected-for-33-hours-starting-this-afternoon/#comments Thu, 05 Oct 2023 13:00:09 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=460795 So here’s a nice surprise for a Thursday morning: If you missed the old Motiga MOBA-shooter Gigantic, you can play it again – briefly. MMO readers will recall that Motiga was a well-liked indie company (with several ol’ Carbine devs on board) when it pushed Gigantic into closed beta way back in 2015 (with plenty […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/05/motigas-moba-gigantic-has-been-resurrected-for-33-hours-starting-this-afternoon/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/01/the-mop-up-soulframe-releases-a-soundtrack-tidbit/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/01/the-mop-up-soulframe-releases-a-soundtrack-tidbit/#comments Sun, 01 Oct 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=459493 Soulframe fans starved to hear something — anything — about Digital Extremes’ upcoming fantasy RPG were thrown an audio morsel this week in the form of a song from its soundrack. You can listen to the “Rivers of Dendria” song on YouTube and perhaps catch some of the vibe that this title is planning to […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/10/01/the-mop-up-soulframe-releases-a-soundtrack-tidbit/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/09/17/the-mop-up-world-of-warcrafts-mighty-banhammer-strikes-once-more/ Sun, 17 Sep 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=457418 World of Warcraft announced that it banned 145,566 accounts in August, saying, “All of these actions were for cheating or exploitation, which primarily result in permanent bans or six-month suspensions.” And this is just the beginning of the rest of the news! Read on for a roundup of other smaller MMO news stories and videos from this […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/09/15/pve-moba-project-f4e-dates-its-next-playtest-for-october-5/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/09/15/pve-moba-project-f4e-dates-its-next-playtest-for-october-5/#comments Fri, 15 Sep 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=457865 The testing continues on for Project F4E, the co-op PvE-focused MOBA PvPvE title being developed by BetaDwarf Studios that we’ve been keeping track of since it started beta testing in September 2021 all the way up to a recent open playtest this past June. The studio has now tied down the timing for its next […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/09/15/pve-moba-project-f4e-dates-its-next-playtest-for-october-5/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/09/14/ncsofts-mythological-battle-royale-battle-crush-is-launching-next-spring-with-cbt-signups-open-now/ Thu, 14 Sep 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=457770 You wouldn’t normally look to Nintendo Direct for news on NCsoft multiplayer titles, but 2023 is still pumping out surprises. Today, NCsoft announced that its new title Battle Crush is launching on the Switch in the spring of 2024. Battle Crush is not an MMORPG; it’s PvP title that kinda looks like what would happen if […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/09/10/the-mop-up-palia-releases-its-super-chill-soundtrack/ Sun, 10 Sep 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=456586 Feast your ear-tongues on these sound-pops: Palia’s completely chill score is now available as a full 24-track album that you can listen to on multiple streaming services. “Each track written into the game was creatively thought out based on the game context and many have personal stories behind them too,” said Composer Steffen Schmidt. “I […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/09/05/evercore-heroes-shutters-north-american-server-after-cutting-team-and-entering-maintenance-mode/ Tue, 05 Sep 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=456468 The shakeups surrounding fusion MMO/MOBA Evercore Heroes continues — and not for the better. This title went into a paid closed beta this past June only to see vastly lower numbers than the developer team anticipated. As a result, the studio announced a couple of weeks ago that it was reducing its team size (read: […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/24/mmos-youve-never-heard-of-trinitys-once-human-wild-country-second-wave-cyborg-immortal/ Thu, 24 Aug 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=454759 Welcome back to another quick trip through news and announcement for some MMOs and other multiplayer titles you’ve probably never heard of! TrinityS – This MMO-inspired co-op RPG first hit our radar last year when it entered early access on PC, and now, it’s heading to PS4 and PS5 starting October 20th. “All the boss […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/21/evercore-heroes-ends-updates-august-24-significantly-shrinks-its-dev-team-and-focuses-on-redesign/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/21/evercore-heroes-ends-updates-august-24-significantly-shrinks-its-dev-team-and-focuses-on-redesign/#comments Mon, 21 Aug 2023 16:30:30 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=454207 This past June saw Evercore Heroes, a self-described competitive PvE fusion of MMO and MOBA, enter into closed beta, and though it made an extremely strong argument in favor of its brand of gameplay, the player numbers were just not there, likely thanks to it being a paid-for beta. As it turns out, the numbers […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/21/evercore-heroes-ends-updates-august-24-significantly-shrinks-its-dev-team-and-focuses-on-redesign/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/20/the-mop-up-eve-onlines-fanfest-has-officially-sold-out/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/20/the-mop-up-eve-onlines-fanfest-has-officially-sold-out/#comments Sun, 20 Aug 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=453558 Well, that’s it: EVE Online’s Fanfest is officially sold out this year, so if you were hoping to snag a ticket at this late date, you’re completely out of luck. “We’ve never had a player gathering reach this size, and we’re so happy to share EVE’s 20th anniversary with our spacefriends here in Reykjavik,” CCP […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/20/the-mop-up-eve-onlines-fanfest-has-officially-sold-out/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/18/hi-rez-studio-president-adjusts-a-contract-rider-for-voice-actors-after-being-called-out-for-potential-ai-use/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/18/hi-rez-studio-president-adjusts-a-contract-rider-for-voice-actors-after-being-called-out-for-potential-ai-use/#comments Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:00:14 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=453802 If you’ve been on gaming Twitter anytime recently, you might have seen a thread started by voice actor Henry Schrader that was calling attention to a portion of a voice over contract from Hi-Rez Studios, which generally left the SMITE and Paladins developer free to use AI to complete vocal work in certain situations. This […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/18/hi-rez-studio-president-adjusts-a-contract-rider-for-voice-actors-after-being-called-out-for-potential-ai-use/feed/ 19 https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/17/vague-patch-notes-the-shell-game-of-mmo-subscriber-numbers-and-player-counts/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/17/vague-patch-notes-the-shell-game-of-mmo-subscriber-numbers-and-player-counts/#comments Thu, 17 Aug 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=453606 Here is a very reasonable question: How many subscribers does Star Wars: The Old Republic have? Not how many players, but how many subscribers. How many people are paying a monthly fee for playing this game? Considering the game’s move to Broadsword and the fact that its development team will be larger than any other […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/17/vague-patch-notes-the-shell-game-of-mmo-subscriber-numbers-and-player-counts/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/16/warframes-digital-extremes-joins-other-studios-in-raising-funds-for-hawaii-wildfire-relief/ Wed, 16 Aug 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=453481 With the death toll from last week’s devastating wildfires in Maui climbing well over a hundred people lost, and with an entire town displaced, the need for immediate aid is drawing the gaming industry into action. Warframe’s Digital Extremes is the most recent of these, pledging $10,000 CAD to the Maui Strong Fund to “support […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/16/riot-games-exec-says-mmo-is-still-in-early-phases-but-the-studio-is-committed-to-the-genre/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/16/riot-games-exec-says-mmo-is-still-in-early-phases-but-the-studio-is-committed-to-the-genre/#comments Wed, 16 Aug 2023 17:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=453471 A conversation between a Chinese streamer and a Riot Games executive indicated that we’re still in for quite the wait to see Riot’s unnamed MMORPG project. League of Legends Pro League professional Guan Zeyuan spoke with Riot’s Nicolo Laurent about the highly anticipated project. While Laurent says that Riot wants to bring an MMO of […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/16/riot-games-exec-says-mmo-is-still-in-early-phases-but-the-studio-is-committed-to-the-genre/feed/ 18 https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/12/smite-runs-charity-sale-to-aid-maui-wildfire-relief-efforts/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/12/smite-runs-charity-sale-to-aid-maui-wildfire-relief-efforts/#comments Sat, 12 Aug 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=452984 Readers may have learned about a series of devastating wildfires that have caused havoc on the Hawaiian island of Maui earlier this week, with hundreds of structures destroyed and a death toll that has climbed to a confirmed 80 people as of Friday. In response to this tragic event, Hi-Rez Studio is kicking off an […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/12/smite-runs-charity-sale-to-aid-maui-wildfire-relief-efforts/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/06/the-mop-up-adventurequest-3d-players-spend-five-billion-gold-in-a-weekend/ Sun, 06 Aug 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=451291 A recent gold boost event led to a record-breaking level of transactions in AdventureQuest 3D as players splurged on augments. “This was a new record in AQ3D (it actually kinda broke the database, lol) and it was also the highest amount of gold ever spent during a release in Artix Entertainment history,” the studio said. […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/04/design-mockument-what-would-a-transformers-mmorpg-even-look-like/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/04/design-mockument-what-would-a-transformers-mmorpg-even-look-like/#comments Fri, 04 Aug 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=451817 Everyone who has read my work here for a while knows that a Transformers MMORPG is a longstanding element of my pie-in-the-sky wishlist. This is not altogether surprising; I’ve been a Transformers fan more or less since I was old enough to understand that you could have a robot that turns into a car. My […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/04/design-mockument-what-would-a-transformers-mmorpg-even-look-like/feed/ 13 https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/03/vague-patch-notes-contemplating-the-origin-of-the-big-five-in-the-mmo-space/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/03/vague-patch-notes-contemplating-the-origin-of-the-big-five-in-the-mmo-space/#comments Thu, 03 Aug 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=451644 A few weeks back, I talked about the various tiers of MMORPGs, and that included a discussion of what we call the Big Five ’round these parts. This prompted some debate that was both energetic and phenomenally unnecessary, ranging from arguments that it should be the Big Four to declarations that it should include other […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/08/03/vague-patch-notes-contemplating-the-origin-of-the-big-five-in-the-mmo-space/feed/ 17 https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/31/not-so-massively-revisiting-heroes-of-the-storm-in-2023/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/31/not-so-massively-revisiting-heroes-of-the-storm-in-2023/#comments Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=449927 Social media algorithms are a dangerous thing. A few weeks back, Reddit began recommending me the sub for Heroes of the Storm. Although I had played zealously for years, I’d quit some years ago and never returned. But when I started reading posts by those still playing, the nostalgia hit hard. Before I knew it, […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/31/not-so-massively-revisiting-heroes-of-the-storm-in-2023/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/28/psa-smite-is-giving-away-a-total-of-10-million-gems-to-mark-its-10th-anniversary/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/28/psa-smite-is-giving-away-a-total-of-10-million-gems-to-mark-its-10th-anniversary/#comments Fri, 28 Jul 2023 16:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=450798 Are you a SMITE player? Would you like some free gems cash shop currency? How about 10,000 of them? That’s the offer being made by Hi-Rez Studios in its 10 million gem giveaway in celebration of the MOBA’s 10th anniversary. Getting a piece of the pie couldn’t be simpler: Players simply have to be playing […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/28/psa-smite-is-giving-away-a-total-of-10-million-gems-to-mark-its-10th-anniversary/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/28/wow-factor-the-future-of-blizzard-is-bleak/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/28/wow-factor-the-future-of-blizzard-is-bleak/#comments Fri, 28 Jul 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=450702 So yesterday our Massively Overthinking roundtable asked everyone to sound off on the future of Blizzard because… well, the studio had a plan to weather all of its controversies and basically reclaim the conversation completely, and it did not work. This is probably a good thing, partly because the conversations the studio was trying to […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/07/28/wow-factor-the-future-of-blizzard-is-bleak/feed/ 69