The Soapbox is home to our staff’s wild opinions on MMORPG topics near and dear to us. [Follow this column’s RSS feed]
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The Soapbox: Are modern games more disposable than ever?
Atlas Rogues went out not with a bang but a whimper. I forgot it even existed. And after it closes July 5th, it's gone....
From the Depths: Everything we know about Wargaming’s exit from Russia
Mixing gaming and politics is rough. Think back to the Blitzchung fiasco for Blizzard back in 2019. Or when Daybreak was (and then wasn’t)...
The Soapbox: SWTOR’s Legacy of the Sith is bad, but not for the reasons you’ve heard
I've never been a big Star Wars fan, but I am a big BioWare fan, and after many failed attempts to get into the...
The Soapbox: Single-player open worlds will never equal those of MMORPGs
These days it seems like sprawling open worlds are becoming an ever more popular choice for single-player games, from the newer Assassin's Creed titles...
The Soapbox: #DayOffTwitch illustrates how good intentions break under bad planning
Those of you reading this probably know me as someone who wears one of three hats here at MOP: a news writer, the Choose...
The Soapbox: World of Warships’ aggressive monetization incited a mass-exodus of content creators
Gaming monetization has been a topic of intense conversation ever since box copies of software diminished in favor of persistent online experiences. Subscription services...
The Soapbox: Pokemon Unite’s monetization is gross and threatens a competent game
By now, you've probably seen several articles about the poor monetization in Pokemon Unite, often based on Reddit posts or streamer hot takes. Most talk...
The Soapbox: Abusing MMO community reps over design decisions is not only toxic but futile
Recently, an online video game community rep was run off Twitter by "fans." The CM's fellow game dev shared how upset she was that...
The Soapbox: MMO monetization that complements poor game design makes us all losers
I have a problem: As much as I enjoy games, I can see that many online and multiplayer games are becoming designed more poorly...
The Soapbox: Reconsidering social media as an MMORPG
At GDC 2011, Raph Koster gave a talk in which he said, "Games are fundamentally social media and always have been." You can watch...
The Soapbox: If you want innovation in MMOs, stop worshiping polish
Gamers often lament that the world of MMORPGs lacks innovation. It's a frustration I share; this a genre that could be much more than...
The Soapbox: Lies I was told about World of Warcraft
A few months back, I was feeling restless in my MMO routine. Guild Wars 2 is my MMO "home," so I'm always in that...
The Soapbox: How Magic Legends went wrong with the Dimir Assassin class
Cryptic and Perfect World Entertainment are known for their love of lockboxes as a monetization strategy. Therefore it was not wholly surprising when Magic:...
The Soapbox: Would Asheron’s Call make a good battle royale game?
With the recent announcement of Crayta coming to PCs, I was reminded of some discussions on the Asheron's Call subreddit about making a battle royale fan...
The Soapbox: What I want to see in Riot’s League of Legends MMO
It's finally happening, y'all! League of Legends is getting an MMO! And boy howdy am I excited. While I didn't follow the game in...
Why WB Games should make a new Asheron’s Call game in 2021+: The mechanics
Just based on lore alone, WB Games should make a new Asheron's Call game. As I argued last time, AC has the qualities of an underutilized...
Why WB Games should make a new Asheron’s Call game in 2021+: The lore
So we recently brought up how Asheron's Call 2 died twice during the winter seasons, with the second one being a double funeral with the original...
The Soapbox: Pet battles are one of the best things WoW ever did (which is why I’ve never played one)
Pokemon first burst onto the scene when I was in elementary school. I've always been lukewarm at best toward anime and "cute" things, so...
The Soapbox: Red Dead Online is just not as fun as it should be
A few weeks ago, I detailed my newfound adventures in the single-player title Red Dead Redemption 2. More relevant to our interests here on...
The Soapbox: How Pathfinder killed World of Warcraft for me
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands launches today. I will not be playing. Once upon a time, a new WoW expansion would be a major event...
