This year, we’re taking a time-machine back through our MMO coverage, month by month, to hit the highlights and frame our journey before we head into 2017.
March was pretty much the worst month of the entire year, and March 11th was a particularly bad day: It was the day that EverQuest Next was canceled, WildStar was slammed with layoffs, Colin Johanson announced he was leaving the Guild Wars 2 team, and Zahrym left the WoW team. Our Week in Review summary that week is just called “Sadface.” In retrospect, I can see why MMORPG players were shaken to the core. I’m so sorry if March 11th was your birthday.
The rest of March wasn’t much better; Revival was more or less canceled, there was that whole Ghillie suit thing, and Guild Wars 2 ended development of legendary weapons.
March was also the month a dev team coined “shitstorm matrix,” so there was that.
Read on for the curated list of our favorite posts from the month of doom.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF MARCHÂ 2016
Camelot Unchained passes ‘send more programmers’ stretch goal
AdventureQuest 3D is launching cross-platform this October
Trinium Wars releases on Steam early access
Black Desert details headstart compensation plan with ‘shitstorm matrix’
No Man’s Sky pricing leak rumour sends fans into a tizzy
Black Desert’s western launch arrives with new trailer
ESPN muses on e-sports in Guild Wars 2, Blade & Soul, WoW
Black Desert drops a minor patch for class balancing
Star Citizen pushes Alpha 2.2 to live
Firor says Elder Scrolls Online’s success ‘has gone a bit under the radar’
World of Fishing aims for Steam’s casuals, hardcores, and MMO lovers
Guild Wars 2’s Colin Johanson leaves ArenaNet; Mike O’Brien takes over as game director
WildStar systems lead Brett Scheinert leaves Carbine
Camelot Unchained: Picking flowers, rocking armor, crafting all the things
Guild Wars 2 is not going back to biweekly updates: ‘When we’re shipping every two weeks, we just have to ship’
Join the Thieves Guild today in The Elder Scrolls Online’s latest DLC
Black Desert is increasing its server capacity
The SEC has charged Rhode Island corps over alleged 38 Studios fraud
SWTOR Chapter 11: Disavowed is here, and Aric Jorgan has returned
The Division smashes Ubisoft sales records
Daybreak has canceled EverQuest Next, Landmark is launching ‘this spring’
WildStar suffers major round of layoffs
Colin Johanson says farewell to the Guild Wars 2 community
Check out nearly two hours of early gameplay from Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen
WildStar is definitely still launching on Steam
Darkfall: Rise of Agon looks to sub-only model, aims for public beta this fall
Dave Georgeson says he’d have delivered EverQuest Next ‘to vision’
WildStar’s Chad Moore: ‘There are still exciting days ahead’
Black Desert players are up in arms over the P2W Ghillie Suit
Dave Mark: EverQuest Next’s AI ‘was not vaporware’
Jagex has been sold to a Chinese company for $300M
ARK: Survival Evolved is splitting in two with a F2P version
Neverwinter’s Maze Engine is live today
PlanetSide 2 is shutting down in China
EVE Online player spends three years visiting every system
Black Desert is working on ghillie suit countermeasures
See the new Warcraft movie trailer and poster
Pantheon hopes to ‘bring back the magic’ of classic MMOs ‘without the tedium’
Former TERA community rep says MMORPG community management is an afterthought
Greed Monger’s development comes to the ‘end of the road’
Blade & Soul’s Silverfrost Mountains patch brings new areas, new dungeons, and a new level cap today
ARK: Survival Evolved studio hit with lawsuit
Daybreak appoints former EA and Zynga exec as new Senior VP of Games
Revival’s development has been indefinitely suspended
William Shatner lends voice to Elite: Dangerous addon
Guild Wars 2 suspends legendary weapon development in favor of Living World content
Harvard and Michigan teams disqualified for cheating in Heroes of the Storm tourney
Trion overturns ArcheAge scam, scammers flip tables
Guild Wars 2’s Mike O’Brien elaborates on legendary weapon cancellation
Black Desert’s Mediah expansion launches tomorrow; catch the new trailer
Blizzard alters Overwatch’s Tracer’s sexualized victory pose following player objections
After canning EverQuest Next, Daybreak is hiring for new title
The largest PvP war in gaming history has begun in EVE Online
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF MARCH 2016
Desert Nomad: The Nomad’s guide to Black Desert
The Daily Grind: What unpopular opinion do you hold about MMOs?
Perfect Ten: Awesome (and unique) MMORPG classes
Desert Nomad: How to win friends and influence NPCs in Black Desert
Tamriel Infinium: Elder Scrolls Online’s Thieves Guild DLC is that ex you keep coming back to
Massively Overthinking: The state of WildStar
Perfect Ten: What your MMO racial pick says about you
The Game Archaeologist: The sad saga of Stargate Worlds
Guild Chat: How to tactfully leave a guild
Working As Intended: The fate of the MMORPG genre
Hyperspace Beacon: Should you resub for SWTOR: Disavowed?
Desert Nomad: Diving deep into Black Desert’s cash shop
EverQuesting: Let EverQuest Next live on in Landmark
Massively Overthinking: The future of Daybreak
Perfect Ten: Why MMORPG studios don’t just reboot their games
Exploring ‘The Video Game Debate’: Are MMO communities real or fake?
EVE Evolved: Why you should participate in EVE’s Project Discovery
Desert Nomad: Quality of life in the Black Desert
Jukebox Heroes: MMO tracks to make your heart happy
Perfect Ten: Most notable console MMORPGs to date
Coding and cupcakes: The lawsuit against ARK
WoW Factor: The problem with Garrisons isn’t Garrisons
EverQuesting: First impressions of life after Landmark’s latest wipe
MMO Mechanics: MMORPG expansions vs. sequels
Hyperspace Beacon: Dear SWTOR community, keep being passionately casual
Massively Overthinking: Our favorite MMORPG classes
ALL 2016 MONTH-IN-REVIEW POSTS TO-DATE
MMO Year in Review: Blade & Soul reaches western shores (January 2016)
MMO Year in Review: A wild Black Desert approaches (February 2016)
MMO Year in Review: EverQuest Never (March 2016)
MMO Year in Review: WoW’s legacy server snarl (April 2016)
MMO Year in Review: Carebear tears of Elyria (May 2016)
MMO Year in Review: The Landmark and WildStar Steam parade (June 2016)
MMO Year in Review: Pokemon madness (July 2016)
MMO Year in Review: We are Legion (August 2016)
MMO Year in Review: A whole New World (September 2016)
MMO Year in Review: One foot in One Tamriel (October 2016)
MMO Year in Review: New Eden free-for-all (November 2016)
MMO Year in Review: Turbine gave the ring to the eagles (December 2016)
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