Skyforge outlines the mechanics of its new Battle Royale mode

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We’ve gone through the glut of games being released as battle royale titles, but why stop there when we could make existing games into battle royale titles? That’s not quite what’s going on with Skyforge’s new Battle Royale mode, but the option will be a separate and standalone element of the game. Even if you don’t have a character in the main game you’ll be able to drop in and start playing with one of the 12 heroes available.

If you’re thinking that seems like fewer classes than are actually in the game, well, that’s by design; the idea here is a VR simulation of mortals competing, hence none of the normal classes or character options. Instead, it’ll be all about small arms and near-human abilities.  Each character will have different powers, however, so there will still be an important element of who you’re playing, but between the guns and the different characters it will likely feel very familiar to anyone who has played… let’s just say other battle royale titles.

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Funcom’s Mutant Year Zero is launching on December 4 on PC and console

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“Funcom and The Bearded Ladies” still sounds like an indie rock band to me, so imagine this post is a song, shall we? The publisher and studio duo announced early this morning that they’ll be launching Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden on December 4th of this year, simultaneously on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

Preorders are live for PC on the official site right now, with a 15% discount if you use the GAMESCOM2018 code at checkout. “The game will be available in a Standard Edition ($34.99) and a Deluxe Edition ($54.99),” Funcom says. “The Deluxe Edition includes a desktop wallpaper, digital artbook, digital soundtrack, and a digital copy of the Mutant Year Zero pen-and-paper RPG book. Pre-ordering the Standard Edition will give you a three-day head start at launch while pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition gives you the samehead start as well as access to a Beta version of the game before launch.”

Funcom announced the post-apoc tactical adventure game earlier this year, though it was only later that we found out the multiplayer options had been long-since axed. Since it’s Funcom, we took a peek at GDC and E3 anyway, coming away pretty impressed with our hands-on.

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The Stream Team: A first foray into Outpost Zero multiplayer

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Your voices have been heard! The votes is in and Massively OP’s MJ is heading back into Outpost Zero for some more robotic survival. Now that this sandbox has launched on Steam’s Early Access, there are multiplayer servers online that she can join. How quickly can she get her new base going? Tune in live at 2:00 p.m. for MJ’s first foray into multiplayer.

What: Outpost Zero
Who: MJ Guthrie
When: 2:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 21st, 2018

Enjoy the show!

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Guild Wars 2: New systems team, outfit vouchers, PvP updates, Revenant overhaul, and anniversary sales

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One of my big grumps with Guild Wars 2 and plenty of other MMORPG cash shops is the time-limited items. The stuff I want isn’t always available when I have gems to spend – and vice versa. The new series of vouchers available today in the cash shop, however, should allay most of those frustrations, as you’ll be able to pick up a voucher – pretty cheaply! – and exchange it for past releases rather than log in every week and hope your day has come.

The downside? While there are gobs of outfit, weapon, and glider skins on the lists, not every past item is there. RIP, Hexed Outfit and your awesome drippy hat.

That’s not all that ArenaNet rolled out today. In a forum post, the studio laid out a new plan for communication between its teams. “There’s a new team in town with a lot of old faces: the Systems team,” Gaile Gray writes.

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EverQuesting: The history of the EverQuest franchise

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Back in 2013, I took a walk through the annals of the EverQuest franchise’s history. What started as one title not only blossomed into a fill franchise including a number of games, books, and more, but also shaped a good share of our MMOverse to come. The creating studio (then Sony Online Entertainment, now Daybreak) couldn’t have known then how much EQ would still be influencing game design years later.

Much has changed in the life of the franchise since that first delve into the past, both in births and deaths. More expansions have been added, and more games have been lost. Here’s a look at the vastness that is Norrath now.

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Overwatch teases LEGO crossover with half a dozen minifigs, animated short coming tomorrow

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Blizzard dropped a fun teaser in the middle of Gamescom this week that seems to imply an Overwatch LEGO crossover.

The brief video appears to show the outlines of Widowmaker, Reinhardt, Genji, Soldier 76, Mercy, and McCree as LEGO minifigs. It’s not clear whether that means only minifigs are happening, or maybe it’s a whole line of LEGO sets based on the game’s maps. Some folks are speculating that it’s a whole crossover game or video series.

(Interestingly, the tease spawned a side discussion on Reddit about the game’s demographics. How young do you think the Overwatch player ages skew, and would you – do you – let your little kid play? And does it matter, since LEGOs are ageless?)

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Trion’s ArcheAge will launch 5.0 Relics of Hiram this fall with a new zone and Malediction skillset

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Trion announced today that ArcheAge 5.0, Relics of Hiram, is landing for MMORPG sandpark fans this coming fall. You’re looking at a new zone, skill set, tier gear, and even some housing tweaks.

“ArcheAge 5.0 – Relics of Hiram takes players to a brand new zone: the Western Hiram Mountains. New challenges await the champions of Erenor in this stunning new endgame zone. Face challenges and conquer them to attain new gear, increase your Ancestral level, and more! For the first time ever, this new expansion also introduces a brand new skill set! The new Malediction skillset allows players to use powerful dark magic to exploit their enemies’ weaknesses while empowering themselves. The 11th skillset for ArcheAge, Malediction adds 45 new class combinations for players to experience. ArcheAge 5.0 – Relics of Hiram also introduces a new tier of Hiram gear for players to awaken. Complete daily quests in the Western Hiram Mountains to earn fantastic new Hiram Guardian Gear! The 5.0 expansion brings with it even more features and improvements for ArcheAge, including an increase to the Ancestral level cap, enhanced house customizations, new achievements, and more.”

There’s no specific date, just fall, but hey, it’s not far off regardless. New screenshots incoming!

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The Division 2 reveals its various special editions for pre-order while fans speculate on price

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If you want to play The Division 2 ahead of its proper release date, you’d better be prepared to drop some money. The various pre-order packages for the game have been revealed, and while all of them include access to the “private beta” (which may or may not just be a nicer term for closed beta) and a couple of exclusive items, you need to buy into one of the higher tiers to gain access on March 12th rather than March 15th. That includes the Gold Edition, the Digital Ultimate Edition, the Dark Zone Definitive Collector’s Edition, the Phoenix Shield Collector’s Edition, and of course the Super Ultra Glory Funny Give Ubisoft All Your Money Edition.

That last one may be speculative.

Speaking of all of that money, how much are these things going to cost? The prices aren’t officially revealed yet, but enterprising fans on Reddit have found the pre-orders active on the game’s Australian site, and from that have derived a price of $59 for the Standard edition, $99 for Gold, and $119 for the Ultimate edition. The physical editions may be more, of course, and nothing is set in stone just yet, but it should at least help you budget ahead of time.

Source: VG24/7, Reddit

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Black Desert’s remastered edition launches tomorrow with free stuff for all players

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Hear that crackle in the air? That ripple on the distant horizon? It’s Black Desert’s remastered version, launching here in the west tomorrowday.

“The development team at Pearl Abyss has diligently worked to improve every aspect of the game,” today’s press release says. “The popular MMORPG has undergone a massive graphics overhaul and will receive a grand new orchestrated score to provide an immersive experience like never before. A trailer was released today to highlight the improvements achieved in Black Desert: Remastered. Never before has an online game looked so vivid and detailed. The new visual enhancement brings a host of changes including revolutionary post processing effects, reworked textures and improved animations that further cements Black Desert Online’s position as the most visually stunning MMORPG on the market.”

That trailer is down below. Kakao further says that everybody who logs in between August 22nd and 29th – even free trial folks – will be picking up a freebie T7 horse and accompanying Divine Lahr Arcien Horse Gear Set, normally worth $20. Expect a cash shop sale to go along with that too.

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EVE Online heads into the abyss with its August update today

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It’s time for EVE Online players to head into the deepest parts of Abyssal Deadspace with the game’s latest patch (which you may recall was delayed by a week). The Secrets of the Abyss event is now live, and it’s tasking players with diving into the aforementioned content as a means to earn Agency points, new SKINs for Triglavian hulls, new armor repairers and shield boosters… in short, exclusive event rewards.

The patch also brings in the first stages of an improved new player experience and a number of cosmetic improvements, so those of you with no interest in the game’s new PvE content will still have something to enjoy. You should even notice some client performance improvements as an added bonus while you’re in there; it’s just that the main content focus is on heading into the abyss.

Not sure how to handle that? Don’t worry, our own Brendan has you covered with a guide to basic fittings that will get you started.

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Former SWTOR lead Daniel Erickson shares behind-the-scenes secrets

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As you fight off another wave of the Rakghoul Plague (will it ever be cured?) in Star Wars: The Old Republic this week, you may want to spend some of your downtime reading some eye-opening revelations from former BioWare Austin Lead Developer Daniel Erickson, who popped up on a Reddit thread and shared all kinds of interesting behind-the-scenes tidbit and trivia about the MMO.

“We started talking about the MMO when we were still making [Dragon Age Origins] and James’ vision was far more BioWare than MMO,” Erickson wrote. “Basically a huge, sprawling, ever expanding BioWare storyline with a multiplayer marketplace, social spaces and PVP. Like Netflix or HBO we were okay that people might unsubscribe for a bit then come back as new content appeared.

“As we were sold twice (first to an investment company then to EA) the pressure for this to be the mega hit meant the finger kept being pointed at WoW. The problem of course is when you say ‘Okay, first we copy the most successful MMO of all time, THEN we…’ you’ve pretty much set yourself up for misery.”

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Twitch Prime is terminating most of its ad-free viewing benefits – here’s what it means for you

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Even if you’re among the select elite of society that has access to Twitch Prime and its bevy of benefits, you will no longer be exempt from the plague of common advertising. That’s because Twitch has decided that universal ad-free viewing no longer will be a perk of the Prime program and will be ending that benefit on September 14th (or October 15th if you are a Twitch Prime member with a monthly sub).

“Advertising is an important source of support for the creators who make Twitch possible,” the company said. “This change will strengthen and expand that advertising opportunity for creators so they can get more support from their viewers for doing what they love. We want Twitch to remain a place where anyone can enjoy one-of-a-kind interactive entertainment, and ads allow us to continue making Twitch the best place for creators to build communities around the things they love and make money doing it.”

You can access ad-free viewing if you subscribe to Twitch Turbo, however, at a rate of $8.99 per month. And as a Prime member, you also still get one “free” sub per month, which will allow you to avoid ads on one channel at least. (We hope you’re using it on Massively OP!) No other Twitch Prime benefits will be changing at this time.

Source: Twitch Prime. Thanks TJ!

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My.com will publish Ashes of Creation in Europe and the CIS region [Updated]

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We’ve updated at the end of the article with an additional statement from Intrepid.

Ashes of Creation is barreling on toward its first real alpha, and along the way, it’s picking up a legit overseas publisher: My.com. Intrepid announced the deal early this morning in a press blast.

“Publisher My.com is proud to announce a partnership with Intrepid Studios for its Global Publishing plans. In Europe and CIS, the studio will work together with My.com and Mail.Ru. This partnership will ensure the tools necessary to make Ashes of Creation not just the dream for all MMORPG players, but a reality that will change the future of the genre.”

My.com, MMORPG players will recall, runs multiple European and Russian games in the west, including Skyforge, Allods Online, and Revelation Online.

“These titan publishers are firm believers in the creative vision we have for the world of Ashes and will help us make the greatest MMORPG possible,” Intrepid’s Steven Sharif says.

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