Just in time for its first birthday, Carbine formally announced WildStar’s free-to-play transition this week; it’s due in the fall and is part of NCsoft’s stated intent of bolstering its Western roster. Our own WildStar expert Eliot Lefebvre, who’s been heavily critical of the game’s first year, thinks there’s still hope for the game.
Read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions.
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Blitzball in Final Fantasy XIV? It could happen! - [AL:FFXIV]If you love Blitzball, you just might get the chance to play it in Final Fantasy XIV someday. In an IGN interview, Game Director Naoki Yoshida said that he'd spoken with Square Enix's Yoshinori Kitase, producer…
Camelot Unchained releases 10th Unveiled newsletter - The 10th issue of Camelot Unchaineds Unveiled newsletter is filled with tidbits on lore, design, the community, patch notes, and more. There's even mention of a dragon and screenshots of a village created in C.U.B.E. It's…
Bethesda touts Elder Scrolls Online as ‘a full-fledged virtual world’ - Are you on the fence about checking out The Elder Scrolls Online? If so, a new post on the official Bethesda blog might be worth reading. Or it might be marketing hype. Or both, you decide!…
The Game Archaeologist: Mythic’s Imperator Online - It is a truly difficult thing to create something completely new and original, especially in storytelling and setting. It's perhaps impossible in this day and age, as we tell variations on time-worn tales. But what is…
Shadowrun Chronicles developer declares bankruptcy [Updated] - After several delays, Shadowrun Chronicles, the rebranded form of what was originally being developed as Shadowrun Online, launched on Steam a month ago. Now, a month out, the studio behind the game is bankrupt. The company…
The Soapbox: Can MMOs eradicate pay-to-win? - You know what sucks about getting old? Apart from the adult diapers and the dying? Yeah, it's the seeing things you love retconned into things that you don't love. That's basically the opposite of fun, and…
Gandalf kicks ass in new Black Desert trailer - Still keeping an eye on hyperrealistic sandbox Black Desert? Last night Daum posted a new trailer for the MMO, this one focusing on the Wizard and Witch classes, which apparently are slightly different gendered versions of…
Chaos Theory: The lowdown on The Secret World’s motorcycles - Ever since The Secret World's debut dev livestream two weeks ago teased motorcycle mounts, players have been abuzz with anticipation. The desire for vehicles in the game stretches way back; more than two years ago I…
Bluehole Studio artist posts Project EXA renders - What is Project EXA? We don't know at this point; all we know is that it's something Bluehole Studio has been working on since 2014 and it's an intriguing mystery. Rumors swirl about the game being tied…
EverQuest is booting up another progression server - Remember when EverQuest launched a progression server and everyone rushed to it? Maybe not everyone, but the Ragefire server did launch to completely unexpected levels of player enthusiasm. There are obviously lots of players who at…
Greed Monger officially calls it quits - After staff defections and general developer drama earlier this year, there really wasn't much hope for the future of Greed Monger. Now there is no hope whatsoever, as the team has run out of funds and…
There are six minutes of Overwatch shooting action in the Tracer preview video - You've already seen gameplay footage for four of Overwatch's fighters (Zenyatta, Mercy, McCree, and Hanzo) from Blizzard's upcoming team-based shooter. Now witness Tracer in action! With a youthful exuberance and a British accent, this dual-wielding hero…
Working As Intended: Sex, love, and MMOs - In the ongoing, neverending sandbox-vs.-themepark MMO debate, the folks on the side of sandboxes want one thing: more. Actually they want a lot more. They want more to do, more to see, more to experience. They aren't content…
Explorer-centric Wander launches June 4th with new Hira form - Explorers rejoice! On June 4th, those who revel in the non-combat aspects of MMOs will be able to meander aimlessly through the wilds of Wander when it launches on Steam and on the PlayStation 4 in…
MechWarrior Online bans and shames 64 players - No one would debate whether or not it's appropriate to ban players for cheating, but there is space to debate whether or not it's appropriate to state which players were banned. MechWarrior Online has opted to…
Marvel Heroes makes retcons free forever - Listen up, bub: The era of using rare retcon potions to reset your Marvel Heroes characters is about to end. Gazillion announced yesterday that it has decided to make retconning -- the act of resetting power…
ArcheAge’s ‘altogether different’ approach to server merges - Trion hasn't formally announced server merges for ArcheAge yet, but the publisher is at least thinking about it, judging by a forum post made by community manager Evan "Scapes" Berman last Friday. Developer XLGAMES is working to…
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns testing begins today - Are you ready to enter the Heart of Thorns? Because Guild Wars 2 is opening the testing doors today, allowing players to step in and experience a small amount of the expansion's leveling content with a…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
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