Stop me if you’ve heard this one: MMO studio executive, long begrudged for his role in a popular sandbox’s downfall but much beloved for his outspoken candor, is publicly harassed and swatted by international crime ring until he erupts on social media, resigns from his post at the studio he’s run for almost two decades, and quits to found a brand-new company.
No? Never? This genre, man.
Read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions.
STAR CITIZEN STUFF
Star Citizen has refunded over 1,200 backers - Are you dissatisfied with Cloud Imperium's progress on crowdfunded space sim sandbox Star Citizen? You might be able to get your pledge refunded, according to a report published by Polygon. A CIG spokesperson told the website…
Star Citizen’s FPS devs confront merge conflicts - Star Citizen published its weekly Star Marine update earlier this morning. Cloud Imperium says that it didn't add or test new features this week because it was dealing with the broken builds that resulted from "merge conflicts"…
Get a recap of Star Citizen’s development journey to date - Star Citizen's development is already the stuff of legends and bardic tales, and it isn't even close to being completed yet. If your memory of the major milestones in the game's journey is a little fuzzy…
Revival and Star Citizen studio IllFonic lays off six - IllFonic, the studio behind the dark fantasy sandbox Revival and one of several contributors to Star Citizen's FPS module, has laid off six staff members, according to GI.biz. The website confirmed details in a Facebook post from…
Cloud Imperium comments on IllFonic’s Star Citizen involvement - Yesterday IllFonic confirmed that it had laid off six staff members from its Denver-based studio that is working on both Revival and the FPS module for Star Citizen. Today Cloud Imperium has provided more clarity on…
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
More layoffs for ZeniMax (Update: Confirmed) - The end of this post has been updated with confirmation from Bethsoft as of August 20th. Comments by a gaming industry recruiter and tech consultant have sparked a Twitter rumor that ZeniMax, the conglom that backs Bethsoft and…
The Game Archaeologist: Star Wars Galaxies’ NGE - It became one of the most infamous moments in MMO history -- and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. For all that the MMO community references Star Wars Galaxies' New Game Enhancements (NGE) as a synonym…
Blade & Soul founder packs are now available for planned Q1 2016 launch - I was very excited to sit down during Gamescom with Nicolas Coutant, producer at NCSOFT West, about the upcoming US and Europe release of Blade & Soul, a quirky Asian fantasy MMO developed by Team Bloodlust.…
EverQuest II’s prison server is a ‘one-way trip for an entire account forever’ - Are you an EverQuest II troublemaker? You could find yourself exiled to a server called Drunder if you're a habitual rule-breaker. In a new forum post, Daybreak refers to Drunder as "a prison server," and one from…
Final Fantasy XIV boasts 5 million registered accounts - [AL:FFXIV]Let's start this news item with an important caveat - we don't know how many actual active subscribers Final Fantasy XIV has at the moment. What we do know is that the game has five million…
Elite: Dangerous brings back lifetime expansion passes before Horizons - The first expansion for Elite: Dangerous is on its way, but as a buy-to-play title there's a bit of confusion about who gets what and when. An official post on the forums breaks down the precise…
Trion’s Trove has a million monthly users - Could Trove be the sleeper hit of 2015? Signs are looking good already. While the sandvox title lingered in open beta for quite some time, it took launching to propel the game to new heights. Trion Worlds recently…
WildStar previews its free-to-play loyalty reward system - Free-to-play games have a rather predictable system in place - you spend money on things and then you have them. Simple and straightforward. WildStar is doing that, yes, but it's also giving players the opportunity to…
League of Legends denies Season 5 rewards to banned or restricted players - [AL:LOL]If you've been a bad boy or girl this year and still expect to reap rewards from League of Legends' Season 5, then you are in for a world of disappointment. Riot Games Lead Game Designer of…
Guild Wars 2’s Warrior elite specialization is the Berserker - Warriors in Guild Wars 2 have always had a big focus on gathering and unleashing Adrenaline as a resource. It's part of their charm. Berserkers, however, don't just use Adrenaline; they revel in it. The core…
ArcheAge taking sign-ups for free server transfers soon - In just a few days, ArcheAge will begin accepting sign-ups for server -- sorry, evolution -- transfers. Trion Worlds announced yesterday that players affected by the upcoming server merges can put their name in for a free…
Champions Online is letting players take a walk on the villainous side - Having an option to play a supervillain in an MMO can be tough, since supervillains are usually meant to have big skills and powers to threaten the heroes. Champions Online has a solution to that problem…
Chaos Theory: Touring The Secret World’s Issue 12 - Do you think a little thing like being in another country and having dismal internet could keep me from touring The Secret World's Issue #12 with Lead Designer Romain Amiel and Communications Manager Tor Egil Andersen? Of…
Guild Wars 2 will demo ‘challenging group content’ at PAX - Guild Wars 2 fans heading to PAX Prime later this month will find a lot to do with their favorite MMO. ArenaNet said that the game will be the focus of an August 29th press and…
World of Warcraft’s 6.2.2 patch brings flying to Draenor on September 1st [Updated] - At long last, we have a definitive answer to the question of when flying will (probably) come to World of Warcraft's latest expansion: September 1st. That's the expected date of the 6.2.2 patch, a rarity insofar…
World of Warcraft weathers an assault from the DDoS legion - Last night was not a fun time to be playing World of Warcraft. Various game servers started going offline, and while the initial statement was a bit more vague in saying that the company was looking…
Marvel Heroics: My Marvel Heroes wish list - If there's one constant in the gaming universe, it's that every MMO player has a wish list. It's almost impossible to spend any length of time in a title without thinking of what you would love…
Devilian’s South Korea server is shutting down - Is Devilian in trouble? It may be too early to tell, but developer Ginno Games has announced the closure of the title's South Korea server and its reacquisition of rights from publisher Hangame. MMO Culture reports…
Eternal Crusade loses creative director, plans closed alpha sooner than expected - Eternal Crusade has reported that another one of its team has fallen on the field of development battle, as Creative Director David Ghozland announced his resignation yesterday. "I am telling you with a heavy heart that…
Funcom CEO discusses missteps and the future of the company’s games - It is a very unsettling time to be a fan of Funcom's titles with the news that the studio is actively looking for a buyer or investor. A recent interview with the company's CEO, Rui Casais,…
Phantasy Star Online 2 coming to PS4 in 2016, still no word on Western release - The western-elusive Phantasy Star Online 2 is making the jump to the PlayStation 4Â in Japan next year, bringing along a brand-new episode. The news comes out of the recent ARKS Festival, where Sega confirmed that the…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
AND FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BLIZZARD WATCH
Questing, endgame, and the unfolding of Legion’s story
Archaeogaming digs into WoW Archaeology for science
