Bethsoft is giving away a million dollars in a new Elder Scrolls Online promotion ostensibly designed to get people hyped for the game around the Christmas season. The contest is open to people in the UK, Germany, France, Russia, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada except Quebec, and the US, excluding residents of Florida, New York, Rhode Island, US territories, and folks on military installations. So instead of talking about this new phase of MMO marketing and what we’d do with the money, we’re talking about how sweepstakes laws suck.
If you don’t feel like complaining about that, you could always complain about the game’s cash shop, which is now selling vampire and werewolf transformations.
Read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions.
OUR HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES SO FAR
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for the MMO peripheral junkie
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for total MMO newbies
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for Guild Wars 2 players
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for the shooter and console MMO fan
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for Marvel Heroes & superhero MMO fans
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for EVE Online players
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for EverQuest franchise and Daybreak fans
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for WildStar fans
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for the Final Fantasy XIV and Square-Enix fan
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for the space sim fan
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for the MMO hipster
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for the ‘Not So Massively’ gamer
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for your guildmates
Look overpowered (and support Massively OP) in our first Mo t-shirt
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for The Secret World and Funcom fan
Massively OP’s holiday gift guide for the World of Warcraft fan
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Star Citizen approaches the $100 million funding mark - Numbers are kind of funny. The total amount of Star Citizen's funding doesn't really mean anything, per se; $100 million is just a significant number because of our base-ten system, and there only because it's a…
Star Citizen shows off ship combat, FPS, and EVA in new trailer - Did you see the new Star Citizen trailer yet? It debuted last night at The Game Awards in Los Angeles, after an introduction by Cloud Imperium boss Chris Roberts and actor Mark Hamill. The clip runs…
Devilian’s open beta has begun - The launch date for Devilian is just around the corner, but there's still some time before it really begins. Open beta has begun, however, running until 1 a.m. EST on December 7th. That's only shortly before…
Lord of the Rings Online’s next update will allow you to level to 95 instantly - It's indisputable that there is a lot of content in Lord of the Rings Online. There's a huge pile of zones and quests for everyone to undertake, regardless of level. So why not skip all of…
Alleged copyright infringer accuses Blizzard of copyright infringement - Blizzard is amping up its assault on gold-selling-and-bot-distributing company Bossland GmbH. The World of Warcraft maker was defeated by the German court system back in May when it filed for an injunction against Bossland, which owns…
Guild Wars 2 promises quarterly balance updates, says e-sports are crucial to the game’s growth - ArenaNet Lead Developer Colin Johanson has strong words in defense of Guild Wars 2's emphasis on e-sports, saying that these programs are "extremely successful" and crucial to the growth of the title. "Rooting against programs like pro…
SWTOR subscriber rewards include playing as HK-55 - [AL:TOR]The next chapter for Star Wars: The Old Republic's expansion storyline won't arrive until February 11th, but BioWare is attempting to give players a reason to subscribe before that with a new reward program. In a…
Check out World of Warcraft’s upcoming class halls - One of the major new features of next year's World of Warcraft: Legion is the class hall system. As the name suggests, class halls offer thematic spaces tailored to specific professions. Players of either faction (but of…
Monster Hunter Online’s Chinese OBT will be open to all - You might recall with some sadness that Monster Hunter Online is a Chinese exclusive. And while that still holds true, the good news for players outside of that country is that Tencent isn't putting any IP…
Hardcore PvP MMO Sphere 3 arrives today - You know what this genre needs more of? Hardcore PvP MMOs! Just kidding. But how about a really pretty 3-D hardcore PvPÂ MMO with "political deceit, war atrocities and vile treachery"? Those are harder to find, but…
These are the stealthers who will gank you in Camelot Unchained - During this afternoon's studio livestream, City State Entertainment revealed the three classes that will be stunlocking and PKing you from stealth mode in Camelot Unchained. The Tuatha Dé Danann stealther is the Red Cap, an almost…
Gigantic developer Motiga lays off 16, delays launch into 2016 [Updated] - Gigantic developer Motiga has apparently suffered a round of layoffs today. Former Community Manager Allie Murdock tweeted the news: https://twitter.com/MO_Huggles/status/672889333351776256 https://twitter.com/MO_Huggles/status/672888876822753280 We've reached out to Motiga and will update as we learn more. [source]Source: Twitter[/source] [update]Update: Motiga…
AD2460 is going free-to-play next week - Will a shift in business model help the indie space strategy title AD2460 leap ahead in popularity and play? That question might be answered soon, as Fifth Season AS announced today that it will be taking…
WoW Factor: Legion testing is an exercise in absurd decisions - One of my favorite bits from The Office is when Michael is having his budget explained to him. You don't need to know the context; the funniest bit is right on YouTube, as it's explained to…
Ever, Jane touts new beginner experience - Ever, Jane is anticipating being a gateway for people who have never played video games or MMOs before, which is why the team has created a new beginner experience for its second closed beta patch. By…
EVE Online player counted among the victims of mass shooting - The mass-shooting in San Bernadino, California, on Wednesday apparently claimed the life of a popular EVE Online player. According to friends on Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, Robert "Photon Torpedo" Adams of the Bastion corp was among the victims of…
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR’s 2015 report card - [AL:TOR]It’s hard to believe that it’s been another year in Star Wars: The Old Republic. On the 20th of this month, the second Star Wars MMORPG will turn four years old. And 2015, despite my previous…
Black Desert Korea adds bounty hunting and jail - With Black Desert on its way to the west in 2016, it's not a bad idea to be giving more attention to what's happening with the Korean version, as we'll probably be benefiting from those updates…
Albion Online’s PvP zones and flagging explained - As Albion Online's development has progressed, Sandbox Interactive has utilized player feedback to refine the PvP system, acknowledging that for all the hardcore PvPers in game, there are many more who aren't into it very much…
Spatium is a space sandbox survival MMO on Kickstarter - Spatium is a new MMO thing on Kickstarter, and while MMO Kickstarters are a dime a dozen these days, this one might just stand out from the crowd. As the game's backstory makes clear, this isn't…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Massively OP Podcast Episode 40: Gnome Huntarz
The Stream Team: Stepping into Space Engineers
The Stream Team: Trekking through The Secret World’s Transylvania
The Stream Team: WildStar’s Steady Traveler expedition, take two
The Stream Team: Antonican adventures on EverQuest II’s progression server
The Stream Team: Play-testing the rest of Paladins’ champions
The Stream Team: Making Magik in Marvel Heroes
AND FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BLIZZARD WATCH
Impressions of WoW’s melee Survival Hunter
Is the new Legion beta Fishing artifact a sign of more profession artifacts?
First glimpse of the Outlaw Rogue in Legion
Every week, get caught up on the MMO genre’s latest news and Massively OP’s best content in our MMO Week in Review! Want more roundups of content? Try Monday’s Not So Massively for MOBA and multiplayer news, Friday’s Betawatch for MMO testing highlights, Saturday’s Make My MMO for MMO crowdfunding updates, and Sunday’s The MOP Up, which mops up all the little bits of news we didn’t cover anywhere else.
