Welcome to Black Desert’s official North American and European launch day!
The servers are down right now for maintenance before the big rush, but we’ve got the launch trailer and our launch-day roundup of all the big news surrounding the game from the last year right here. [Servers are up now!]
Don’t forget to read up on our beta hands-on (the combat part and the economy part), tell us which server you’re on, argue about the cash shop, and check out our brand-new Black Desert column, Desert Nomad, which just yesterday released its guide to the game. Happy launch day, everyone!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS75XlHmA2o
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Steam’s Summer Sale 2023 is live through July 13 with deals on FFXIV, GW2, New World, ESO, and more - Valve has revived the traditional Steam summer sale this afternoon, with gobs of good deals running well beyond the 4th of July. Perhaps the most notable promo right now is…
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Korea Tourism Board uses Black Desert’s upcoming Land of the Morning Light as ad campaign theme - We all know that Black Desert is a Korean MMORPG. We also know that the Land of the Morning Light update is on its way to our shores sometime soon.…
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Black Desert PC makes a long list of improvements to the Archer class and ramps up treasure drops - If you play the Archer in Black Desert on PC, then this newest patch is pretty much just for you, as it introduces a significant number of updates and adjustments…
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Black Desert brings more materials to PC, changes Wizard’s model on console, preps a US in-person event - This week brings more goodies to multiple versions of Black Desert, but perhaps more interestingly are extra details for an next in-person event that were shared last week. CMs and…
Black Desert PC starts the seventh anniversary afterparty and makes PvE tweaks to some of its classes - There has been a whole lot of seventh anniversary celebration going on in the PC version of Black Desert, but this week is seeing things wind down just a little…
Black Desert Mobile introduces the upcoming water and fire-wielding Igneous class - Mages are awesome. Mages that wield multiple elements are awesome. Mages that are able to control two opposing elements at once are awesome. So by that logic, the upcoming new…
Black Desert PC confirms Morning Light’s March launch in Korea, preps a ‘gateway’ area for the expansion - Ever since the Land of the Morning Light expansion was first revealed during last year's Calpheon Ball, many players of Black Desert on PC have been itching to know when…
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Black Desert Mobile launches on a whole bunch of new Mac devices today - Black Desert is expanding to new platforms this year: Pearl Abyss has just announced that Black Desert Mobile will roll out to Mac - today. The game is of course…
Black Desert PC confirms its spring season server for February 28, updates the Wizard’s model, and begins celebrating seven years - The seasons continue to turn in the PC version of Black Desert, or more specifically the season servers continue to cycle around through the year. The sandbox MMORPG has confirmed…
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Pearl Abyss Q4 2022: Revenues decline as Black Desert and EVE hold steady and Crimson Desert malingers - Pearl Abyss posted its Q4 2022 financials this week, and unlike some of its regional counterparts whose chief interest is China or South Korea, PA demonstrates again that its heart…
Black Desert adds individual war rewards for console and kicks off Adventure Week on PC - Ideally, the time players spend in Black Desert on PC is already full of adventure, but that's not stopping the game from hosting an event that's all about adventure. It's…
Black Desert Mobile introduces Zayed, its upcoming Awakened Hashashin class - Regular players of Black Desert know that the game's classes come in two forms: their regular version and the Awakened version. For players of Black Desert Mobile, there's going to…
Black Desert’s Valentine’s Day events have arrived ahead of the MMO’s 7th birthday - Valentine's Day has returned to the PC version of Black Desert this week as part of a marketing push that also heralds a major revamp to the game's PvP node…
Black Desert merges silver storage on console, adds individual war rewards for PC, tweaks Bell of Aal on mobile - This week has once more seen all three variants of Black Desert get their own individual updates, which means another three paragraphs of condensed information. It's like condensed milk, but…
Black Desert adjusts crystal transfusion and Node War for console, releases the Maegu class to PC - The long-awaited and often-referenced new class has finally released to PC players of Black Desert. The latest update sees the Maegu class' arrival to the sandbox MMORPG, with all of…
Black Desert PC ties down a January 18 release date for the Maegu class - Here she comes, baby. She's comin' to gitcha. She's the Maegu class, the second of the twin classes coming to Black Desert on PC, and while Pearl Abyss had noted…
Black Desert PC and mobile prepare for a Woosa and Maegu launch swap - Back at Black Desert's Calpheon Ball in December, there was a bit of confusion over which version of the game was getting which of the classes and when. We knew…
Black Desert PC launches a Maegu-themed event, adjusts classes, and opens Yolunakea for seasonal players - The Maegu - the second of the much-ballyhooed twin classes of Black Desert - is nearly available on the PC version of the MMORPG, and this week the game is…
Black Desert Console adds ‘cloud accessories’ as BDO Mobile celebrates third birthday - Black Desert Mobile is riding high after its big release last week, and Black Desert PC launched its first Arena of Solare season yesterday. So what's Black Desert Console getting?…
Black Desert PC launches the first Arena of Solare season, tweaks animations, and asks to see your dog - "May I see a picture of your dog?" That's kind of the question that the PC version of Black Desert is asking during one of its events this week, as…
Black Desert Mobile adds new zones and boss fights, reads fans an audiobook about its twin classes - While most of the Black Desert Mobile world is probably still getting its head around December's Maegu class release, today's patch has plenty of things for fans to pay attention…
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Black Desert PC introduces the fan-wielding Woosa and launches its winter seasonal server - Who would bring a fan to a sword fight? The Woosa, that's who. The class that's been talked up by Pearl Abyss at this year's Calpheon Ball has now brought…
Black Desert doubles up on new classes with a twin-sane update - At Calpheon Ball in LA this past weekend, Pearl Abyss revealed the next big thing for Black Desert: a pair of twinned classes that are heading to different versions of…
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Black Desert ramps up for its 2022 Calpheon Ball with in-game events and promise of its twin class reveal - Some big reveals and a lot of celebration are on the horizon for Black Desert fans. The 2022 Calpheon Ball from Los Angeles, CA, is kicking off this Saturday, December…
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Black Desert Console closes its autumn seasonal servers - Seasons change, both in life and in Black Desert, as the latest update on the console version has officially shuttered the autumn seasonal servers and made all of the necessary…
Black Desert PC makes several monster updates and starts some holiday season events - 'Tis the season for celebration by getting presents under a tree and killing a monstrous yeti, or at least that's how the holidays are starting off in Black Desert on…
Black Desert adds Atoraxxion party matching for PC, announces two different classes for mobile and PC - What's better than one new class in one MMORPG? Two classes in two different versions, that's what! That's one of the major headlines coming out of Black Desert as both…
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Black Desert PC opens the third portion of Atoraxxion dungeon, adds events with pesky moles and turkeys - Players of the PC version of Black Desert who have been ready to plumb the further depths of the Atoraxxion dungeon now have their chance. This week's update has opened…
Pearl Abyss Q3 2022: DokeV and Crimson Desert delays, CCP’s new blockchain game, and EVE Online’s uptick - Pearl Abyss, primarily known around these parts as the company that owns EVE Online and Black Desert, has released its third quarter earnings report for this year, and there are…
Black Desert PC applies Agris Fever to gathering, opens a Solare hall of fame, and graduates autumn season players - You'd be forgiven for thinking that something called Agris Fever would be an affliction you'd want to avoid, but in the case of Black Desert on PC it's actually a…
The Stream Team: Backseat Streaming is bound for Black Desert Online - In an era of armchair warriors, we bring you Backseat Streamers! Here, Massively OP’s Chris and MJ get to take a backseat and watch the gameplay right along with you;…
Black Desert Mobile adds primal memories and launches events to draw in players - When your series of events pretty much yells at players to engage with them in their title, it might come off as a little bit... panicked. That's the tone that's…
Black Desert launches its final Path of Glory season on mobile, engages hot time boosts for PC season servers - It's time yet again for the customary weekly updates from Black Desert, specifically the mobile and PC versions of the sandbox MMORPG and their respective updates.[AL:BDO] The mobile version's latest…
Black Desert is canceling its Halloween events and sales following Itaewon tragedy - Unless you skip international news on the weekends, you likely read about the devastating tragedy in the Itaewon neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea, as a crowd crush in a packed…
Black Desert’s 2022 Calpheon Ball returns December 10 as an in-person event in Los Angeles - There's some pretty big news coming out of Pearl Abyss today: The studio has offered some initial details for Black Desert's 2022 Calpheon Ball, confirming a Saturday, December 10th, date…
Black Desert adds a Halloween witch on PC and opens its seasonal servers for console - We've already noted the kinds of spooky things Black Desert is up to for the Halloween season on mobile, but what about the MMORPG's other platforms? Fret not, as the…
Black Desert Mobile’s new patch introduces an improved black market and Halloween events - Black Desert Mobile players have an opportunity for some under the table dealings with the MMO's newest patch. Patricio the merchant is willing to introduce access to a new and…
Four Winds: Lost Ark and the refinement of MMO item enhance systems - In the last edition of Four Winds, I promised I'd cover how three MMOs utilized item enhance systems to facilitate progression, and then I analyzed how this method of progression…
Black Desert PC opens the door to an alternate world with Abyss One: The Magnus - A door has opened in Black Desert, and only the bravest and boldest will step through. Or anyone who accidentally trips and stumbles in its direction, we suppose. It's not…
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Black Desert adjusts classes on PC, updates guild bosses on console, and tweaks the Spiritwalker on mobile - Every single edition of Black Desert has once again gotten some manner of content update, so we're here to condense it all down for you in one handy-dandy list; whether…
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Black Desert PC dates its next seasonal servers, unveils ambassadors, and changes fishing and farming - The PC version of Black Desert once again a cornucopia of news items for players to check out, so you know what that means: It's bullet list time! Here's what's…
Black Desert’s Heidel Ball unveils gameplay adjustments, new Atoraxxian dungeon, and the mysterious Magnus - This past weekend saw Black Desert showcase what's coming to the MMORPG in its Heidel Ball presentation, and fans got a whole lot to look forward to, including some new…
Black Desert PC preps events in anticipation of Heidel Ball, adds a fruit that grants a sparkle pony - If you happen to own the Mythical Arduanatt horse in Black Desert and you want to make it extra sparkly and showy, then you might be excited to learn that…
Black Desert Console brings quality-of-life adjustments to Node and Conquest Wars - Taking part in the Node and Conquest Wars of Black Desert on console should hopefully be a nicer experience overall thanks to this week's patch, which is primarily focused on…
Perfect Ten: An MMO sunset tour for 2022 to date - MMO sunsets can be weird. I am never happy when a game that people love goes away. It always represents a lot of lost time and effort, the loss of…
Black Desert Mobile’s new update lets players raise a fairy and join in on an otter war - That headline might seem bonkers if it were referring to any game other than Black Desert Mobile, but it is, so let's take a moment to talk about the intensely…
Black Desert celebrates 12 years and over 50M registered players with a free week on Steam - The PC version of Black Desert has a pair of milestones to mark today, as the game is lauding 12 years of operation and over 50 million players registered to…
Black Desert PC adds a temporary horse and kicks off events to celebrate the fall season - If you're a regular player of Black Desert, you've probably forgotten to check in a mount at a stable in a new town or forgot to have a horse taken…
Black Desert PC adds new monster zones, Node War quality-of-life, and Arena of Solare events - Whether it's hunting monsters or hunting other players, the PC version of Black Desert has got you covered with today's update, as it launches two new monster zones in Marni's…
Choose My Adventure: Chimeraland lets its freak flag fly one last time - You remember how I wrote last week that Chimeraland was becoming comfortable and routine? That its weirdness had sort of become kind of expected but not surprising? Yeah, I was…
Black Desert Mobile introduces the swashbuckling Buccaneer class in latest update - The gunblade-wielding, anchor-dropping, otter man-commanding Buccaneer class has officially made her debut in Black Desert Mobile. The class' release to the mobile MMORPG comes with a pair of trailers showcasing…
Black Desert confirms date for next Heidel Ball, graduates seasonal toons, and wrestles with web issues - The question of what's next for Black Desert will soon be answered as Pearl Abyss has confirmed the date for its next Heidel Ball event. Players are invited to "come…
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Black Desert Online new 3v3 PvP mode Arena of Solare releases today along with its inaugural season - [AL:BDO]Did you know Pearl Abyss founder Kim Dae-il took inspiration from fighting games when he and his team developed Black Desert's MMO combat system? The company's about to take it…
Black Desert talks up its upcoming Gamescom presence at a Samsung booth and a community event - Gamescom 2022 is looming large as it's set to begin next week, which means we're likely going to continue to hear about various titles making a presence at the convention.…
Black Desert Mobile’s Buccaneer sets sails for servers this month - Let it not be said that Black Desert Mobile lacks respect for the high seas and its altruistic cadre of pirates! For lo, Pearl Abyss is bringing the Buccaneer and…
Black Desert updates summer events on PC, opens Elvia realm on console, launches a new siege on mobile - It's a new week and that means a whole bevy of updates for every single version of Black Desert, as the PC, mobile, and console editions of the sandbox MMORPG…
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Black Desert celebrates the summertime with special events on PC and mobile - Eating shaved ice. Marveling at bioluminescent waves. Defending a sand castle. Making tasty skewers. These are the variety of summer-themed activities that players of Black Desert on PC and mobile…
Massively Uplifting: WoW players break barriers, Bungie and ZeniMax raise money to help children - Summer sweetness is not just for corn and watermelon! No, it's for all the kind and generous gestures of of our fellow gamers and game developers that bring sunshine to…
Massively Overthinking: Is old-school MMO dungeon-camping ever coming back? - A while ago on the MOP Podcast, Justin and I randomly wound up on the topic of camping in MMOs - not pitching a tent and peeing behind a tree…
Black Desert PC and console launches Dawn of Dragons and the Drakania Awakening - Who would want to celebrate the end of dragons? Maybe some games are about that, but Black Desert is going all-in on dragons with its most recent update. For one…
Black Desert adjusts the Hashashin and adds Find My Item functionality - If you want to find a particular item you have somewhere in your inventory in Black Desert it can be a somewhat arduous task. To address this problem, the developers…
Black Desert PC unveils the Drakania awakening, takes entries for invite-only ‘early access’ on July 22 - It was only a matter of time until the recently introduced Drakania class of Black Desert got her awakening, and that time is fast approaching for PC players, as some…
Black Desert sends players on a hunt for a lost paradise - A rather chunky patch landed in Black Desert this week, kicking off an adventure to investigate and discover a lost "paradise of winds." Players who successfully navigate the new questline…
Pearl Abyss will shutter ‘inadequate’ battle royale Shadow Arena in August - In the end, the last one standing in a battle royale is the one who has to turn out the lights. Or something. Pearl Abyss announced that it was officially…
Black Desert Mobile adds the Drakania class and offers a brief summary of the Heidel Ball - This past Saturday saw the Heidel Ball event for Black Desert Mobile, which provided a couple of reveals and a whole lot of gift codes and events. A gallery of…
Black Desert Console celebrates worldwide service with events, a coupon code, and a message - Now that Black Desert is being published by Pearl Abyss worldwide following its takeover of South American publishing, executive producer Jae-Hee Kim has taken a moment to thank players of…
Black Desert PC adds tier 5 pets, new instruments, and improvements to blacksmith functions - This week in Black Desert on PC, players are getting another mixed bag kind of update, with buffer pets, easier to use blacksmith features, and some new musical noises to…
Black Desert Mobile readies for its Heidel Ball as it brings a new region and PvPvE content in latest update - Players of Black Desert Mobile have a couple of important things to bear in mind for their favorite mobile MMORPG. First off, the Heidel Ball event is coming, making its…
Steam’s Summer Sale 2022 slashes prices on New World, Endwalker, Classic Guild Wars, and more - Steam's Summer Sale is upon us once again, and this morning you might even be able to access it without everything timing out! There are some notable MMORPGs and MMO-adjacent multiplayer…
Massively Overthinking: The second big five MMOs - So here in the MMORPG genre, we've been working under the assumption for the last few years that the "big five" MMOs that dominate our corner of the industry are…
Black Desert PC celebrates Pearl Abyss’ South American publishing takeover with a laundry list of events - Regular players of Black Desert already know that the game loves to throw events with every update it makes, but this time around it might be going a tad overboard.…
Multiple MMOs mourn the passing of voice actor Billy Kametz - Fandoms of gaming and anime were shocked by the sudden news of the death of voice actor Billy Kametz, who unfortunately passed away from stage IV colon cancer at age…
Black Desert PC revamped the Balenos region and quest in this week’s update - Black Desert's big PC this week went live yesterday, and at the heart of the release is a renewal for the Balenos core questline and region. Pearl Abyss says it's…
Black Desert kicks off the preseason for the brand-new Arena of Solare - Two teams enter, one team leaves, and everyone does their best to make sure it's not the other team. It's the Arena of Solare, a new 3v3 matchmaking PvP mode…
Perfect Ten: 10 things you can spend money on instead of Diablo Immortal - So how about that Diablo Immortal eh? Sure is a lot of "weeping and gnashing of teeth" surrounding its release, huh? But hey, it's for a good reason. In an ironic twist,…
Black Desert Console offers a deep-dive into the creation of the Drakania class - By now players of Black Desert are familiar with the Drakania, the new class that was introduced on PC in April's Eternal Winter update. For those who are enjoying the…
Pearl Abyss reclaims South American Black Desert publishing rights, touts 45M registered players - It's been a bit of a pattern for Pearl Abyss: It launches Black Desert in a new region under a local publisher, and then, once the game is established, it…
Black Desert PC adds ‘private monsters zones’ in today’s patch - Private monster zones are live in Black Desert's PC version with today's patch. What the heck is a private monster zone? It's essentially a way of making the most coveted…
Black Desert Mobile adds Striker’s Yacha awakening, Black Desert PC unleashes a new dream horse - [AL:BDO]This week brings goodies for fans of the Black Desert franchise. Let's start with Black Desert Mobile, where the Yacha is officially live. Yacha is the Striker awakening class and…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 373: Bots are bad, ‘mkay? - Just and Bree discuss Lost Ark's bots, FFXIV's mods, Star Trek Online's Stormfall, Elder Scrolls Online's High Isle, and Wrath Classic beta, with adventures in LOTRO and City of Heroes,…
Pearl Abyss Q1 2022: Black Desert revenues take a hit, EVE Online hangs in there - If you were curious about how Pearl Abyss is performing since its Q4 announcement - during which we learned that both of its core MMORPGs were shrinking, the company was…
Black Desert brings Drakania and season character pre-creation to console, artifact presets and world boss changes to PC - The time is nearly here for console players of Black Desert to swing a giant sword around while wearing a helmet that we could charitably say looks like a spooky…
New Black Desert interview touches on snowboarding, storylines, and future content - Wccftech.com has a new interview up with Pearl Abyss Head of Gaming Design Division Jesse Joo focused on Black Desert's Eternal Winter update with just a few takeaways for MMO…
Black Desert launches new Path of Glory season on mobile, graduates season characters on PC, and shares some jazz tunes - Hey, gamers. Do you like jazz? How about jazzy tracks from Black Desert? If so, then you're in luck because members of the game's audio team are reimagining several songs…
Black Desert’s new silver and extraction rebalance raises fresh whaling complaints - We've got a bit of an eyebrow-raiser for you from Black Desert this morning: Pearl Abyss is making a precision strike on the economy in the form of a silver…
Black Desert opens up another public testing of its matchmade Arena of Solare PvP activity - The Global Lab (aka PTS) of Black Desert is once again open to players as the devs are starting another test of the Arena of Solare, the MMORPG's upcoming matchmade…
Desert Oasis: Black Desert Mobile has a little something for every playstyle - It's amazing how fast two years flies by. It didn't seem that long ago that I was doing my first impressions piece of Black Desert Mobile back in October 2019.…
Black Desert PC improves pet looting and updates various aspects of the Elvia Realm monster zones - Most of the focus for this week's update to Black Desert on PC are on the improvement and refinement side of things - namely, pet looting, the spirit weapons in…
Black Desert PC tweaks item descriptions and weights, launches gathering and farming-related events - Are you ready to go hard on the intense gathering and farming of Black Desert? Then perhaps you're a bad enough mofo to take on one of the events available…
Daybreak’s EG7 intends to sell Innova subsidiary and relocate Toadman Interactive studio in a pull-out from Russia - Enad Global 7, the Swedish company that readers will recall bought up all of Daybreak Games in 2020, is apparently looking to cut ties with Russia, citing a desire to…
Desert Oasis: ‘Jumping’ into Black Desert’s new Drakania class - Everything gets better when a dragon knight is involved as far as I'm concerned. Kain Highwind made Final Fantasy IV the single best Final Fantasy in the entire series. On…
Black Desert PC tasks players with caring for a baby elephant, Black Desert Mobile starts a water gun fight - It should be said that there are more features available in the recent updates to Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile, but the two in the headline are obviously the…
The Stream Team: Heading into the teeth of Black Desert’s Eternal Winter update - Even though it's springtime here in the northern hemisphere, the chill of an Eternal Winter is descending on Black Desert, and MOP's Chris is going to bundle up and check…
Black Desert’s Eternal Winter is live along with a free-play event through April 13 - Pay no attention to the warming temps outside: It's Eternal Winter in Black Desert as of today. The promised expansion, which studio Pearl Abyss is calling its biggest to date,…
Black Desert Mobile now lets you turn into a smoke cloud and flee from PvP fights - Sometimes you want to be left alone or want to flee from a PvP fight in Black Desert Mobile, but you picked a class that doesn't have any particularly good…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 367: Day of the Long Charr - Justin and Bree discuss April Fools' Day around the MMO world, Black Desert's Eternal Winter, FFXIV's Newfound Adventure, E3's cancelation, World of Warcraft's expansion rumor, and dwindling hope for RIFT,…
Grab a Black Desert game pass and more in honor of this week’s Eternal Winter launch - Black Desert is just two days away from the launch of its huge Eternal Winter expansion, which has charmed our Black Desert columnist so much he called it the best…
Desert Oasis: Hands-on with Black Desert’s Eternal Winter expansion, launching April 6 - I needed to take a sabbatical. Not just from Black Desert, but the whole genre. The pandemic gave me a lot of computer time, and just as too much energon is…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 366: A blunder and a blunderbuss - Justin and Bree discuss Guild Wars 2's next expansion, New World's latest patch, Gamigo's layoffs, Black Desert, and Elyon, with adventures in LOTRO, DDO, GW2, and City of Heroes, plus…
Black Desert unveils the Drakania class, zone and quest changes, and reduced item copy costs - The digital CalpheON Ball's second act has once more unveiled lots of new stuff headed to Black Desert, offering up previews of a new class, some changes to zones and…
Black Desert revealed PAX East party, weekend preview stream, and latest PC update - So what are you doing at 4 a.m. EDT Saturday? Sleeping, I hope. But if not, you'll want to tune in to Black Desert's next CalpheON stream, during which we…
Myth of Empires plans fast-progression season servers for April - Myth of Empires isn't letting that whole copyright infringement lawsuit get in the way of game development, oh no: Over the weekend, Angela Game announced that it's opening three-month-long season…
Black Desert PC revamps guild combat missions and posts a ton of alpaca gifs - Eternal Winter looms! No, not in real life; right here, we're getting away from winter and into spring as fast as possible. I'm talking about Black Desert's Eternal Winter, of…
Black Desert Mobile adds lightning lord class and new dream horse - This week's Black Desert Mobile update is like lightning in a bottle... no, not literally. Pearl Abyss has rolled out a new class for mobile client called Legatus, who literally…
Massively Overthinking: How do alts fit into MMORPGs in 2022? - Last weekend, my play group took a second batch of Guild Wars 2 alts to Cantha, and we found ourselves a bit grumbly about having to repeat some of the…
Black Desert’s Eternal Winter expansion launches April 6 with pre-orders live today - A frigid new zone in Black Desert has been awaiting the arrival of PC players since it was revealed earlier this year, and now entry into the Mountain of Eternal…
Black Desert Mobile opens the Field of Valor Desert, adds a quick join party feature, and nerfs the Kunoichi - There's a new Field of Valor waiting in this week's update to Black Desert Mobile, and if you've got plans on going there, you'd better bring your water and prepare…
The Stream Team: Black Desert Online is still beautiful as it ages - [AL:BDO]Six years in and Black Desert Online is just as beautiful as when it started. The sandbox celebrated its sixth birthday yesterday, and Massively OP's MJ has returned to enjoy…
Black Desert’s test realm features a new matchmade PvP arena and the return of the alpaca mount - Black Desert's Global Lab, aka its test realm, has introduced some interesting features for players to peer at and provide their feedback on. One such feature is the Arena of…
Black Desert marks two years of console cross-play as players are married in-game and real life - We've got yet another giant pile of news coming out of every version of Black Desert, so whether you hit WASD, a thumbstick, or buttons on a mobile device to…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 362: Eternal Winter, Eternity’s End, End of Dragons - Justin and Bree discuss Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons, Black Desert Mountain of Eternal Winter, DDO's 16th anniversary, WoW's Eternity's End, EverQuest II's level-agnostic server, and Elder Scrolls Online's…
Black Desert PC announces Mountain of Eternal Winter expansion for April 2022 - Just because February isn't already absolutely packed with MMO news, here's one more big one: Black Desert PC is prepping a huge new expansion called Mountain of Eternal Winter. The…
Black Desert PC preps a month-long six year anniversary, Black Desert Console brings back Red Battlefield - Before Pearl Abyss decides to potentially put Black Desert on the sacrificial altar of Gooficus, God of Blockchain, the game is celebrating six years on PC with a whole month's…
EVE Online and Black Desert studio Pearl Abyss believes it can ‘create a stable blockchain ecosystem’ - Pearl Abyss' Q4 2021 financials are a rollercoaster, my friends. The company is fine, so no panic there; in fact, it's operating revenue is up compared to this quarter last…
Black Desert PC marks Valentine’s Day with a chocolate-powered in-game raffle event - Black Desert on PC has now officially deemed that chocolate boxes are a form of currency. That's just a part of the game's Valentine's Day event that has kicked off…
Black Desert’s Gyfin Rhasia Temple underground rework is live in today’s update - You know it's a Wednesday when Black Desert's PC version has released no less than 11 announcement posts on its front page. Chief among them is the patch itself, which in addition…
Black Desert Mobile merges servers, Black Desert PC discusses planned quality-of-life updates - The world of Black Desert Mobile is shrinking. Sort of. The game's world isn't getting smaller, but the number of servers is, as the mobile MMO's latest update has performed…
Steam’s Lunar New Year sale discounts New World, Elder Scrolls Online, and more - It may not be one of the biggest annual promotions that Valve runs, but Steam's Lunar New Year sale has several tempting discounts for the frugal gamer. If any of…
Black Desert PC tweaks a monster zone and goes on sale for Lunar New Year, Black Desert Mobile adds the Solaris class - It's that time of the week when Black Desert plops a whole bunch of news on everyone's lap. The lion's share of updates comes from the PC version of the…
Black Desert tweaks Black Spirit skills and Red Battlefield ahead of Lunar New Year events - It's patch day over in Pearl Abyss' Black Desert PC version, plus we're just two weeks out from the Lunar New Year, which means the game is about to kick…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 356: A long time from now in a galaxy far, far away - Justin and Bree discuss LOTRO, Star Citizen, Black Desert, Elyon, and Neverwinter, with adventures in LOTRO, Crowfall, and Elder Scrolls Online, plus voicemail topics on alienating MMO design choices and…
Black Desert claims a 230% increase in new western daily players on PC thanks to class reboot - Back in December, Black Desert implemented a major reboot of all of its classes in the PC version of the game, alongside the launch of its winter season servers, and…
Black Desert Mobile launches events to fight bosses, grow account characters, and celebrate bagels - Sure, there are events that involve beating down foes or logging in, but have you ever dared to dream of an event that celebrates the majesty of the bagel? Black…
PSA: Black Desert Mobile is once again offering rewards for Prime Gaming members - Are you a player of Black Desert Mobile? Do you have an Amazon Prime account that you forgot to unsubscribe to? Then you've got some free goodies coming your way…
Black Desert’s patch today ‘rebooted’ every single class in the game - The promised class overhaul update has arrived in Black Desert's western PC version as of today. Reboots have come to literally every single one of the game's classes, in addition…
End-of-Year Eleven: The best MMO updates and expansions of 2021 - Some years are just bulkier than others when it comes to updates for existing MMOs. That's the nature of the beast. Some years just about every major game gets another…
Massively Overthinking: Our MMO predictions for 2022 - OK folks, it's that time of the year again: the time when we cast our eyes ahead and try to pinpoint what's going to happen to the genre in 2022,…
Black Desert posts small pre-class rebalance update, opens music competition - Black Desert's in between two major December happenings: the major reveals of Calpheon Ball last weekend and the class reboots on PC next week. But in the meantime, Pearl Abyss…
Black Desert unveils a new region for PC, dates class reboots for PC and console, and announces the Eclipse class for mobile - This past weekend saw the Calpheon Ball event for Black Desert arrive to fans of the MMORPG, and as usual the presentation was full of reveals for players to sink…
Working As Intended: The hits and misses of MassivelyOP’s 2021 predictions - Last year's MMORPG predictions didn't exactly go to plan, since in 2019, we weren't really expecting 2020 to play out the way it did. But at the end of 2020,…
End-of-year Eleven: The healthiest live MMOs at the end of 2021 - Healthy MMOs are a good thing. They have smooth, glossy coats, strong teeth capable of snapping bone, a full-throated call, and it just occurs to me now that I am…
Black Desert marks two years on mobile, tweaks a summon scroll on PC, adds Valencia Node and Conquest Wars on console - Once again, Black Desert is awash with news for the week across every version, so we'll cut this lede short and dive right in. We begin with the mobile version's…
Black Desert adds a card game on PC, suspends Red Battlefield on console, and dates the 2022 Calpheon Ball - It's time for another week of Black Desert news from all around the game's hemisphere, and this week PC players are being invited to play a game of poker. More…
Fight or Kite: Naraka Bladepoint is battle royale but with grappling hooks - Welcome back to the Monday after a holiday (at least in the US). Hopefully you were able to enjoy your family, friends, or game time. If not, well, here we…
Black Desert kicks off Black Friday events and allows for easier new player gear upgrades - It's just about time for Thanksgiving, and that means that everyone should fall into a frenzied rush of consumerism the next day for Black Friday. Since Black Desert isn't hosting…
Not So Massively: Lost Ark is a promising MMOARPG with a poor first impression - Like many ARPG fans, I have long-awaited the Western release of Smilegate's MMOARPG, Lost Ark. Though the launch has been delayed to next year, I, alongside MOP's Chris, was recently…
Desert Oasis: Unearthing the origin story of Black Desert studio Pearl Abyss - On our side of the pond, the exploits of various popular video game companies and their founding are well documented. But when it comes to companies out of the USA,…
Kakao is taking over publishing ArcheAge in the west from Gamigo - It's the end of an era: The Western version of ArcheAge is getting a new publisher. Come December, Kakao will be running the game in Europe, North America, and Oceania…
Black Desert PC gives players a manor to rent, Black Desert Mobile holds a contest for the Sage class’ arrival - "Yo, MTV, welcome to Serendia. This is my crib," is something players of Black Desert on PC could possibly say with this week's patch, which has introduced the Blue Maned…
Battle Bards Episode 203: The music of mobile MMOs - For this week’s episode, the Battle Bards turn their attention to an oft-neglected realm of MMO music — that of mobile titles. Will Steff walk into a pole while playing…
Black Desert Console discusses upcoming content updates, class reboots, and guild raid boss arrivals - Those who prefer to get their Black Desert fix on consoles might be looking over at the updates arriving to PC players with a bit of jealousy or a question…
Black Desert unleashes a giant robot fight on PC and various Halloween events for mobile and console - Do you dig giant robots? Then you're probably going to dig on Black Desert's latest event, which features a battle against Marni's latest creation, the Innocence Mk XII, where players…
Black Desert PC revamps Node Wars while Black Desert console opens its Season+ server - This week in Black Desert is bringing some pretty important updates to both the PC and console versions of the MMORPG. We'll begin with the latest PC update, which has…
Black Desert Mobile adds a powerful new totem and Black Desert PC kicks off multiple Halloween events - If it's Thursday, it's another bundle of Black Desert news. We'll begin with the latest update to Black Desert Mobile, which added the Primal Rift Totem, the most powerful totem…
Black Desert PC adds the next part of Atoraxxion, opens class reboot forums, and kicks off an autumn event - If you're among those who are enjoying the fact that Black Desert has dungeon content and you're a player of the PC version, then you'll be delighted to learn that…
Black Desert PC preps season+ server graduation, Atoraxxion’s next act, and Elvia Realm changes - If you've been pushing through the season+ server of Black Desert on PC to the point you're ready to head to the regular servers, then this week is for you…
Black Desert launches PC season+ server, offers next-gen console support and roadmap - It's Wednesday, which means another weekly deluge of Black Desert news. [AL:BDO]First, over on the PC servers, where the game is celebrating 2000 days online in the west, Pearl Abyss…
Black Desert Mobile is introducing the Mystic class on September 14 - Players of Black Desert Mobile will soon get the option to punch enemies right in the mouth as a female character, as the game will be introducing the Mystic class…
Black Desert launches Conquest War pre-season, sets Season+ server launch for next week - Conquest War has returned to the world of Black Desert as the pre-season has begun. MMO players will recall that this mode is basically mass territorial PvP. "Conquest War is…
Massively Overthinking: MMO ideas that were ahead of their time - I'm gonna say something wild right now: In some ways, CliffyB was ahead of his time. My husband and I came to this realization a while back when he was…
Black Desert outlines class reboots, quality-of-life streamlining, and new customization plans - Here at the top of September, Pearl Abyss Executive Producer Jae-hee Kim has a letter for western Black Desert PC players. Kim says that the team has been focused on…
Black Desert celebrates two years on console and 2000 days on PC with free stuff - So hey, want some free stuff? Pearl Abyss has a bunch of goodies queued up for Black Desert fans, even beyond the Margoria expansion in the mobile edition earlier this…
Black Desert Mobile sets sail on the Great Ocean with today’s expansion - The mobile version of Black Desert requests your oars, as it's finally getting the Great Ocean expansion today. Readers will recall that the expansion rolled out as Margoria back in…
Black Desert PC adjusts potions and ramps up skill XP earnings, Black Desert Mobile releases the Lahn - It's a tale of two updates for the same IP as Black Desert on PC and Black Desert Mobile both have some updates arriving this week that players of either…
Vague Patch Notes: The lesson hidden in the Astellia shutdown - A couple years ago, an MMO launched named Astellia. It was fine. It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It was just fine. It was perfectly acceptable as a buy-to-play game,…
Black Desert’s Corsair awakens today on PC – yes, it’s otter time - Happy Corsair awakening day! She's got pirate hats, she's got gunblades, she's got adorable otters, she's got rapiers, she's got mermaids... wait. Wait. Go back to the otters thing? [AL:BDO]Yes,…
Black Desert Mobile opens Lahn and Crimson Lily pre-creation with contest - You think you can make a rather nice-looking character in Black Desert Mobile, do you? Well the game itself is asking you to prove it with its latest community challenge…
Black Desert’s Corsair awakens with swashbuckling otter crewmates on August 11 - The Corsair class of Black Desert already has some pretty neat tricks by all accounts. After all, being able to slice up enemies, call down a whale breaching, or temporarily…
Black Desert tweaks stance animations, weekly quest resets, and conquest wars on PC - Black Desert's PC patch this week is a bit of a hodge-podge, but it's still gonna make you download a whole gig of content. So what the heck is in…
Pearl Abyss has delayed Crimson Desert indefinitely - Earlier this month, when Pearl Abyss emerged from over six months of silence on Crimson Desert to post a mocap video, we speculated that the original "winter 2021" release date…
Black Desert opens the summertime Night Market, tweaks the Atoraxxion dungeon, and updates its TOS - It's time to celebrate the summer season in Black Desert on PC. The Terrmian Night Market is now open, and players are being encouraged to take promotional-styled screenshots of the…
Black Desert’s Atoraxxion dungeon is live for PC and console today - As promised, Atoraxxion has rolled out to Black Desert's PC and console versions today. What's Atoraxxion? Why, it's the game's first-ever traditional co-up dungeon. And when they call it a…
Black Desert sets Atoraxxion launch for July 21 as console counts 3M players - I'm sorry to report that Cursed, the Netflix TV show that Black Desert collaborated with on a whole patch last year, has been canceled. This isn't exactly Defiance levels of…
Pearl Abyss is building an art center in order to ‘create more realistic and cinematic games’ - It appears that publisher/developer Pearl Abyss is very serious about making its upcoming titles as realistic as possible. How serious, you ask? Try spending $26M on a building for precisely…
Black Desert talks up a rather vague 300% increase in daily players - Fair warning: The information in this article is going to frustrate you. That's because Pearl Abyss has released relative numbers for Black Desert, claiming that daily players have surged by…
Black Desert PC adds a buff-granting otter pirate and details the summer season server - Have you ever been the recipient of a sea shanty as sung by a piratical otter that grants you some XP buffs? No? Well with the latest patch for Black…
Black Desert PC hands out a code for free boost items and makes several Corsair fixes in latest update - Black Desert on PC is all about raking in the booty this summer with the launch of the Corsair and the boost-filled summer season server, but now players of the…
Desert Oasis: The key takeaways from Black Desert’s Heidel Ball 2021 - It's been a busy two weeks for Black Desert Online. The past week saw another Arena of Arsha event, this time with trial characters. And while that was a blast to…
Massively Overthinking: What’s your favorite MMO house of all time? - You folks know I love MMO housing systems, and in fact, we've been crowning the MMOs with the best housing systems for years. But what we don't talk about much…
Black Desert’s Corsair is finally here to take all your booty - Avast ye landlubbers! Break out your sea legs and practice your best swashbucklin', because Black Desert's Corsair isn't going to go on a date with you until you can prove…
You can make your Black Desert Corsair right now (and play her next week) - On this week's podcast, we were discussing how few pirate classes there are in MMORPGs despite pirate NPCs being in pretty much all of them. So a 21-cannon salute to…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 327: Ducks all the way down - Justin and Bree discuss WoW 9.1, Elder Scrolls Online, LOTRO Classic, RuneScape Mobile, and Black Desert's Corsair, with adventures in Final Fantasy XIV, WoW Classic, Albion Online, and SWG Legends,…
Heidel Ball 2021: Black Desert announces summer season server, shows off new Corsair class - Earlier this morning, Black Desert held its digital Heidel Ball event, which was stuffed to the rafters with announcements and reveals. At the top of the list is the new…
Desert Oasis: Black Desert’s Atoraxxian dungeon is a good idea, but will it last? - Burger and Fries, Mario and Luigi, Garfunkel and Oates. Are there any other iconic pairs? Oh yeah! RPGs and dungeons. Be it the sprawling 100 floor Via Infinito from Final…
Black Desert teases Heidel Ball reveals including a Dark Knight figurine and the Corsair class - As we've reported before, Black Desert's Heidel Ball will once more be a digital affair, but that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of reveals to look forward to. The…
MOP’s quick and dirty guide to finding the perfect MMORPG for your tastes - Probably one of the most commonly asked questions both here on Massively OP and in various MMORPG discussions everywhere else too is simply, "What MMO should I play?" We're not…
Black Desert updates the central market, opens up family names from deleted accounts - With Black Desert's Heidel Ball just a pinch over a week away, the devs busy with a flurry of promotional bits - not to mention the latest PC patch. [AL:BDO]First,…
Black Desert teases the arrival of ‘a new tide’ and enters a crossover with Bugatti across all platforms - *WHOCK! WHOCK! WHOCK!* Oh, don't mind that noise, that's the sound of Black Desert trying to hammer the square peg of Bugatti into the round hole of its game world.…
Pearl Abyss opens new studios in US and Europe as part of western expansion efforts - Pearl Abyss very clearly has eyes on expanding its reach further into the western market. The publisher/developer of Black Desert has opened up two new studios in the NA and…
Desert Oasis: Why Black Desert Online is my favorite MMO - It's crazy how fast two years go by, but it's how long I've been running this column. I've interviewed the lead producer Jaehee Kim, provided a sneak preview to popular…
Black Desert announces the upcoming co-op dungeon Atoraxxion - It's time to team up in Black Desert this summer. Players on both PC and console will be able to take part in exploring the game's new co-op dungeon, Atoraxxion. It's…
Black Desert’s Great Expedition expansion has finally floated over to console players - Black Desert's Great Expedition expansion sailed its way over to western PC players almost two years ago, if you can believe it, back when the game on console was still…
Black Desert PC celebrates World Milk Day and adds a new outfit and pet, mobile introduces the Sura class - "Due to the upcoming World Milk Day, it’s said that the milk production in the Black Desert world has skyrocketed. So, let’s celebrate this special occasion by going to a…
Black Desert offers a video preview of the upcoming Atoraxxian co-op dungeon - From the outside looking in, Black Desert appears to be a game about grinding, Conquest and Node Wars, and (in my personal case) logging in after some time away and…
Black Desert announces digital Heidel Ball convention for June 19 - [AL:BDO]Black Desert's gearing up for a summer convention of its own as Pearl Abyss announced this morning the return of Heidel Ball. As in 2020, the 2021 version will be…
Black Desert PC issues apologies and recompense for recent Node War issues, offers gifts to new and returning players on console - If you were among the PC players of Black Desert who experienced some problems with Node War and Conquest War this past weekend, Pearl Abyss has been paying attention and…
Desert Oasis: So Black Desert wants to be an esport now - Even though the San Francisco Giants threw away a 6-2 lead against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, the real highlight of my weekend was watching Black Desert's Arena of Arsha Best-in-Class…
Black Desert esports players will determine the best class in the Arena of Arsha Championship this weekend - Now to be clear, you shouldn't feel compelled to follow any game's meta if you don't want to, especially one that takes its cues from esports. What Black Desert is…
Four Winds: Final thoughts on Elyon’s first closed beta test - Elyon's closed beta test came and went, and boy am I happy with what I played. It was unfortunate that the test fell on Mother's day weekend, since I couldn't…
Black Desert prepares for a ‘comprehensive balance patch’ on PC, adds a treasure system to mobile - It's time for another gaggle of Black Desert news, and while mobile updates are on the radar, easily one of the more impactful stories coming from the game is an…
First impressions of Elyon’s western closed beta: Day one and a dungeon run - I can't believe I'm actually playing Elyon on local servers. People have been excited for this game since it was called Ascent: Infinite Realm, and just from the first couple of hours…
Black Desert PC changes underwear names, talks up a class tournament, and adds a horrible tech worm - That headline sure reads like a mishmash of things for Black Desert, doesn't it? Well, that's kind of because it is, so really there's nothing for it but to dive…
Desert Oasis: The best Black Desert quality-of-life changes - I wasn't there at launch, but I've played Black Desert long enough to see some major changes in the game. And since the game just celebrated its fifth birthday in the…
Kakao Q1 2021 financials: ArcheAge 2 won’t be ready until at least 2024 - As MOP's own Carlo has written at length, Kakao is a massive company with its fingers in many pies - most recently the delicious pie known as Black Desert, though…
PSA: Download the Black Desert companion app, get an adorable pupper - I admit, I don't play Black Desert very much and I very often ignore limited-time login gifts or rewards, but for the intensely adorable puppy pet that's being handed out…
Massively Overthinking: The terrible hot-mess MMOs we have fun in anyway - Every time we cover Hellgate London - and let's be honest, it's a lot since the game comes back from the dead at least once a year and it's a…
Black Desert welcomes May with tulips on PC, awakens the Sage on console, adds the Kunoichi to mobile - [AL:BDO]Every version of Black Desert has seen an update of some sort this week, which means that not only is there a whole lot for players of the MMO to…
Massively Overthinking: How much are you spending on MMOs every month right now? - A while back, MOP's Justin joked that his wife, who loves econ PvP in MMOs, was funding a year of his play on Classic and Retail World of Warcraft through…
Black Desert’s companion app, Black Desert+, is available now - If you play a lot of Black Desert, you might wish there were a way to get a little bit more of the game even when you're not playing it. Good…
Black Desert PC unleashes the Awakened Sage, launches new events, and introduces rare hunts - Can't you hear, can't you hear that thunder? No, it's not Men at Work calling to you; it's the arrival of the Awakened Sage to Black Desert on PC as…
Four Winds: Why are Asian MMOs monetized the way they are? - Welcome to Four Winds, Massively OP's newest column, dedicated to Asian MMOs and the culture around it. As the resident Black Desert columnist, I'm a fan of the game as…
Black Desert offers a sneak peek at the Sage’s Awakening arriving to PC April 21 - If you thought the Sage class that was recently introduced to Black Desert did some damage using magical cubes, just wait until you see what it can do with some…
Black Desert adds Sage and cooking content on PC, character tagging and item copying on console - [AL:BDO]Hey cooks and likeminded lifeskillers! It's your time to shine in Black Desert, as the PC version of the core MMORPG has today launched Martina Finto's Cooking Festival. Players will…
Black Desert adds constellations on mobile, events on PC, and a new Amazon Prime Gaming promo - It's the middle of the week, which means it's time once again for some new content updates for the PC version Black Desert and for Black Desert Mobile.[AL:BDO] We'll start…
Desert Oasis: Black Desert’s Sage release demonstrates Pearl Abyss’ focus on the west - I'm not really a comics guy, but I still have my favorite superheroes. For me, it's Dr. Strange. Marvel's artifact wielding, spell-slinging, multiverse traversing sorcerer supreme checks all the marks…
Fly on a donkey with Black Desert’s April Mules’ Day prank - Black Desert's PC version is rolling out its April Fools' day prank early, but given the context and adorableness rating on this one, we don't think you'll be sad. "April…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 315: The Wrath Baby strikes back - Justin, Bree, Chris, and Tyler discuss Magic Legends' soft launch, World of Warcraft's price hikes, WoW Burning Crusade's beta, Elite Dangerous' Odyssey alpha, Raph Koster's virtual world manifesto, and Monster…
Desert Oasis: The problem with Black Desert’s season servers – and how to fix it - Black Desert's had some exceptional growth over the past year. What I've always liked about this game is that it's never tried to be what it's not. It's always been…
Black Desert cancels spring season server, plans ‘growth server’ for newbies instead - There's a ton of Black Desert PC info rolling out this afternoon. First up: Seasons are about to go away for spring break, literally. With the conclusion of the winter…
Battle Bards Episode 189: Spooky and Magical 3 - Is that a chill creeping down your spine? Did your ears just perk up at the hint of fae music in the trees? Is Tinkerbell blasting you with a cannon…
Neverwinter’s Sharandar: Iron Tooth episode has officially launched on PS4 and Xbox One - [AL:NW]It's a happy week for console MMO players, as not only can Black Desert consolers begin designing their very own Sage, but two big content drops that were previously playable…
Black Desert releases the Sage class on PC, introduces Life Skill Mastery and Caphras Stones to console - PC players of Black Desert can now rock enemy faces with the power of cubes. Today's update has introduced the Sage class to the MMORPG, along with a special event…
Black Desert just revealed the new Sage class on its afternoon stream - [AL:BDO]On its splashy reveal stream this afternoon, Pearl Abyss took the wraps off the latest playable class in Black Desert: The Sage. "Armed with the cube-shaped Kyve, an ancient, god-defying weapon,…
Desert Oasis: A brief history of Kakao Games, Black Desert’s former PC publisher - It's been a busy couple of months for Pearl Abyss and Kakao games. While Black Desert players knew about Pearl Abyss taking up self publishing duties for the game's western PC…
Black Desert players vote on next GM events as latest PC update brings new quests and plump pufferfish - What sort of GM-led events will PC players of Black Desert be seeing next? Well, if the results of a player poll are any indication, there's gong to be lots…
Massively Overthinking: ‘Dead games’ in the MMO space - I had a laugh a while back when I spied this tweet in my feeds from a Bungie CM who was suggesting people mute the words "dead game" on Twitter.…
The Stream Team: Black Desert’s 5th birthday bash - [AL:BDO]Today Black Desert Online turns five, but this time the party's at Pearl Abyss! Massively OP's MJ is ready to celebrate this milestone while checking out the game after its…
Black Desert opens Star’s End on console, introduces tainted monsters on PC, and teases the Sage class - Black Desert is once again hitting us with all the news. We'll begin with the console version of the game, which has introduced the Star's End area to the game…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 311: The day the MMOs died - Justin and Bree discuss Anthem Next's demise, Defiance and Gamigo's MMO purge, DDO's big news, Black Desert's free-play, Riot's MMO, and mobile Warcraft, with adventures in LOTRO, City of Heroes,…
Black Desert Mobile announces the arrival of the Shai and a new PvP mode in March - The little character with a big boomerang is headed to Black Desert Mobile. Yes, the Shai class has been officially confirmed for the mobile MMO, with her arrival on Tuesday,…
MMO Business Roundup: Apple’s Steam subpoena, CCP on the cheap, and Valheim’s 4M - Welcome back to yet another MMO and MMO-adjacent business news roundup - it's the season for these shenanigans, you know. Valve and Apple: Remember earlier this month when Apple attempted…
Black Desert has officially transitioned back to Pearl Abyss – and now it’s free-to-grab for two weeks - Black Desert was supposed to be back up last night, but if you stayed up for the Pearl Abyss relaunch, you know that it didn't go smoothly, with processing and…
Kakao Games bids a fond farewell to fans as Black Desert publishing officially changes hands to Pearl Abyss - Today is the official end of the Kakao Games era of Black Desert. We all knew this was coming, of course: The move was first announced at the digital Calpheon…
Pearl Abyss promises less lag, support systems for vets, and a revamped Loyalties Shop in Black Desert - Pearl Abyss would like players of Black Desert to know that they want to support you. More specifically, the company is going to better support you through a number of…
Pearl Abyss Q4 2020: An overall drop in profits and revenue but a revenue rise on PC - The quarterly earnings report from Pearl Abyss is now available to peruse for armchair fiscal analysis types to chew over, and in the fourth quarter and 2020 overall, there was…
Kakao Games hosted its last GM-led live event for Black Desert on PC this past weekend - With Black Desert changing hands from Kakao Games over to Pearl Abyss, yesterday signaled the possible end of an era as GMs and CMs from Kakao held one final GM-led…
Massively Overthinking: Which MMORPG offers the best tutorial? - MMORPG developer Raph Koster recently put this neat article by experimental game developer Nicky Case on my radar. Case notes that common wisdom is that players learn by "doing," but…
Black Desert is deleting accounts not transferred to Pearl Abyss by May 31 - [AL:BDO]If you haven't transferred your Black Desert account from Kakao to Pearl Abyss - perhaps because of the chaos last week - then you should definitely pencil it in. That's…
Why I Play: Final Fantasy XIV’s memorable Shadowbringer relic weapon grind - I have a love-hate relationship with Final Fantasy XIV. I actively fought against giving the game MMO of the year for 2020, and I hold the unpopular opinion that the best way…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 309: You can take my loot over my dead body - Justin and Bree discuss Valheim, Elite Dangerous' slave cult, BlizzConline, Hearthstone, WoW's valor, Neverwinter Nights Arelith, Phantasy Star Online 2, Black Desert, and Shadowbane, with adventures in LOTRO, Elder Scrolls…
Black Desert scrambles to address transfer problems from Kakao - If you haven't heard already, your Black Desert account needs to be transferred from Kakao to Pearl Abyss by May 31st of this year, as it could be deleted otherwise.…
Black Desert patches in defense icons and a new event to praise the sun - It can be a bit tricky sometimes to remember exactly how various defensive abilities work in Black Desert from time to time. Does this particular skill make you actually invulnerable (taking…
Black Desert Mobile gets the Archer and Fletcher next week, opens pre-creation today - Care to take your enemies out from a distance through some more conventional means in Black Desert Mobile? Then you're ready to give the Archer class and its Awakened form…
MMO Business Roundup: Improbable’s defense contracting, Amazon Games’ internal support - Welcome back to another roundup of MMO and MMO-adjacent industry news! Improbable: Back in January, CNBC did a big story on Improbable, the massive Herman Narula-led company backed by companies…
Desert Oasis: Having a blast with Black Desert’s new Nova class - Thanks to the quarantine, it's been a pretty long while since I've gone out and enjoyed some coffee at a cafe and a beer at a bar. But of all…
Perfect Ten: A guide to podcasts for your favorite MMOs - Clearly, your Tuesday schedule every week should have a big fat "LISTEN TO MASSIVELY OP PODCAST" written at 4:00 p.m. EST right on it. But once you've experienced that blissful…
Black Desert Mobile starts Path of Glory Season 3, Black Desert PC hands out lots of chocolate - Do you crave glory, or do you crave chocolate? Well, if you play both Black Desert Mobile and Black Desert on PC, you can have both thanks to the latest…
Black Desert PC adds new chicken chasing quests, opens Western transfers from Kakao - As sure as the sun will rise and set, the latest update to Black Desert on PC has added a bunch of new events and quests. This time around, though,…
The Stream Team: Horse racing in Black Desert Online - [AL:BDO]Black Desert has introduced horse racing, and Massively OP's MJ has been totally snookered into trying it out thanks to the super cute black spirit on horseback. How could she…
Shadow Arena offers compensation, flips hero Venslar from offense to support - Shadow Arena isn't letting its low population counts stop it: Pearl Abyss is plunging on with updates anyway. Earlier this month, we covered a major update to the Black Desert…
Black Desert’s PC, console, and mobile editions get a raft of Nova changes and winter events - It's Wednesday, so you know what that means! I mean, yes, it's New President day in the US. But it's also Black Desert blitz day. Here's what Pearl Abyss' multi-platform…
Shadow Arena has replaced its 40-person battle royale mode with a 3v3 arena - Earlier this month, our own PvP columnist Sam Kash delivered a Fight or Kite column on Shadow Arena, the battle royale standalone title spun off from Black Desert last year.…
The Old Moon Grand Prix horse race begins in Black Desert PC - There's another event happening in Black Desert on PC, which sounds otherwise humdrum considering every update has some event of some sort. However, this one sounds a little more interesting…
Fight or Kite: Pearl Abyss’ Shadow Arena has epic new modes – and no one to play them - In this week’s edition of “why is Sam still so sad and unable to find a regular MMO to play?” I've decided to take a look back at a battle…
Massively Overthinking: Hopes and fears for MMOs in 2021 - Welcome to 2021, folks. It's not even going to have to try all that hard to be better than 2020! For our first official Massively Overthinking of the year, I've…
Leaderboard: What was the best new MMO or online game of 2020? - It's been a long time since a brand-new MMORPG really deserved a GOTY award - in fact, my my reckoning, it was was 2016, when Black Desert ran away with…
Desert Oasis: Avoiding burnout in Black Desert Online - Players leaving Black Desert in a tizzy is something of a tradition in the community. It can be for a number of reasons. Sometimes players just get bored. Some players…
Perfect Ten: The top MMOs to watch in 2021 - "MMOs are dead!" "MMOs are dying!" "We didn't get any good MMO releases this past year!" While I won't argue with the last one there, I humbly submit today's column…
Black Desert brings the Nova’s Awakening and Succession in latest update to PC and console - As is ever the case for classes in Black Desert, it's now time for the Nova to choose between mastering her existing kit or taking up some new skills. Awakening…
Black Desert rings in the new year with cows, apologies, and wishes - Before you knock back that glass of bubbly and try in vain to sing "Auld Lang Syne," you have some New Years activities to enjoy in Black Desert. Through January…
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: MMORPG of the Year - MassivelyOP’s end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for MMORPG of the Year, which was awarded to Elder Scrolls Online last year. Longtime readers of this site and…
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Most Anticipated MMO - MassivelyOP’s end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for Most Anticipated MMO, which was awarded to Book of Travels and Torchlight Frontiers last year. (Obviously, Frontiers lost that…
Black Desert extends free play for PlayStation first-timers unable to purchase the game properly - On paper, the whole free play idea for Black Desert seemed like a pretty great idea. The game lets everyone play for free for a little while, hopefully enticing new…
MassivelyOP’s 2020 Golden Yachties: Best worst transmedia synergy - MassivelyOP’s not-so-serious end-of-the-year awards continue today with our pick for best worst transmedia synergy. (If you’re wondering what the heck a Golden Yachtie is, you can get caught up with…
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Not-So-Massively Game of the Year - MassivelyOP’s end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for the Not-So-Massively Game of the Year, which was awarded to No Man's Sky last year. The games eligible for…
The Stream Team: A Nova Christmas in Black Desert Online - [AL:BDO]Christmas has come to town in Black Desert, but that's not the only thing: The Nova has arrived! Massively OP's MJ is going to dip into the holiday spirit, but…
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Best MMO Music of 2020 - MassivelyOP’s end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for Best MMO Music of 2020, which last year wasn't directly awarded; instead, we gave out smaller music awards to…
End-of-Year Eleven: The best MMO updates and expansions of 2020 - With so many delays, it's a wonder that anything released this year at all! And while new patches and expansions trickled rather than flowed through 2020, arrive they did. When…
PSA: The Steam Winter Sale is now live, complete with steep MMO discounts - You probably already learned this from finding that dozens of games on your wishlist were on sale, but the Steam Winter Sale is live now on the platform. That means…
Choose My Adventure: All the MMOs you made us play in 2020 - It'd be spectacularly easy -- routine, even -- to look back at the year gone with derision, bitterness, and all sorts of acrid snark, but I'm not going to do…
Black Desert releases the new Nova class on all platforms today - The lovely and battle-ready lady up in that header image is my pre-created Nova, who has had nothing to do but sit in that grey background and wait for her…
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: MMO Studio of the Year - MassivelyOP’s end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for MMO Studio of the Year, which was awarded to Grinding Gear Games last year. We asked our writers to…
Black Desert Console extends its special Snow Flower winter event - For those who are playing Black Desert on console, you've likely already been appraised of a special winter event that collaborates with famous Japanese singer Mika Nakashima and popular Japanese…
Massively Overthinking: Our MMO predictions for 2021 - So... 2020 didn't go exactly as anyone planned. Our predictions for this past year were pretty janked up by that whole pandemic thing and the whole games industry going way…
Winter holiday events around the MMO universe, 2020 edition - Ho ho ho, it's Santa's younger brother Derrick here to do all of the jobs that Nick can't be bothered with this holiday season! Oh, my big brother always shows…
Black Desert starts pre-creation for Nova and the winter season - The latest patch for Black Desert is all about pre-creation. Do you want to create your Nova character now ahead of the full class release? Go to town. Do you…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 301: Hurtling into Oblivion - Justin and Bree discuss Elder Scrolls Online's Gates of Oblivion, Crimson Desert, Elite Odyssey, Ark 2, Black Desert, WoW Shadowlands, PSO2, LOTRO, EverQuest, and FFXIV, with adventures in WoW, SWTOR,…
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Best MMO Character Customization - MassivelyOP’s end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with... what's this? A brand-new award? Yep! This year we're debuting a new formal award for Best MMO Character Customization. After all, making…
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Most Improved MMO - MassivelyOP’s end-of-the-year awards for 2020 continue today with our award for Most Improved MMO, which was awarded to Black Desert last year. All live MMOs, regardless of release date, were…
Black Desert unveils new Nova class, Pearl Abyss takes over western PC publishing - [AL:BDO]The digital Calpheon Ball has come and gone for Black Desert, and it's brought with it the reveal of a devastating-looking new class. Say hello to Nova, the Eternally Blazing…
Ask Mo: The hits and misses of MassivelyOP’s 2020 predictions - Last December, when we sat down to write out our annual MMO predictions for 2020, I don't think anyone had "biggest global pandemic in a century disrupts everything and makes…
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Most Underrated MMO - Welcome to Massively Overpowered's formal end-of-the-year 2020 awards! Every year, we poll our writers on the best and worst MMOs, stories, studios, and trends and assign awards to the winners…
Black Desert launches the Outlaw Zone on mobile, adds Stormbringer Karanda and new moles to PC - It's another week in Black Desert, which means a couple of the game's versions have had a few new updates. Most of these updates, as one would expect, are about…
End-of-Year Eleven: The healthiest live MMOs going into 2021 - It is only natural that, when you are shopping around for a different MMORPG to play, to consider the health of potential play candidates. Your mind may not term it…
Pearl Abyss plans to reveal Crimson Desert during this year’s Game Awards - If you wanted a clear-cut reason to watch The Game Awards on December 10th, Pearl Abyss is happy to oblige: It's planning on releasing its first gameplay trailer for Crimson…
Desert Oasis: Black Desert Online should be 2020’s MMO of the year - Well here we are again, heading to the end of another year. And while many are eager for this year to end, us gamers have a tradition that can't be…
Black Desert pushes back its digital Calpheon Ball as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic - COVID-19 is such a threat, it's even causing digital events to be delayed. According to an announcement post from Black Desert, preventative measures that are required to fight back a…
Desert Oasis: So, is the PlayStation 5 an upgrade for Black Desert on console? - Way back in August, I did a first impression of Black Desert for the PlayStation 4. It was a solid game, but I couldn't stick to it. The game just…
Black Desert announces the season server’s end date on PC, brings back Field of Valor on mobile - This new week in Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile doesn't bring a whole lot to their respective games, but there are still some things of note for both PC…
Black Desert brings basilisk fights and shared character equipment on PC, Guardian Awakening on console - This week in Black Desert sees some more events and a unique new feature for PC and the Awakening of the Guardian as well as Succession for several classes. It's…
Pearl Abyss Q3 2020: EVE Online’s revenues are up 45% YOY, Crimson Desert reveal coming in December - It appears it's been hard for many gaming companies to top or match their revenue earlier this year when many customers were captive audiences, but that doesn't mean every MMORPG…
Black Desert Mobile announces the Grand Desert expansion and plans for a one-year anniversary - There are a whole lot of future plans for Black Desert Mobile waiting in the wings, chief of which being some new content in the form of the Grand Desert…
Black Desert kicks off Thanksgiving events and announces a digital Calpheon Ball - As you can tell from the header image, the Black Spirit -- and by extension Black Desert -- loves Thanksgiving. If you love Thanksgiving, too, then you can join in…
Wisdom of Nym: The roots of Final Fantasy XIV’s awful housing problem aren’t clear - Let's start with a simple sentiment that I think absolutely everyone can get behind. However solid the underlying mechanics for decorating houses may be, Final Fantasy XIV's housing is a…
Black Desert launches $29.99 ‘prestige’ editions for console today - [AL:BDO]As promised, Pearl Abyss is today launching its Prestige edition for MMORPG Black Desert, making it one of the few modern MMORPGs to actually get a proper console box edition,…
Kakao Games’ Q3 2020 investor report suggests late 2021 western launch for Elyon Ascent Infinite Realm - Kakao is a hard company to cover, largely because the gaming segment we care about is only a tiny piece of the sprawling Korean company's portfolio, which ranges from music…
Black Desert on PC kicks off mount and enhancement boost events and adjusts enhanced skills - The PC version of Black Desert is once more busy with events and adjustments in its latest update, which should be online by the time you're reading this. Of note…
Desert Oasis: Is Black Desert’s lore actually a time-travel narrative? - In the last edition of Desert Oasis, I wrote about an absolutely dismal week in Black Desert that ultimately ended with my taking a sabbatical from the game's endless grind.…
Vague Patch Notes: The wax and wane of MMOs and genres - I started writing for Massively-that-was in October of 2009. That was 11 years ago. Oh... oh my word, no, that was so long ago. More than a decade. I have…
The Stream Team: Black Desert brings Halloween to Florin - [AL:BDO]Black Desert Online's Halloween quests in Florin have started today, and Massively OP's MJ is eager to participate. It appears a curse has turned villagers into dolls! Other mysteries also…
Black Desert Mobile kicks off Halloween, Black Desert PC adds more Halloween, naval fame, and a new horse - It's double the seasonal fun in both Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile as the Halloween season comes to the mobile edition and the spooky festivities continue to roll on…
A Black Desert node war bug dumped quadrillions of silver into the North American servers - Protip: If your Black Desert guild mysteriously manages to pull quadrillions of silver in tax from the guild incentive system, maybe just log out and report it instead of splitting…
Black Desert begins Halloween on PC and Guardian pre-creation on console - The middle of the week once more is offering up another gaggle of Black Desert updates, this time for both the PC version of the game and the console version.…
Black Desert releases its ‘Prestige Edition’ on November 6 - Ladies, gentlemen, and those who fall into neither category, we implore you to look to your physical video game collection. Does it mark you as a person of rare taste…
Black Desert Mobile adds the Tamer class, Black Desert PC kicks off Halloween - The month of October brings with it another gaggle of treats for players of Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile, with both games introducing new things to enjoy like a…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 292: Burning down the Amazon gameforest - Justin and Bree discuss Crucible, Star Trek Online, Black Desert, FFXIV, Star Citizen, WoW, MMO Halloween, and new games from CCP and Zenimax, with adventures in LOTRO, WoW, SWG Legends,…
Black Desert confirms that it will be compatible with the PlayStation 5 - Let's face it, no one likes having to deal with the fact that the communities for every version of Black Desert are locked to individual platforms. But the game is…
O’dyllita is live for Black Desert PC as console launches its first Succession classes - [AL:BDO]The O'dyllita region is finally open for PC players of Black Desert today! Readers will recall that the high-level area was postponed back in 2019 and then resurfaced in March…
Desert Oasis: The worst week I’ve ever had in Black Desert Online - This week, I was planning a third entry on my adventures in Black Desert Mobile, but a few very exasperating incidents happened to me in Black Desert PC last week,…
Black Desert confirms backwards compatibility with PS5 and Xbox Series X - So, you like to play Black Desert on console, but you also are excited for the next generation of consoles that are coming soon. What do you do? You don't…
Black Desert dates O’dyllita release for October 7, adds Garmoth’s Nest to the Red Battlefield and new events - It's all about the PC version of Black Desert in this week's bundle of news and updates from the game, so if you're a player of the MMORPG on the…
Desert Oasis: Black Desert Mobile is not just a mobile copy of Black Desert - Last week, I taught my freshman classes basic email etiquette. In a time of distance learning, it's an important skill to teach. We looked into why etiquette matters, writing professionally,…
Black Desert fights Hadum’s influence on mobile, adds Awakening and Succession for Hashashin on PC, and brings PvP changes on console - An alternate headline for this story could just as easily been "Everything Black Desert got content," but I think Bree would dislike me if I tried to pull that off.…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 288: ArcheAge again - Justin, Bree, and Mia discuss ArcheAge 2, TERA, LOTRO, Wizard101, Corepunk, Raph Koster's new MMO, and Star Citizen, with adventures in WoW Classic, SWTOR, Black Desert, Echo of Soul, SWG…
Massively Overthinking: Contemplating in-game advertising - Last week, EA announced that it would finally be removing all the in-game ads from UFC4 after a few days of intense complaining from fans. Not only were the ads…
Black Desert counts 40M players as its PC version buffs music and adds new Shai instruments - Pearl Abyss has officially turned 10 years old today, and it's brought some hard liquor to the party. Did I say hard liquor? I meant hard numbers, which might be…
Desert Oasis: Checking back in on Black Desert Mobile, almost one year later - It's been a while since I checked in on Black Desert Mobile for Desert Oasis. In fact, I haven't really played it since my initial first impressions. I did play it…
Shadow Arena’s latest roster addition is the swift and dexterous ninja Sura - You know what Shadow Arena needs? More ninjas! This was likely said by someone while banging fists on the table, and that noise has been heard and answered by the…
Black Desert is adding a tier 10 pegasus mount, new Red Battlefield map, and new world boss - A post made to the Pearl Abyss' Black Desert Global Lab is offering up some enticing new pieces of content for Black Desert players, particularly if those players have ever…
Hands-on with the four Vs of Nexon’s mobile MMO V4 - One of my friends once said to me, "Carlo, I always see you play those random 6 out of 10 MMOs, and I don't get why. You know the game's…
Black Desert rolls out Hashashin to PC and mobile, teases O’dyllita for October 7 - It's Hashashin day across much of the Black Desert universe, as the new toon is out and playable on both PC and mobile today. "Hashashin is the 20th class to…
Black Desert details September seasonal servers for PC and asks players to fill out a survey - Did you miss out on the last time Black Desert had seasonal servers? Fret not, because they're coming back on Wednesday, September 2nd, and the devs at Pearl Abyss have…
Massively Overthinking: The MMOs we intentionally avoid - A few weeks back, I read a Twitter thread about people who avoid specific games and types of games, and the folks chiming in were all over the map. Some…
Black Desert begins Hashashin pre-creation as console announces a physical edition - [AL:BDO]It's a big day for Black Desert as the Hashashin pre-creation event has kicked off ahead of the class' formal launch on PC next week. "Get ready for Hashashin who…
Massively Overthinking: Mixing and matching the best crafting systems in the MMO ‘verse - Longtime MOP reader Ken from Chicago recently asked us to talk about crafting - but he didn't want us to just list off the best crafting systems. Instead, he wanted…
The Soapbox: Stubborn MMO players are sleeping on autoplay mechanics - Autoplay, huh. What is it good for? Absolutely something! I'll say it again: There is value in autoplay. It's got such a bad reputation in the western MMO community. From…
Black Desert drops class balancing patch on PC, plans Hashashin pre-creation next week - [AL:BDO]While it's been relatively quiet over in the Black Desert console versions, PC and mobile are hopping today. On the PC side, you're either going to be super enthused about…
Black Desert’s Shadow Arena unlocks all heroes this month and adds a new one - "A new warrior eyes the battlefield, wielding her battle axe and shield of revenge." While we here at Massively OP only have battle axes of indigestion and shields of Netflix…
Pearl Abyss Q2 2020: EVE Online is doing great, NA/EU drives 48% of company revenues - Pearl Abyss dropped its second quarter financial report today: The South Korean MMO company saw its revenues decline ever so slightly, down to 131.7 billion KRW (111 million USD), representing…
Black Desert revamps Padix Island, brings out a Glimmering Earring, and starts a beach party for beer - It's Wednesday, and that means it's patch day for Black Desert, and in this case that also means you can head down to Terrmian Beach to get plastered. Yes, that's…
Black Desert celebrates the 2020 Termian Water Park grand opening with an in-game event - Few things say "summertime" quite like a water park, and seeing as how the pandemic is kind of killing the joy a real-life water park's opening would bring this season,…
Massively Overthinking: Changing the mindset of the MMO genre - I recently saw a journalism professor argue that generating a widespread thinking shift in an entire profession can take decades. "You have to keep making the case in different ways,"…
Desert Oasis: Our guide to playing Black Desert’s season servers - The introduction of Black Desert's season servers this summer was my chocolate-in-peanut-butter moment of the year. I didn't know the combination would be so good! Other players seem to think…
Black Desert Mobile adds a new tower defense mode, PC lets players graduate season servers early - Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile both have some things going on in the news today, as is very often the case for these games, so allow me to once…
Black Desert addresses caster-heavy Conquest Wars, new regions, and gear progress walls - We're back once again with another set of Black Desert Heidel Ball player questions. Who knew that we'd be getting so much mileage out of an image of the Black…
Jukebox Heroes: The ultimate guide to MMORPG music - It's been a long, strange, and wonderful journey to explore MMORPG music with you here in Jukebox Heroes. And while I am anticipating many years to come of future soundtrack…
Perfect Ten: Ten MMOs I was very wrong about - Here's a not-actually-very-secret bit of honesty about the industry that I have been working in for about a decade now: I am not actually right all of the time. I…
This week’s Black Desert update is Cursed, literally, as the Netflix collab begins - Cursed by Netflix transmedia synergy, that is! Yes, as promised, the Netflix fantasy series Cursed has a big crossover with the Black Desert franchise rolling out this week. When it…
Black Desert’s summer server season will end early to accommodate the PC Hashashin launch - [AL:BDO]So Black Desert has some good news and bad news this past week. And the bad news leads in to the good news, so let's do that first: Pearl Abyss…
Here’s 22 minutes of video explaining what we know about Elyon’s beta version so far - Beta testing for Elyon, aka The Game Formerly Known as Ascent: Infinite Realm, has been ongoing in Korea for a little while now while the game's western website has been…
Shadow Arena confirms its arrival to consoles and unveils its 12th hero - I’m no industry expert, but I bet I know what the gaming consoles need: more battle royale games! This brain wave is being shared by the devs at Pearl Abyss,…
Desert Oasis: Black Desert’s outlook in the lead-up to Crimson Desert - I've played nothing but the Black Desert season servers in the last month. It's such a fresh breath of air, and it's something I didn't even know I wanted. There's…
Black Desert offers free play event ahead of transmedia synergy collab with Netflix’s Cursed - So here's one I did not expect to see in my inbox this morning: Pearl Abyss has apparently teamed up with Netflix for a Black Desert collab with Cursed, which…
Black Desert adds a tactics-based PvE arena, a summertime quiz, and a trial that gives away the game - Free game alert, though with a bit of an asterisk: Black Desert is offering a free trial starting now until August 5th that can end with players getting a full…
Black Desert player opens over 1,000 Oasis Dream Chests during a livestream - Remember when Black Desert had the Find Your Oasis event where players could earn Oasis Dream Chests full of stuff? How many of those were you able to claim during…
Black Desert adds new PvP server, revamps main quest rewards for new levelers - [AL:BDO]Black Desert's PC updates almost flew under the radar this week because they had no tentpole feature or event, but there's still plenty to do, especially if you're a PvP…
Massively Overthinking: How much should MMOs cost in 2020? - MOP reader Castagere recently wrote to us with a nod to the growing sentiment across the gaming industry that might indicate a shift in the overall cost of a major…
Black Desert console players are getting the new Hashashin class first - Well, this is a decision that will no doubt draw forth reasoned discourse and carefully formatted reactions: Console players of Black Desert will be the first players in the Western…
Desert Oasis: How should Black Desert handle class balance? - Last week, I wrote about how the recent tamer changes in Black Desert resulted in a write-in campaign. Ever since then, I've had game balance on my mind. Class balance…
Black Desert adds the Skill UI update and new male hairstyles, mobile adds Awakenings and the Wardrobe - Black Desert is a game of two parts for me: wondering what skills to use and trying to muddle through its weird UI, and making sure my character looks impossibly…
Black Desert rounds up patch updates, Conquest War winners, and upcoming features in a video - Care for a bundle of the most recent Black Desert goings-on in a video? Pearl Abyss has you covered with the CM Newsround, a possibly new video series that offers…
Black Desert shares another round of player questions from the Heidel Ball - Earlier in June, the devs of Black Desert shared a big ol' list of player questions from the digital Heidel Ball event. But if you thought that was the last…
Massive Black Desert nerfs prompt tamer players to action through a letter writing campaign - As we've previously covered, Black Desert was updated with the PvP changed originally touted during the Heidel Ball last month. Tamer players (including me) were not happy seeing a whopping…
Black Desert brings class balance changes, new events, and new gear for seasonal servers - Ready for things to change for your favorite Black Desert class? No? Well too bad, because today's update applies those changes. Also this was stuff that was discussed during this…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 278: Patchy McPatchface - Justin and Bree discuss LOTRO, DDO, Pantheon, SWTOR, BDO, and Blade & Soul, with adventures in SWG Legends, LOTRO, and WoW, plus mailbag topics on ship combat and inventory annoyances.
Desert Oasis: Putting Black Desert’s music system in context with other MMOs - Back in the day, I used to really be into the ukulele. I used to play in open mics and sold them as my day job! But that was a…
Black Desert adds the cutest lil furry critters you ever did see in Papua Crinea update - OK, so who had "adorable mammals in Black Desert" on their 2020 bingo cards? Because that is what you're getting with today's update as the tropical Papua Crinea island has…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 277: All the wonder in the ‘verse - Justin and Bree discuss LOTRO, WoW Classic, Black Desert, Star Wars Squadrons, DC Universe Online, Torchlight III, and Anarchy Online, with adventures in RIFT, SWG Legends, and The Outer Worlds,…
Black Desert’s new Q&A covers everything from dancing and new classes to inflation and endgame - Apparently, Heidel Ball was a big success for Black Desert this year, such that Pearl Abyss couldn't even answer all the questions players had sent in for the Q&A. Rather…
The Stream Team: Starting Black Desert’s summer season server - [AL:BDO]With the opening on Black Desert's summer season server today, Massively OP's MJ decided to give another class a try. She is now ready to play her newly created Lahn.…
Black Desert’s season servers are live today on PC as mobile picks up gear awakening - Black Desert players were understandably bummed over the delay of season servers last week, so we bring good news today: They're finally here. "The wait is over and Season Servers…
Black Desert battle royale spinoff Shadow Arena adds new hero, bans cheaters - If things are getting a bit samey for you in the standalone Black Desert battle royale game Shadow Arena, then the latest update might just shake things up for you.…
Massively Overthinking: Do you keep MMOs installed for the login freebies? - MOP reader Styopa proposed this fun topic for Massively Overthinking this week, prompted, he said, by Standing Stone Games' recent promotions for Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and…
Desert Oasis: Exploring Black Desert’s mysterious O’dylitta region - With the Heidel ball now a memory, there's much to look forward to in Black Desert Online. Along with a new class and a variety of other features, players can look…
Black Desert delays season servers on PC, adds Margoria on console, as Shadow Arena sees 5K concurrent players - Black Desert's PC version is gearing up for summer, which means a deluge of events under the "Waiting for Summer" banner. Players will be collecting Fughar's lost crystal shards and…
Black Desert staff help throw a wedding for stuck-at-home players - [AL:BDO]Turns out Guild Wars 2 wasn't the only MMORPG to host an honest to goodness player wedding this week. Kakao Games let us know today that it helped a pair…
Black Desert recaps the Heidel Ball announcements in a Twitter thread - You're a busy person. You've got things to do, monsters to slay, countless upgrades to chase, and nodes to war over. You missed Black Desert's digital Heidel Ball and all…
Black Desert writes a season server guide and opens character pre-registration, mobile adds New Valencia - If you're among the Black Desert players eager to find out about the upcoming season server type that was announced at this year's Heidel Ball, then you're in luck. The…
Desert Oasis: Black Desert’s Hashashin, new server types, PvP changes, and new regions - I would be lying if I told you that I stayed up late this weekend just so I could hear the executive producer Jae-Hee Kim talk about Black Desert's balance…
Desert Oasis: Recapping Black Desert’s Heidel Ball, from backstage to balancing - One of the complications of playing playing Black Desert is that it operates on UTC. Since I live in California, aka the center of the universe (I'm kidding), I always…
Desert Oasis: Rethinking the Black Desert grindspot debate - Almost a year ago, I penned a column on grindspot etiquette in MMORPGs. Specifically, I wrote about the commonly accepted etiquette when it comes to grinding in Black Desert. It…
Black Desert has a horsey event and a schedule for the digital Heidel Ball, mobile has an Enraged Red Nose - It's horsey time in Black Desert! Technically, any time can be horsey time, but the latest update has a very horse-specific event as well as a new system that lets…
Massively Overthinking: The more things change in MMOs, the more they stay the same - A while back, in the wake of our Desert Oasis column on Black Desert's guild system, Carlo and I were discussing guild wars - actual wars between guilds, not Guild…
Black Desert spin-off Shadow Arena has just hopped into Steam early access - [AL:SA]If Crucible isn't cutting it for you, Shadow Arena would definitely like to have a go at your time right about now. The Pearl Abyss "hero action battle royale," which…
Black Desert just patched in a full-fledged music composition system for the Shai - [AL:BDO]Remember when the Shai launched in Black Desert's PC version last year, and everyone was enthralled with her instrument-wielding bard-like skills? Well, this week the Shai is getting even more…
Desert Oasis: Exploring Black Desert’s guild system, from contracts to drama - Guilds: one of the quintessential social features of an MMO. Along with grinding, crafting, and partying up, guilds are just one of those things that are permanent features in the…
Pearl Abyss Q1 2020 financials: Black Desert, EVE Online revenues hold steady - We've got Pearl Abyss' financial report for the first quarter of 2020, and in common with so many gaming companies right now it was a solid quarter indeed. The South…
Black Desert moves Heidel Ball online, adds Striker on mobile and events on PC - You are cordially invited to fire up Black Desert or Black Desert Mobile, check out some of the new stuff each game is releasing, and then step into a global…
Xbox X developers include Blizzard, Bungie, Pearl Abyss, and Square Enix - With the console still on track to release sometime during the holiday season later this year, the Xbox Series X is preparing a huge alpha strike upon gamers' appetites from…
Interview: Black Desert on crossplay, the engine, and the future of mobile - [AL:BDO]A few weeks ago, we chatted up Pearl Abyss' lead producer Jaehee Kim about some pressing Black Desert questions. Now, I'm not one to waste a golden opportunity when I'm…
Desert Oasis: Deep-diving Black Desert’s Musa and Maewha classes - I think I may be in the minority of people who enjoy being home all day. It gives that much needed time to just recenter myself with some yoga, the…
Black Desert kicks off Springfest on PC, adds a new mercantile system on mobile, introduces the Garmoth guild boss on console - [AL:BDO]Everything Black Desert has got something new to try out, whether you prefer PC, mobile, or console. Strap yourselves in, friends. There's plenty to cover. The PC version has added…
Shadow Arena launches into early access on May 21 - The date has finally arrived for the start of general access to Shadow Arena! And we mean that quite literally. The date for when everyone can get in has arrived.…
Black Desert boosts rewards, adds new systems; Black Desert Mobile goes to a secret place - There's a bunch of new stuff in the latest patch to Black Desert. New reusable consumable items? Sure thing, you can assemble some concentrated spirit essences. A new skill for…
Desert Oasis: How I’m progressing through Black Desert without spending a dime - I've been playing Black Desert for quite a while, and in that time I've made a bit of cash and built up a stable of characters I'm pretty happy with.…
Black Desert issues a juice challenge, Black Desert Mobile adds tier 5 pets and celebrates strawberries - There are some fresh updates to Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile, and once again they're full of events for players to enjoy. This time around, they're focused on juice,…
Shadow Arena drops hero video, plans big changes ahead of final beta - With its final beta coming up in just a week, Shadow Arena studio Pearl Abyss is ramping up the hype machine. Today's hook is in the form of a new…
Massively Overthinking: What generates trust in MMO crowdfunding for you? - Last week, an anonymous game developer posted on the MMORPG Reddit about the broader MMO playerbase's frustrations with crowdfunding. See, this dev says he's been working on an MMO and…
Black Desert brings a water festival and a golden goose event to PC, barbecue missions to mobile - Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile are once more just full of events for players to take part in, including a water festival, golden goose, and refer-a-friend promotion for the…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 266: Feline fine for April Fools - Justin, Bree, Carlo, and Ben discuss April Fools, Elyon, Elder Scrolls Online, Black Desert, RuneScape, City of Heroes, World of Warships, SWG Legends, LOTRO, WoW Classic, Legends of Aria, shortie…
Desert Oasis: A guide to getting started with Black Desert’s lifeskill system - For pretty much all of my MMO-gaming career, I avoided anything involving crafting, gathering, and cooking. If the problem can't be solved with a weapon in hand, I stay out…
Black Desert’s guild event gets exploited all up in its face - When there's a will, there's a way. And when the devs overlook something that can be abused, there's an exploit waiting to happen. Black Desert's recent Afuaru's Guild Event didn't…
Black Desert gets an April Fools’ event on PC, Drieghan on console, and new events on mobile - Whew! The down side of having so many different versions of Black Desert is that when an update day rains, it pours. And it is raining updates for various Black…
Grab a key for Shadow Arena’s final beta, courtesy of Pearl Abyss and MOP - [AL:SA]As we've been covering, Pearl Abyss is gearing up for a 2020 release of Shadow Arena, the standalone battle royale based on Black Desert's 2019 game mode. Now, the South…
Massively Overthinking: What do you hoard in MMORPGs? - Last week, online gamers made headlines for hoarding toilet paper. No, not in real life - in Fallout 76. Way to embrace the apocalypse, guys. I've had hoarding on the…
Perfect Ten: The stages of the MMO life cycle - To this day, no one has a quote as useful on the subject of life and death as E. B. White: "We're born, we live a little while, we die."…
Black Desert’s Find Your Oasis event brings boosts to drops and lots of goodies to chase on PC - "During dire times, a boost in morale helps greatly to endure and overcome," opens the announcement from Black Desert, and in the interest of providing that morale boost, the PC…
The Dark Knight arrives to Black Desert Mobile with today’s update - No, you can't be Batman, but what you can be in today's Black Desert Mobile update is a lady who wears a pauldron shaped like a rose swinging a huge…
Black Desert brings a spring event and more anniversary celebrations to PC, Maehwa class to console - If you like your Black Desert with a whole lot of little in-game events, then the most recent update to the MMORPG on PC is ready to aim a party…
Desert Oasis: How Pearl Abyss can guarantee Shadow Arena succeeds - Hands down, Shadow Arena is my favorite battle royale. But just because I've written so many glowing words of accolades for the game does not mean I'm not worried about…
Black Desert Mobile brings the Dark Knight on March 24 and hands out goodies to new and returning players - There are a few things going on in Black Desert Mobile right now. Or happening soon. Really, it's kind of a busy time for the pocket MMORPG in general, what…
Black Desert Mobile releases Ascension and preps for the Dark Knight, PC version continues its anniversary - There's a whole lot new in the world of Black Desert. There's updates for mobile that have brought Ascension for the game's classes, the near-arrival of the Dark Knight, and…
Desert Arena: First impressions of Shadow Arena, the Diet Black Desert of battle royales - Did someone just cast Arcane Echo? Because this'll be our second piece on Shadow Arena this week, following its deep-dive by our PvP columnist Sam earlier this week in Fight…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 262: Holly Holly oxen free - Justin and Bree discuss Daybreak's Holly Longdale's departure, City of Heroes' Homecoming video ban, PlanetSide 2's Escalation, Black Desert's birthday, Cryptic's chat nuke, Guild Wars 2's next episode, changing MMO…
Fight or Kite: Shining a light on Pearl Abyss’ Shadow Arena - Last week, Pearl Abyss allowed players to finally jump back into its take on the battle royale craze with Shadow Arena. The game was originally planned as a part of…
Black Desert’s anniversary event, world boss, new zone, and 10.6 million characters - A very happy birthday to Black Desert, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary here in the west. The popular fantasy sandbox put out an infographic for the occasion, saying that…
Black Desert patches in crossplay for both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 - If you were hoping that today's crossplay patch for Black Desert would allow all platforms to group together under one banner, you would be wrong... by a small margin. PC players…
The Stream Team: A Black Desert birthday - [AL:BDO]What? You want more reasons to party? Well Black Desert brings you its fourth birthday! And Massively OP's MJ thinks that's reason enough. Even the black spirit is ready to…
Black Desert Mobile adds in the North Mediah region - If you're going on a trip, you can bring Black Desert Mobile with you... and perhaps ironically, the game itself is bringing you on a trip to the newly added North Mediah…
Black Desert’s ominous O’dylitta update is launching ‘later this year’ - [AL:BDO]Remember back at E3 and Heidel Ball last year, when in the midst of the hoopla around Black Desert's Shai and Great Expedition expansion Pearl Abyss mentioned that the O’dyllita…
Choose My Adventure: Black Desert should have gotten MMO of the Year - I can admit when I'm wrong. It happens often enough, that's for damn sure, and part of learning from a mistake is admitting that one was made in the first…
Black Desert prepares to shoot the Archer onto the PlayStation 4 on March 4 - The Archer! A dramatic opponent stepping out of the shadows in Black Desert! Or remaining in the shadows; it doesn't actually matter, the whole point of having a ranged weapon is…
The Stream Team: Stepping into Shadow Arena’s closed beta - [AL:SA]There's a new Battle Royale on the scene today-- but it's not really new. The once-mode of Black Desert Online, Shadow Arena kicks off its closed beta today, and it…
PSA: Black Desert is zero dollars on PC right now, go get some - Free MMOs! Getcher free MMOs here! Yes, Black Desert goes on sale for PC quite a bit - everyone knows it's the cash shop that gets ya anyway. But it's…
Shadow Arena’s closed beta test has officially begun – are you trying it out? - [AL:SA]Shadow Arena, Pearl Abyss' one-time battle royale mode for MMORPG Black Desert, officially hits closed beta today as a standalone title. "Shadow Arena pits 40 players against each other in…
Desert Oasis: Understanding Black Desert’s Black Spirit - When Black Desert first released stateside back in 2016, I wasn't interested. At the time, I was deeply invested in running Guild Wars 2's fractals, and I wasn't in the market…
Black Desert Mobile gives Ascension to all classes, Black Desert PC gets Succession for Mystic and Striker - My kingdom for version parity. But until then, there's a whole lot of Black Desert news on all fronts, from the mobile version getting Ascended classes, to the console version…
Xbox Series X offers a look at ‘the next generation of gaming’ - The Xbox Series X, Microsoft's latest entry in the popular Xbox line of consoles, is heading our way later this year. Despite a name that must have been created by…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 260: New World needs new ideas - Justin and Bree discuss Project Nova, Final Fantasy XIV, PAX East and the coronavirus, WoW subs, New World, and Daybreak, with mailbag topics on positive MMO stories, rogue servers, binge…
Pearl Abyss America CEO talks about the MMO market and Black Desert Online’s success - It's a good sign that Black Desert Online has been not just a flash in the pan but an ongoing success in the MMO field even as that field has winnowed…
Ship of Heroes grants a look a new Martial Arts melee powerset in a video - It takes a special kind of superhero to go into a fight against the forces superheroes face with nothing but your fists and feet, but that's the modus operandi for…
Interview: Pearl Abyss on Shadow Arena’s Black Desert origins, esports, audience, and more - [AL:SA]Along with battle royale fans and Black Desert players, we've been keeping an eye on Pearl Abyss' Shadow Arena, the one-time battle royale mode in Black Desert that was plucked…
Black Desert is getting crossplay support for Xbox One and PS4 on March 4 - It turns out that Pearl Abyss wasn't quite finished with the huge Black Desert rollouts, even after a 2019 that saw the PC game come to PS4, Xbox One, and…
Black Desert’s latest PC patch adds Lahn Succession and begins the four year anniversary - Do you prefer to whip at enemies with a Pendulum weapon instead of a pair of chain swords as a Lahn in Black Desert? You're in luck, because the game's…
Black Desert Mobile brings Nouver to the world as the newest boss - Ah, world bosses. Why do we have to bother them, again? Black Desert Mobile is encouraging players at level 55 and above to take on Nouver, the newest world boss…
Grab a key for Shadow Arena’s February 27 closed beta, courtesy of Pearl Abyss and MOP - If you were a big fan of Black Desert's Shadow Arena when it joined the MMO and then was removed last year, then you're going to want to pay attention…
Pearl Abyss had a strong Q4 2019, but CCP’s EVE-spinoff Project Nova is officially canceled - South Korean gaming giant Pearl Abyss is on the rise once again - and unlike many of its mobile-focused competitors, PC MMORPGs and the west accounts for a respectable chunk…
Black Desert patches in Witch and Wizard succession skills, plus a wacky bee event - Apiphobes should stay the heck away from Black Desert right about now, as the PC version of the game is under siege by bees. Just kidding, it's under siege by…
Valentine’s Day 2020 across the MMO universe - Per tradition, we've been covering the launch of Valentine's Day events in MMOs and MMORPGs over the last couple of weeks, but tomorrow is the big day and we can…
Desert Oasis: Finding the plot in Black Desert’s story - In our preview of Black Desert's new Guardian class, one of the more surprising conversations to come out of the comments was the opinion on the game's story. Some saw…
MMO Business Roundup: Kakao’s controlling stake in XLGAMES, Steam’s new record, Xbox’s games-as-a-service - Welcome back to another roundup of MMO (and MMO-adjacent) industry news! Kakao Games: Kakao has snapped up a controlling stake in XLGAMES, having acquired 53% of the company's shares. Kakao…
Choose My Adventure: Nearing a point of Lahn mastery in Black Desert - In the last Choose My Adventure column, I mentioned how the Lahn in Black Desert felt an awful lot like a fighting game character insofar as working out the right…
Black Desert’s standalone battle royale title Shadow Arena enters closed beta on February 27 - Can a game really get a second chance to make a first impression? We may well find out once Shadow Arena, the standalone battle royale game that first debuted as…
Black Desert’s Kunoichi rolls out to PS4, awakens on Xbox One, and drinks all the wine - It's patch day once again for console players of Black Desert, as this week Pearl Abyss has finally added the Kunoichi to the PS4 version of the game, not just…
Perfect Ten: When celebs crossed paths with MMOs - Even as the world continues to turn to and normalize gaming as a respectable hobby, there's still a lingering stigma of playing online titles as a supremely nerdy thing. Whenever…
Black Desert: The Guardian awakens, Valentine’s Day begins, and players raise money for charity - If you happened to miss our Desert Oasis piece on Black Desert's Guardian awakening last week, today is the day to get caught up, as Pearl Abyss and Kakao have…
Black Desert Mobile opens the five-player Field of Valor PvM instance for a limited time - It's just you and four other stout screen smushers versus a horde of nasty beasties. It's the Field of Valor and it's available in Black Desert Mobile, but only for…
Choose My Adventure: Falling in love with the Lahn in Black Desert - As much as I was hoping for some time with the Guardian that I pre-made ahead of the class’ arrival, the Choose My Adventure voting public’s will be done, and…
Massively Overthinking: The undeath of the MMORPG genre - Last week, there was a provocative thread on the MMORPG subreddit that subverted the tired idea that the genre is "dead." It's not, u/Selphea argued - but it is undead.…
The Sorceress is now live in Black Desert Mobile - Live in Black Desert Mobile today is yet another class players on PC are plenty familiar with: The Sorceress. "The Sorceress is a unique mix of magic and melee. Utilizing…
Desert Oasis: Hands-on with Black Desert’s new Guardian awakening - Wow, that was fast. Kakao and Pearl Abyss just released the Guardian last week, and we're already gearing up for awakening her. Just take a peek at the Black Desert…
Choose My Adventure: Comparing the cash shops of Black Desert Mobile and Villagers & Heroes - I had originally intended this piece to focus on playtime in Villagers & Heroes, but I didn't get in enough to do it justice, so that'll have to wait. The…
Massively Overthinking: The one about MMORPG content roadmaps - You know what word I love to hear from MMORPG developers? Roadmap. If you're a millennial or older, you surely remember roadtrip life before widespread GPS - sitting in a…
The Stream Team: Giving Guardian a go in BDO - [AL:BDO]Massively OP's MJ has never been a big fan of melee classes, but Black Desert Online's Valkyrie has been an exception. Can lightning strike twice with the MMO's new Guardian?…
Black Desert’s new axe-wielding Guardian is now live along with her launch events - [AL:BDO]The Guardian has officially joined Black Desert on PC here in the west as of today, wielding her trademark axe and shield to kick some enemy butt. Kakao's patch notes…
Black Desert Mobile adds GvG Siege Wars and prepares for the arrival of the Sorceress class - It's a bit of what's new and a bit of what's next for Black Desert Mobile fans as the latest update has brought new content for guilds and solo players…
Choose My Adventure: Villagers & Heroes on mobile feels like a true themepark MMO (for better or worse) - Choose My Mobile Adventure has changed locales from the Black Desert on over to the world of Villagers & Heroes, a game that has sat firmly on my “meaning to…
Black Desert’s PC roadmap dates Guardian Awakening, more Succession skills, and new continents - While players of Black Desert already had an idea of what was to come thanks to a content preview, there weren't many release dates to go by. A recent content…
Desert Oasis: First impressions of Black Desert’s new Guardian class - Remember that Futurama episode where Fry, Kip, and Zaf Branbigan got stranded on a planet full of amazons and were sentenced to death by crushed pelvises? I wouldn't be surprised…
Black Desert Guardian pre-creation has begun on PC as the Dark Knight snags succession skills - It's patch day across Black Desert! Really, there are so many versions, it's almost always patch day for Black Desert. Here's what's on deck today. [AL:BDO]The big news is for…
Choose My Adventure: The juggling act of Black Desert Mobile’s many advancement systems - Last week’s edition of Choose My Adventure had me genuinely impressed by how much stuff I had to manage in Black Desert Mobile, so reason would stand that playing the…
Massively Overthinking: The best MMOs of the decade - A few years back, we did a cheeky Massively Overthinking about our five favorite MMORPGs of all time. It was quite a potent list from a large segment of our…
Do you want to build a snowman? You can starting today in Black Desert - Do you want to build a snowman? Head on over to Winter Wonderland in Black Desert. PC players this week are being treated to the snowy winter-but-not-Christmas event starting with…
Guild wars come to Black Desert Mobile in today’s PvP-centric update - [AL:BDO]If Tuesday patch day feels weird to you for Black Desert Mobile still, then we get you - Wednesday's been the day for the PC game for so long that…
Choose My Adventure: Black Desert Mobile is absolutely crammed with stuff - This first-ever edition of Choose My Portable Adventure was more hotly contested than I was expecting. By the narrowest of margins – six votes, to be exact -- Black Desert…
Black Desert PS4 will release the Valkyrie class and Awakening on January 9 - Aw yeah, the console versions of Black Desert are slowly getting class parity with the PC version, bless them. Hot on the heels of the Kunoichi's arrival to Xbox on…
Black Desert announces the arrival of the Kunoichi to the Xbox on January 8 - Sure, the Ninja class in Black Desert on the Xbox is fun, but like all the classes in the game, it's gender-locked to males. On Wednesday, January 8th, female avatars…
Desert Oasis: Fun things to do in Black Desert in 2020 - [AL:BDO]With the new decade upon us, I think it's a good time to do some goal-setting for the upcoming decade. I might be biased here in the Desert Oasis column,…
Leaderboard: What was the best new MMO or online game of 2019? - Let's be honest: The last time a brand-new MMORPG really deserved a GOTY was when Black Desert ran away with it. This is why we swapped over to giving our…
Black Desert news: Mobile’s Node War pre-season, PS4’s Altar of Blood, and PC’s content update preview - Every edition of Black Desert has something new to show off heading into 2020, whether it's the start of the Node War in Black Desert Mobile, the point defense Altar…
Battle Bards Episode 159: Black Desert revisited - It’s a return to a soundtrack that, over the past couple of years, experienced a lavish remastry. This week, the Battle Bards explore the wild notes of Black Desert, a…
Perfect Ten: The best MMO updates and expansions of 2019 - The down side of doing these columns at the end of the year every year is that there's a certain challenge of writing the introductions. The up side? They're not…
MassivelyOP’s Weirdest MMO Stories of 2019: Black Desert’s unusual spokeswoman - Today we're kicking off our countdown of Massively OP's weirdest MMORPG stories of 2019! Coming in at #5 on our list is... Megan Fox on what Black Desert can do…
Fight or Kite: Totally reasonable expectations for PvP MMORPGs in 2020 - A new year is upon us, and I am especially excited this time around. The past few calendar swap-outs have been pretty stale from an MMO point of view. There…
Black Desert previews Guardian awakening, new battleground, and PvPvE zone, plus drops New Year’s events on PC - Black Desert is busy. On our side of the globe, there have been a number of events kicking off for players to dig in to, while over on the Korean…
Black Desert Mobile opens a new region and raises the level cap in its first major update - If you've been putting your nose down and playing Black Desert Mobile to the absolute max level of content instead of doing work at your job (don't worry, I won't…
Massively Overthinking: Our MMO resolutions for 2020 - We're succumbing to tradition this week as we're counting down the days until 2020. As we do at the end of every year, we've asked the Massively OP writers to…
Why I Play: How NCsoft’s Fafurion update saved Lineage 2 in 2019 - I don't know what it is about Asian MMOs, but I'm inexplicably drawn to them. Maybe it has something to do with my background; as a kids, I hung out…
Massively Overthinking: Our MMO predictions for 2020 - With 2019 drawing to a close and a new decade of MMORPGs waiting for us just a few days away, the Massively OP writing crew has regrouped for another round…
Desert Oasis: A few improvements I’d like to see in Black Desert for 2020 - Part of the reason it's been so easy to write for the Black Desert Desert Oasis column is that I really love this game. But just because I love a…
Black Desert’s new Guardian class drops January 22, with preroll on December 24 - [AL:BDO]We know, we know, this week is a little weird with Black Desert, given that the weekly updates happened on a Tuesday yesterday and not Wednesday as usual. Blame the…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 251: New World, Magic Legends, and Corepunk - Bree and Justin discuss PlanetSide Arena, New World, Magic Legends, Elder Scrolls Online, Corepunk, Black Desert Mobile, EVE Echoes, WoW, FFXIV, LOTRO, City of Heroes, and SWGL.
Black Desert drops winter holiday festivities on PC, Shai and Mystic awakenings on PS4 - [AL:BDO]You guys have noticed how Black Desert's console versions seem to go back and forth every week with updates on the road to parity, right? This week it's PS4's turn…
Battle Bards Episode 158: Winter returns - Do you feel a little… frozen this winter season? Winter is something amazing to behold, especially when video game composers attempt to capture its unique magic in their songs. Today, let the…
Ask Mo: The hits and misses of MassivelyOP’s 2019 predictions - The day has come: the day when we look back at last year's predictions for this year and see how we did. Yep, this is a tradition around these parts…
Massively Overthinking: Our favorite MMO stories of 2019 - Earlier this week, we granted our formal award for the biggest MMO story of the year. But biggest doesn't necessarily mean best or most important, never mind most clicks or…
Pearl Abyss drops new Crimson Desert screenshots and design notes - So, other than MOP's Carlo (who's absolutely losing his mind over the game), who's hyped for Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert? Because the Korean mega-studio is cranking up the ol' hype…
The Stream Team: Playing in the Black Desert snow - [AL:BDO]Do you wanna build a snowman? That's what Black Desert Online is asking. And Massively OP's MJ yells yes! She definitely wants to get in on the new holiday event,…
Black Desert PC adds Valkyrie, Tamer Succession skills plus huge December login perks as the Valkyrie class lands on Xbox One - There's a whole lot of Valkyrie goin' on in the most recent updates to Black Desert. On the PC version, the Valkyrie and Tamer are getting their Succession skills, while…
Perfect Ten: The healthiest live MMOs at the end of 2019 - Everyone is healthy! Good news! Every game is super healthy and absolutely no one has a terminal playerbase disease that may result in the game shuttering within the next year.…
Massively OP’s 2019 Awards: Most Improved MMORPG - Massively Overpowered’s end-of-the-year 2019 awards continue today with our award for Most Improved MMORPG, which was awarded to RuneScape last year. All live MMOs, regardless of release date, were eligible for…
Black Desert Mobile has officially launched now around the globe - [AL:BDO]Pearl Abyss has officially done it: It's launched Black Desert on four total platforms now, three of them this year, now that Black Desert Mobile is officially out the door…
Black Desert’s Pearl Abyss addresses new succession skills, the Red Battlefield, and more - The devs of Black Desert have been busy collecting gobs of player questions, and now they have a number of them answered, which not only include questions from the NA/EU…
You can start downloading Black Desert Mobile right now ahead of this week’s launch - Don't get too excited yet as it's not officially playable in the US just yet, but Black Desert Mobile is now available for preloading on iOS and Android, where it's…
Desert Oasis: A critique of Black Desert’s upcoming Tamer succession - Well, it looks like successions are finally here. This month's going to be a pretty big month for Black Desert's western audience with the mobile version coming out on the…
Black Desert rolls out initial succession skills on PC, Shai and Mystic on PS4 - It's succession day in Black Desert's PC version! No, not the succession of power; the introduction of succession skills to the first batch of the game's classes, starting with the…
Crimson Desert’s lead producer talks about PvE, co-op campaigns, and trade - Our own Black Desert columnist and many of our readers have pondered aloud just what awaits players in Crimson Desert, one of several newly announced games Pearl Abyss dropped on…
Massively Overthinking: Gratitude for the MMO genre - Thanksgiving conveniently falls on a Thursday every year, which means it's the perfect topic for our regular Thursday Massively Overthinking roundtable. I've asked our writers what they're grateful for in…
Desert Oasis: A first look at Black Desert’s Dark Knight’s Succession skills - The Dark Knight holds a special place in my heart when it comes to Black Desert. She was the main reason I decided to give this game a shot way back…
Black Desert previews succession skills, begins new Mysterious Knight event - Black Desert isn't letting a little thing like Thanksgiving and Black Friday get in the way of big updates across its multiple versions. Here's what we're looking at this week…
Choose My Adventure: Pushing boundaries and building a better house in Citadel Forged with Fire - As we come to the close of our Citadel: Forged with Fire adventure, we decided to push the absolute limits of how far we could go. Considering the direction we…
The Black Desert Online battle royale spinoff Shadow Arena places a premium on leveling your skills - If there was any MMO on the market that could break into the battle royale genre in a big way, it would seem to be Black Desert Online. The game even…
Black Desert PC teases its next class and Black Desert Mobile KR is adding the Mystic - It's all about classes in this bundle of Black Desert news, which might cause some to roll their eyes, but both additions should be impressive ones. At least if you…
Black Desert teams up with anime Berserk for themey ‘grim fantasy’ questing - [AL:BDO]Anime fans, today's Black Desert PC update is for you. As teased, Kakao and Pearl Abyss have dropped some transmedia synergy all up in here in the form of a…
Black Desert Online introduces PlayStation 4 players to the world of fairy companions - There are some players who think that Black Desert Online is an intensely hardcore game that rewards nothing so much as brutal combat efficiency. Then there is the actual Black Desert Online,…
Desert Oasis: Getting hyped for Pearl Abyss’ Crimson Desert - Curbing my enthusiasm is something I constantly work on, so when the announcement for Crimson Desert made its rounds, I was both excited and cautious. I knew this was just…
G-Star 2019: Pearl Abyss fully reveals Crimson Desert, Plan 8, Shadow Arena, and DokeV - Late last night, Pearl Abyss took the stage at Pearl Abyss Connect ahead of G-Star to officially unveil a staggering four new online games that it is adding to its…
Black Desert adds a fish worth 500k Silver on PC and the Mystic Awakening on Xbox One - Every fisherman dreams of landing the Big One, but not all huge hauls are created equal. Take, for example, the Yvrug in Black Desert on PC, which is worth a…
Black Desert Mobile launches globally on December 11, hands out Black Desert for free for pre-registering - Black Desert Mobile, aka the tiny version of Black Desert, has officially gotten its full global release date. What's more, those who pre-register for the mobile game will get a…
Crimson Oasis: Speculation on Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss’ new MMORPG - Lasst week, we reported on what looks like Pearl Abyss' power move to overtake the MMO market. With three MMOs and a Shadow Arena re-release, the Korean megacorp is playing…
Pearl Abyss announces three new MMOs: Crimson Desert, Plan 8, and DokeV - Well, it may have been a little bit spoilered by leaks around the internet, but it's official now: Pearl Abyss has just formally announced three of the games it's currently…
Black Desert optimizes its PS4 version as PC players quest for sweet, sweet pocky - This week's Black Desert patch on PC ought to make the lifeskillers and crafters happy. "We are improving the quality of life of all alchemists and chefs by adding new…
Desert Oasis: Discerning the best purchases in Black Desert’s cash shop - I've always been someone who goes against the grain, and MMOs are no exception. Part of the reason I enjoy Black Desert so much is that it goes against the definition…
Fight or Kite: PvP games to play if you’re still boycotting Blizzard - The past couple of weeks in the land of Blizzard have made for a wild ride. Some of us have extremely strong feelings and emotions regarding Blizzard and its handling…
Black Desert’s PS4 version gets the Striker and Tamer classes next week - It seems like every time I poke my nose into a Black Desert console thread, there's a minor rebellion at hand as PS4 players gripe at Xbox One updates and…
Black Desert launches Sail and Prevail event on PC, Mystic on Xbox One - PC Black Desert fans, it's time to bring your brand new boats back to port. Just kidding. It's all boats, all the time in the Kakao-run version of the game,…
Steam’s brief Halloween sale grants deals on Elite, Black Desert, and more MMOs - It might not be the absolute biggest sale of the year, but Steam's Halloween bash has quite a few surprisingly good deals for the MMO enthusiast. There isn't much time…
Black Desert Mobile celebrates soft launch and answers questions - It would seem the folks at Pearl Abyss simply told some of the community managers and developers for Black Desert Mobile to sit on a couch and just wing it.…
Massively Overthinking: Niche MMOs vs. everythingboxes - Earlier this month, veteran MMORPG designer Raph Koster announced that he's finally making a new MMORPG, with a suite of top devs and a fat stack of cash to do…
Pearl Abyss preps standalone Shadow Arena battle royale plucked from Black Desert - Remember Shadow Arena, Black Desert's short-lived PvP battle royale mode? It was announced just before 2019, released a few weeks later, and immediately devolved into hacking and banwaves until it…
Desert Oasis: First impressions of Black Desert’s Great Expedition - One of the most difficult things I've had to deal with in my time with Black Desert is sailing and boating. I've never been an economically focused player, I don't…
Miniature Desert Oasis: Hands-on with the upcoming Black Desert Mobile - Five years ago, if you'd asked me about any mobile game, I wouldn't have even considered it a real game. I'd have considered it less of a game - I'd…
Black Desert Mobile will be soft-launching to select countries on October 24 on Android - The mobile version of Black Desert is coming soon!* *depending entirely on where you live in the world and if you have a suitable Android phone. That's effectively the news…
Black Desert preps Halloween and Great Expedition on PC, awakens the Tamer on Xbox One - Black Desert Online's PC version is busy prepping its boat for the Great Expedition update coming next week, but in the meantime, there's Halloween to contend with! Yep, Spook is…
Black Desert PC sets sail for the Great Expedition update on October 23 - Arguably, the landmass of Black Desert on PC has seen way more updates and attention than the oceans have. On Wednesday, October 23rd, that's about to change with the arrival…
Desert Oasis: A guide to some of Black Desert’s world bosses and their weapons - You know what I want to be when I grow up? A boss. Not the kind that starts a business living in a car and builds it into a successful…
Black Desert for PC opens up a new area full of powerful monsters - Bringing up a character's level is all well and good, but that only really matters if you can pit that character against new challenges, right? Black Desert has introduced a…
Black Desert brings the desert dragon Nouver to the PS4 - It's time for PlayStation 4 owners of Black Desert to go on a world boss hunt. Today's update to the sandbox MMORPG has brought about the arrival of Nouver the…
Massively Uplifting: From weddings to memorials, gamers celebrate life in AQ3D, GW2, BDO, LOTRO, WoW, and more - It's an alphabet soup of good (MMO) vibes this month! While many may have returned to the school of hard knocks this fall, plenty of MMO gamers have been participating…
Black Desert adds the Tamer and Dark Rifts on Xbox One and kicks off new events on PC - Two versions of Black Desert have seen some updates recently, which raises the question: When will these games reach a level of parity that doesn't require me to have seven…
MMO Business Roundup: Nexon drops Tree of Savior, plus DUNE hires and Pearl Abyss’ new HQ - Nexon's let go yet another MMO from its publishing stable. According to MMO Culture, Nexon has announced that it's closing down its Japanese server for Tree of Savior and booting…
Black Desert Mobile opens pre-registration on iOS and Android as downloads swell to 10M - Pearl Abyss has been teasing Black Desert Mobile's global launch for the better part of 2019, promising at E3 that it'll hit global devices by the end of the year.…
Desert Oasis: A guide to the best Mediah grindspots in Black Desert - Of all the Desert Oasis articles I've written so far, by far the most fun I had was doing a guide for two of Black Desert's best grindspots - maybe…
Black Desert launches hunting and Fall Festival events on PC, opens up Valencia and class Awakening on PS4 - Today is a busy day in Black Desert Online, with some updates to both the PC version and the PS4 version that players will definitely want to take note of…
First impressions of Caravan Stories: More a gacha game than an MMORPG - When I was in college, my algebra professor once told me to curb my enthusiasm because inevitably, some thing or other will disappoint me. For the most part, that rule…
Black Desert Online previews a quartet of upcoming Awakenings for the PlayStation 4 - On September 24th players who enjoy Black Desert Online on PlayStation 4 will get a wake-up call with the introduction of Awakenings. Fans already familiar with the game's PC incarnation will…
Black Desert plans three-week Season of the Hunt event starting September 25 - It's been a bit of a bye week in Black Desert's PC version thanks to an extra-long maintenance mode - gamers will recall that Kakao announced there'd be no big…
Massively Overthinking: Let’s ban a word from the MMORPG lexicon - A while back, an MMO player I follow on Twitter who also happens to be super into sports retweeted something fun into my feed: a thread about banning annoying words.…
Desert Oasis: Hunting for the best grindspots in Black Desert - Of all things, the one thing about Black Desert that everyone can agree on is that there's a grind. Players who choose this game know that this is the central…
Black Desert patches in PC Altar of Blood events, Xbox One s’mores promo - [AL:BDO]It's patch day once again for Black Desert, as Kakao is pushing out both new additions to last week's life skill master update and a new multi-part event in the…
Black Desert releases the complete Megan Fox ‘Follow the Light’ trailer - [AL:BDO]Since the launch of Black Desert's PS4 edition last month, Pearl Abyss has been rolling out a series of trailer clips of a trailer starring actress Megan Fox, who is…
Massively Overthinking: Do you ever feel guilty about ‘freeloading’ in a free-to-play MMO? - A few weeks back, Massively OP's Ben Griggs made an observation that I bet some readers can relate to. He mentioned that in his play of a certain free-to-play MMO,…
Pearl Abyss takes over for Nexon and NCsoft as the biggest exhibitor at South Korea’s G-star - It's really unusual that neither NCsoft nor Nexon will be exhibiting this year at South Korea's G-Star conference in November. This prompted some nervousness about whether or not the convention…
Life skill mastery is live for Black Desert PC as PS4 gets the Dark Knight and Musa - [AL:BDO]Black Desert PC fans tired of console taking up all the air in the room can breathe easy today, as Kakao and Pearl Abyss has pushed out a big patch…
Black Desert spokesperson Megan Fox talks about what the sandbox MMO can do for self-esteem - Last week we learned that actress Megan Fox is apparently a big fan of Black Desert, so it would stand to reason that she applies a lot of worth to…
Leaderboard: Do you buy the ‘Grand Daybreak Unification’ theory? - Yesterday, MMO blogger Wilhelm Arcturus of The Ancient Gaming Noob dropped a fun conspiracy theory in the comments of our piece on EVE Online covering how CCP is rather inexplicably…
Black Desert Online gives players more items and horse gear with its newest patch - Yes, Black Desert Online fans, you can now live the excitement of crafting horse gear! The newest PC patch adds Krogdalo's horse gear in four different varieties (Earth, Sea, and Wind),…
Desert Oasis: First impressions of Black Desert on the PlayStation 4 (and the PS Vita too!) - I needed a break from Black Desert after that disappointing enchant session I recounted in the last edition of the Desert Oasis column. A few of the comments mentioned better ways…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 235: The one about WoW Classic - Justin and Bree discuss WoW Classic, Legends of Aria, LOTRO, Black Desert, Astellia Online, Elite Dangerous, and EverQuest II, with mailbag topics on progression servers and stream etiquette.
Black Desert Mobile opens global pre-registration ahead of a 2019 launch - A lot of the news we've been getting out of Black Desert Mobile has been primarily focused on the Korean version of the game, which makes sense considering that's where…
Black Desert launches on PS4 today – with a new video starring actress Megan Fox - Did you know Megan Fox was a big Black Desert fan? I didn't either, but maybe it's no surprise, given that she's become pretty popular in the South Korean film…
Black Desert announces life skill mastery system coming September 4 - Apparently Black Desert wasn't content with a PC patch and PS4 launch this week: It's just announced new features coming to the game, and this update's going to make lifeskillers…
Black Desert PC patches the city of Velia as PS4 adds new servers ahead of launch - Nothing like a metropolitan facelift to get a patch going! This week in the PC version of Black Desert, Kakao and Pearl Abyss have overhauled Velia. [AL:BDO]"Since Velia is one…
Gamescom 2019: Black Desert’s PS4 version just hit headstart with a new launch trailer - We're down to just under two days to go before Pearl Abyss' popular MMORPG Black Desert PS4 joins its PC and Xbox One crew, and in fact, if you preordered…
Black Desert is free to play on Xbox through Sunday - Still trying to figure out what you're going to do this weekend? If you have an Xbox One in the house, then we'll make up your mind for you: You…
Massively Overthinking: The first 10 minutes of an MMO - So here's the thing about Elder Scrolls games: Most of them start out with the same hook. From Morrowind to Oblivion to Skyrim, you start out as a captive, and…
Black Desert Online recaps its PlayStation 4 beta issues and performance - The beta testing for Black Desert Online on PlayStation 4 has come to an end for now, but there is in fact a nice new summary of the beta available…
Desert Oasis: The sad saga of enchanting in Black Desert Online - One of the hallmarks of our genre is the inherent heartbreak it's capable of creating within us. Whether we're doing a corpse run in EverQuest or wiping at 0.1% on…
Black Desert: Xbox One opens Kamasylvia and PS4 beta ends as PC players ‘burn the night away’ - [AL:BDO]It's patch day over in the many formats of Black Desert. Let's start with the PC side, where gamers are still frolicking amidst summer events. Burn the Night Away is…
Perfect Ten: Creating the worst MMO ever - Here at Massively Overpowered, we learn about some games, folks. We learn a whole lot about a whole lot of games! We know MMOs. And a lot of them make…
Q2 2019 financials: Black Desert’s Pearl Abyss rakes in huge profits, builds six new games - You read that headline right. Six. Pearl Abyss has had an absolute banger of a second quarter according to its most recent financial earnings report, which not only saw the…
Battle Bards Episode 150: The great plains - It may not be the most sexy or exotic of biomes, but plains tend to pop up in pretty much every MMORPG — and they always have music to adventure…
Black Desert just hit open beta for PlayStation 4 – check out the new trailer - PlayStation 4 gamers are in for a treat today as one of the top MMORPGs on the planet rolls into open beta on the platform, joining PC and Xbox One.…
Black Desert: PC’s fishing event and Archer tweaks, Xbox One’s Kamasylvia, and PS4’s beta events - [AL:BDO]With Black Desert's current rapid pace of development - and sprawling console reach - we'll forgive this week's PC patch for being a little on the thin side. Indeed, it's…
The Stream Team: Summer Shai-tseeing in Black Desert - [AL:BDO]Massively OP's MJ has attended Black Desert Online's summer festival many times, but her new Shai hasn't! And who seems more perfect for playing in the summer sun and beach…
Black Desert Mobile Korea adds a new succession class for the Berserker - So the opening part of the video for the new class added to Black Desert Mobile sees the character whipping an enemy into the ground by their ankle. That should…
Perfect Ten: Why people create alts in MMOs - I have alts in Final Fantasy XIV. This is absurd for two reasons. First, the statement makes it clear that I have alternate characters in a game where the whole…
Desert Oasis: A guide to open PvP and grindspot etiquette in the world of Black Desert - Back in my classic Guild Wars days, I was so happy to have the scrimmage system. It was a great way to solve arguments. Basically, players could invite other players…
Black Desert adds new instruments for the Shai and kicks off the Mysteries of Summer event - It's Wednesday, and that makes it patch day for Black Desert's PC version. As promised, Kakao has pushed out the Shai's new talent set that's meant to be the equivalent…
Black Desert: The PS4 beta dated and the Shai’s musical talent patch previewed - It's happening! Pearl Abyss announced today that the beta for Black Desert's PlayStation 4 edition will run from August 9th to 13th, with signups open as of today. Preorders, MMO…
Black Desert Online is blocking macro software in its Korean version, leading to player anxiety - All right. We can all agree that trying to cut down on hacking in Black Desert Online is a good thing, yes? So we can all agree that the Korean…
PSA: Level up your Black Desert Shai by July 24 for serious in-game rewards - As I write this, I'm scrambling to get my Black Desert Shai leveled up to 58. Why? Well if you get your Shai to level 58 before maintenance on July…
Massively Overthinking: Revisiting sheep and wolves in MMOs - One of the meta discussions we've been having here on MOP this week has centered on PvP sandbox titles like Albion Online, specifically how Albion has made serious attempts to…
Neverwinter’s Summer Festival launches tomorrow – bring your swimsuit and get ready to ride a snail - [AL:NW]Black Desert isn't the only MMORPG bringing the summer fun with a themed event this month: Neverwinter is launching its own Summer Festival tomorrowday and running it straight on through…
Desert Oasis: Taking a swing with Black Desert’s Tamer and her bō staff - When I first started playing Black Desert, it was because I wanted to play a Dark Knight. From her animations, armors, and that sweet giant knife of hers, the kriegsmesser.…
Black Desert beats the heat with six weeks of Termian Waterpark festivities - I dunno about you folks, but where MOP is headquartered, we're on our third straight day of "extreme heat" warnings, bad enough for the township to cancel today's festival in…
The Soapbox: Hoping for Amazon to succeed where Lord of the Rings Online failed - It's not often I really get excited about an upcoming MMORPG. Partly this is because of the industry slowing down, and partly this is because I consider myself relatively hype-proof.…
The Lahn arrives in Black Desert Mobile’s Korean edition - The mobile version of Black Desert Online, appropriately dubbed Black Desert Mobile so you know exactly what you're getting, is not quite up to the same variety of classes as…
Black Desert addresses community requests as PC releases Altar of Blood and Xbox One adds Ninjas - In the wake of Black Desert's Heidel Ball event last month, Pearl Abyss has dropped a set of player-submitted suggestions with dev answers to them, all focused on improving the…
Desert Oasis: Finding the Shai’s place in our Great Valencian Black Desert - Black Desert is no stranger to controversies. Whether because of the addition-and-removal of its battle royale or its enchantment mechanics, it does a pretty good job of pulling aggro from…
Black Desert will launch Altar of Blood, a small-group ‘defensive horde mode,’ next week - [AL:BDO]If you thought that Wednesday's Black Desert update was a little on the thin side, welp, that's only because Kakao and Pearl Abyss were apparently holding back the fun stuff…
Black Desert’s latest patch kicks off a new summer event and tweaks guild skills - [AL:BDO]Black Desert's having a bit of a good run the past week, what with the launch of the Shai and the announcement of a launch date for its PS4 version,…
Black Desert has begun preorders for its PlayStation 4 edition launching August 22 - [AL:BDO]Back at E3, Pearl Abyss dropped a big announcement for Black Desert: The PC and Xbox One versions of the game were getting another sibling in the form of a…
The Stream Team: Say hello to Black Desert’s Shai - [AL:BDO]Massively OP's MJ is not a fan of child-like races, but after hearing some good things about Black Desert Online's new Shai class, she's willing to check it out. It…
Massively Overthinking: Always be achievin’ (in MMOs) - A while back, my husband and I were idly chatting about MMO achievements. Neither one of us is much of an achievement hunter, or more specifically, we tend to be…
Black Desert is holding a GM-led parade tonight, and you’re invited - Everyone loves a parade! And how about a parade mixed with a live event? That's what Black Desert is up to tonight, as GMs have asked everyone with a Shai…
Black Desert localization typo shortchanges guilds by 90% of promised rewards - Let it never be said that video game localization isn't a big deal worth spending money on, as an error in Black Desert's event translation has apparently let to botched…
Black Desert’s new Shai class (and her donkey!) has officially launched today - [AL:BDO]If you rolled a Shai during her preview week in Black Desert, then good news for you today: You can actually play her now, as she's just gone live as…
Black Desert Online locks (some) player accounts in the wake of data breach - Black Desert Online appears to be in the midst of an account-security fiasco, as a recent forum post from GM Rhotaaz has announced that the "account information of a number…
Desert Oasis: First impressions of Black Desert’s new Shai class and her skills - The announcement of Black Desert's Shai class earlier this month really caught me off guard. Sure, I thought a snow globe sprawled on advertisements for the Heidel Ball fan-event-plus-press-conference felt…
Black Desert’s new Shai class launches June 26 – but you can roll one today - If you're already hoping to roll up an adorable Shai character in Black Desert this summer, there are two things you need to know. First, she's officially launching on June…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 225: The slash and burn of Amazon Game Studios - Justin and Bree discuss E3, Black Desert, Warframe, Last Oasis, Amazon, New World, Ship of Heroes, SWG Legends, LOTRO, Elder Scrolls Online, with mailbag questions on monetizing character costuming and…
Recapping Black Desert’s massive E3 and Heidel Ball announcements - I said this morning that I thought Black Desert stole the show for E3 players - apart from the Phantasy Star Online 2 announcement, of course! And I'll stand by…
Black Desert’s new hot air balloons are a boon for explorers - Ya know, we might have forgiven Pearl Abyss and Kakao if they'd decided to phone it on on this week's Black Desert update. This week, the companies announced a PS4…
E3 2019: Black Desert will launch on PlayStation 4 this year as the mobile version finally comes westward - [AL:BDO]Did you think the announcement about a new expansion and new class was all Black Desert had in store for E3? Nope! Pearl Abyss has just announced another whopper: The…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 224: Black Desert, Bless Online, and boats - Carlo, Bree, and Justin discuss Black Desert, Bless, Phantasy Star Online 2, E3, LOTRO, SWTOR, GW2, POE, City of Heroes, and boats.
E3 2019: Black Desert announces Great Expedition expansion and adorable Shai class - Black Desert brought the good stuff to fan con Heidel Ball this weekend thanks to a slew of announcements about new content inbound for the MMORPG. [AL:BDO]First, Pearl Abyss revealed…
Massively Overthinking: Does the MMO genre have too many games for its own good? - Last month I saw a video from YouTuber Josh Strife Hayes with an eyebrow-raiser of a thesis: He essentially argues that we have too many MMOs - that a flooded…
Desert Oasis: Comparing Black Desert and Blade & Soul’s design philosophies - One of my favorite MMO stories is how I got into Black Desert in the first place. It was right after I tried out Final Fantasy XIV’s Eureka. I was…
Black Desert has launched Star’s End, a brand-new quest zone, for PC players - [AL:BDO]It sounds like it ought to be a cantina in a galaxy far, far away, but nope: Star's End is a major content drop in Black Desert live today for…
Massively Overthinking: Tackling the ‘big four MMOs’ meme - Over the last couple of months, there's been a meme floating around the MMORPG subreddit. Someone will ask that the community recommend a game, and the responses will all look…
Black Desert serves up better guild and attendance rewards as BDO on Xbox launches Awakening - The team that works together stays together, and you can't work with anyone if you don't log in to start with. Black Desert Online wants players working together and logging in, and…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 222: A good EVEning to be invaded - Brendan joins Justin and Bree for a sponsored segment on EVE Online's upcoming expansion and Fanfest world tour, plus news from FFXIV, Dauntless, Astellia, Black Desert, and DCUO, with mailbag…
Choose My Adventure: The Agent, the Eagle, and the Sith in Star Wars The Old Republic - Things have come to a head in my Star Wars: The Old Republic adventure, and it all wrapped in rather neat fashion for the end of this month's column, honestly.…
Massively Overthinking: What are your favorite MMO ‘chores’? - A few months ago, The Outline ran a piece on Red Dead Redemption 2 titled I don't wanna do my video games chores, and holy heck did that ever resonate…