This week was a biggun for two existing MMORPGs, both launched in the last couple of years: The Elder Scrolls Online continued its rollout of big DLC this week with the release of The Dark Brotherhood, and Neverwinter followed Star Trek Online with the announcement that it’s expanding to yet another new platform, PS4, as well as launching a new expansion this summer.
Read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions.
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Neverwinter announces summer PS4 launch and Storm King’s Thunder expansion - [AL:NW]D&D-flavored MMO Neverwinter has posted two huge announcements this week:Â First, the PC-and-Xbone MMORPG is bound for the PlayStation 4 this summer. "We are also happy to announce that Neverwinter on…
Getting perspective on Chronicles of Elyria’s planned PvP and PvE featureset - Anyone on the MassivelyOP team will probably tell you that I won't shut up about Chronicles of Elyria. There's so much to like about the game Soulbound Studios wants to build!…
The Elder Scrolls Online launches the Dark Brotherhood DLC today - Rejoice, players of The Elder Scrolls Online, for today you can join in an elite confederation of ducks! Whether you feel that you're a mallard, a teal, or perhaps even…
Chronicles of Elyria’s Kickstarter has successfully funded - Indie FFA PvP sandbox Chronicles of Elyria has officially been Kickstarted for over $1.36 million dollars, well exceeding its original $900,000 goal in spite of a canceled pledge from at least one potential…
WoW Factor: How to get ready for the Legion pre-patch - As of the time that I'm writing this, we don't know when the Legion pre-patch will hit World of Warcraft. I had to double-check that; these days, I'm never sure…
Launch impressions: Overwatch is good, but it’s only half a game - The thing that bugs me about Overwatch is that it feels like half of a game. Unfortunately, it's also the less interesting half, the part that you turn to after…
Black Desert’s karma patch has enraged the PvP community - Black Desert has a small patch out today, bringing to an end Mother's Day events and extending both the Rum and Black Stone events. There's a respectably sized cash shop…
EverQuesting: Preparing for Landmark’s launch - Admit it: At least at some point, every single one of you had doubts that Landmark would actually ever launch. Hey, it's understandable. I have been there, too. After such an…
Overwatch racks up 7M players, bans 1500 of them - It's been a little over a week since Overwatch launched, and in that short time Blizzard's new team shooter has become a bonafide success in the market. As of yesterday,…
Blade & Soul’s Vengeance Breaks update has arrived - The main story of Blade & Soul starts off with a very clear tale of revenge. Some lady shows up, wrecks your stuff, and you set off to find her…
Desert Nomad: Immersion, atmosphere, and roleplaying in Black Desert - Hello friends, and welcome back to Desert Nomad, your more or less biweekly source of ramblings that are almost guaranteed to be at least tangentially related to Black Desert. As…
Blade and Soul reveals 2016 content plans, including the Soul Fighter class - NCsoft Producer Nico Coutant has a big community letter out today for Blade & Soul fans discussing the state of the game and where it's headed. To satisfy players confused…
Perfect Ten: How to enjoy the alt lifestyle in MMORPGs - Not everyone is into creating alternate characters -- alts -- in MMORPGs. This is understandable: Some people don't have time to play more than one character, some games encourage the…
Dozens of theme music tracks for World of Warcraft: Legion are now available - Every World of Warcraft expansion has featured theme music based upon the same tune, from launch until now. The newest beta build for Legion includes an updated version of the…
The Game Archaeologist: Five eye-opening videos about the MMORPG genre - When it comes to tracking down history for MMOs, I've found that there are an array of sources at hand that have preserved (unwittingly or not) the past for us…
Someone is already level 100 in Overwatch - Overwatch player FenderOverwatch has successfully reached the level 100 cap on Tuesday, just a week since its formal launch. You can all give up now. The feat took him 92 hours…
World of Warcraft’s talent reshuffle is meant to bring ‘more meaningful choice’ to players - We trust it hasn't escaped your attention that your current World of Warcraft talent build won't be surviving Legion's launch intact. The talent system is but one of many that…
The Secret World is losing its lead writer - The Secret World is losing its lead writer, Funcom's Romain Amiel has told players on the official forums. "We are sad to announce that Joshua Doetsch, also known as Scrivnomancer,…
Marvel Heroes’ third anniversary offers free heroes, team-ups, and more - By the hammer of Thor, it's Marvel Heroes' anniversary once again! Best time of the year, it is. While some MMOs mark their birthdays with some lame fireworks and useless titles,…
ArcheAge’s Ascension event spurs player complaints over content - [AL:Arche]The players of ArcheAge are not happy at the moment. If you have read about the game in the past, this may not surprise you. It started with an innocent…
The Division is gunning for a movie adaptation - Players sucked into the setting and narrative for The Division might be interested to know that Ubisoft is exploring the possibility of getting it made into a feature film. What's giving this…
WildStar marks second anniversary with Starfall celebration - What's better than marking one anniversary? Celebrating two, of course! WildStar's new Starfall festival does double duty by both tipping its hat to the game's launch two years ago and…
Guild Wars 2 asks players to vote on lore - ArenaNet has a fun new diversion for the Guild Wars 2 playerbase: You get to determine the lore name of the band living story heroes we've been saving the world with…
Flameseeker Chronicles: Why wave-ban Guild Wars 2 cheaters? - [AL:GW2]Last week, our very own Bree Royce summed up a response given by ArenaNet's Chris Cleary to a self-confessed hacker on the game's subreddit who asked why he had not…
WildStar’s soundtrack is now for sale - WildStar Composer Jeff Kurtenacker is interrupting your normal daily routine for this important announcement: "Today! It's out. How big can we make this?? Buy it. Share it. Wake your grandma,…
Elder Scrolls Online permabans scores of cheaters - There are few things more aggravating in online games than to clearly see people use hacks to cheat their way into riches and power, especially when reporting them seems to…
Preview: A look inside of ArcheAge’s Ascension launching today - [AL:Arche]Change is inevitable. And while it can be unnerving, it can also be very beneficial. ArcheAge's fans will see their share of changes today as the big 2.9 update hits…
Blizzard cracks down on Overwatch porn - Surprising exactly no one familiar with Overwatch's art style, people are already making porn of it. Rule #34, guys. PCGamesN ran the numbers and found that Tracer is the chief…
DUST 514 sunsets today - Back in February, CCP announced that it was sunsetting console shooter DUST 514 on May 30th -- and now that day has arrived. Players are saying farewell across social media,…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Massively OP Podcast Episode 67: Mailbag spectacular
The Stream Team: Last chance to try Landmark before launch!
The Stream Team: Party on as Marvel Heroes marks three years
The Stream Team: Wishing WildStar a happy birthday
The Stream Team: Happy first birthday ARK!
The Stream Team: Back to Battleborn
The Stream Team: Get your SMITE god keys while they’re hot!
The Stream Team: Zipping through Zek Heritage Quests in EverQuest II
The Stream Team: Hippity hoppity HEX is on its way!
AND FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BLIZZARD WATCH
The WoW Archivist’s history of Dalaran
Behind the scenes of the Warcraft movie with Chris Metzen
Are you still keeping up with your WoW garrison?
Every week, get caught up on the MMO genre’s latest news and Massively OP’s best content in our MMO Week in Review! Want more roundups of content? Try Friday’s Betawatch for MMO testing highlights, Saturday’s Make My MMO for MMO crowdfunding updates, and Sunday’s The MOP Up, which mops up all the little bits of news we didn’t cover anywhere else.
