Kakao can call it a “new world” if it likes, but MMORPG players aren’t fooled: They know a merge when they see it, and merges are indeed coming for Black Desert. It’s a bit more complicated than that, of course; the game will switch over to de facto North American and European megaservers in a move that will probably benefit the game’s playerbase and economy in the end.
Read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions.
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Working As Intended: Westworld is a sandbox MMORPG on your TV - Westworld has emerged this fall as the geek obsession TV show, a gunslinger's LOST about which people can't stop talking and theorizing and debating. Don't worry;Â Massively OP is not suddenly…
Black Desert Online merges down into EU and NA ‘New World’ servers - If you ever thought that Black Desert's server structure was unwieldy and esoteric, good news for you! Kakao has announced that the western version of the game will be merging…
NCsoft Q3 2016: Declines for WildStar, Guild Wars 2, and Blade & Soul - NCsoft released its Q3 2016 financial results this morning. Here's a quick look at how the major MMORPGs are doing: WildStar's sales have plummeted, half what they were last quarter…
The Game Archaeologist: Mark Jacobs on Mythic’s early online games, part 1 - When you bring up the name "Mythic Entertainment," chances are that most gamers are going to immediately think of the studio's two major MMOs, Warhammer Online and Dark Age of…
The trial for former Funcom execs charged with insider trading has begun - Back in February, the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime charged former Funcom CEO Trone Arne Aas and three other former company executives with market…
Neocron receives a massive ‘evolution’ this weekend - One of the lesser-known but still-running sci-fi MMOs out there is getting a massive upgrade for the modern era. Ever since its release in 2002, Neocron has gone through several…
Nexon’s Q3 2016 financials ‘solid’ thanks to China, MapleStory, and Dungeon&Fighter - Nexon's third quarter financial report is out this week, and the company is calling it a "solid" one, with revenues boosted higher than expected thanks to overperforming updates for MapleStory and…
Massively Overthinking: Nickel-and-diming in MMORPGs - Massively OP reader and listener Suikoden79 recently wrote in to the podcast with a gem of a question I thought would be more fun for the whole team instead of…
EverQuesting: A dozen years of EverQuest II - Who doesn't like a dozen? A dozen donuts. A dozen cupcakes. A dozen pizzas. (What, that's not a thing? That should totally be a thing!) And a dozen years of…
Perfect Ten: The worst patch naming in MMORPGs - Patches should, in all honesty, be the easiest thing in the world for online games to handle. You have a word that means patch, so you either just go with…
Beast is coming to Marvel Heroes, bringing the roster to 60 - He's big, he's blue, he's erudite, and he has never turned back into a normal human by getting a kiss from a pretty lady. He's Beast, and he's the 60th…
Bless Online explains the reason for its delay - As we learned last month, Bless Online is being delayed into 2017 as the team continues to work on bringing the title over to the west. So what is the hold…
Lineage Eternal schedules Korean closed beta for November 30 - It's happening, people. This is not a drill. Lineage Eternal is finally moving into closed beta testing, albeit in Korea. Of course, that won't stop the truly eager from attempting…
A blizzard is sweeping over The Division - Just when you thought that the plague-ridden city of The Division couldn't get any worse, a blizzard is heading in with a vengeance. Ubisoft has just released its Survival DLC…
The Valkyrie awakens in Black Desert today - The Valkyrie awakens in Black Desert today with her new awakening weapon, a lance named... wait for it... Lancia. It allows the class to stab from afar and joust the enemy…
Is the online pay-to-win situation improving? - MMO players looking for a hot-button topic often have to go no further than dredging up discussion concerning pay-to-win and its alleged affect on online games. We have talked about it plenty…
WildStar’s Redmoon Mutiny update goes live today - The next part of WildStar's Redmoon Terror raid doesn't go live until November 16th, but the associated patch is going live today. That means that as of today, factional barriers…
The major class changes coming in SWTOR’s Knights of the Eternal Throne - [AL:TOR]Another expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic means another level cap bump and another set of adjustments for the various classes and their abilities. While the original plan included…
Nexon is bringing a truckload of MMORPGs to G-Star this year - Nexon's MMORPG catalogue is about to get a whole lot bigger. In a press release issued today, the studio has announced 35 new games, quite a few of them MMORPGs…
Star Citizen pushes hard toward Alpha 2.6 - Star Citizen is nothing if not extremely thorough in its monthly reports that cover the projects and focus of each of its studios and teams. With October said and done,…
Top-ranked League of Legends player is banned from event based on toxic behavior - [AL:LOL]The usual trajectory in professional sports seems to be that no matter how noxious you are as a person, it's all ignored if you play well enough. League of Legends,…
Cyberpunk 2077 may be an MMORPG in disguise - Sniffing out promising upcoming MMOs is getting more difficult now that developers and studios are avoiding that label like the plague. Instead, we're looking for terms like "seamless multiplayer" and…
NCsoft sues Lineage II partner over copyright infringement - [AL:L2]Well this will make for awkward encounters in the corporate hallways. Apparently NCsoft is levying a lawsuit against its own business partner, Netmarble, for infringing on the Lineage II IP…
Blizzard co-founder returns to the company after a 12-year absence - Over the past weekend of BlizzCon news, you might have heard someone exclaim, "Oh my goodness, Allen Adham has come back to Blizzard!" This sentiment was quickly followed by someone…
Hero’s Song goes into early access on Steam - Following an intense alpha weekend test, Hero's Song is going into early access on Steam today as planned. The title is scheduled to go live at 11:00 a.m. EST. "It needs more…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
AND FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BLIZZARD WATCH
Do you want a third day of BlizzCon?
Diablo 3 and Reaper of Souls bundled together in new battle chest
WoW’s Fathom Dweller jellyfish mount is available for next two weeks
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.
