Even had this week not contained BlizzCon — which itself was meaty, and yes we’re getting both a World of Warcraft expansion and WoW vanilla/legacy/classic servers — it would have been a big one for the MMORPG genre, as EVE Online company CCP laid off dozens of employees and shutter substudios, PWE closed down both Gigantic studio Motiga and Torchlight developer Runic Games, and Marvel Heroes studio Gazillion fell silent in the midst of “inappropriate conduct” allegations and missed patches.
We’ll have more on all these stories in the coming week, but for now, read on for the very best of this past week’s MMO news and opinions.
BLIZZCON IN REVIEW
BlizzCon 2017: World of Warcraft’s classic server will be a ‘massive effort’ - In the process of picking yourself up off of the floor following Friday's announcement of World of Warcraft Classic at BlizzCon 2017? As your mind grapples with Blizzard's surprise revelation…
BlizzCon 2017: Everything you need to know about World of Warcraft’s Battle for Azeroth expansion - Blizzard made several major announcements for World of Warcraft today that you probably need to know about if you're a current or even a former player who's been trying to…
BlizzCon 2017: World of Warcraft announces Battle for Azeroth expansion - Enough of World of Warcraft's two biggest factions palling together on adventures across time and space -- war has come to this game once more. Blizzard announced World of Warcraft:…
BlizzCon 2017: World of Warcraft ‘Classic’ finally delivers on legacy servers - World of Warcraft delivered a jaw-dropping surprise to its loyal community with an amazing announcement at this weekend's BlizzCon. Blizzard took to the stage with a surprise reveal of World of…
BlizzCon 2017: Opening ceremonies liveblog - True confession time: The original version of this post was just the lyrics to Lindsey Buckingham's "Holiday Road" with a poor phonetic transcription of the song's guitar riffs. But apparently…
The Daily Grind: What did you think of BlizzCon this year? - I am writing this on Tuesday. This means that the version of me writing this has no idea what has been revealed at BlizzCon. But I don't really need to…
BlizzCon 2017: World of Warcraft gameplay and systems panel liveblog - The gameplay and systems panel is always very important to World of Warcraft. You found out long ago (well, a few hours ago) about the existence of World of Warcraft:…
BlizzCon 2017: World of Warcraft what’s next panel liveblog - So let's be honest with you, folks: We are writing this before we actually know what happened in the BlizzCon 2017 opening ceremony. We know that in all likelihood, this…
BlizzCon 2017: World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth expansion live Q&A liveblog - Ah, here we go again. It's time for our final liveblog of BlizzCon 2017, and it's the World of Warcraft Q&A. And they're live questions, which means that there are…
BlizzCon 2017: World of Warcraft art panel liveblog - Remember how last year, we got an enormous amount of art discussion during a panel that really should have been about systems? Or was it the year before? These things…
BlizzCon 2017: Overwatch’s new BlizzardWorld map, support toon Moira - During this afternoon's BlizzCon 2017 opening ceremonies, Blizzard announced an epic update for Overwatch that you may not have seen coming, given the paltry number of Overwatch panels on the…
BlizzCon 2017: Hearthstone announces Kobolds and Catacombs expansion with single-player dungeon run - [AL:Hearth]On one of the best BlizzCon stages to date, Hearthstone Game Director Ben Brode stole the crowd's collective candle with an announcement of the card game's next expansion. Coming soon…
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
CCP Games ceases VR development, closes two studios – no negative impact on EVE Online - Icelandic business website mbl.is has just reported that EVE Online developer CCP Games is planning to close two of its offices and cease all VR game development. The move affects…
Rumor: Motiga, the studio behind Gigantic, is closing down - Multiple employees and former employees are tweeting tonight alluding to the closure of Motiga Games, the studio behind MOBA Gigantic. "Today marks the end of Motiga and my time with…
Marvel Heroes has now missed three weekly updates in a row as Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters - It's now been two weeks since we've had any word on the state of Marvel Heroes, as today marks the third missed Friday update in a row and Gazillion has yet…
Marvel Heroes studio Gazillion has fallen eerily silent – here’s what we know about the sexual misconduct allegations and missed updates - Something weird is going on at Gazillion. On October 20th, the studio delayed its regular Friday Marvel Heroes update summary, promising details on Monday. Almost two weeks later, that update…
PWE confirms Motiga layoffs and Runic Games closure, but MOBA Gigantic will stay up - Last night, we reported on multiple employees and former employees' allusions to the closure of Motiga Games, the studio behind MOBA Gigantic. "Today marks the end of Motiga and my time…
Camelot Unchained builds out deathmatch gameplay for Saturday Night Sieges - Last week, Camelot Unchained posted up its big plans for test hoopla, including its Saturday Night Sieges. In CSE's latest newsletter, it outlines its testing of the first version of…
Star Citizen wraps up CitizenCon, posts Alpha 3.0 production schedule - Didn't get enough of late October's CitizenCon 2947? Then settle back with a cup of pumpkin space latte and drink in a retrospective straight from the crew over at Star…
Black Desert revamps endgame PvP with new militia system - [AL:BDO]All right, my PvP dudes. If you love PvP in MMOs but aren't into cheapo ganking over prime farm spots, you reallllly need to take a look at what Black…
Chaos Theory: Farewell Samhain, hello Secret World Legends Season 2 hype! - [AL:SWL]Do I love Halloween? Yes, yes I do. And while the season was in full swing, my mind was fully focused there. This season is a great diversion, especially in Secret…
Monster Hunter World isn’t doing lockboxes or lootboxes either - Add Monster Hunter World to the pile of games that are standing against the exploitation of lockboxes and lootboxes. Multiple Monster Hunter devs told Gamespot this week that the game…
Pantheon’s Brad McQuaid on alternate rulesets and multi-server MMOs - Pantheon's Brad McQuaid has another new blog post up - he's on a roll this week - this one on alternate rulesets in MMORPGs and the MMO's multi-server structure. "I…
Wild West Online resets early access for November 15, still plans 2017 launch - Following all the delays and weirdness this past fall during which the game was declared "just not ready yet," the team behind Wild West Online has now declared that its early…
Dual Universe’s pre-alpha launch was ‘a huge and fantastic moment’ - With limited-run tests on September 30th and October 21st, Dual Universe is taking small steps for dev-kind into the pre-alpha world. The team reports that these tests were successful in…
Activision-Blizzard Q3 2017: Destiny 2 tops console charts, WoW monthly users are ‘stable’ - If you were expecting big news out of Activision-Blizzard's Q3 2017 financial report... sorry to disappoint you, but you've probably heard the big news before, and that's the news that…
That EA and Nexon announcement is a FIFA-sized kick in the you-know-where - Well. Talk about an intentional foul. That "mystery MMO" that EA and Nexon were teasing? It turns out that it was merely for FIFA Online 4. Great news if you're…
Economist argues that the ESRB is wilfully promoting gambling to children - If you've been following the lockbox/lootbox controversy over the last couple of weeks (or last multiple years, ahem), then you know that opponents of the practice in online games seldom…
Kritika Online’s Psion has arrived with murder on her mind - [AL:Krit]The Psion of Kritika Online is a formidable foe because she can kill you just by thinking about it. So it's probably a good thing that she's on your side…
Secret World Legends teases season two, participates in Extra Life - [AL:SWL]Saying that revenue from Secret World Legends has "exceeded expectations," Funcom opened up to Venture Beat about what's coming next for the supernatural MMO. "Season 2 starts to unravel new…
DC Universe Online’s artifacts system goes live with GU76 today - [AL:DCUO]Game Update 76 descends upon the gloomy superhero world of DC Universe Online today. The headline feature going live after the big ol' maintenance? That'd be the new artifacts system…
Hyperspace Beacon: Datamining suggests big changes for SWTOR’s companions - [AL:TOR]It might be a little hypocritical of me to read into the datamined information from Star Wars: The Old Republic's upcoming patch 5.6, but I'd be failing at my job…
Perfect Ten: 10 MMOs where you can live out your giant robot fantasies - Two years ago, NCsoft dealt a harsh blow to a certain subset of gaming fans when it canned the development of Project HON. This MMO was to be a glorious…
Elder Scrolls Online kicks off Xbox One free-play weekend and sweepstakes with PAX trip and game systems up for grabs - Hey, Xbox One peeps. Have you tried The Elder Scrolls Online on your platform yet? If not, then you should definitely feast your eyes on ZeniMax's latest promotion, which includes…
Hellgate: London revival project opens its alpha to everyone - Still finding yourself pining away for Hellgate: London on occasion -- or perhaps you missed out on it the first time around? This 10-year-old multiplayer ARPG is making an unofficial…
Indie vampire fantasy MMO Shadow’s Kiss has already reached its Kickstarter goal - Still bummed over the loss of World of Darkness and Revival? Shadow's Kiss may be for you. Last year, we covered the vampire fantasy MMO when it set up shop…
EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II and Phoenix Labs’ Dauntless walk back lockbox plans - Hey, you folks who say complaining about lockboxes never changes anything? You're demonstrably wrong. It turns out that EA, which increased its revenues last quarter chiefly thanks to sports games,…
So here’s what’s going on with EVE Valkyrie now that CCP’s downsized - Yesterday, MOP's Brendan reported on the startling news that CCP Games, long known for its flagship MMORPG sandbox EVE Online and more recently known for its persistent probe into the…
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris brings Mercury, a level cap increase, and another Firefly actor - Ready for Destiny 2's next big thing? You have about a month to prepare. Curse of Osiris, the first major post-launch content update for the sci-fi shooter, is scheduled to arrive…
Flameseeker Chronicles: Unpacking Act II of Guild War’s 2’s Path of Fire story - [AL:GW2]In the last edition of Flameseeker Chronicles, I discussed the opening sections of Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire's story while providing you with a brief overview of what came before it.…
DC Universe Online is shutting down PlayStation 3 support in 2018 - [AL:DCUO]The official announcement is titled "Changes coming to DC Universe Online for PlayStation 3," but it's really just one change for DC Universe Online. Specifically, that one change will be…
Olympic e-sports are becoming inevitable as IOC says they ‘could be considered as a sporting activity’ - The International Olympic Committee has formally stated that it may consider e-sports a sporting activity. "Competitive e-sports could be considered as a sporting activity, and the players involved prepare and…
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds faces potential censorship in China - [AL:PUBG]GIbiz has picked up a Bloomberg piece that suggests China may be poised to crack down on PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. China's Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association has apparently declared that the "gladiator-like…
Former Blizzard executive Rob Pardo thinks we’re a long way off from VR MMOs - Rob Pardo is no longer with Blizzard, but he can still count World of Warcraft's success as a big feather in his cap. So it seems natural that after a…
Here’s what you missed from last weekend’s Star Citizen’s CitizenCon 2017 - While it surely won't comfort anyone angrily counting down the days until alpha 3.0's eventual release to all backers, Star Citizen's CitizenCon 2017Â delivered an enticing look at what players can…
Happy Halloween from Massively OP! Check out all the MMO Halloweens we visited - If you've followed any of our Halloween 2017 MMO coverage or even just skimmed through our great big guide to Halloween events in the MMORPG world, you've probably figured out…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Massively OP Podcast Episode 142: The state of the sci-fi MMO genre
The Stream Team: A first look at survival in SOS (plus giveaway!)
The Stream Team: Halloween on the streets of GTA Online’s Los Santos
The Stream Team: A final foray into Fortnite’s Fortnitemares
The Stream Team: Doing Dauntless’ Dark Harvest
The Stream Team: Blowing up that blasted SWTOR Star Fortress
The Stream Team: Gouging the giant gourd in AdventureQuest 3D’s Mogloween
The Stream Team: Halloween houses in Elder Scrolls Online
The Stream Team: Delving into Fortnite’s fortnitemares
AND FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BLIZZARD WATCH
Hands-on with WoW’s Battle for Azeroth expansion
BlizzCon 2017: Interview with WoW Senior Game Designer Steve Burke
Hands-on with BlizzCon-only Diablo 3 Challenge Rift
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.
