Never let it be said that December is a dead month! This week, CryEngine company Crytek filed the paperwork to sue Cloud Imperium and Roberts Space Industries, the studios behind crowdfunding behemoth and eternally delayed MMO Star Citizen. Why? Crytek alleges that the Star Citizen studios are violating the engine’s copyright by using it for a second game, Squadron 42. CIG and RSI, mind you, have vehemently denied the accusation, arguing that they’re no longer using CryEngine at all and will fight the suit in court. And now I gotta rewrite our “biggest MMO legal battles of the year” post because I didn’t see this one coming!
We’ve also been rolling out the first full week of our end-of-the-year content! Don’t miss our first seven formal awards, our list of MMOs we’re watching in 2018, and our favorite articles of the year. Then read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions.
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
Crytek sues Star Citizen developer Cloud Imperium, alleging copyright infringement - Update: We've updated with CIG's official statement to us below. Crytek is suing Cloud Imperium Games and Roberts Space Industries, the companies behind the sprawling and controversial crowdfunded MMO Star…
Perfect Ten: 20 upcoming MMOs to watch in 2018 - It has become a long-standing tradition as Massively OP and our former site that we like to end the year by creating a list of titles that we anticipate for…
Hands-on with Monster Hunter World’s weekend beta – and how it compares to Dauntless - I won't lie: The Monster Hunter World beta on console last weekend isn't going to give you the best sense of the full monster hunting experience. It won't let you explore the world…
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2’s Hall of Chains raid wing first impressions - [AL:GW2]I promised you at the end of last week's rundown of Guild Wars 2's fourth Living World season's launch episode that I'd return this week with a first look at the…
Conan Exiles is still working on the full nudity patch for some Xbox One regions - What's new in Conan Exiles since the devs announced a console price hike, a scale-back in launch features, and its actual launch date (May 8th of next year)? Oh, nothing…
WoW Factor: The fate of WoW’s class orders post-Legion, part 1 - In the lull between expansions, I've been hard at work bringing my alts up to the level cap, unlocking all of the class mounts, picking up the occasional appearance that…
Tamriel Infinium: Our 2017 report card for Elder Scrolls Online - [AL:ESO]All in all, 2017 has been a fabulous year for the Elder Scrolls Online, and although I have been light on talking about the game recently, I have jumped in…
Sea of Thieves lays out player progression and mission types - If you've been paying attention to Sea of Thieves, you may have noticed that Rare's game isn't hewing to the traditional RPG stats and mechanics. In fact, there are no…
Ashes of Creation opens new storefront, alpha zero set to begin today - After weeks of silence, Ashes of Creation looks like it might be gearing up for the promised December 15th Alpha Zero test. While the team hasn't recently confirmed that today's…
Final Fantasy XIV plans patch 4.2 for late January, with glamour storage, more housing, and new content - [AL:FFXIV]The next patch for Final Fantasy XIV will arrive in late January according to the most recent live letter from producer/director Naoki Yoshida. Of course, players don't have to just…
Massively Overthinking: Our favorite MMORPG articles of 2017 - For this week's Massively Overthinking, I've asked the writers to do something most of them hate: brag! We've tried to isolate our favorite personal work from the year and talk…
RIFT would like to sell you a random mount for $100 - [AL:Rift]We were talking on the podcast this week about how Trion Worlds tends to aggressively pursue different revenue streams in its MMOs -- and how those actions sometimes cross the…
RIFT course-corrects on $100 mount pack while Trion gets into the holiday spirit - [AL:Rift]Well, that didn't last long. RIFT has already yanked its controversial $100 random mount packs from the game store following strong opposition from the community. "We put a tremendous amount…
The developer of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds laments the lack of video game IP protection - Did you know that there's no real IP protection for video games? We didn't know that either; we seem to recall a lot of lawsuits filed over copyright infringement for…
Choose My Adventure: Secret World Legends in review - [AL:SWL]Earlier this year, when we had yet to actually get much information about Secret World Legends, I posted a piece in which I discussed at length how Funcom didn't seem…
Gaming industry roundup: SWBG2’s poor sales, Gambling Commission, slot machines, and parody games - Don't agree that lockboxes, lootboxes, and gambleboxes were the biggest story of the year? We've collected so many news tidbits just on that over the last few days that we're…
Ascent: Infinite Realm shows off its airships and weaponry - Looking forward to Ascent: Infinite Realm and the promise of fun airship skirmishes? Then you'll want to take a look at the huge pile of new images put forth for…
Paragon Chat invites City of Heroes refugees for a holiday soirée - Paragon Chat has put out the batsignal to City of Heroes fans still missing their favorite MMO -- saying that they don't have to miss it alone. This Saturday, December…
Black Desert’s Mystic is fully playable today, just watch out for the yeti - [AL:BDO]Did ya roll your Mystic last week to get all your free loot in the MMO we just named most underrated of 2017? If not, then you should boot up…
Classic EverQuest’s Ring of Scale expansion is live - EverQuest II isn't alone in getting a big expansion this season: Classic EverQuest has gone live this week with Ring of Scale, an expansion name that confuses everyone except people…
The Daily Grind: What should SWTOR do to pull out of its funk? - Is it just me, or does Star Wars: The Old Republic seem to be in a serious funk this year? I mean, the game has had updates and all, but…
Black Desert’s Pearl Abyss on feedback, cadence, and avoiding ‘aggressive’ business models - [AL:BDO]Pearl Abyss' Dae Il Kim sat for an interview with InvenGlobal earlier this fall that's just gone live, and while it might be a bit old, it's packed with juicy…
Destiny 2 is reversing some of its controversial player lockout DLC design - [AL:D2]So, remember when Destiny 2 players without Curse of Osiris were locked out of content that predated that DLC? That was pretty great. Also, it's still the case right now.…
ARK Survival Evolved’s paid Aberration expansion has launched - The delays are in the past: Aberration truly launches for ARK Survival Evolved today on both PC and console, marking the game's second expansion pack and the first since ARK…
Interview: ArcheAge’s 4.0 Maelstrom launches December 13 with changes to lunagems, raid finder, and more - [AL:Arche]Batten down the hatches because a big storm hits tomorrow! ArcheAge's Maelstrom, with its cross-server navel arena, launches on December 13th. We got to see some of the 4.0 expansion…
Trion is trying to bring Defiance up to date on modern consoles - Most of you probably think of Defiance as "that game that used to tie into a TV show and is probably on borrowed time." Yet a recent interview with the…
Secret World Legends patches in winter event, barbershop, and plastic surgeon - [AL:SWL]Even with Tokyo completely reinstated into Secret World Legends, this reboot is still finding more content to add back in after starting over from its The Secret World roots. Will…
New Zealand declares lootboxes not gambling under the law - Are lootboxes gambling? It seems like such a simple question, but it really isn't simple from a legal or ethical standpoint, and the answer has a pretty big impact. According…
Leaderboard: Which MMO gameplay type encourages the worst player behavior? - One of the common tropes held by MMORPG players is that PvP, particularly free-for-all environments prone to ganks, generates the worst type of behavior. But while it may be more…
SuperData says the e-sports industry grew to $1.5B this year alone - SuperData has a new report out this week that suggests e-sports haters will not be getting what they want for Christmas. "The esports market has finally hit the mainstream," the…
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds tweaks female model’s creepy underwear - So how detailed do the dude-parts and lady-parts in your online games that are ostensibly about murdering each other really need to be? Apparently not that detailed. Over the weekend,…
Sword Coast Legends ends development – grab it from Steam while you can - Better buy Sword Coast Legends while you still can: It appears that Wizards of the Coast and Digital Extremes will be ending the publishing contract for the Dungeons and Dragons-based…
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s 2017 in review - [AL:FFXIV]It's hard to say whether 2017 was a good year for Final Fantasy XIV. Sure, on one level it seems obvious. The game launched its second expansion, it continues to…
Conan Exiles formally launches on May 8th, 2018, for PC, Xbox One, and PS4 - Conan Exiles needed some good news this month, and it's getting just that. "Funcom today announced that Conan Exiles, the studio’s open-world survival game set in the savage lands of…
EVE Evolved: Calling time on EVE Online’s five-year vision - [AL:EVE]When Andie "CCP Seagull" Nordgren walked onto the stage at EVE Fanfest 2013 and delivered her long-term vision for the future of EVE Online, the excitement in the room was…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Massively OP Podcast Episode 148: Vampires, kobolds, and pirates
Battle Bards Episode 111: Cabal Online 1 and 2
The Stream Team: Swimming in ARK’s indoor pool
The Stream Team: Celebrating Secret World Legend’s Krampusnacht!
The Stream Team: Making a Mystic in Black Desert Online
The Stream Team: Starting SWTOR’s Knights of the Eternal Throne
The Stream Team: Must save the sorceress in The Elder Scrolls Legends’ Act 2
AND FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BLIZZARD WATCH
Know Your Lore: The history of WoW’s Dark Iron Dwarves
Do you expect a Diablo 4 by 2020?
Get your own Vicious War Fox in WoW patch 7.3.5
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.
