Hello, readers! It’s pre-holiday-shopping-season sale time again, and our sales team has put together a selection of artisanal hand-crafted MMOs and not-so-MMOs for the discerning buyer. If you’re going to pick up one of these titles for yourself or as a gift, please consider using our links as a way to help support your favorite MMO news site (which is us, right?). Please note that Amazon affiliate links may grant a small commission to us, which is very much appreciated!
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
And if your fingers are looking drab, maybe they just need a new coat of one of this indie brand’s Looking For Group polishes, available in a variety of WoW-themed colors like Karazhan, Pools of Aggonar, and Leeeroy Jenkins! Note: Polishes are purely cosmetic and have no skill or stat bonuses attached. They might help you find a group, though!
Destiny 2: Forsaken
OK, so this isn’t technically an MMO, but this expansion claims to offer a substantially improved space-gun-shooting experience, which Bungie says is exactly what you wanted, so if you or a loved one has experienced a loss of interest in Destiny 2, you owe it to yourself to try Destiny 2: Forsaken. Side effects may include gambits, five-man raiding (???), and concern about the sustainability of Destiny 2’s business model. And while we’re watching Destiny 2 streams: did you know that Twitch and artist Signalnoise have a line of Twitch-themed clothing and accessories available now? Well stop saying that, you know about it because I just told you! Great retro T-shirt designs, hats, even a Twitch pint glass for when you really need something to get you through that rough Fortnite stream.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset
This year’s Summerset expansion lets you visit the home of the High Elves (not to be confused with Cyremon’s mom’s basement, the home of the elves who are totally high). It adds a whole new island to explore and a chance to meet the Psijic order and ask them what happened to their name.
(My guess: spelling error that looked too cool to fix.) Or check out the offerings in Bethesda’s ESO store! You can get the Elder Scrolls Online growler and use it to hold your beer until you’re ready to pour it into your Twitch pint glass, or pick up an Ouroboros shirt as a subtle nod to your favorite long-running gaming franchise.
You might be thinking, “That’s a single-player game! Also, it’s a console game, and I am a sophisticated PC gamer who has no interest in some IP-locked single-use entertainment device.” Well, Rockstar has got you covered (on the first part): Red Dead Online will hit beta before the end of the month, with multiplayer gameplay and the best western open-world experience that doesn’t come with a very worrisome Wyatt storyline.
Fallout 76
This fall’s sequel to the highly regarded Fallout 75 has brought enhanced multiplayer to the post-apocalyptic world, with outdoor environments, open-world construction, and of course, nuclear weapons. And while I kid Fallout 76 about its sudden failure of cardinality, it made it two entire numbers farther than BioShock Infinite before losing track of how many things it was. (I’m still looking forward to the sequel, BioShock Aleph-One.)
Guild Wars 2
Or if post-apoc open world isn’t your style, you can try the Pink Quaggan Mug featuring the very cutest amphibious pacifist cetaceans from Guild Wars 2. Mmmrrrggglll! I mean hoooo!
