We’re taking a time-machine back through our MMO coverage, month by month, to hit the highlights and frame our journey before we head into 2019!
Neowiz’s long-suffering MMORPG Bless Online launched into an odd sort of early access soft beta in May of this year, and though all the warning signs were there, people leaped in anyway, faced with downtime, bugs, missing content, duping, cash-shop shenanigans, and refund nightmares.
Of course, Bless wasn’t the only big thing in May; Conan Exiles made its formal debut out of early access (it was a mess), Worlds Adrift entered early access (also a mess), Wild West Online lurched out of early access (you guessed it – a mess), Star Citizen sank to new lows in crowdfunding, H1Z1 pulled big numbers on PS4, Tencent bought up a majority stake in Grinding Gear Games, and classic Guild Wars got its first patch in years.
Read on for the whole list from May of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF MAY 2018
Rumor: Daybreak may be building PlanetSide 3 and EverQuest 3, sunsetting Just Survive
Riders of Icarus restarts development, but Icarus Mobile is likely doomed
Elder Scrolls Online players are salty about cash-shop and lockbox mounts
Massively OP Interview: Dual Universe demo shows off advances in city building, space travel
Perfect World is sunsetting Swordsman Online and Jade Dynasty as teams move on to ‘bigger and better things’
Amazon is apparently having influencers playtest New World
Jagex says RuneScape is peaking as it builds a new ‘next-gen MMO’ and plans RuneFest
Whatever happened to Line of Defense, The Exiled, and Pathfinder Online?
Star Citizen players grumble over warbonds, insurance, and the latest concept ship promotion
Conan Exiles has officially launched with 1M copies sold to date and a huge day-one patch
Destiny 2’s Warmind expansion is live today – here’s the launch trailer
Daybreak update: Renova boss questioned over Columbus Nova’s alleged payment to Michael Cohen
Jagex shutters Chronicles: RuneScape Legends, Ace of Spades, and its FunOrb portal
EA quarterly financials: Anthem due March 2019, record profits, and lockbox-gambling denialism
Capcom posts its best financial year ever thanks to Monster Hunter World
Ouch, Conan Exiles players are pretty pissed off about Funcom’s PvE Conflict server switcharoo
Lord of the Rings Online starts testing massive class changes
Classic Guild Wars 1 just got a huge graphics update
The Wild West Online MMO officially launches out of early access today – here’s the new trailer
APB Reloaded and Fallen Earth developer GamersFirst acquired by Little Orbit
Champions Online releases brand-new content with the Save the Earth alert
Belgian Gaming Commission releases full report barring gambleboxes in video games
BioWare’s Anthem will let you be ‘the hero of your story’ even in multiplayer
Bless fansite leaks founder pack info and partial subscription plan ahead of today’s stream, and people aren’t happy
Wild West Online’s stagecoach is held up by negative reviews and no female characters
Boss Key shutters after Radical Heights, LawBreakers fizzle
Elite Dangerous floats sweeping changes to make its Powerplay mode fully open PvP
Guild Wars 2 game director talks about the free market and lootboxes
It’s been three weeks since Hand of the Gods players have had any news from Hi-Rez
MMORPG sandbox Albion Online has officially launched on Steam with big discounts
Bless outlines its new box price and sub plan, which it does not want you to call a sub
Wild West Online previews ‘relatively big redesign of the game’ and the PvP system a week after launch
Skull and Bones delayed, The Division 2 to arrive in the next year
Tencent gains majority stake in Path of Exile’s Grinding Gear Games
The Flower of Knighthood has launched a $600,000 Kickstarter, is still discussing female toons
Worlds Adrift admits early-game PvP griefing is a big problem and vows to address it
H1Z1 has a huge debut on PlayStation 4 with over 1.5M downloads
EverQuest II’s Seeds of Vengeance has launched with a double XP event – go getcher free level 100 toon
Dauntless clocks 1M registered players as it launches its F2P open beta
Funcom Q1 2018 financials: Conan Exiles will be the studio’s ‘bestselling game of all time’
Make My MMO: Star Citizen’s Legatus pack offers 117 ships for $27,000 (May 26, 2018)
The headstart for Bless Online’s early access open beta begins… now
Bless Online struggles with downtime on its first day, offers refunds and plans for the future
ESA president argues ‘video games never take money from a player and leave them with nothing’
Bless Online players riot and request refunds over missing endgame PvP, cash shop shenanigans, and duping as Steam reviews plummet
How a server explosion – and two epic devs – help keep Classic Guild Wars alive
Ascent: Infinite Realm posts new armor concept art, promises no gender-locking for classes
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF MAY 2018
Jukebox Heroes: LOTRO’s Northern Mirkwood soundtrack
Perfect Ten: MMOs with different (camera) perspectives
The Survivalist: Seven survival games I want to love, but can’t… yet
The Daily Grind: What’s the silliest gaming terminology you’ve heard recently?
Massively Overthinking: The state of modern MMORPG raiding
Choose My Adventure: In which Ultima Online makes its displeasure known
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR’s Update 5.9 concludes the traitor storyline in classic style
Guild Chat: When sibling rivalry is ruining MMO guild relations
The Daily Grind: How do you feel about ‘twinking’ in MMORPGs?
Wisdom of Nym: The Alliance Raids of Final Fantasy XIV
The Daily Grind: Have you backed any MMO Kickstarters that you deeply regret?
Global Chat: MMOs need to do ‘difficulty’ right
Perfect Ten: You got your MMORPG in my tabletop RPG
Tamriel Infinium: Deep-diving the mechanics of Elder Scrolls Online Summerset’s Psijic Order skill line
The Daily Grind: What would (or already did) convince you to buy an MMO lockbox?
The Survivalist: The good, the bad, and the barbaric of Conan Exiles’ launch
Choose My Adventure: Ultima Online, we didn’t need to do this
The Daily Grind: Do your MMORPG characters primarily wear in-game armor or cash-shop cosmetics?
Hands-on with Bless Reborn at Neowiz’s San Francisco media reveal
LOTRO Legendarium: A whirlwind of activity in Lord of the Rings Online
EVE Evolved: Getting new players to stick with EVE Online
The Daily Grind: Is it possible for an MMORPG to offer an optional sub that isn’t pay-to-win?
The Daily Grind: Have you ever walked away from an MMO over a studio’s treatment of its playerbase?
The Daily Grind: What made City of Heroes work so well?
Returning to Conan Exiles: Praise for Funcom’s progress on PvE and PvP
Perfect Ten: How MMOs can become more accessible
Chaos Theory: A changing of the guard in the Secret World Legends
Choose My Adventure: Starting fresh-ish in Final Fantasy XI
Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR Summer roadmap might get you back into PvP
First impressions of State of Decay 2: Frolicking fun with friends and zombies
Massively Overthinking: On slavery mechanics in MMOs
The Game Archaeologist: Warhammer Online
First impressions of Worlds Adrift: Innovation, Zelda, open-world PvP, and that sinking feeling
Perfect Ten: The unique pitfalls of licensed MMOs
Tamriel Infinium: Eight things you need to know before jumping into Elder Scrolls Online’s Summerset
The Daily Grind: What was your first ‘wow’ moment in an MMO?
Choose My Adventure: Two milestones at the start in Final Fantasy XI
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG would you want to ‘live’ in if you had to live there forever?
Massively Overthinking: The case for rarity and randomness in MMO monetization
Leaderboard: How much time should you put in to become a great player in the typical MMO?
LOTRO Legendarium: Why Mordor fails and Northern Mirkwood succeeds
EVE Evolved: Last-minute advice on Abyssal Deadspace in EVE Online
Wisdom of Nym: Slicing through Final Fantasy XIV patch 4.3
Flameseeker Chronicles: Deep-diving Guild Wars 2’s A Bug in the System (part 2)
The Survivalist: How Aberration saved ARK
Perfect Ten: MMO features that help players express individuality
Leaderboard: What type of multiplayer do you think Fallout 76 will have?
Hyperspace Beacon: The sorry state of roleplay in Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Daily Grind: Do you have your profanity filter on in MMOs?
Hands-on: The Jurassic World Alive ARG shows promise, but not for MMO fans
EverQuesting: Seven must-dos with your free EverQuest II level 100
ALL 2018 YEAR-IN-REVIEW POSTS SO FAR
MMO Year in Review: The SWTOR sunset scare (January 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Dragon Bones, Funcom’s revival, and the politics of lockboxes (February 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Thieves, Avatars, and Gorgons (March 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Columbus Nova who? (April 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Mixed Bless-ings (May 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Fallout 76, Elder Scrolls Online, and Bethsoft’s bonanza (June 2018)
MMO Year in Review: So, uh, how ’bout that underwater combat balance (July 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Watching the world tree burn (August 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Literally the biggest news day in MMO history (September 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Gamigo’s gory Trion Worlds acquisition (October 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Blizzard and Bethsoft’s dumpster fire showdown (November 2018)
MMO Year in Review: Daybreak gonna Daybreak (December 2018)
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