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!
World of Warcraft’s Battle for Azeroth blasted a path through the month of August, a path burned and charred by the felling of the world tree, the lore story behind which caused protests inside and outside the game.
Meanwhile, PWE announced Torchlight Frontiers, we got our hands on Monster Hunter’s PC version, the Riot Games sexism scandal blew wide open, Ashes of Creation teamed up with My.com, New World ramped up its teases, Black Desert remastered its graphics, and Neowiz announced Bless Unleashed.
Read on for the whole list from August of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF AUGUST 2018
World of Warcraft fans are not happy with the latest story developments, some try to cope through harassment
Star Citizen fans raise pay-to-win objections over removal of in-game currency stockpiling cap
‘MMOPEG’ Codename Reality seeks half a million Kickstarter bucks to ‘redefine the MMO genre’
Ex-World of Warcraft Lead Chris Metzen urges fans ‘don’t panic’ over the current storyline
Stardew Valley finally rolls out its multiplayer mode
World of Warcraft’s creative director asks players to ‘be patient’ regarding the story
Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts downplays currency stockpiling controversy: ‘You win by having fun’
Bare shoulders mark a spreading World of Warcraft protest
The 22-year-old Meridian 59 heads to Steam
CCP reveals EVE Online: Infinite Galaxy
Pathfinder Online promises free trial, open enrollment, and a marketing push
Extensive Kotaku exposé uncovers a ‘culture of sexism’ at League of Legends developer Riot Games
Interviewing the Bless team on the Assassin, merges, PvP, and concurrency as the patch goes live today
The Expanse started life as a failed MMO pitch
Pantheon fully reveals its last three classes
Blizzard teases ‘multiple Diablo projects in the works,’ with reveals ‘later this year’
Perfect World Entertainment reveals Torchlight Frontiers, an MMOARPG for PC and console
Jace Hall confirms that he’s H1Z1’s new PC lead, promises the sky
Lord of the Rings Online hypes up dragons, 64-bit client, and Minas Morgul
City of Titans explains costume unlocking
World of Warcraft’s Battle for Azeroth is live – are you prepared?
A judge has mostly denied Star Citizen studio’s motion to dismiss the Crytek copyright lawsuit
WildStar brings back its home decoration event as the game languishes
Perpetuum is back from the dead thank to the Open Perpetuum Project, all with the original developer’s blessing
My.com will publish Ashes of Creation in Europe and the CIS region [Updated]
Twitch Prime is terminating most of its ad-free viewing benefits – here’s what it means for you
Guild Wars 2: New systems team, outfit vouchers, PvP updates, Revenant overhaul, and anniversary sales
New World preview from Gamescom slips into the wild as Amazon announces alpha signups
Ashes of Creation addresses My.com concerns, localization, pay-to-win, publishing, and regionlocks
Black Desert’s graphical remaster is live today, along with sales and contests
World of Warcraft Battle for Azeroth sells ‘more than 3.4 million’ copies for a ‘day-one sales record’ for WoW
Bless Online is getting an Xbox One version from Bandai Namco as ‘Bless Unleashed’
SuperData July 2018: Fortnite is peaking, League of Legends is bested, Overwatch is slipping
Star Citizen rolls out the Mercury Star Runner concept ship during Gamescom
Reddit erupts over Black Desert backtracking on ‘pay-to-win’ Valks’ Cry items
Daybreak is sunsetting Just Survive in October, and it never even really launched
Mass shooting claims lives of multiple Madden esports attendees
Ashes of Creation confirms subscription model, allays fears over IP blocking and region locking
LOTRO adds more lockboxes and changes up endgame currency
Check out the new trailer for Star Wars Galaxies’ Legends emulator
Riot Games vows sweeping corporate culture changes in response to piles of sexism allegations
Trion Worlds rebuts staffing rumors, confirms RIFT is not in maintenance mode
Star Citizen partially reverses CitizenCon streaming paywall decision after community erupts
TERA is merging its PC servers too – here’s how it’s all going down in September
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF AUGUST 2018
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR is testing huge changes for the Rishi stronghold
WoW Factor: There’s no fixing this Battle for Azeroth story
EVE Evolved: A furious supercapital war is raging in EVE Online
LOTRO Legendarium: Is Lord of the Rings Online aging well?
Wisdom of Nym: Why Final Fantasy XIV’s role actions didn’t work
The Daily Grind: How do you define ‘hardcore’ gaming?
Hands-on with Monster Hunter World on PC: ‘A quick and dirty port’
Massively OP Podcast Episode 181: Some devs just want to watch the world tree burn
Perfect Ten: 10 MMO features that deserve widespread adaptation
Hands-on with mobile Old School Runescape, plus a chat with the Jagex devs
Tamriel Infinium: Becoming a Wolfhunter with the Elder Scrolls Online devs
Massively on the Go: A guide to (re)learning how to catch Pokemon in Pokemon Go
Path of Exile’s Delve launches August 31 with an infinite dungeon; here’s our chat with Grinding Gear’s Chris Wilson!
The Daily Grind: Is it time to move on from PvP ‘factions’ in MMORPGs?
WoW Factor: World of Warcraft’s market saturation and the pull of vague memories
The Game Archaeologist: City of Heroes’ launch history and the Marvel lawsuit
Wisdom of Nym: Hunting the monster in Final Fantasy XIV
The Daily Grind: Did you go back to World of Warcraft for Battle for Azeroth?
Massively on the Go: Our basic guide to Pokemon Go gameplay and questing
Leaderboard: Must MMORPGs revolve around grouping to be MMORPGs?
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, part 1: Mechanics
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, part 2: Content
Tamriel Infinium: Three key takeaways from the Elder Scrolls Online Murkmire teaser
Massively Overthinking: Would you want to play a League of Legends or Diablo MMORPG?
The Daily Grind: Should being an MMO ‘whale’ absolve a player of toxicity or push him to the front of a queue?
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, part 3: Narrative
A fluffy casual’s starting perspective on World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
EVE Evolved: Ship fittings for EVE Online’s Secrets of the Abyss event
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, part 4: Conclusions
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s weekly caps and whether they’re useful
EverQuesting: The history of the EverQuest franchise
Perfect Ten: Anticipated MMOs I want to know a lot more about
Hyperspace Beacon: Why SWTOR failed EA
Massively on the Go: Our guide to which Pokemon you should keep (or send away)
Massively Overthinking: Pay-to-win vs. cosmetics in MMOs and virtual worlds
Vague Patch Notes: On scaling and meaningful advancement in WoW and other MMORPGs
The Survivalist: Which sci-fi crash site survival sandbox should you play?
The Game Archaeologist: City of Villains, enhancement diversification, and Going Rogue
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV hits the big five-year mark
Massively on the Go: Guide to Pokemon Go’s battle system basics
Working As Intended: Returning to Star Wars Galaxies – in 2018
Perfect Ten: MMOs with the most needlessly obtuse stats
Massively Overthinking: What’s your favorite MMORPG swag of all time?
Vague Patch Notes: Casual no longer means anything in MMOs
The Survivalist: A new dawn for Osiris New Dawn
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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