December’s many article roundups and awards always remind us that it’s hard to remember what happened last month, let alone what happened way back at the beginning, so as in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, we’re taking a tour back through our MMO coverage, month by month, to hit the highlights and frame our journey before we launch into 2020 and a whole new decade of MMOs. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
I kinda miss January 2019: It was a relatively quiet month before February exploded with news. We did, however, get a good look at Anthem as it launched its demo, plus Jagex was put up for sale (again), Astellia Online announced its western port, Guild Wars 2 launched All or Nothing, and Final Fantasy XIV released A Requiem for Heroes.
Read on for the whole list from January of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF JANUARY 2019
Activision Blizzard’s CFO is ousted and appears to be getting hired by Netflix
Nexon’s founder is selling off his controlling interest – for $9 billion
Fallen Earth team vows to rebuild the game — which could involve a ‘complete reboot’
The Hearthstone leads Blizz lost last year just scooped up the Marvel IP with their new studio
Just when you thought lockbox gambling couldn’t get any grosser
Lord British (aka Richard Garriott) is now working as a telecommuting Robo-British
ReWorld lets you build your own fantasy MMO world
Camelot Unchained is building a new siege scenario test map as backer siege testing continues
Lost Ark announces the upcoming new continent of Rohendel in a new update
Ultima Online announces a year of high seas content, starting with publish 104: Rising Tide
MapleStory 2 interview: The Soul Binder, PvP, music, the western front, and battling pay-to-win
Here’s what’s up with Ashes of Creation’s borked forums and website
Anthem shows off a full mission in a new video
You’re never too old for esports, Swedish competitive team with an average age of 67 suggests
Craig Zinkievich’s Aliens shooter is looking more and more like an MMOFPS after all
Overwatch releases a new short story and confirms that yes, Soldier 76 is gay
Final Fantasy XIV patch 4.5, A Requiem for Heroes, is live today
Black Desert is launching a battle royale mode called Shadow Arena as part of a year focused on systems clarity
Richard Bartle reveals the secrets and history of MUDs
Lord of the Rings Online introduces new raid in Update 23.2, going live today
Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime will leave planned advisory role in April
Epic and Improbable pledge $25M to rescue MMO studios affected by Unity’s SpatialOS license suspension
Activision is transferring Destiny publishing rights back to Bungie
Exclusive: Legends of Aria previews its first major content of 2019
SEC and Wells Fargo settle a suit over 38 Studios
Activision investors are now investigating whether the Bungie split involves securities fraud
South Korean MMO Astellia is coming westward in 2019, vows to steer clear of P2W
Amazon’s New World hints at supernatural guardians and survival struggles
Interview: Astellia’s western team on pay-to-win, themeparks, and dodging early access and battle royale
Elder Scrolls Online will launch Elsweyr and Necromancer in June, Wrathstone DLC in February
Electronic Arts cancels its untitled open-world Star Wars game
After telling Blizzard to cut spending, Activision pays $15 million bonus to new CFO
Bethsoft is banning more Fallout 76 exploiters and teasing its free-for-all PvP mode
Star Citizen: Hoverbikes, female character models, and item insurance
Blizzard lays out World of Warcraft’s esports 2019 plans, will crowdfund part of prize pools
Astellia confirms it’ll be buy-to-play in the west, won’t be a ‘smash-and-grab’
Star Wars: The Old Republic fan petition asks for more funding for the game to give it new life
EverQuest producer teases 20th anniversary events and the resurrection of Fan Faire
Daybreak is delaying PlanetSide Arena’s early access launch to March
EA rushes to add more server capacity for Anthem’s overloaded VIP demo
RuneScape dev Jagex is up for sale by its struggling Chinese owners after posting record high year
Facebook lawsuit reveals ‘friendly fraud’ tactics it employed against underage online gamers
Anthem addresses ‘rocky’ demo launch, server capacity, ongoing issues, and compensation
Camelot Unchained’s latest battlefield test included nearly 3000 players and bots, surpassing Kickstarter promise
Guild Wars 2 compensates those suspended unjustly in 2018 spyware cheater purge thanks to victim’s GDPR sleuthing
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF JANUARY 2019
Choose My Adventure: Sorry, everyone, but I had fun in Star Citizen
Global Chat: How do we fight early access disasters?
Leaderboard: Will you be playing PlanetSide Arena?
Vague Patch Notes: How to make your points and exit gracefully from online debates
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR’s year-end report card for 2018
The Daily Grind: What MMOs are you no longer anticipating in 2019?
Progress Bar: The bullet hell of Survived By
WoW Factor: World of Warcraft’s most underused zones in Classic
The Game Archaeologist: Project Copernicus
Wings Over Atreia: Aion’s abolished trading, and other foolish moves
The Daily Grind: Which game made the biggest contribution to killing the MMORPG genre in 2018?
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s 2019 in preview
EVE Evolved: Seven of the best EVE Online fan videos of all time
Flameseeker Chronicles: First impressions of Guild Wars 2’s All or Nothing
Massively on the Go: Smash Bros Ultimate’s online scene, one month later
The Daily Grind: Should ArenaNet be working on Guild Wars 3?
Choose My Adventure: Fumbling through the stars of Elite Dangerous
The Daily Grind: What’s the MMO-related purchase you regret the most?
Tamriel Infinium: What teaser swag tells us about Elder Scrolls Online’s next chapter
Vague Patch Notes: The fads and the curious (and why Overwatch’s star is fading)
Storyboard: What makes an MMORPG a good home for roleplaying?
LOTRO Legendarium: A requiem for trait lines
Jukebox Heroes: Bless Online’s soundtrack
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s patch 4.5 in review
The Daily Grind: When was the last time an MMO actually lived up to its trailer hype?
Choose My Adventure: The lonesome job of star charting in Elite Dangerous
The Survivalist: Seven survival game features I want to see in 2019
Vague Patch Notes: Representation in games matters when you don’t see why it matters
EverQuesting: Can Daybreak make it through 2019?
Tamriel Infinium: Examining the features (and hype!) of Elder Scrolls Online’s Season of the Dragon
Massively Overthinking: What would you want out of a World of Warcraft 2?
WoW Factor: No, Activision is not the reason you’re unhappy with World of Warcraft
The Game Archaeologist: Fury
NCsoft West mobile studio Iron Tiger hit with layoffs ahead of Aion Legions of War launch
Wisdom of Nym: A measured evaluation of Final Fantasy XIV’s Blue Mage
EVE Evolved: Solving conflict avoidance in EVE Online
Choose My Adventure: Fighting for friends in Elite Dangerous
Leaderboard: Do you think Bethsoft is going to take Fallout 76 free-to-play?
Perfect Ten: The worst MMORPG expansions of all time
Leaderboard: Are you all-in for Elder Scrolls Online’s Elsweyr?
Vague Patch Notes: ‘Gamer’ is not an identity
Massively Overthinking: Why aren’t you playing the MMO most like your favorite sunsetted game?
The Daily Grind: Do you approach all MMOs with PvP as ‘PvP games’?
Wisdom of Nym: Analyzing and overthinking Final Fantasy XIV’s 4.5 revelations
LOTRO Legendarium: Five lessons I’ve learned from replaying Shadows of Angmar
The Survivalist: Outpost Zero improvements have really increased its fun factor
Leaderboard: What’s the greatest MMO soundtrack of all time?
Leaderboard: Where do you stand on the Epic Games Store (and proposed boycott)?
Choose My Adventure: Where Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen meet
The Daily Grind: Do you play MMOs for ambient sociability?
Vague Patch Notes: How to recognize MMO lies from quite a long way away
ALL 2019 YEAR-IN-REVIEW POSTS SO FAR
MMO Year in Review: Anthem’s approach (January 2019)
MMO Year in Review: The mass Blizzard and ArenaNet layoffs (February 2019)
MMO Year in Review: Black Desert’s console rollout (March 2019)
MMO Year in Review: City of Heroes’ resurrection (April 2019)
MMO Year in Review: EVE’s Invasion, WoW Classic’s beta (May 2019)
MMO Year in Review: Shadowbringers, Elsweyr, and Azshara (June 2019)
MMO Year in Review: Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO (July 2019)
MMO Year in Review: You think you do, but… yeah, you do (August 2019)
MMO Year in Review: Guild Wars 2’s saga and Astellia Online (September 2019)
MMO Year in Review: The month of gaming industry self-owns (October 2019)
MMO Year in Review: A ‘tough Hearthstone esports moment’ (November 2019)
MMO Year in Review: New World, Magic Legends, and ESO Skyrim (December 2019)
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