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!
In July, Amazon confirmed that it was working with Athlon Games on the brand-new Lord of the Rings MMO first announced in 2018. Naturally, we hope it doesn’t suck.
Meanwhile, RuneScape launched Land out of Time, EVE Online tested a comms blackout, and Daybreak’s EverQuest 3 teases and trademark filings gave us our first inkling that the company was planning a reorganization.
Read on for the whole list from July of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF JULY 2019
Mike Morhaime waxes nostalgic about the crunch of early Blizzard
MMO strategy title Destiny’s Sword fully funded its $23K Kickstarter this weekend
Atlas launches single-player mode beta amid promises that multiplayer is the team’s ‘priority’
Another DDOS e-thug has landed jail time – this one owes Daybreak $95K
TennoCon 2019: Empyrean connects Warframe with railjack ships and ‘raids’
RuneScape’s Land Out of Time has launched – check out the trailer
Catching up with City of Heroes’ Homecoming rogue servers as NCsoft negotiations continue
Naoki Yoshida wants to collab with Blizzard to bring Diablo and WoW to Final Fantasy XIV
Trademarks hint at big changes for Daybreak Game Company
That new Lord of the Rings MMORPG is still happening, now with Amazon’s New World team on board
Albion Online’s Percival update is live with new solo random dungeons and customization perks
After suggesting it’d save Player Studio, Daybreak has quietly shuttered it for EverQuest instead
EVE Evolved: EVE Online’s comms blackout will lead to absolute anarchy
Neverwinter’s Uprising module launches August 13 with a new Gith race and lowbie experience
For Science: New longitudinal study demonstrates no link between video games and aggression
Kickstarter canceled the campaign for MMORPG RAW just a day before it funded
Villagers & Heroes’ massive A Tale of Earth and Sea expansion launches Shamans and much more today
Gamer-oriented ‘Gamer Goo’ lotion vows to ‘banish sweaty palms for good’
Co-op action RPG Killsquad is in early access and already topping Steam’s sale list
Daybreak filed for yet another studio trademark just a week ago
Fallout 76’s latest patch hit like an A-bomb (and not in a good way)
A lawsuit against Jagex for muting a player is thrown out in five days
A Tale in the Desert prepares for its ninth iteration
Here’s how much vehicles in Star Citizen cost in-game (as of right now)
Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce departs the studio
Mordhau says it’s now ‘taking toxicity and racism seriously’ plus adding more maps and modes
Life is Feudal: MMO is officially going free-to-play with bonuses for existing players
Legends of Aria is finally launching August 6 – with a huge new patch friendly to PvE players
Guild Wars 2 announces legendary upgrades and a community event to unlock ’em
UK’s Gambling Commission considers prosecuting video game companies that facilitate gambling
SuperData June 2019: WoW’s back in the top 10 as Overwatch players have spent $1B on in-game content
Shroud of the Avatar’s Release 68 kicks off a new update cadence
Guild Wars 2 has officially announced collab for armor-lookalike clothing line
Daybreak on EverQuest 3: ‘We will definitely do something with the IP’
New Frontier launches on Steam with the publisher that supposedly was not connected to the game
Guild Wars 2 is plotting a big living world announcement during PAX on August 30
The Elder Scrolls Online’s Scalebreaker launches August 12 – check out the QuakeCon 2019 roadmap
A 16-year-old kid took Fortnite’s World Cup this weekend, pocketing $3M
EVE Online hints at a ‘chaos era’ and hikes up market fees
World of Warcraft’s Patch 8.2.5 includes Goblin and Worgen makeovers, bee mounts, and party sync
Another World of Warcraft expansion ‘leak’ surfaces, this one called Shadowlands
Bandai Namco says it has ‘no plans’ to release Blue Protocol in the west ‘at the moment’
Guild Wars 2’s Festival of the Four Winds is live once again, along with the legendary upgrade event
New Frontier updates former Wild West Online players on its relationship to Free Reign Entertainment
Blizzard was ‘blown away’ by World of Warcraft Classic beta engagement
Alpha MMO battle royale Mavericks has been canceled as its company enters bankruptcy
Star Trek Online Awakening is launching September 10, starring Anthony Rapp
Exposé tracks how one dude fudged a whole company and swindled 25 devs over an MMO
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF JULY 2019
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers made early access a luxury
LOTRO Legendarium: Which Lore-master pet should you use?
Fight or Kite: One specific update would make Crowfall worth playing every day
The Daily Grind: Should MMOs allow players to alter how other characters appear in their client?
Choose My Adventure: TERA and the argument in favor of ‘just OK’ gaming
The Daily Grind: What one modern feature would you bring to WoW Classic?
Massively OP’s guide to Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers’ unlocks and progress
Into the Super-verse: A quick-and-dirty guide to picking the right City of Heroes archetype – Redside edition
Massively Overthinking: Do you even *like* MMO expansions?
First impressions: Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers is beautiful, horrifying, and a crowning achievement
Desert Oasis: Finding the Shai’s place in our Great Valencian Black Desert
The Game Archaeologist: Ironman modes and elective permadeath
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s third anniversary report card
Wisdom of Nym: The subtle mechanical shifts in Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers
Not So Massively: Gaming genre elitism isn’t a good look on anyone
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2’s Living World is a barrier to entry
Choose My Adventure: Behold! The MOP Hunter-Killer arrives to the City of Heroes
TennoCon 2019: A longer look at space, ships, and squads in Empyrean, Warframe’s not-an-expansion
Perfect Ten: Reasons why I quit your MMORPG
MMO Burnout: Sinking boats (and sleeping with the fishes) in World of Warships
The Daily Grind: Do you still have any faith left in Secret World Legends?
Vague Patch Notes: Why live MMOs struggle to onboard new players
Massively Overthinking: What would you want out of a potential WoW sequel?
WoW Factor: What would a factionless World of Warcraft look like?
Lawful Neutral: Dance studios, canvas bags, and ‘false advertising’ in the MMO industry
LOTRO Legendarium: Five essential roleplaying tools for living in Lord of the Rings Online’s Middle-earth
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers’ balance issues ahead of the first patch
Leaderboard: Do you care more about story or combat in MMOs?
The Daily Grind: What was the last MMORPG you played out of pure nostalgia?
The Soapbox: Hoping for Amazon to succeed where Lord of the Rings Online failed
Choose My Adventure: The ‘hard mode’ of City of Heroes in Going Rogue
Perfect Ten: How Final Fantasy XI shaped my MMO preferences forever
Desert Oasis: Taking a swing with Black Desert’s Tamer and her bō staff
Vague Patch Notes: Datamining, leaks, unforced errors, and messaging
MMO Cartographer: Riders of Icarus is a very tame MMORPG
Warframe of Mind: TennoGen fosters player creativity and content, store now on Steam
Massively Overthinking: Revisiting sheep and wolves in MMOs
Into the Super-verse: A possible glimpse into City of Heroes 2
Some Assembly Required: A Stage Reborn brings live theater to Final Fantasy XIV
Storyboard: Never forget that all MMO lore is made up
Jukebox Heroes: The best of FFXIV Shadowbringers’ soundtrack
Not So Massively: Jumping into Grim Dawn in 2019
Wisdom of Nym: Impressions of Final Fantasy XIV’s first wing of Eden
Flameseeker Chronicles: Why Guild Wars 2 is the ideal starter MMO
Choose My Adventure: Breaking through the obstacles of Going Rogue in City of Heroes
Tamriel Infinium: What comes after champion points in The Elder Scrolls Online?
Perfect Ten: Great MMOs that will run just fine on your old computer
Vague Patch Notes: Keeping it simple, oversimplification, and MMO design
Massively Overthinking: Our favorite MMORPG zones of all time
WoW Factor: Is Age of Darkness really the next expansion, and is it what we want and need?
The Soapbox: The counterproductiveness of limited-time content in online games
Lawful Neutral: Mr. Krabs’ Wacky Bucks and currency in online games
LOTRO Legendarium: The first year of LOTRO’s operation
Tamriel Infinium: Everything we learned from Quakecon 2019’s Elder Scrolls Online panel
Wisdom of Nym: Story beats that I’d like to see explored in Final Fantasy XIV
Fight or Kite: Exploring Crowfall’s banking, newbie, and God’s Reach update
Choose My Adventure: Help, the Going Rogue story of City of Heroes has a hold of me
The Survivalist Soapbox: Astroneer’s moon landing update is a time-limited online event done right
Desert Oasis: A guide to open PvP and grindspot etiquette in the world of Black Desert
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)
