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!
If October felt like a year packed into a month, November felt like a decade. We made it through BlizzCon’s Diablo IV and WoW Shadowlands and the studio’s bizarre non-pology; enjoyed the launches of LOTRO’s Minas Morgul, Red Dead Online for PC, and Guild Wars 2’s Whisper in the Dark; saw Blizzard’s finances continue to sink in spite of WoW Classic’s stellar performance; witnessed classic MMO Dark Age of Camelot finally go free-to-play; and cheered for the big reveals of Star Citizen’s CitizenCon and Path of Exile’s ExileCon. Plus, Book of Travels funded on Kickstarter and Pearl Abyss announced a bunch of new MMOs we’re hyped for! (Header pic cheerfully clipped from Jim Sterling’s take on the whole Blizzard thing, which you should definitely watch for a scathing recap.)
On a far more tragic note, in November we also mourned the loss of MMORPG developer Brad McQuaid, who passed away far too young while working on his third MMO, Pantheon.
Read on for the whole list from November of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF NOVEMBER 2019
Our complete BlizzCon 2019 coverage
SWTOR has made almost a billion dollars, and EA is pleased. Most pleased.
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO will be ‘different at a glance’ from LOTRO
Australian consumer commission compels ZeniMax and Bethsoft to grant Fallout 76 refunds
BlizzCon 2019: Opening ceremonies liveblog
BlizzCon 2019: Blizzard officially announces Diablo 4
BlizzCon 2019: World of Warcraft officially announces Shadowlands for 2020
BlizzCon 2019: Overwatch 2 angles toward PvE with co-op missions and hero leveling
BlizzCon 2019: Hearthstone Descent of Dragons adds 8-person multiplayer
BlizzCon 2019: Here’s Blizzard’s apology for its Hearthstone esports disaster
BlizzCon 2019: World of Warcraft Shadowlands liveblog
BlizzCon 2019: Mobile MMOARPG Diablo Immortal gets new content, videos, and preregistration
The Project 1999 EverQuest emulator is opening yet another server thanks to demand
BlizzCon 2019: World of Warcraft Shadowlands deep-dive panel liveblog
Despite BlizzCon apology, Blizzard stands behind ‘Hong Kong liberation’ suspensions
VKLiooon sweeps the Hearthstone Grandmasters to become the first woman to win a global championship
BlizzCon 2019: Why World of Warcraft: Shadowlands isn’t adding a new class
BlizzCon 2019: Jeff Kaplan hopes Overwatch 2 will change how game sequels work
Citadel: Forged with Fire has officially launched
Lord of the Rings Online’s Minas Morgul expansion launches today
Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online are officially live for PC
World of Warcraft’s 15th anniversary celebration starts today
US politician shades Blizzard over World of Warcraft toxicity
Pearl Abyss announces three new MMOs: Crimson Desert, Plan 8, and DokeV
China is really adding that youth gaming curfew and block on sex and gore in games
Fallout 1st subscribers have formed a clan of aristocrats to perpetrate Fallout 76 class warfare
Activision-Blizzard Q3 2019: Revenues sink for the third quarter in a row
Brad McQuaid’s Pantheon gives a glimpse of its beautiful new world in new trailer
EVE Online Senior Community Manager CCP Falcon departs CCP Games
WAPO says Activision-Blizzard execs profited from dodgy but legal stock sale
Overwatch’s ‘stagnation’ is the direct result of Blizzard working on Overwatch 2
Overwatch’s Jeff Kaplan thinks Blizzard’s Blitzchung punishment was too harsh
Diablo IV lead developer confirms cosmetic microtransactions will be in the game
The Elder Scrolls Online introduces new cash shop pet that increases your inventory and raises some eyebrows
Superdata says in-game spending is down thanks to gamers’ leeriness of monetization schemes
EA Spouse was 15 years ago, and not much has changed in games development
RuneScape is rethinking its monetization after UK report on one player’s alleged $62K spend
Funcom Q3 2019: Amid revenue drop and Tencent stock buy-up, Funcom is working on multiple new games
Dark Age of Camelot is officially going free-to-play today with Endless Conquest
Kritika Online returns in the west as Kritika:REBOOT today with some big changes
Dungeons and Dragons Online’s Update 44 launches with new dungeons, areas, and mounts
Asheron’s Call would’ve been 20 years old this month, but the community isn’t dead
G-Star 2019: Pearl Abyss fully reveals Crimson Desert, Plan 8, Shadow Arena, and DokeV
NCsoft Q3 2019: Another flat financial quarter as NCsoft pumps money into NCWest
J. Allen Brack says the Blitzchung incident ‘exposed some immaturity’ in Blizzard
EVE Online is officially live in South Korea
Gameforge’s Kingdom Under Fire 2 has officially launched today in NA and EU
Final Fantasy XIV is coming to Xbox One, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer vows
Rumor: A complete overhaul is in the works for Anthem
ExileCon 2019: Grinding Gear announces Path of Exile 2, Path of Exile Mobile, and Metamorph
Gamigo tells MMO players ‘the development of RIFT hasn’t stopped’
Google Stadia’s launch day might have arrived, but the future of cloud gaming hasn’t
Guild Wars 2’s Whisper in the Dark saga chapter is live this afternoon
Veteran MMORPG developer Brad McQuaid has passed away
Activision-Blizzard’s Bobby Kotick downplays the role of politics in games
Lord of the Rings Online says it has ‘a good 20 years’ of content left
Interview: CIG’s Jake Muehle on the player economy and doing crimes in the Star Citizen universe
CitizenCon 2019: Star Citizen previews alpha 3.8, details Theatres of War, teases next star system
Star Trek Online’s Mudd’s Market pricing ignites a community firestorm
MMO Book of Travels’ Kickstarter finishes successfully with $261K, hitting all stretch goals
EVE Online developers will soon be allowed to… play EVE Online
Persistent open-world MMO Project C gets an official name: Life Beyond
No Man’s Sky launches significant quality-of-life improvements and new features in tomorrow’s Synthesis update
EVE Online’s new HyperNet Relay reintroduces gambling to New Eden
LOTRO players denounce $50 legendary item catch-up sale
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF NOVEMBER 2019
Into the Super-Verse: Putting City of Titans’ character builder through its paces
The Daily Grind: So, were you pleased with BlizzCon 2019?
BlizzCon 2019: When Blizzard prayed for rain and got a drizzle
Fight or Kite: PvP games to play if you’re still boycotting Blizzard
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV patch 5.1 in review, part 1
The Daily Grind: Are you bummed about the faction divide in WoW Shadowlands?
Not So Massively: Diablo IV is going in all the wrong directions
Choose My Adventure: An intriguing and frustrating start in Citadel Forged with Fire
WoW Factor: Battle for Azeroth was a complete waste of time
Hyperspace Beacon: How SWTOR added two Onslaught stories (but wrote only one)
Desert Oasis: Discerning the best purchases in Black Desert’s cash shop
Vague Patch Notes: Ethics, PR stunts, and the BlizzCon apology
WoW Factor: Getting hyped for World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands
Tamriel Infinium: Our biggest Elder Scrolls Online pet peeves
The Stream Team: Testing Ship of Heroes’ character creation closed beta with Heroic Games
Massively Overthinking: The best and worst of BlizzCon 2019
WoW Factor: The big questions we still have about World of Warcraft Shadowlands
Into the Super-verse: Ship of Heroes’ character creator is bare-bones yet still engaging
The Daily Grind: Should World of Warcraft switch to annual expansions?
Crimson Oasis: Speculation on Crimson Desert, Pearl Abyss’ new MMORPG
EverQuesting: Contemplating content and communication on EverQuest II’s 15th anniversary
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV patch 5.1 in review, part 2
Flameseeker Chronicles: The best of Guild Wars 2’s Living World soundtrack
The Daily Grind: What was your ‘golden age’ of MMO gaming?
First impressions: Overwatch on the Switch is mostly just Overwatch Mobile
Perfect Ten: Counting Fallout 76’s many post-nuclear flubs
Vague Patch Notes: MMO grind is good (except when it isn’t)
WoW Factor: A brief history of flight (in World of Warcraft)
Desert Oasis: Getting hyped for Pearl Abyss’ Crimson Desert
Wandering Wraeclast: A look at Path of Exile from its humble beginnings to now
ExileCon 2019: A look at Path of Exile 2, the Metamorph league, Conquerors of the Atlas, and mobile
LOTRO Legendarium: First impressions of Minas Morgul
ExileCon 2019: Diving deeper into Path of Exile’s Conquerors of the Atlas expansion
Global Chat: EverQuest II’s 15 years of being in WoW’s shadow
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s Ishgard restoration after the first phase
Fight or Kite: MMORPG PvP is about competition, not combat
MMO Burnout: Exploring EA’s new Star Wars title, Jedi Fallen Order
Leaderboard: Are you still playing WoW Classic?
Flameseeker Chronicles: First impressions of Guild Wars 2’s Whisper in the Dark
Perfect Ten: When MMO lore is at odds with the game
Remembering the life and work of legendary MMO designer Brad ‘Aradune’ McQuaid
ExileCon 2019: MassivelyOP’s hands-on with Path of Exile 2
Massively Overthinking: What MMO were you hoping to hear much more about this year?
WoW Factor: Speculating on Shadowlands’ release date using math
Vague Patch Notes: Sub-optimal play vs. just plain bad play in MMORPGs
Lawful Neutral: When Marvel sued NCsoft over City of Heroes
EVE Evolved: Inside Hadean’s EVE Online record-breaking battle attempt
Wisdom of Nym: What we still don’t know about Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers
MassivelyOP’s 2019 gift guide for the PC hardware aficionado
Flameseeker Chronicles: Deep-diving Guild Wars 2’s Whisper in the Dark storyline
Massively OP’s guide to MMO Thanksgiving 2019
Not So Massively: A Year of Rain is a promising RTS with a co-op focus
The Soapbox: Cross-play, console exclusivity, and why companies won’t play nice
Desert Oasis: A first look at Black Desert’s Dark Knight’s Succession skills
MassivelyOP’s 2019 MMO swag gift guide
Perfect Ten: How to show and share gratitude for your favorite MMO
Vague Patch Notes: A look behind the magic at Massively Overpowered
Massively Overthinking: Gratitude for the MMO genre
WoW Factor: A brief history of allied races (and when a grind is not a grind)
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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