The Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 systems launched this week, which meant that a lot of companies who weren’t launching games along with them got the heck out of the way, including many MMO studios. On MOP, we busied ourselves musing on the ups and downs of World of Warcraft, contemplating LOTRO’s lifetime sub, and interviewing the Crowfall devs on their new beta patch.
Read on to catch up with the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions today as every Sunday in Massively Overpowered’s Week in Review!THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
LOTRO Legendarium: Was LOTRO’s lifetime sub the best deal ever? - When Lord of the Rings Online ramped up to its launch in early 2007, Turbine offered a tantalizing deal to potential players. If they were willing to part with $299…
Interview: Crowfall’s Rhea Shelley on what to expect from Revival’s big class update - Over the past few weeks, we've been covering update 6.200 arriving in (the now beta) Crowfall. The Revival, as ArtCraft is calling it, introduces significant changes for the character talent…
Perfect Ten: 10 things to genuinely like about modern World of Warcraft - Over the past year, it's been an interesting and illuminating experience to ping-pong back and forth between retail World of Warcraft and WoW Classic. Depending on the month, I may…
WoW Factor: Does Blizzard even know what it wants World of Warcraft to be now? - Let's start by pre-empting someone who feels very clever. Yes, I hear you muttering "profitable" as an answer. That isn't accurate; that's answering what the powers that be want World of…
Wisdom of Nym: The roots of Final Fantasy XIV’s awful housing problem aren’t clear - Let's start with a simple sentiment that I think absolutely everyone can get behind. However solid the underlying mechanics for decorating houses may be, Final Fantasy XIV's housing is a…
Global Chat: Don’t look, but Fallout 76 is actually good now - Even the most jaded opponent of Fallout 76 has to admit that Bethesda has been making progress in bringing the online RPG up to spec. Cary over at Virtual Bastion…
Pearl Abyss Q3 2020: EVE Online’s revenues are up 45% YOY, Crimson Desert reveal coming in December - It appears it's been hard for many gaming companies to top or match their revenue earlier this year when many customers were captive audiences, but that doesn't mean every MMORPG…
Massively Overthinking: What one piece of advice would you like to give to MMO devs? - Over the last couple of weeks, MOP's Eliot has pointed his Vague Patch Notes column at some friendly (and amusing) advice for MMO studios, including when it's OK to piss…
EverQuesting: A sweet sixteen EverQuest II anniversary retrospective - Happy birthday, sweet sixteen! If you think I've waited 16 years to be able to sing that to EverQuest II, well, you aren't wrong. It isn't often an MMO gets…
From dockyard disaster to sailing success: How World of Warships learned from the Puerto Rico event fiasco - Gamers tend to harp on game companies for the very public mistakes they make. While most of the criticism is clearly deserved, occasionally a studio will learn from the misstep,…
ArcheAge’s Rise of Nehliya patch is live, adding new zone, quests, and farmhands - As promised, Gamigo has formally posted the Rise of Nehliya patch to both ArcheAge and ArcheAge Unchained as of today. Do note this is an update, meaning it's free, unlike…
Gamers welcomed Microsoft’s record-setting Xbox Series X launch with vaping memes - The release of Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S systems has reportedly been one of the largest for the company, at least according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who…
Guild Wars 2 is currently being rocked by disturbing earthquakes - Suddenly, Guild Wars 2 is on very shaky ground, indeed. In-game, that is. [AL:GW2]Players are reporting that they're encountering strong rumbles and earthquakes inside the game since this week's patch.…
WoW Classic explains its Sapphiron tuning, Blizzard raises sub price for Aussies - With Naxxramas' release coming very soon here to World of Warcraft Classic, the devs are fine-tuning the boss encounters -- including a slightly controversial one with Sapphiron and its frost…
CCP Games’ EVE Online community raised $135,500 for COVID-19 response through PLEX for GOOD - [AL:EVE]EVE Online is having a good run right about now. Not only is it busy enjoying topping its own Guinness World Records and contributing to citizen science, but today CCP…
Fallout 76 previews the key NPCs of the Steel Dawn update, launching December 1 - We're still several weeks away from the Steel Dawn release in Fallout 76; Bethsoft's just announced that it's launching December 1st. And we're even further out from the game's new…
Judge dismisses Apple’s claim of theft by Epic Games in ongoing litigation - The slow-moving colossus of the legal fight between Epic Games vs. Apple (and Google, lest we forget) has seen yet another ponderous step forward. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has tossed…
Final Fantasy XIV turns housing demolition timers back on with its next major patch - Housing in Final Fantasy XIV has something of a problem insofar as there are only so many houses to go around and a lot of players who want one. While the…
Lord of the Rings Online tests a major PvP monster play balance pass - Lord of the Rings Online's unique PvP scene -- which is called PvMP or "monster play" -- is one of the more underdeveloped and underpopulated parts of the game, a…
EVE Online releases supercarrier updates, dynamic bounties, and the revamped ESS - Over the past few weeks, EVE Online has been outlining a number of changes that were due to the game like bigger and better supercarriers, changes to the Encounter Surveillance…
Neverwinter brings the final phase of Redeemed Citadel to PC alongside its Epic Games Store launch - The PC version of Neverwinter has gotten itself a fresh patchin', and with it comes the fourth part of the Redeemed Citadel. Yes, the building that already calls itself redeemed…
Mobile PvP MMO A3: Still Alive launches around the globe today - It's part open-world PvP MMO, part battle royale, all mobile title. It's A3: Still Alive and it has officially arrived to both Google Play and iOS devices as of today.…
Choose My Adventure: A slow, steady, and informational search for Artemis in No Man’s Sky - I think I appreciate why last week’s voting had me follow the Artemis path, as this past week felt a bit like more tutorial steps, some new, most familiar, and…
Would you pay a hefty monthly sub for Fortnite? Epic Games thinks you might - Subscriptions have been trending deeply unpopular in the online gaming space for nearly a decade now, so you might be surprised to learn that Epic Games thinks it can make…
Elder Scrolls Online’s Markarth DLC is live on console as ZeniMax promises free next-gen upgrades - With the next-generation console launches coming very soon now, ZeniMax thought it was wise to push the release of Elder Scrolls Online's Markarth on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 up…
ARK Survival Evolved’s Genesis Part 2 stars new monsters, biomes, and David Tennant of Doctor Who fame - The hype train for ARK: Survival Evolved's Genesis Part 2 expansion is beginning to spool up its engine. At the start of a 24-hour charity livestream, a new teaser trailer…
Why I Play: Exploring World of Warcraft as a free-to-play game - A few weeks back, the Massively OP staff discussed, among other things, whether World of Warcraft's leveling revamp coupled with its continued endless free trial constitute a change to free…
Ashes of Creation raised over $83k for Extra Life, so Intrepid’s Steven Sharif had to shave his beard - Extra Life, the charity devoted to raising funds from gamers for children's hospitals, has the motto "Play Games, Heal Kids." We may suggest adding two more words to that: "Shave…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Massively OP Podcast Episode 296: Feywild, Markarth, and multiboxing
The Stream Team: Getting through Warframe’s Glassmaker
The Stream Team: Crystal Lake camping for Friday the 13th: The Game
The Stream Team: Returning to Garl’s Tomb in Dungeon & Dragons Online
The Stream Team: SWTOR dungeon diving to discover droids
The Stream Team: Celebrating EverQuest II’s sweet sixteen
The Stream Team: Into the Mists in Guild Wars 2
The Stream Team: Going all ghoul-ly in Blade & Soul
The Stream Team: Honey, I shrunk the survival Saturday with Grounded’s free weekend
The Stream Team: A look at the new lich challenge and creepy clown in AQ3D
Every week, get caught up on the MMO genre’s latest news and Massively OP’s best content in our MMO Week in Review! Want more roundups of content? Try Friday’s Betawatch for MMO testing highlights, Saturday’s Make My MMO for MMO crowdfunding updates, and Sunday’s The MOP Up, which mops up all the bits of news we didn’t cover anywhere else.
