February began with apologies as the Camelot Unchained team attempted to make amends with its community over the announcement of its second game, Colossus aka Final Stand: Ragnarok, revealing for the first time footage of the MMORPG’s RvR demo.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 – then being referred to largely as the novel coronavirus – continued to affect and cancel major conventions and MMO events and game development across the world, a mere prelude to what the rest of 2020 would bring.
But on the plus side, MassivelyOP itself turned five years old! Read on for the whole list of top news and articles from February of this past year.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF MONTH 2020
EA aims to mask active user numbers in investor earnings reports
Warcraft 3: Reforged is now apparently offering instant refunds with no official statement from Blizzard
Guild Wars 2 just gave the most far-reaching core content preview we’ve seen in ages
Massively Uplifting: Saving lives and wildlife, studios and gamers start 2020 with compassion and charity
Blizzard gives a half-hearted apology for Warcraft III: Reforged
Ultima Online pegs March for update 108, teases something big for the ‘largest audience ever’
Cliff Bleszinski now claims LawBreakers failed because it was ‘too woke’
H1Z1 aka Z1 Battle Royale’s concurrency shot up 900% last month – here’s why
Whatever happened to MechWarrior Online?
The Expanse author blasts Star Citizen for privacy breach
Activision-Blizzard Q4 2019: Revenues are down YoY for the fourth straight quarter
Camelot Unchained’s Mark Jacobs apologizes for Colossus reveal, promises roadmap and siege video tomorrow
Phantasy Star Online 2’s North American Xbox One beta begins tonight
Here are the highlights from Camelot Unchained’s siege warfare demo and roadmap reveal
UK’s Royal Society for Public Health issues report on lootboxes and their effect on gambling perception
Anthem abandons seasonal content as BioWare confirms major redesign and reinvention
Cthulu-based horror MMO Yellow King has officially entered early access
Shroud of the Avatar updates Bard skills, gives $6999 backers a new house
Stake your claim with New World’s settlements as Amazon drops new dev blog
Albion Online now counts 350K monthly active players, plans major alliance changes
TERA’s Crescent Sea is live on PC with Elin Valkyries and the new treasure ship dungeon
NCsoft Q4 2019: It was a rough quarter for MMORPGs, especially Guild Wars 2
Activision-Blizzard has apparently yanked its games from GeForce NOW
Funcom’s Conan Chop Chop has been delayed yet again, this time to Q2 2020
SWTOR’s 6.1 Pinnacles of Power goes live today with new story beat and stronghold
Multiplayer-optional ARPG Wolcen just launched on Steam with a huge day-one patch
Valentine’s Day 2020 across the MMO universe
New World resumes closed alpha testing with NDA, teases new dev vlog
Blade & Soul Korea announces ‘Frontier World’ alternate servers and continues its Force Master spec tease
Make My MMO: Fractured’s latest stress test brought it to 70K registered players
Pearl Abyss had a strong Q4 2019, but CCP’s EVE-spinoff Project Nova is officially canceled
Saga of Lucimia may be moving toward a hybrid business model
Elite Dangerous players agitate for the return of GalNet lore, even if they have to write it themselves
CCP confirms the death of Project Nova, will keep future games quiet until closer to ready
Jack Emmert isn’t sure Daybreak will publish his next MMO, says DCUO is as big as it was four years ago
No Man’s Sky’s Living Ship update adds organic, growable, psychedelic starships
Funcom is rolling out a launcher for all its games, including Conan Exiles and Secret World Legends
New World details its semi-instanced player housing system
Interview: Pearl Abyss on Shadow Arena’s Black Desert origins, esports, audience, and more
Interview: Population Zero devs on the May Steam launch, buy-to-play, and PvP philosophy
Square Enix has canceled most of its Final Fantasy XIV and FFXI PAX East festivities over the coronavirus
Visions of N’Zoth boosted World of Warcraft subs, but it’s lost tons since WoW Classic’s 2019 peak
Anarchy Online kicks off anniversary event celebrating one year of its classic server, Rubi-Ka 2019
The mayor of Boston asks Sony to reconsider withdrawing from PAX East
Global Agenda officially died back in 2018 and (almost) nobody noticed
EA becomes the latest studio to back out of a con over coronavirus concerns
Temtem’s roadmap reveals chat, guild, matchmaking updates – and player housing in 2020
New World may consider bringing back gankbox elements, talks up its uniqueness
Blue Protocol aims for Japan first, the world after – confirming western arrival
PAX East 2020: Guild Wars 2 teases Visions of the Past: Steel and Fire video
Funcom Q4 2019: DUNE takes priority, Conan Exiles confirms paid expansion, Tencent buyout continues
CCP Games just canceled April’s EVE Fanfest over coronavirus concerns
Blizzard has now bowed out of GDC 2020 over coronavirus fears
Coronavirus fears prompt GDC to reschedule to late summer
PAX East 2020: LOTRO plans Aragorn and Arwen’s wedding plus 2021 expansion as DDO teases unicorns
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF MONTH 2020
The Game Archaeologist: The rise of Guild Wars
Not So Massively: Meet the new Torchlight, same as the old Torchlight
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV has no addons and doesn’t seem to want them
The Daily Grind: Do you avoid MMORPG raiding – and why?
Choose My Adventure: Falling in love with the Lahn in Black Desert
Perfect Ten: When celebs crossed paths with MMOs
Leaderboard: Four months after the Blitzchung Hong Kong mess, are you still boycotting Blizzard?
Vague Patch Notes: If people aren’t raiding in an MMO, it’s not because it’s too hard
Massively Overthinking: Contemplating Colossus and Camelot Unchained
The Daily Grind: Are DPS meters in MMORPGs toxic by nature?
WoW Factor: So why did people love WoW’s Wrath of the Lich King so damn much?
The Game Archaeologist: The legacy of Guild Wars
Fight or Kite: Examining the state of Guild Wars 2 PvP ahead of the big balance patch
Wisdom of Nym: Our last preview of Final Fantasy XIV patch 5.2
Massively Overthinking: MassivelyOP, five years in
Choose My Adventure: Nearing a point of Lahn mastery in Black Desert
Perfect Ten: MMOs I’m optimistic about in 2020
Desert Oasis: Finding the plot in Black Desert’s story
Vague Patch Notes: How to read games industry investor reports as a player
Massively Overthinking: Which MMORPG do you wish got a glow-up?
WoW Factor: How could World of Warcraft restore confidence ahead of Shadowlands?
Lawful Neutral: Examining the infamous MMO lockbox, 2020 edition
LOTRO Legendarium: Revisiting Riders of Rohan in Lord of the Rings Online
Not So Massively: Imagining a true MMORTS
Wisdom of Nym: That’s a very large fan festival you got there, Final Fantasy XIV
The Survivalist: Is Conan Exiles done with free DLC – or are we getting a true expansion?
Flameseeker Chronicles: What Eye of the North means for Guild Wars 2
Leaderboard: Are you still interested in Amazon’s New World, knowing it won’t be reverting to a FFA PvP MMO?
Perfect Ten: Dead MMOs resurrected via rogue servers
The Soapbox: Why does it feel like I don’t have time for an MMO when I really do?
Vague Patch Notes: Phantasy Star Online 2 might be in a better place than you think
Massively Overthinking: How essential are hardcore gamers to an MMO’s health?
WoW Factor: The World of Warcraft expansion tour – The Burning Crusade
Chaos Theory: Guide to love and heartbreak in Secret World Legends’ latest event
Into the Super-verse: How City of Heroes welcomed me into MMOs
Jukebox Heroes: Ten MMOs that strongly support their soundtracks
First impressions of Elder Scrolls Online’s Harrowstorm and Unhallowed Grave
Was J. Allen Brack right about fans not wanting WoW Classic?
Fight or Kite: New World’s switcheroo is the best thing that could have happened for PvPers
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV patch 5.2 in review – the content
Choose My Adventure: Sorry, I got distracted by other stuff in Black Desert
Wandering Wraeclast: Discover Delirium when Path of Exile’s new league launches March 13
Perfect Ten: Neat things that Star Trek Online did with Star Trek lore
Desert Oasis: Understanding Black Desert’s Black Spirit
The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the most toxic fan-based defense force?
Vague Patch Notes: Contemplating MMORPG exit barriers
PAX East 2020: Hands-on with Cryptic’s Magic Legends
Hands-on with Dragon Raja: First impressions of Tecent’s new mobile MMORPG
Warframe of Mind: The mental health implications of Chains of Harrow
WoW Factor: The World of Warcraft expansion tour – Wrath of the Lich King
Lawful Neutral: Cheating, copyright law, and the WoW Glider lawsuit
PAX East 2020: Hands-on with MMO survival sandbox Population Zero
The Game Archaeologist: Tabula Rasa
ALL 2020 YEAR-IN-REVIEW POSTS SO FAR
MMO Year in Review: A new New World (January 2020)
MMO Year in Review: A ‘colossal’ announcement (February 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Gaming’s pandemic disruption (March 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Elyon’s pivot, Elyria’s fizzling storm (April 2020)
MMO Year in Review: ‘Technical clownshows’ for PSO2 and ESO Greymoor (May 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Solidarity (June 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Lord of the Rings Offline (July 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Business business business (August 2020)
MMO Year in Review: FFXVI, ArcheAge 2, and the Bethsoft buyout (September 2020)
MMO Year in Review: The Shadowlands delay (October 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Shadowlands’ arrival (November 2020)
MMO Year in Review: When Daybreak and Albion got bought out (December 2020)
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