June 2020 in the US was dominated by widespread protests over racism and law enforcement abuse, and MMO companies rushed to show solidarity, donate to anti-racism causes, revamp their policies, and purge their chats and playerbases and studios of racist commentary – some even delayed events and launches or tweaked content out of respect for the movement.
Read on for the whole list from June of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF JUNE 2020
Gaming companies from Blizzard to Daybreak stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter
David Braben of Elite: Dangerous sees physical games going away in two to three years
Star Citizen fans debate monetization, journalism, and the state of the game
A happy posthumous birthday to the dearly departed WildStar
Elite Dangerous begins its ‘next era’ Odyssey next year – yes, it’s the space legs expansion
Atlas appears to be listing dead in the water
Gaming events and patches are delayed, games taken offline to support Black Lives Matter protests
EVE Online patch enables trillions of ISK in theft from inactive players
Kingdoms of Amalur is getting an updated re-release in August
Naoki Yoshida dismisses Final Fantasy XVI directorship rumors
Marvel Heroes would’ve been seven years old today if Gazillion hadn’t imploded
Final Fantasy XIV cancels its North American fan festival for 2020 over COVID-19, delays patch 5.3
Elite Dangerous’ Odyssey expansion won’t include base building or VR compatibility at launch
Elder Scrolls Online moves Greymoor’s console release out of the way of George Floyd’s funeral
Warframe developer makes a donation to Black Lives Matter, promises ‘zero-tolerance chat policies’
Crucible shelves two of its three game modes as part of planned refinements
SMITE suspends 5,000 accounts due to racist chat
English lawmakers may classify lockboxes as straight-up gambling
Raph Koster will give more insight on Playable Worlds’ in-development MMO next year
Elite Dangerous’ Fleet Carriers update is live today on PC and console
Amazon’s New World character progression will seem comfortably familiar to MMO fans
Destiny 2 announces three expansions, including Beyond Light, and launches Season of Arrivals
Star Trek Online promises Romulan boosting while fan podcast calls for a boycott of the game in support of Black Lives Matter
No Man’s Sky impements full PC and console crossplay starting tomorrow
There’s a new dating site specifically for gamers called Joystick
ArcheAge’s controversial Garden of the Gods expansions is live today
Raph Koster’s Playable Worlds studio raises an additional $10 million in funding
Warhammer Online rogue server Return of Reckoning celebrates sixth birthday with new scenario
PC Gaming Show: Torchlight III just hit early access, New World’s beta begins in July
Amazon’s New World sails for closed beta in July before its August launch
Star Citizen kicks off its ‘Alien Week’ with lore, contests, and ship sales as it passes $300M crowdfunding
EVE Online’s Project Discovery initiative tasks players with helping research COVID-19
Torchlight III’s surprise early access launch was tormented by server issues and poor reviews
Camelot Unchained adds new members to its staff and completes a variety of dev tasks in its Top Tenish
Corepunk embraces being a ‘traditional MMORPG’, shows off alpha gameplay
PlanetSide 2’s Colossus update is live today – there’s even a new trailer
Black Desert’s season servers are live today on PC as mobile picks up gear awakening
Anarchy Online celebrates 19 years with a revamped raid zone and sub promos
EA’s new Positive Play Charter is basically ‘don’t be a dick’ in list form
Who really owns RuneScape? A new Chinese lawsuit in the UK is poised to find out
Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed yet again, now to November 19
Path of Exile’s Harvest League is live today – and the community bought the devs lunch
Star Wars Squadrons has no plans for DLC and is looking to lateral progression for its multiplayer
Lord of the Rings Online remembers Ian Holm, the original Bilbo Baggins, with Baggins’ Birthday event
J. Allen Brack says Blizzard will combat racism through donations, bans, and education
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen dev defends the use of limited-action sets
Mixer is toast as Microsoft transitions its community to Facebook Gaming
Activision-Blizzard shareholders say nay votes constitute ‘rebuke’ of company pay practices
EA says it can ‘no longer be a bystander’ to toxicity in online gaming
Warcraft movie director Duncan Jones chats about the sequels we never got
The latest gaming industry #metoo callouts impact Twitch, MMOs, MOBAs, and esports
Thousands turn out for terminal EVE Online player’s final birthday bash
Chronicles of Elyria restores forums and gives parkour demo to all backers
Funcom pushes back Conan Chop Chop release date again to some time in 2020
Elder Scrolls Online doxxing drama ends with one partnered streamer booted
You are cordially invited to Lord of the Rings Online’s Great Wedding
Bless Unleashed plans a launch on Steam in early 2021
Fallout 76 blasts off into season one today
Neverwinter’s Avernus, Star Trek Online’s House Divided launch as Cryptic offers 20th anny rewards
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF JUNE 2020
Desert Oasis: Recapping Black Desert’s Heidel Ball, from backstage to balancing
Phantasy Star Online 2 is a fun treasure buried under antique contrivances and inconveniences
Wisdom of Nym: So, if there is a Final Fantasy XVI…
Massively Uplifting: Charity tourneys, Asheron’s Call in Animal Crossing, and over a million Kind Words
Fight or Kite: Deep-diving Crowfall’s Dregs RvR gameplay
Desert Oasis: Black Desert’s Hashashin, new server types, PvP changes, and new regions
Choose My Adventure: Star Trek Online and my hunger for a space MMO
Perfect Ten: An entirely accurate and unassailable history of pet classes in MMORPGs
LOTRO Legendarium: Are LOTRO’s new PvP servers a good idea?
EVE Evolved: A live event threatens to reshape EVE Online’s map
Storyboard: Making fights matter in MMOs (and in roleplay)
Massively Overthinking: Deleting pieces of MMOs to save them
WoW Factor: Behind blue (elf) eyes (in World of Warcraft)
The Game Archaeologist: Were sequels ever a good idea for MMOs?
Make My MMO: Elite Dangerous’ Odyssey is a challenge to Star Citizen
Not So Massively: I like survival mechanics, not survival games
Wisdom of Nym: The ‘problem jobs’ of Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers
Star Wars Galaxies fans debate Legends, PvP, the economy, and more on community podcast
Choose My Adventure: EVE Online is already a bad time
The Soapbox: Yes, here
Perfect Ten: The most fun pre-launch MMO runs
Desert Oasis: Exploring Black Desert’s mysterious O’dylitta region
Wisdom of Nym: Exit Final Fantasy XIV fan festival, pursued by a virus
Massively Overthinking: Do you keep MMOs installed for the login freebies?
Leaderboard: Star Wars Galaxies vs. Star Wars The Old Republic
WoW Factor: How World of Warcraft’s elite progression obsession hurts progression players too
Tamriel Infinium: Launch impressions of Elder Scrolls Online’s Greymoor chapter
LOTRO Legendarium: 6 tips for fun and profitable deed hunting
EVE Evolved: EVE Online’s asset safety bait and switch was a colossal mistake
Wisdom of Nym: The highs and lows of Final Fantasy XIV’s role quests
Fight or Kite: Space MMORTS Starborne’s latest time-limited campaign draws to a close
The Daily Grind: Do you eat while playing MMORPGs?
Perfect Ten: The big book of MMO death mechanic rationales
Choose My Adventure: The slow slog to familiarity in EVE Online
Vague Patch Notes: Have we ever really had an MMO sequel?
Massively Overthinking: When should we cut MMO studios some slack for trainwreck launches?
WoW Factor: The time-skip Shadowlands theory and the longing for World of Warcraft 2
The Game Archaeologist: The virtual worlds of the 1990s
Not So Massively: My top 10 favorite ARPG classes
Wisdom of Nym: Job extension ideas for the next Final Fantasy XIV expansion
The Soapbox: No, forced grouping in MMOs isn’t ‘social’
Choose My Adventure: EVE Online’s combat coalesces into something nearing enjoyment
Chaos Theory: Secret World Legend’s third anniversary and the 2020 MEGAversary event
Perfect Ten: What makes me feel welcome when trying out your MMO
Massively on the Go: Exploring Pokemon Sword and Shield’s Isle of Armor expansion
WoW Factor: How do we make a good Warcraft movie?
MMO Cartographer: A stroll through Eternal Magic, the Candy Crush of MMOs
Desert Oasis: Putting Black Desert’s music system in context with other MMOs
Massively Overthinking: Does playing MMORPGs ever stress you out?
Vague Patch Notes: MOBAs, battle royales, and shallow genre pools in the online gaming space
The Game Archaeologist: When World of Warcraft opened Ahn’Qiraj’s gates
Wisdom of Nym: What does Final Fantasy XIV’s patch 5.3 delay mean for the schedule?
The Soapbox: The world of Gloomhaven is primed to be an MMO
The Soapbox: PvP MMOs desperately need PvE-style feedback loops
Massively on the Go: Fun ideas for online play in Animal Crossing New Horizons
First impressions of Star Trek Online’s new Klingon tutorial and House Divided arc
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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