Well, we made it to the final recap of the final month of the hell year known as 2020, and for MMOs, at least, it went out with a bang, largely because we finally learned that both Daybreak (EverQuest, DCUO, PlanetSide, LOTRO) and and Sandbox Interactive (Albion Online) had been bought out by much larger companies, giving us quite a peek into their financials and player counts.
Meanwhile, World of Warcraft Shadowlands set a new sales record for a few days before Cyberpunk 2077 beat it. Unfortunately, that was about the only stellar thing the future-multiplayer title did right in December, as its launch was so fraught with problems that it sparked refunds and a class-action lawsuit. Plus, we got previews of Elder Scrolls Online’s Oblivion arc, promises that Chronicles of Elyria is still alive, early access for Final Stand Ragnarok, and a tease for Riot’s new MMORPG.
Read on for the whole list from December of this past year.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF DECEMBER 2020
CDPR frames Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer as a ‘standalone product’
Daybreak has been sold – again – this time to EG7 Global for $300M
LOTRO, DDO, EverQuest, DCUO, and PlanetSide 2 studio heads reassure players about Daybreak sale
Console LOTRO and DCUO’s huge playerbase: Everything we just learned about Daybreak thanks to EG7
New World of Warcraft trailers drop for WoW Classic’s Naxxramas and Shadowlands
Skyforge has delayed its planned fall Nintendo Switch launch to February 2021
Sea of Thieves announces Seasons, the arrival of a battle pass, and the end of active development for Arena
BioWare loses GM Casey Hudson and Exec Producer Mark Darrah
Npixel reveals stunning ‘space-time’ MMORPG Chrono Odyssey
Former Anthem studio director Christian Dailey promises ‘talented’ leadership is still in place
Gamers review bomb Monster Hunter World on Steam over Monster Hunter film
Massively Uplifting: Giving while giving thanks as ARK, Ashes of Creation, Rainbow Six Siege, and more support charity
Final Fantasy XIV patch 5.4, Futures Rewritten, is live today
Blizzard claims World of Warcraft Shadowlands is the fastest-selling PC game of all time
EverQuest 27th expansion, Claws of Veeshan, is set to go live this afternoon
PSA: Cyberpunk 2077 includes light sequences known to trigger epileptic seizures
Destiny 2 promises to add a host of weapon-related improvements, transmog, and cross-play in 2021
Temtem has officially rolled into $39.99 early access on the PS5
Star Wars The Old Republic’s Echoes of Vengeance update is live with new story and flashpoint
Star Citizen deep-dives the $600 Perseus gunship and its ‘bespoke ammunition’
MMO Business Roundup: Twitch’s anti-hate policies, Cyberpunk’s concurrency, and the CASE Act
Elder Scrolls Online’s Gates of Oblivion, Crimson Desert’s big reveal, ARK 2, and Elite Dangerous Odyssey preorders
Cyberpunk 2077 appears to have the biggest PC launch of all time
Activision did not really ban a 6-year-old gamer trying to stream Warzone with his dad
Black Desert unveils new Nova class, Pearl Abyss takes over western PC publishing
Final Fantasy XIV’s Naoki Yoshida pens heartfelt goodbye to the late Dad of Light blogger
Corepunk MMORPG delays its closed beta until next spring
CD Projekt Red apologizes for Cyberpunk 2077’s woeful performance on PS4 and XB1, offers refunds
Astellia Royal is the free-to-play version of Astellia Online released to North America and Korea
Tencent moves forward in buying Leyou Technologies for over a billion bucks
Microsoft outlines shared goals with Sony and Nintendo to make gaming ‘safer’
Star Wars Galaxies Legends will launch Bespin as the City in the Clouds expansion in early 2021
Rumor: Nexon’s Final Fantasy XI mobile remake has been cancelled
Vin Diesel is officially part of the development team for ARK 2 as President of Creative Convergence
Diablo IV works to ‘get itemization right,’ promises something ‘chunky’ for BlizzConline
Funcom’s Conan Chop Chop isn’t dead, and it’s really launching next year
Funcom says it’s expanded the DUNE game’s scope with Tencent’s backing
Chronicles of Elyria is still in development, new video from Soulbound vows
Greg ‘Ghostcrawler’ Street confirms that Riot Games is working on a League of Legends MMO
Diablo Immortal kicks off technical alpha, confirms that it’s free-to-play
Albion Online studio Sandbox Interactive just got bought out for more than €100M
Sony yeets Cyberpunk 2077 off the PlayStation Store, offering full refunds
Star Citizen releases alpha 3.12, celebrates the holidays, and gives away a hoverbike for referring a friend
Asheron’s Call 2 died 17 years ago, then came back, then died again, and here we are
City State Entertainment’s Final Stand: Ragnarok heralds the arrival of ‘first access’
Life is Feudal MMO announces imminent closure, cites ‘reasons beyond [its] control’
Cyberpunk 2077 discovers a new game-ending save bug and investors consider a class-action suit
Exclusive: Ashes of Creation Alpha One preview of the Mage class
Age of Water is an online post-apoc flooded world of custom ships, pirates, and exploration
Star Citizen releases roadmaps and financials, Squadron 42 withholds release date and gameplay
CD Projekt Red investors make good on Cyberpunk 2077 class-action lawsuit threat
Would you watch a TV show based on The Elder Scrolls franchise?
MMO dev and astronaut Richard Garriott smuggled the ashes of Star Trek’s James Doohan to the ISS
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF DECEMBER 2020
The Daily Grind: Which IP should never, ever be turned into an MMO?
First Impressions of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, part three: Influences and summation
Fight or Kite: Albion Online’s mobile beta hits the sweet spot
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s Go Beyond update is surprisingly solid for vets and newcomers alike
Preview: Dauntless’ Reforged update brings new gameplay, new potential, and unanswered questions
End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO surprises of 2020
Desert Oasis: Black Desert Online should be 2020’s MMO of the year
Vague Patch Notes: You are and are not who you are in MMOs
The Soapbox: Red Dead Online is just not as fun as it should be
Massively Overthinking: MMO cash shop confessions
WoW Factor: The five paths forward for WoW Classic
LOTRO Legendarium: What Daybreak’s sale revealed about LOTRO
The Daily Grind: Do you actually consider yourself a good MMO player?
Massively on the Go: The rollercoaster that is Pokemon Go’s Go Beyond update
Jukebox Heroes: The quieter side of Lord of the Rings Online’s soundtrack
The Soapbox: Pet battles are one of the best things WoW ever did (which is why I’ve never played one)
Wisdom of Nym: The highlights of Final Fantasy XIV’s patch 5.4 notes
MassivelyOP Podcast Episode #300: Live on Twitch!
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG has the best graphical appeal in 2020?
Flameseeker Chronicles: An honest second look at Guild Wars 2’s dragon response missions
Choose My Adventure: Fallout 76 and my fight against the all too familiar feeling of not caring
The Daily Grind: How do you feel about MMOs you don’t play getting publicity?
End-of-Year Eleven: The healthiest live MMOs going into 2021
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Most Underrated MMO
Vague Patch Notes: Defining the vague mass that is the MMO community
Massively Overthinking: The best and worst MMO developer quotes of 2020
WoW Factor: The strange diegetics of the Shadowlands
Ask Mo: The hits and misses of MassivelyOP’s 2020 predictions
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Most Improved MMO
The Daily Grind: What was the best MMO emulator or rogue server in 2020?
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Biggest MMO Blunder of 2020
Wisdom of Nym: Impressions of Final Fantasy XIV’s patch 5.4 content
Fight or Kite: Forget Cyberpunk 2077 – Hackmud is the real cyberpunk game you should be playing
Choose My Adventure: Simply skipping through quests small and large in Fallout 76
End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO stories of 2020
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Biggest MMO Disappointment of 2020
Vague Patch Notes: The verbs of MMOs
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Best MMO Business Model
Massively Overthinking: Our MMO predictions for 2021
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Worst MMO Business Model
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Best MMO Player Housing
Into the Super-verse: A heroic year of superhero MMO development
The Daily Grind: What was the worst MMO industry trend of 2020?
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: MMO Story of the Year
Wisdom of Nym: Impressions of Final Fantasy XIV’s patch 5.4 story
Not So Massively: Looking back at 2020 and ahead to 2021 in the realm of not-so-massively games
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: MMO Studio of the Year
Choose My Adventure: All the MMOs you made us play in 2020
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Indie MMO of the Year
End-of-Year Eleven: The best MMO updates and expansions of 2020
Massively on the Go: Understanding what an MMO community will pay for
MassivelyOP’s 2020 Golden Yachties: Best MMO troll
The Game Archaeologist: Seven ways EverQuest reshaped MMO history
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: MMO with the Stormiest Future
MOP Awards: Best MMO Player Screenshots
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Not-So-Massively Game of the Year
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s 2020 was better than expected, worse than planned
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: MMO Expansion of the Year
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2’s 2020 year in review
Fight or Kite: The stand-out PvP MMOs and games of 2020
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: Most Anticipated MMO
Choose My Adventure: My time as a volunteer for the Responders in Fallout 76
Why I Play: Elite Dangerous is the space sandbox we’ve been looking for
Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: MMORPG of the Year
End-of-Year Eleven: The MMOs with the most uncertain futures in 2021
Leaderboard: What’s the best classic MMORPG still running at the end of 2020?
ALL 2020 YEAR-IN-REVIEW POSTS
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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