December’s many article roundups and awards always remind us that it’s hard to remember what happened last month, let alone what happened way back at the beginning. So! As we did in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 (yes we’re still going!), let’s poke back through our MMO coverage, one month a day for the next 12 days, to hit the highlights and frame our upcoming journey through 2022.
January 2021 was a month when we were all looking forward to nothing more than not being stuck in 2020 anymore, but alas, real-world events made clear that 2021 was destined to be bad in fresh new ways. In the MMO world, it was dystopian indeed, as we suffered the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 being sued from every angle and Gamestonk dominating headlines. RuneScape was also embroiled in a new legal drama, while Gamigo’s parent company bought up KingsIsle. And just to rub salt in the wound, the Jane Austen MMO sunsetted.
Here’s the whole recap from January of this past year.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF JANUARY 2021
The Christmas truce in EVE Online ends in explosive fashion with a costly $300K battle at M2-XFE
Popular World of Warcraft cosplayer Jarod Lee Nandin passes away from complications with COVID-19
Ten-year study finds no link between game violence and aggressive behavior from adolescence to adulthood
CD Projekt Red promises ‘vigorous’ defense in Cyberpunk 2077 consumer lawsuits
RuneScape begins its year-long 20th anniversary celebration, Old School RuneScape introduces the Soul Wars PvP minigame
Chronicles of Elyria clarifies art and comms as players vow their lawsuit will go forward
Liveblog: Path of Exile’s 3.13.0 expansion Echoes of the Atlas revealed
Twitch lowers a (temporary?) banhammer on Donald Trump
Wandering Wraeclast: Everything you need to know about Path of Exile’s Echoes of the Atlas, launching January 15
Star Trek Online player is banned following lifetime subscription refund bungle
Kickstarted Jane Austen MMORPG Ever, Jane closed its doors over the holidays
LucasArts revived as Lucasfilm Games, Bethsoft announces new Indiana Jones game
RIFT’s ‘Three Kings’ event riles up the community
LOTRO community rises up in anger over new legendary items money grab
Elite Dangerous has delayed Odyssey’s PC launch to late spring, console launch to fall
Elder Scrolls Online delays Gates of Oblivion reveal event to avoid inauguration day pandemonium
Cyberpunk 2077 bosses: ‘Don’t fault any of our teams for what happened’
Shadow Arena has replaced its 40-person battle royale mode with a 3v3 arena
Crimson Desert interview clarifies the game’s multiplayer vs. single-player aspects
Interview: Neverwinter devs on Sharandar’s cadence, systems overhauls, and future new class
Path of Exile’s Echoes of the Atlas expansion launches this afternoon
PlanetSide 2 boss Andy Sites announces his departure and Rogue Planet successors
Multiplayer extreme sports racer Riders Republic sees its release delayed to later this year
The company that owns Gamigo bought out Wizard101 studio KingsIsle too
Hi-Rez’s Paladins ends its esports program: ‘It’s time to close this chapter’
Pantheon’s new ‘seven-figure’ investment is a ‘runway’ for development and launch
Road Not Taken developer Spry Fox is hiring for a new ‘non-violent’ MMO
Lord of the Rings Online pushes ahead with broadly unpopular patch changes
Players of Life is Feudal MMO share their thoughts and final moments before the game’s sunset
EU fines Valve, ZeniMax, and other gaming companies almost $10M for antitrust geoblocking
World of Warcraft gamers move 21B gold through the player economy every day
Path of Exile broke its own player concurrency records with Echoes of the Atlas
World of Warships was reprimanded by advertising regulators over misleading lockbox promo
Following Gamigo buyout, Wizard101 keeps monetization and Pirate101 might resume development
Blizzard absorbs 200 Activision employees following merge of rumored Diablo II remaster team
Blade and Soul Revolution will release worldwide this year, opens pre-registration January 28
RuneScape studio Jagex has been sold for the third time in six years against the backdrop of a… RICO lawsuit?
SuperData December 2020: World of Warcraft is dethroned again, and people still love Among Us
Atlantica Online celebrates its 13th anniversary with giveaways and events
Diablo II’s remaster is officially in the works
Star Trek Online patches in its 11th Anniversary celebration and starts its Klingon Recruitment
EVE Online player’s ashes take last voyage into space as CCP Games adopts ‘gaming genius’ label
Magic Legends sets open beta for March 23, drops new trailer and dev vlog
The Blackwood chapter will headline Elder Scrolls Online’s Gates of Oblivion year, launching in June
Bless Mobile has officially made its global debut on Android and Apple devices
RuneScape studio Jagex disputes RICO-tinged lawsuit over its convoluted ownership
The Reddit-driven GameStop stock spike isn’t going to end well
Star Trek Online’s House Reborn update sees the highest level of player numbers since 2018
With some trading restrictions lifted, GameStop stock is taking off again
Discrimination class-action lawsuit against Riot proceeds in spite of Riot’s arbitration success
Report exposes mismanagement, bro culture, and trend-chasing at Amazon Game Studios
Star Trek Online’s new Legendary Anniversary Pack unleashes a torrent of rage from players
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF JANUARY 2021
Why WB Games should make a new Asheron’s Call game in 2021+: The mechanics
LOTRO Legendarium: LOTRO’s history in 2020 and hopes for 2021
‘I saw a City in the Clouds!’: Previewing Star Wars Galaxies Legends’ Bespin expansion
Wisdom of Nym: Predicting Final Fantasy XIV’s 2021 for now
Not So Massively: Drake Hollow is the wholesome survival game we need right now
The Soapbox: What I want to see in Riot’s League of Legends MMO
Choose My Adventure: The extremely guided tour through the opening segments of ArcheAge
Desert Oasis: Avoiding burnout in Black Desert Online
Lawful Neutral: 2020 was the year that wasn’t for MMO legal news
WoW Factor: Oh no, not the Sylvanas redemption arc
Working As Intended: The MMOs we lost in 2020
Leaderboard: What was the most overrated MMO of 2020?
Massively Overthinking: Hopes and fears for MMOs in 2021
Vague Patch Notes: Yes, Virginia, that counts as an MMO
The Game Archaeologist: Free Realms
Jukebox Heroes: The best of Dragon’s Dogma Online’s soundtrack
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s community is better – and worse – than you think
Fight or Kite: Pearl Abyss’ Shadow Arena has epic new modes – and no one to play them
The Daily Grind: Which game made the biggest contribution to killing MMORPGs in 2020?
Choose My Adventure: Oops, I completely forgot to do the main quest in ArcheAge
Perfect Ten: The 10 tiers of MMO system complexity
Massively on the Go: Monster Hunter Rise’s demo is merely a less pretty taste of Monster Hunter World
WoW Factor: The Shadowlands gameplay loop problem
Vague Patch Notes: In defense of easy fun, in MMOs and elsewhere
LOTRO Legendarium: It’s long past time to delete legendary items from Lord of the Rings Online
Jukebox Heroes: The best of Dream of Magic Online’s soundtrack
Wisdom of Nym: Ishgard restoration round three in Final Fantasy XIV
Not So Massively: Haven is a noble but failed experiment in couples’ gaming
Flameseeker Chronicles: First impressions of Guild Wars 2’s Icebrood Saga: Power
Choose My Adventure: My ArcheAge mage is an absolute monster
Perfect Ten: The 10 types of MMO loot I’m always thrilled to get
Vague Patch Notes: What makes MMO leveling feel good?
Massively Overthinking: Retaking Quantic’s survey to determine our ‘gamer type’
WoW Factor: Does Blizzard have a messaging problem or a message problem?
Into the Super-verse: Will we ever get a Marvel MMORPG?
Jukebox Heroes: The best of Wurm Online’s original soundtrack
Wisdom of Nym: Oh, the places left to go in Final Fantasy XIV
Fight or Kite: Sea of Thieves made me feel like a pirate
Choose My Adventure: My post-level 30 life in ArcheAge
Stick and Rudder: Nine non-combat activities to enjoy in Elite Dangerous
Vague Patch Notes: The difficult value of MMOs
Massively Overthinking: Are you susceptible to second-hand MMO hype?
WoW Factor: The pros and cons of deterministic gear systems
Lawful Neutral: The bizarre corporate effort to buy RuneScape studio Jagex
The Game Archaeologist: Lost Continents, the Jules Verne MMO we never got
ALL 2021 YEAR-IN-REVIEW POSTS SO FAR
MMO Year in Review: At least it wasn’t 2020? (January 2021)
MMO Year in Review: The first and only BlizzConline (February 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Magic Legends begins (March 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO is over (April 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Odyssey and a billion betas (May 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Blackwood, New Genesis, and Burning Crusade (June 2021)
MMO Year in Review: The Blizzard lawsuit (July 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Bless redux (August 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Old genre, New World (September 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Elyon, Book of Travels, and Queue World (October 2021)
MMO Year in Review: The Marvel MMO, $400M, and Blizzard’s decline (November 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Endwalker, Cryptic, and Crowfall (December 2021)
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