What would you say to another Marvel MMO? Hopefully yes, as Daybreak’s parent company let slip in November that it’s working on one – again.
Meanwhile, Blizzard’s dumpster fire continued with fresh allegations against Bobby Kotick, followed by an unsuccessful but concerted effort to shame him into resigning that far overshadowed the launch of World of Warcraft 9.15 and exacerbated the muted reaction to the reveal of 9.2 and the Season of Mastery. The company’s lackluster Q3 2021 financials and plunging stock didn’t help either, nor did Blizzard’s abrupt announcement of a new player council.
As for the part of the genre not consumed by flames, LOTRO launched Gundabad, Elder Scrolls Online launched Deadlands, Kakao announced plans to take over ArcheAge and revamped its business model, Star Citizen hit $400M in crowdfunding, New World’s troubles continued, and Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker was delayed into December. Also, NFTs suck.
Read on for the whole recap from November of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF NOVEMBER 2021
Palia announces alpha test plans for sometime in the first half of 2022
Camelot Unchained’s CSE pushes Final Stand: Ragnarök to Steam early access
Fallen Earth Classic sees ‘more players online at the same time than any time in the last six years’
New World disables ‘all forms of wealth transfer’ in the wake of a new gold dupe exploit
17-year-old World of Warcraft announces a ‘community council’ for diverse player feedback
World of Warcraft patch 9.1.5 arrives today as Ion Hazzikostas finally pipes up
New World’s gold dupe exploit stopgap fix revealed… another gold dupe
Elder Scrolls Online wraps up its Oblivion adventures with today’s Deadlands DLC
Niantic is shutting down Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, its second sunset announcement of the year
Activision-Blizzard Q3 2021: Blizzard MAUs hold steady at 26M as Diablo II Resurrected drives revenues
Camelot Unchained recaps alchemy, tundra as CSE likens Final Stand Ragnarok’s Steam early access to crowdfunding
Dungeons and Dragons Online’s Update 51 and its epic destinies revamp has officially gone live
Skyforge’s Heart of Steel update is live on PC and console today
Kakao is taking over publishing ArcheAge in the west from Gamigo
Gamigo is teasing one of its promised pipeline games – and it’s an MMORPG
Raph Koster’s ‘modern sandbox MMO’ is teasing concept art for the first time
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker has been delayed until December 7
Square Enix earnings drop, FFXIV subs rise, and NFT is here to stay
Lord of the Rings Online launches its eighth expansion, Fate of Gundabad
NCsoft Q3 2021: Guild Wars 2 just had its best quarter in years
World of Warcraft has unveiled its 9.2 update: It’s called Eternity’s End
Star Anvil’s Secret World tabletop game is coming in 2022
Lineage Eternal reboot Project TL eyes a simultaneous global release in the second half of 2022
EVE Online players stage in-game protests over New Dawn mining changes
Mobile MMO Ragnarok Origin releases worldwide on iOS and Android
Dual Universe plans to raise the cost of beta subscriptions for new players with Demeter update
Activision-Blizzard’s Bobby Kotick hit with new accusations, Jen Oneal speaks up, employees walk out
Amid fresh Activision-Blizzard scandal, WoW Classic launches its Season of Mastery
Some Activision-Blizzard shareholders join calls for Bobby Kotick’s ouster
Kakao’s overhauling ArcheAge Unchained’s business model again – and yes, it has a sub
Elyon reveals its new Archer class, launching in 2022
Dungeons and Dragons Online teases 2022’s Isle of Dread expansion
Activision-Blizzard workers and industry giants join chorus calling for Bobby Kotick’s resignation
Bobby Kotick considers leaving Activision-Blizzard if he can’t quickly fix its ongoing frat boy culture
Gamigo investor report promises a ‘great update’ for RIFT in Q1, Atlas Rogues is abandoned
Star Citizen’s crowdfunding crossed the $400M threshold this weekend
Frontier Developments’ 2021 financial report admits to a ‘disappointing’ reception to Elite Dangerous Odyssey
Activision-Blizzard’s board launched an extraneous ‘workplace responsibility’ committee overnight
WildStar’s Nexus Forever rogue server project pushes new build, warns fans to ‘not expect a full-featured experience’
Albion Online’s massive fall update, Lands Awakened, is here
New World rolls back European servers to correct over-generous tax refunds
Roblox sues toxic player for $1.6M over ‘terrorist threats’ and ‘targeted harassment’ of employees and players
EG7 Q3 2021: Daybreak revives Marvel MMORPG, still promising console and gfx upgrade for LOTRO
WildStar’s Nexus Forever allows for basic combat, leveling, and housing
Visionary Realms rebuts the idea that Pantheon Rise of the Fallen is a niche game
Gamigo just abruptly sunsetted its brand-new MOBA Skydome
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF NOVEMBER 2021
Fight or Kite: Guild Wars 2’s Untamed, Specter, and Mechanist in PvP
Wisdom of Nym: Leaking the Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker tooltips was a shitty thing to do
20 tips for getting a good start in Fallen Earth’s apocalypse
Vitae Aeternum: The cold water splash of New World’s Amrine Excavation and early game dungeon mechanics
LOTRO Legendarium: Returning to LOTRO after seven years away
Perfect Ten: 10 enemies we need to fight more in MMORPGs
WoW Factor: Blizzard’s investment call was all bad news for World of Warcraft
First Impressions: Lost Ark’s beta version feels like the MMOARPG for folks who are bad at ARPGs
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR’s Charles Boyd on BioWare, newbie acquisition, economy, and beyond
Massively Overthinking: What are your most on-brand MMORPG class archetypes?
WoW Factor: The player council is not the solution to World of Warcraft’s ills
Desert Oasis: Unearthing the origin story of Black Desert studio Pearl Abyss
Massively on the Go: First impressions of the multiplayer Mario Party Superstars
The Daily Grind: Should ArenaNet continue Guild Wars 2 expansions or make Guild Wars 3?
Tamriel Infinium: Should Elder Scrolls Online increase its landscape difficulty?
Interview: Crowfall’s freemium update, small-scale PvP, new players, and the future of the game
Wisdom of Nym: Coping with the Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker delay
Not So Massively: Lost Ark is a promising MMOARPG with a poor first impression
The Daily Grind: Would WoW be better off with a full reboot?
Flameseeker Chronicles: Should Guild Wars 2 delete leveling?
Choose My Adventure: Avorion affirms that I am not a very good shipwright
Perfect Ten: How MMOs explain away our infinite resurrections
Vague Patch Notes: NFTs in gaming are a bad, dumb idea
Massively on the Go: Guide to Animal Crossing New Horizons’ Happy Home Paradise unlockables and bonuses
WoW Factor: WoW Classic’s Season of Mastery is starting to gall me
LOTRO Legendarium: The double-edged sword of being past the books
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker’s PvP, gathering, and housing changes
Massively on the Go: Happy Home Paradise is the cherry on top of Animal Crossing New Horizons’ final update
Tamriel Infinium: A very Elder Scrolls Online wish list
Choose My Adventure: Discovering familiarity, failure, and random adventure in Avorion
WoW Factor: Examining the muted reaction to World of Warcraft’s Eternity’s End
MMO Cartographer: No Man’s Sky has worms
The Daily Grind: Is there an MMO endgame that isn’t toxic?
Perfect Ten: 10 things I’m looking forward to in Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker
Interview: Star Wars The Old Republic devs on Legacy of the Sith’s December 14 launch
Massively Overthinking: The MMORPG class archetypes we never play
The Daily Grind: Is it time for a Wheel of Time MMORPG?
Beta impressions: Babylon’s Fall is a fun co-op looter-slasher in need of some release polish
The Game Archaeologist: The Wonderful World of Eamon
Star Citizen’s crowdfunding crossed the $400M threshold this weekend
Vitae Aeternum: Analyzing New World’s storytelling
Choose My Adventure: Cobbling together a death brick in Avorion
Perfect Ten: 10 stock MMO mobs from crummy to cool
Vague Patch Notes: When ex-World of Warcraft fans become Final Fantasy XIV partisans
Perfect Ten: 10 mounts that New World should definitely add
Tamriel Infinium: Eight things I really like as a Elder Scrolls Online casual
Massively on the Go: Pikmin Bloom began with Nintendo’s vibes, drifted to Niantic’s void
Wisdom of Nym: What to expect from Final Fantasy XIV’s Endwalker early access
Fight or Kite: Naraka Bladepoint is battle royale but with grappling hooks
Stick and Rudder: Checking up on Elite Dangerous Odyssey after eight updates
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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