The final month of 2021 didn’t let up. We had some great news, such as the launch of ArcheAge under Kakao and the release of Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker, the latter of which was so successful even after its delay that mid-December the studio limited sales to avoid worsening server congestion. Then we had some bad news, including layoffs for Book of Travels and a delay for SWTOR’s Legacy of the Sith, as well as fresh Blizzard layoffs and unionbusting. And then we had some plain weird and unsettling news, like new owners for PWE/Cryptic, Legends of Aria, and Crowfall. Daybreak picked up publishing of Magic: The Gathering Online, too, while Gamigo took on Fractured.
Read on for the whole recap from December of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF DECEMBER 2021
ArcheAge retools fresh start server plan, drops notes for massive day-one patch, teases 2022 plans
Neverwinter’s Of Dragons and Influence milestone is live on all platforms today
Gamigo’s parent company just became a key investor in Daybreak’s parent company
Funcom’s DUNE MMO is still happening, just picked up a co-developer: NUKKLEAR
Treasurers of states invested in Activision-Blizzard join the call for leadership changes
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker early access is underway in spite of some server outages
New World bans botters, begins testing winter event, plans unpopular endgame gear system
Activision-Blizzard is suddenly laying off more QA, won’t be at The Game Awards
Crowfall’s CM: ‘If the game [were] going to shut down, we’d let you know’
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker officially launches today – how about some pizza?
New World responds to endgame gear concerns: ‘It is now clear we were wrong’
BioWare has delayed SWTOR’s Legacy of the Sith expansion to February 15
Activision-Blizzard is walking out again, Australia’s game industry unionizes
Ubisoft made good on its NFT scheme promise with ‘Ubisoft Quartz’
EverQuest’s 28th expansion, Terror of Luclin, is live
Activision-Blizzard fields new accusations as workers strike, fundraise, and issue union cards
Kickstarter goes crypto with new decentralized blockchain protocol
World of Warcraft introduces its community council forums
The Game Awards 2021: Lost Ark launches February 11, Nightingale is a new multiplayer survivalbox
Elder Scrolls Online looks ahead to quarterly content cadence in 2022, laments extended datacenter hardware refreshes
DC Universe Online’s Episode 42 Legion of Doom and winter events have arrived
Corepunk’s latest progress report video admits that beta testing will not happen this year
Star Wars Galaxies shut down almost a decade ago, and one rogue server is commemorating the occasion
Activision-Blizzard execs attempt to ward off incipient workers union
Black Desert unveils a new region for PC, dates class reboots for PC and console, and announces the Eclipse class for mobile
Myth of Empires studio seeks to take Studio Wildcard and Snail Games to court over Steam DMCA takedown
Nexon America will now accept cryptocurrencies as payment for in-game cash shop items
It’s official: Gamigo’s new game is Kickstarted sandbox MMORPG Fractured
New World’s High Water Mark system revamp and winter festival go live today
Peter Molyneux’s multiplayer ‘blockchain business sim’ Legacy sells $53M in land NFTs before release
Neverwinter announces Dragonbone Vale module for January 11, kicks off winter festival today
Lord of the Rings Online teases February’s update 32, with new raid, housing, and zone
Activision-Blizzard published its representation data, admitting it has ‘a lot of work to do’
CD Projekt Red agrees to a $1.85M settlement to close out Cyberpunk 2077 investor lawsuit
Star Citizen recaps its 2021 accomplishments, looks ahead to alpha 3.16
Kickstarter MMORPG Crowfall was just acquired by Mythgard publisher Monumental
Star Wars Galaxies’s SWGEmu opens its Finalizer test server today
Bungie’s head of HR steps down and adds her own tale of abuse as more devs come forward about mistreatment
Roblox’s business model prompts fresh accusations of child labor exploitation
Final Fantasy XIV’s pizza emote promotion results in undelivered codes managed by a reportedly random draw
Path of Exile boss tells NFTs to ‘f*ck off’ as the Endless Heist event gets underway
SWTOR celebrates Life Day, heralds 10th birthday, and teases post 7.0 updates
PWE and Cryptic have been bought out by Gearbox’s Embracer Group
New World merges several servers across the globe
Final Fantasy XIV patches in the first portion of Pandæmonium today
Gamers, along with everyone else, are apparently avoiding Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon NFTs
Book of Travels just had serious layoffs as Might and Delight cuts team from 35 to 10
Kickstarted MMO Legends of Aria and its studio just got bought out by an NFT metaverse games company
New World addresses engagement, merges, faction swaps, and copyright strikes ahead of today’s patch
ArcheAge’s free mana crystal Twitter promotion leads to a 24 hour-long exploitation spree
Star Citizen’s alpha 3.16 brings back Jumptown as a dynamic event, adds new bounties and a new ship
Amazon just announced a big New World, Wheel of Time, and Twitch collab
Christmas and winter holiday events across the MMORPG genre, 2021 edition
Black Desert’s patch today ‘rebooted’ every single class in the game
Fallen Earth contemplates using NFTs to fund development
CCP Games CEO voices support for NFTs and play-to-earn schemes but won’t link EVE Online to a blockchain
ArcheAge begins swinging the banhammer against promotion and web inventory exploiters
Daybreak assumes publisher role on Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering Online
Everything we learned about PWE’s and Cryptic’s MMOs thanks to the Embracer buyout
Crowfall after the Monumental acquisition: ‘Capital, support, and fresh energy to accelerate our exciting plans’
City of Titans shows off a ‘critical first step’ of its superheroic combat
Steam’s global version appears to have been blocked in China
Ashes of Creation is getting a visual upgrade by way of Unreal Engine 5 integration
LGBTQIA New World player is temporarily banned from the game due to a ‘homophobic mass report’
Harry Potter MMO ‘almost happened’ before EA scrapped it
Neowiz will transfer service and development of Bless Unleashed PC over to Valofe on January 26
Riot Games will settle sexual discrimination lawsuit for $100M and then some
Elyon plans to merge NA and EU servers into a single server for each region in February
Star Citizen fans call out several promised features that were cut from alpha 3.16
New World continues to work on regional transfers, makes Steam’s top-selling list
Bless Unleashed’s content roadmap will be impacted by its sudden publisher change
Roblox’s CEO has apparently dodged millions in taxes using a ‘small business’ exemption loophole
Wizardry Online makes a comeback as a rogue server
Paris Hilton opens a ‘metaverse business’ in Roblox that will host a virtual DJ set on New Year’s Eve
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF DECEMBER 2021
End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO surprises of 2021
Wisdom of Nym: The Final Fantasy XIV cookbook is a fun addition to fans’ culinary library
Flameseeker Chronicles: Hands-on with Guild Wars 2’s siege turtles and updated End of Dragons elite specs
Massively Overthinking: The best MMO music of 2021
Vague Patch Notes: There’s nothing wrong with being a niche MMO
LOTRO Legendarium: OK, let’s talk about Lord of the Rings Online on console
Wisdom of Nym: Initial impressions from Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker early access
Vitae Aeternum: New World’s travel problem is also a storage problem
Warframe of Mind: The New War demo highlights story, playable NPCs, Caliban frame, and Harrow Prime
Choose My Adventure: Grim Dawn starts off as grim as its name suggests
First Impressions: Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker is a satisfying ending to a decade-long story
From the Depths: Seven tips to improve your World of Warships experience
End-of-year Eleven: The healthiest live MMOs at the end of 2021
Massively Overthinking: The best and worst MMO developer quotes of 2021
Vague Patch Notes: MMOs are so stupid and I love them
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Most Underrated MMO
Working As Intended: The hits and misses of MassivelyOP’s 2021 predictions
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best MMO Rogue Server
The Game Archaeologist: Hero101, the lost KingsIsle superhero MMO
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best MMO PvP
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Biggest MMO Blunder
Wisdom of Nym: Combat design and balance in Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best MMO Business Model
Fight or Kite: KEO is on the cusp of being Twisted Metal for the Internet age
Choose My Adventure: Grim Dawn is finally getting fun
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Biggest MMO Disappointment
End-of-Year Eleven: The top MMOs to watch in 2022
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Biggest MMO Surprise
Massively Overthinking: Our MMO predictions for 2022
Wisdom of Nym: Please do not hear of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Worst MMO Business Model
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best New MMO Class
LOTRO Legendarium: A look back at Lord of the Rings Online in 2021
Make My MMO: The biggest MMO crowdfunding news of 2021
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Indie MMO of the Year
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Most Improved MMO
Wisdom of Nym: Unpacking the story of Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best Classic MMO
Not So Massively: Godfall’s Challenger Edition is a flawed introduction to a flawed game
Choose My Adventure: Grim Dawn gets comfortable and continues to get better
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: MMO Story of the Year
Leaderboard: What was the most overrated MMO of 2021?
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: MMO Studio of the Year
Vague Patch Notes: Skewed perspectives of the MMO industry
Massively Overthinking: Our favorite MMO stories of 2021
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Not-So-Massively Game of the Year
Jukebox Heroes: Your favorite MMO holiday music
The Game Archaeologist’s ultimate MMO archives v5.0
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best MMO Housing
The Battle Bards MMO music podcast: 2021 in review
The 2021 One Shots Awards, celebrating your best MMO screenshots
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best MMO Trend
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: MMO with the Stormiest Future
Wisdom of Nym: Thoughts on the first wing of Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker’s Pandæmonium
Massively on the Go: How Niantic evades handling stalking and harassment in Pokemon Go and other ARGs
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: MMO Expansion of the Year
Fight or Kite: Was 2021 the death of large-scale group PvP MMOs?
Massively on the Go: How Pokemon Go support fails MMOARG stalking victims
Choose My Adventure: All the MMOs you made us play in 2021
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Most Anticipated MMO
End-of-year Eleven: The MMOs with the most uncertain futures going into 2022
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go actually nerfed its own support rather than help players
Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: MMORPG of the Year
Into the Super-verse: A look back at superhero MMOs in 2021
Massively on the Go: How to fix Pokemon Go’s longstanding player safety failures
Massively Overthinking: Our 2022 MMO resolutions
The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the brightest future in 2022?
Massively OP’s 2021 MMO Lifetime Achievement Award
Goodbye to all the reasons we can’t have nice things in MMOs, 2021 edition
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)
