It’s that time again – the time when we look back over all the big stories of the year and round them up in one convenient place. If I’m being truthful, I do these recaps for myself as much as for anyone else since it’s so easy to forget everything that happened. So it’s tradition now: As we did in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, let’s take a tour back through our MMO coverage, one month a day for the next 12 days, to hit the highlights and frame our upcoming journey into 2023.
January 2022 was no slouch for major MMO and industry news; we got barely a few days of peace before the genre dropped the news that Microsoft was trying to buy Activision-Blizzard for $68.7 billion in a transparent move to help the latter company escape 2021’s legal and cultural dramas, all set against the backdrop of a unionization effort on the part of multiple factions of Acti-Blizz workers that has continued its narrative thread throughout the whole year. The news almost crowded out Sony’s plans to buy out Bungie as 2022 became the year of gaming companies eating each other alive.
MMO players also had no lack of choices for new games this month; we saw no less than Mortal Online 2, Broken Ranks, and the Kickstarted Zenith take their launch runs.
Here’s the whole recap from January of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF JANUARY 2022
Square Enix president lauds blockchain for play-to-earn and ‘self-sustaining game growth’ potential
China’s continued freeze on new gaming approvals sees 14,000 gaming firms in the country shut down
Interview: ArcheAge studios on the move to Kakao, bans, land rushes, and the future of the game
Elder Scrolls Online has begun teasing what looks like a High Isles Breton-centric chapter
Raven Software strike extends to its third week as Activision-Blizzard claims management is listening
Mortal Online 2 developer gets an Epic Games MegaGrant, confirms transition to Unreal Engine 5
Chronicles of Elyria is now estimating a late 2024 release
Tibia is getting sound for the first time as it turns 25 years old
Amazon Prime’s Fallout TV series kicks off production this year
Red Dead Online’s shabby first update of 2022 sparks community movement to save the game
Jagex 2020 financials outline increases in revenue, subscriptions, and microtransaction sales
Embers Adrift aims for a 2022 launch while it beefs up combat and character creation
Critter taming cross-platform MMO Chimeraland has officially launched on mobile and PC
Star Citizen and Squadron 42 are still years from launch, CIG confirms
Neverwinter’s 22nd module, Dragonbone Vale, is live today on PC
Black Desert claims a 230% increase in new western daily players on PC thanks to class reboot
DC Universe Online is turning 11 years old, and it brought you a huge present
Elder Scrolls Online PvPers are grumpy over an out-of-context stream clip
Former Activision-Blizzard staffer likens the company to the Titanic
Elyon adds the archer, balances all classes, and revamps RvR in today’s update
Riot Games lays out five-year plan, partial ownership for employees
PUBG is now a free-to-play title on PC and console with today’s update
Lord of the Rings Online defends – and now pauses – controversial pay-to-win currency changes
Elite Dangerous Odyssey had a ‘difficult calendar year,’ but Frontier claims an ‘upturn in player sentiment’
EVE Online’s surprise Doctor Who crossover event goes live
Avatar: Reckoning looks like a mobile MMO with shooter vibes, backed by Disney and Tencent
The Game Archaeologist: Talking 25-year-old Tibia with CipSoft
Second Life’s original founder rejoins the project to create the ultimate metaverse
Activision-Blizzard addresses Call of Duty mess, striking devs report ‘radio silence’
Microsoft is acquiring Activision-Blizzard, Bobby Kotick is still CEO
Riot confirms Runeterra MMO’s group-centered design philosophy
Webzen is closing down five-year-old Mu Origin in the west
Acti-Blizz buyout, day two: Labor, stock, Kotick, and the reasons behind the sale
Activision-Blizzard submits useless Microsoft buyout FAQ for employees
Nightingale was originally an MMO but scaled back to become more intimate
Reddit’s co-founder thinks crypto gaming and players ‘being properly valued’ for game time will be the norm in five years
Blade and Soul adds the new Soul Fighter spec and celebrates six years in the Soul Resurgence update
GDC’s State of the Game Industry: NFTs, the metaverse, and more than half of game devs want to unionize
Gamigo launches a new department and plans new acquisitions to increase its publishing efforts
Blizzard addresses regaining player trust as Kotick’s all-hands meeting leaves workers unsettled
New World interview: Mutators, the midgame, the level 30 wall, and more
Activision-Blizzard’s Raven Software is formally unionizing
New World’s mutator dungeons are live in today’s January patch
Full-loot PvP MMORPG sandbox Mortal Online 2 officially launches today
Star Trek Online brings Kate Mulgrew to the game as part of its latest anniversary celebration
Blizzard is hiring for a new unnamed survival game set in an ‘all-new universe’
Chinese martial arts MMORPG Justice Online announces western release but it can be played via cloud gaming now
Raven Software files for union election after ActiBlizz ignores recognition request
Broken Ranks officially launches, servers almost immediately melt down due to demand
Global Agenda is back from the dead at least temporarily, Hi-Rez confirms
PlanetSide 2’s long-delayed Oshur continent is officially online today for PC players
VR MMO Zenith hits the ‘big red launch button’ today
Atlas expands and bosses multiply in Path of Exile’s Siege of the Atlas expansion, launching February 4th
Elder Scrolls Online just announced the High Isle chapter and Legacy of the Bretons arc
Superhero MMO City of Titans seeks more money: ‘We’re operating on a used shoestring’
Ubisoft’s Singapore studio cleared of wrongdoing, Ubisoft exec claims users ‘don’t get’ its Quartz NFTs
Newly launched Mortal Online 2 postpones subscriptions for a month
Union asks SEC to investigate Activision-Blizzard’s ‘inaccurate and misleading’ acquisition statements
World of Warcraft is finally outlawing boosting rings – though not boosting itself
Sony is acquiring Destiny developer Bungie for $3.6 billion
Kritika:REBOOT is shutting down on February 16
Swords of Legends Online announces free-to-play switch and Firestone Legacy expansion for February
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF JANUARY 2022
The Daily Grind: What are you looking forward to MMO-wise in 2022?
The Daily Grind: What was the worst MMO trend of 2021?
Vitae Aeternum: Explaining New World’s level 30 wall
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV and the problem with the Matsuda NFT letter
The Game Archaeologist: The Blizzard Real ID fiasco of 2010
The Daily Grind: Which MMO was the biggest contributor to killing the genre in 2021?
Choose My Adventure: The Elder Scrolls Online welcomes me back with open arms and fun quests
Massively OP Podcast Episode 354: Catch-up roundtable and state of the site
Tamriel Infinium: How Elder Scrolls Online made me a believer in public dungeons again
WoW Factor: Is World of Warcraft a good value for the money?
Vague Patch Notes: The MMO term ‘pay-to-win’ is a red herring
LOTRO Legendarium: Does LOTRO need a new dungeon finder tool?
Massively on the GO: How to catch up in Pokemon GO for 2022
Wisdom of Nym: What might be next for Final Fantasy XIV post-Endwalker
The Daily Grind: Will you Kickstart any MMOs in 2022?
Fight or Kite: Twisted Metal meets Mad Max in Crossout
Choose My Adventure: Elder Scrolls Online’s Blackwood has slowly hooked me
Perfect Ten: The best value MMOs at the start of 2022
Vague Patch Notes: Star Citizen is not going to live up to your dreams
The Daily Grind: What MMOs are you no longer anticipating?
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV and the ongoing balance pass
Not So Massively: Making the case for Dungeon Siege IV
Flameseeker Chronicles: Touring Guild Wars 2’s End of Dragons guild hall, Echovald Wilds, and strike mission
WoW Factor: Some thoughts on the Microsoft acquisition of Activision-Blizzard
First Impressions: Monster Hunter Rise on PC enhances an already excellent stew
Perfect Ten: Bad takes about Microsoft buying Activision-Blizzard and why they’re wrong
Vague Patch Notes: Unpacking the Riot MMO’s group-centric philosophy
Massively on the Go: Orna’s a definitive MMOARG – but it keeps you at home
LOTRO Legendarium: It’s time to revisit skirmishes in Lord of the Rings Online
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV and the ongoing balance pass, part two
Choose My Adventure: Dungeons and Dragons Online is fun but would be better with friends
Fight or Kite: Starting a journey in Mortal Online 2
Tamriel Infinium: A look back at Elder Scrolls Online’s Greymoor
Vague Patch Notes: Why play-to-earn is a garbage idea
Perfect Ten: Genuinely fun MMO minigames
WoW Factor: What could World of Warcraft’s next expansion do to save the game?
Massively on the Go: Orna vs. Pokemon GO in the battle of the MMOARGs
The Game Archaeologist: The history of Hi-Rez’s Global Agenda
Massively on the Go: February Pokemon GO events are a love/hate relationship
Vitae Aeternum: The rent in New World is too damn high!
Wisdom of Nym: What’s in Final Fantasy XIV’s February live letter?
THE FULL 2022 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
MMO Year in Review: Microsoft has entered the chat (January 2022)
MMO Year in Review: End of Dragons, Lost Ark (February 2022)
MMO Year in Review: From Ukraine aid to Throne and Liberty (March 2022)
MMO Year in Review: Leaky Blizzard and Lord Blockchain (April 2022)
MMO Year in Review: Press F for another Marvel MMO (May 2022)
MMO Year in Review: High Isle and Diablo Immoral (June 2022)
MMO Year in Review: Smedleyfaire (July 2022)
MMO Year in Review: DUNE, Neptune, and Island Sanctuaries (August 2022)
MMO Year in Review: The Lich King (September 2022)
MMO Year in Review: Embers and Brimstone (October 2022)
MMO Year in Review: Blizzard China (November 2022)
MMO Year in Review: The FTC strikes back (December 2022)
