Daybreak canceled yet another MMO in the month of May; in fact, this one marked the second time it’s canceled a Marvel MMO, and we had to find out about it through a financial report after the project lead announced his new studio. Then again, not everyone was sorry to see it canned.
Meanwhile, EVE’s Fanfest resulted in a large COVID outbreak among attendees, Activision-Blizzard creeped out the internet with its scuttled “Diversity Space Tool,” and we got our first look at Warcraft Arclight Rumble.
Read on for the whole recap from May of this past year.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF MAY 2022
CWA says Activision-Blizzard management threatened workers for discussing labor rights
SWG Legends’ new ranching, farming, taming, spicing, and smuggling patch is now live
PAX East 2022’s COVID outbreak has already resulted in one death
Activision-Blizzard wants shareholders to vote against making the company release public abuse reports
Blizzard announces Warcraft Arclight Rumble, a new strategy game for mobile devices
EVE Online turns 19 years old with new skins and smuggler-hunting
Elite Dangerous lays out 2022 roadmap, new plan for console-to-PC migration
New York City just lodged a new lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard
Legends of Aria talks up its next testing phases and attempts to rationalize why it ‘needs’ the blockchain
AQ3D community manager quits after lodging sexual harassment allegations against Artix Entertainment dev
Jack Emmert is apparently leading a new NetEase studio – and not Daybreak’s Marvel MMO
CIG’s reports for Star Citizen and Squadron 42 recount work on AI, area design, and bedsheet deformation
Wandering Wraeclast: Pets pounce into Path of Exile’s new Sentinel league
Wandering Wraeclast: Path of Exile’s Sentinel update enhances endgame with new passives and mob modifiers
EVE Fanfest 2022: EVE Online puts spreadsheets in your spreadsheets
MMO Business Roundup: ArenaNet’s pro-choice stance, Blizzard’s new VP, and Nexon’s new CEO
EVE Fanfest 2022: The EVE Online universe FPS is still in development
EVE Fanfest 2022: Fanfest attendees have already begun testing positive for COVID
Lord of the Rings Online’s fan Discord gets yanked away from the community
EVE Fanfest 2022: All the major EVE Online announcements from Fanfest
Star Trek Online’s Stormfall brings two new featured episodes to PC players today
Open-source MMORPG sandbox Ryzom has lowered its subscription price – again
Elite Dangerous will grant console players a free PC copy of the game as it tries to allay content drought concerns
Final Fantasy XIV finally issues bans to some streamers over addons
Lord of the Rings actor Billy Boyd joins The Elder Scrolls Online cast for High Isle
Blade and Soul’s New Empires update gets patch notes as it releases today
PSO2 New Genesis celebrates its first anniversary with quests, trials, and cosmetic goodies starting today
Ubisoft 2022 financials: Skull & Bones will finally set sail by early next year
Legends of Aria’s new owner begins testing NFT system even as crypto crashes globally
WAPO calls out gaming industry for lack of support for reproductive health as workers strike
Bethsoft has delayed its co-op shooter Redfall to next year – along with Starfield
World of Warcraft is testing a ‘social contract’ for its players in 9.2.5
Lost Ark KR’s director is reportedly stepping down because of health concerns
Activision-Blizzard creeps out the internet with its ‘Diversity Space Tool’ as union-busting continues
Lost Ark admits it’s been ‘fighting a war against bots’ since launch, banning millions of accounts
EverQuest guild woke the Sleeper on P99 Green – and all hell broke loose
EVE Fanfest 2022: CCP delivered free food to EVE Online players waylaid by the Fanfest COVID outbreak
BioWare is seeking new hires to ‘create the next Star Wars The Old Republic game’
WoW Classic interview doubles down on Wrath Classic’s lack of a dungeon finder
Dauntless developer Phoenix Labs says it has ‘close to’ 10 games currently in the works
Final Fantasy XI welcomes its 20-year anniversary today
Fall Guys is going free-to-play – but breaks its Steam promise
Hex crawl MMO World Seed officially releases on Steam with new features, new monetization, and no server wipe
Destiny 2’s Bungie says it won’t be ‘muzzled’ by Sony when it comes to ‘standing up for what’s right’
Star Citizen boss rests feature delay blame on COVID, touts rise in new players, and marks a path to beta
Lost Ark’s Destined for Destruction drops the Destroyer and Deskaluda
Age of Conan turns 14 as celebrations quietly begin today
Neverwinter makes lockboxes ‘transparent’ starting with June’s Dragon Cult box
Improbable CEO shows off M² tech test, claims the platform has ‘peak capacity’ of 1B users
Raven Software QA votes to form union in spite of months of Activision-Blizzard unionbusting
Whatever happened to the oft-delayed Corepunk? It’s suspended Russian region support
EG7 Q1 2022 financials: EG7 has canceled Daybreak’s Marvel MMORPG
Riders of Icarus, which topped a million players six years ago, is going play-to-earn with NFTs
Pearl Abyss reclaims South American Black Desert publishing rights, touts 45M registered players
Guild Wars 2 trolls are blocking others’ access to new legendary weapon skins… by causing events to succeed
World of Warcraft hopes modern reporting tools, social contract will improve community behavior
Artist shares character creation screens from Daybreak’s nixed Marvel superhero MMO
Belgium and Netherlands reject Diablo Immortal over lockbox gambling concerns
MGI & Gamigo Q1 2022: Atlas Rogues is dead
18 European countries back a Norwegian government body’s assertion that lootboxes are ‘manipulative’
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF MAY 2022
The Game Archaeologist: Six cancelled MMOs that I wish had launched
Wisdom of Nym: Examining Final Fantasy XIV’s refreshed PvP system
Global Chat: Who gets to decide what is ‘fun’ in MMORPGs?
Choose My Adventure: Final Fantasy XI’s PlayOnline decides to not let me play online
Fight or Kite: CRSED FOAD aka Cuisine Royale is a mouthful of an ‘MMO’
Perfect Ten: Why we need more post-apocalyptic MMOs
WoW Factor: Is dragon riding in World of Warcraft Dragonflight borrowed power?
Massively Overthinking: The minimum requirements for MMO player housing
Vague Patch Notes: The negatives of MMORPG rogue servers
LOTRO Legendarium: Remembering 15 amazing years of Lord of the Rings Online
Wisdom of Nym: Deep-diving Final Fantasy XIV’s new adventurer plates
Not So Massively: Nothing can prepare you for Craftopia’s weirdness
Choose My Adventure: My life as a Guardian in City of Heroes Rebirth
Perfect Ten: The many-colored dragon rainbow of the MMO sphere
Whatever happened to Square-Enix’s Babylon’s Fall?
WoW Factor: Excitement and trepidation about World of Warcraft bringing back talent trees
Massively Overthinking: If you could change one thing about an MMO…
The Daily Grind: Are you sick of crypto and NFT crap in MMOs?
Storyboard: The fatal flaw of overreaching villain plans in MMOs plotlines
Massively on the GO: Talking MMOARGs with Orna’s lead dev
Fight or Kite: New World’s PvP is a failure for casual gamers
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV and the grim specter of continuity lockout
Not So Massively: First impressions of V Rising, launching into early access today
Tamriel Infinium: Elder Scrolls Online has a real enthusiasm problem
Choose My Adventure: Some classic mission running in the City of Heroes Rebirth rogue server
Perfect Ten: MMO critters so cute it makes your teeth hurt
Vague Patch Notes: A look back at my start in Final Fantasy XI, many years later
Massively Overthinking: The MMO grudges we just can’t let go
Stick and Rudder: Some thoughts on Chris Roberts’ annual Star Citizen address
LOTRO Legendarium: Exploring the bounds of Yondershire
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s Niantic is listening to the wrong voices in its own company
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV and the risk of job overload
The Game Archaeologist: The ’90s BioWare MMORPG that almost was
Choose My Adventure: Sampling a quick serving of player creativity in City of Heroes Rebirth
Flameseeker Chronicles: Touring Guild Wars 2’s restored living world S1E2 Sky Pirates
Perfect Ten: 10 great ways to lose new players from your MMO
Four Winds: Remembering TERA’s wild start and in-game politics
Vague Patch Notes: The specter of MMO persistence in single-player games
Massively Overthinking: Which MMO will be next to raise its subscription?
WoW Factor: So let’s talk about World of Warcraft’s Evoker
LOTRO Legendarium: 10 helpful tips to improve your LOTRO experience
Wisdom of Nym: Reconsidering Final Fantasy XIV’s Primals
Fight or Kite: Absolver is the greatest martial arts melee brawler you never played
Choose My Adventure: The long-awaited and slightly bumpy return to Final Fantasy XI
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)
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