New World, which had been suffering playerbase losses all year, began its resurge in July of 2022, thanks to its Medleyfaire update and event, which infused the game with playable music.
Meanwhile, Blizzard promised to bring back BlizzCon but abandoned Heroes of the Storm, Pantheon scored $2.4M in funding, and we welcomed Chimeraland, Noah’s Heart, and Multiversus to the online gaming stage. Riot Games also made final its $100M settlement to its sexual harassment and discrimination victims, which made the one-year anniversary of Activision-Blizzard’s similar scandal, resolution for which the company has fought at every step, even more poignant.
Read on for the whole recap from July of this past year.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF JULY 2022
Guild Wars 2 tweaks its latest balance patch: ‘The team wants to make it right’
EverQuest II unceremoniously wipes its ‘prison server’ and permabans every account
Secret World Legends holds its anniversary event while a livestreamer hosts his own event for TSW
Unity, the game engine behind many MMOs, lays off ‘hundreds’ of staff
Final Fantasy XIV’s 6.18 update is live, but the data center travel system is already struggling
Last Oasis’ creator admits the game ‘sucks’ while talking up the Season 5 beta that’s launching today
Final Fantasy XIV nightclub advertises a gathering on real-world billboard oblivious to terms like ‘copyright’ and ‘trademark’
Colony sandbox MMO SEED raises another $41M in investment, partly from a blockchain company
Officer involved in 2017 Call of Duty swatting death is denied qualified immunity appeal
BlizzCon will return in 2023, Activision-Blizzard employees plan another walkout
ESA announces plans for E3 2023 in late June organized by ReedPop
The Division Resurgence is announced as a new title for mobile platforms
Rockstar Games outlines new content for GTA Online, confirms the end of major updates for Red Dead Online
Wisdom of Nym: Why the Final Fantasy XIV billboard was a terrible idea
Art gallery MMO Occupy White Walls officially leaves early access on Steam
Nexon’s co-op looter shooter Project Magnum gets a full title name and Steam page, starts taking test applications
Pearl Abyss will shutter ‘inadequate’ battle royale Shadow Arena in August
Blizzard shifts Heroes of the Storm into maintenance mode, gives lizards to all
Ubisoft plans to yank multiplayer from 15 more of its games this fall as devs scramble to preserve them
Star Citizen showcases the creation of deployable items by making a folding camping chair
Century Age of Ashes launches on Xbox One X|S today, PlayStation 4 and 5 next week
Game dev flips a panel into an anti-crypto attack, earning applause from attendees and ire from NFT sponsors
Perfect World revives the previously shuttered Jade Dynasty with development of Jade Dynasty World
Tower of Fantasy debuts trailers highlighting its combat and story as the game rakes in 1M sign-ups
Swords of Legends Online opens new raid and heads to the beach for its first birthday
World of Warcraft Dragonflight begins its first alpha test, previews the Azure Span and crafting updates
Unity’s CEO says game devs who don’t include monetization in their design process are ‘f*cking idiots’
Survivalbox MMO Chimeraland’s global launch is marred by performance complaints
Kakao Games invests in Korean studio Redlab Games to create a play-to-earn mobile MMO
Lord of the Rings Online producer leaves Standing Stone Games after a little over a year
TennoCon 2022: Warframe introduces new Khora Prime – and she’s live now
TennoCon 2022: Mount up and delve deep into Warframe’s Duviri Paradox
World of Warcraft’s Dragonflight alpha removes gendered body type text, briefly adds selectable pronouns
TennoCon 2022: Digital Extremes announces new fantasy MMO Soulframe
Lord of the Rings Online’s Weatherstock community concert drew 22 bands this past weekend
Star Wars The Old Republic plans next update for August 2, bids farewell to Creative Director Charles Boyd
Lord of the Rings Online releases Update 33.1 with the Further Adventures of Elladan and Elrohir
Lost Ark’s Spells in Spades update opens a water park, releases a card-slinging mage, and adds more endgame
New World’s July 22 server merging will see some regions collapse into a single server
No Man’s Sky overhauls freighters and adds new multiplayer content in the Endurance update
Pantheon Rise of the Fallen lands $2.4M in funding and elaborates on its death mechanics
It’s been exactly one year since Activision-Blizzard’s sexual discrimination and harassment scandal broke out
Diablo Immortal set to launch July 25 in China after bizarre delay
Neopets gets hacked for all user account data and source code, hacker offers everything for sale for bitcoin
Gearbox shuts down game forums in favor of Discord, but Cryptic’s MMOs are not affected
Chronicles of Elyria admits to running out of money in 2021, ‘hemorrhaging cash’ ever since
Vanguard Saga of Heroes’ community-run emulator had over 100 players this past weekend
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is confirmed to be launching on September 26
NCsoft Q1 2022: Revenues rise thanks to Lineage W and Guild Wars 2, Throne and Liberty arriving this year
Riot Games’s $100M discrimination lawsuit settlement is final with over 2000 women and contractors benefiting
Lord of the Rings Online community calls SSG out over stealth nerfs
Wallpaper Engine’s rise in popularity is likely thanks to Chinese gamers using it as a porn delivery system
New World’s Summer Medleyfaire opens its doors with today’s update
Open world MMO Noah’s Heart makes its global debut on PC and mobile today
MultiVersus crests at over 150K players on Steam during open beta, reveals LeBron James as a playable character
New World’s population perks up with queues post-Medleyfaire as Amazon works on LFG
Diablo Immortal made $100 million in revenue in two months
Axie Infinity CEO caught shuffling $3M in the game’s crypto tokens before announcing its $620M hack
Rockstar devs call studio ‘a boys’ club transformed into a real company’ as it reels back crunch culture
Star Citizen claws back in-game currency stipend in 3.17.2 thanks to ‘overcounting’ error
Star Citizen reverses course on its credit clawback
Indonesian government blocks access to Steam and EGS for failure to meet a database registration deadline
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF JULY 2022
Vague Patch Notes: A love letter to the people going above and beyond in the MMO genre
LOTRO Legendarium: Evaluating Lord of the Rings Online’s legendary servers, four years later
Why I Play: What keeps me coming back to The Secret World
Wisdom of Nym: Reactions to Final Fantasy XIV’s live letter and 6.2 preview
Choose My Adventure: V Rising provides moments of chaos and comfort
From the Depths: Fun World of Warships warships that actually existed
Perfect Ten: MMOs that have fallen to the dark side of cryptocurrency
Massively Overthinking: Solved problems in MMOs
LOTRO Legendarium: Is LOTRO’s PvP game worth salvaging?
Wisdom of Nym: Variant Dungeons and Savage changes in Final Fantasy XIV patch 6.2
Choose My Adventure: Boredom and frustration rear their head in V Rising
Flameseeker Chronicles: What could Guild Wars 2’s fourth expansion be about?
Fight or Kite: Love vampires and battle royales? Here’s what Bloodhunt brings to the table
Perfect Ten: Weirdly specific tropes found in every fantasy MMORPG
The Soapbox: Fallout 76 absolutely needs better social tools to thrive
Vague Patch Notes: Yes, sandbox MMOs need tutorials and guidance, too
Massively Overthinking: Are you a cheater in MMOs or other games?
WoW Factor: Dragonflight’s talent trees don’t feel like a speedrun slam dunk
The Game Archaeologist: The origins of Blizzard, Mythic, Funcom, SOE, and BioWare
The Soapbox: WoW’s talent trees don’t deserve your nostalgia
Wisdom of Nym: Optional and mandatory content in Final Fantasy XIV
Flameseeker Chronicles: Hands-on with Guild Wars 2’s S1E3 Clockwork Chaos
Choose My Adventure: Customizing my V Rising experience (because my other server was closed)
Perfect Ten: The subtle differences between World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV combat
LOTRO Legendarium: Update 33.1’s further adventures are more like a light snack
Vague Patch Notes: Themepark MMOs need open spaces, too
Massively Overthinking: Are MMO gamers just frogs in a boiling cookpot?
Working As Intended: MMOs that wish they were Star Wars Galaxies
WoW Factor: So what’s the actual prediction on Dragonflight’s quality?
Wisdom of Nym: Forgotten and abandoned systems in Final Fantasy XIV
The Soapbox: Why diversifying your MMO gaming is the smart thing to do
Choose My Adventure: Feeling like a vampire is not the problem with or the solution for V Rising
Fight or Kite: F2P MOBA Fault Elder Orb rises from the ashes of Epic Games’ Paragon
Perfect Ten: Useful excuses for ditching an MMO dungeon run
Massively on the Go: Monster Hunter Rise’s Sunbreak expansion remains solid one month later
Vitae Aeternum: New World interview on Summer Medleyfaire, solo play, housing, and more
Vague Patch Notes: The many flavors of ‘boosting’ in the MMO genre
Massively Overthinking: Is old-school MMO dungeon-camping ever coming back?
WoW Factor: How Blizzard squandered the potential and desire for WoW Classic
Hands-on with Multiversus: How WB’s new brawler stacks up against Super Smash Bros.
The Game Archaeologist: That time when EverQuest let you play as the monsters
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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