A few years back, we started collecting our happiest stories under the “warm fuzzies” tag and our most unpleasant ones under “this is why we can’t have nice things.” The latter are the stories that we grumble about when they land in our inbox, glare at in our newsroom, and heave a heavy sigh over when we press publish because we just know our readers are going to be as ticked off about them as we are.
I can’t say 2022 was a great year for the MMO genre. Unionbusting, canceled and sunsetted games, and crypto scamming dominated the narrative. So here’s what we’re gonna do: We’ve stuck all these stories about the worst online gaming has to offer into one final post, the last of the year, and we’re tossing them on the bonfire to let them burn as we exit 2022 for good. Have a final look at the awful things that happened in our genre’s orbit this year – and then leave them in the past where they belong.
Square Enix president lauds blockchain for play-to-earn and ‘self-sustaining game growth’ potential
RF Online developer unveils plans for a ‘battle coin server’ that will reward cryptocurrencies
GameStop plans to create an NFT and crypto marketplace this year
Pokemon Go’s volunteers are being harassed by exploiters within the Wayfarer program
Back in 2017, a pair of cops were fired for playing Pokemon Go on duty
Former Activision-Blizzard staffer likens the company to the Titanic
Reddit’s co-founder thinks crypto gaming and players ‘being properly valued’ for game time will be the norm in five years
Decentraland’s promotional rave shows the least energetic online party ever
SoulWorker’s original developer threatens play-to-earn copycat MMO with legal action
Ubisoft’s Singapore studio cleared of wrongdoing, Ubisoft exec claims users ‘don’t get’ its Quartz NFTs
Netmarble promises a bunch of blockchain titles despite their being banned in its home country
ArcheAge developer XLGames unveils an NFT-filled game launching in July called ArcheWorld
Krafton and Bluehole announce a partnership to create NFT avatars to sell in a future metaverse
Just months after supposed angel investment, indie MMO TitanReach has ceased development – again
WAPO’s latest Bobby Kotick article lays bare his vindictive litigation history
TitanReach’s mystery investor actually existed, and the lead dev is accused of misappropriating the investment
Legends of Aria’s new owner discusses the revamp, Classic, and blockchain implementation
EVE Online and Black Desert studio Pearl Abyss believes it can ‘create a stable blockchain ecosystem’
Mobile MMO A3 Still Alive is adding a dungeon that awards cryptocurrency next month
Cornucopias’ The Island is an upcoming MMO brimming with blockchain babble
Netmarble creates its Marblex blockchain ecosystem in preparation for its arrival to A3 Still Alive
Three Activision-Blizzard shareholders are under investigation for possible insider trading
Ubisoft is investigating last week’s cyberattack – no player data exposed
Chinese regulators draft ‘youth mode’ requirement for online games and more
GDC 2022: Blockchain, NFTs, and play-to-earn scams go mainstream
Teen hackers plunder software giants like Microsoft and Ubisoft
Gamigo-published Fractured wants players to volunteer to work as unpaid game masters
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s April Community Day strategy hurts its own goals – and players
Another worker lodges a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against Activision-Blizzard
Multiplayer CCG Storybook Brawl hit with player backlash after crypto company tries to ram in NFTs
Hackers yoink crypto worth over half a billion dollars from P2E Axie Infinity
Activision-Blizzard’s $18M settlement with the EEOC is officially finalized
CCP Games CEO joins a private meeting with crypto company heads ‘to talk about EVE Online’ at GDC
International sanctions cause Steam payment snarl-ups for indie game devs in Russia and Ukraine
The ‘death by a thousand papercuts version of sexism’ engulfed State of Decay studio Undead Labs, according to new expose
Legends of Aria sports a new site extolling its new blockchain nature
Lost Ark fixes that fun chat exploit, says the Feiton Powerpass won’t cost real money
Star Trek announces plans for starship NFTs and a new pay-to-earn game called Star Trek Continuum
Sega executives outline ‘SuperGame’ project plans including potential cloud gaming and NFTs
Richard Garriott is building a blockchain MMO following the failure of Shroud of the Avatar
DFEH attorney accuses California governor of interfering in the Activision-Blizzard lawsuit
Whatever happened to survival sandbox Life Beyond? It went all-in on blockchain and NFTs
The FBI says it was a North Korean hacker gang that crimed Axie Infinity for $620M
Square-Enix’s president is still bullish on the prospect of NFTs and blockchain in gaming
Microsoft reportedly considering placing advertisements in free-to-play Xbox titles
Roblox runs afoul of Kim Kardashian after a creator purports to have created a game featuring a sex tape
China’s National Radio and Television Administration bans access to livestreams of unapproved games
WoW Factor: Good job torching Wrath of the Lich King Classic, my dudes!
Bless Unleashed PC is becoming a blockchain play-to-earn MMORPG
Watchdog group files complaint against Roblox with the FTC over deceptive ‘advergames’
Habbo Hotel goes full play-to-earn with the announcement of Habbo X
Russian Dota 2 esports player gets his team banned and his contract ended over support for Ukrainian invasion
Bored Ape Yacht Club’s supposed MMO Otherside generated an NFT trainwreck
A PSO2 New Genesis fan-made costume comes from an artist whose account was inexplicably banned
WAPO calls out gaming industry for lack of support for reproductive health as workers strike
The Daily Grind: Are you sick of crypto and NFT crap in MMOs?
World of Warcraft is testing a ‘social contract’ for its players in 9.2.5
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
Team Fortress 2 has so many bots that it is ‘literally unplayable’ as fans beg Valve for help
Another group of Activision-Blizzard workers has issued demands for corporate change
Alleged stalker of a World of Warcraft streamer is arrested and faces five years of federal prison time
Guild Wars 2 trolls are blocking others’ access to new legendary weapon skins… by causing events to succeed
Former Guild Wars 2 cinematic animator calls out NCsoft for withholding owed back pay
Pokemon Go’s Niantic might be exploring NFT and crypto-infused AR games
But seriously, War Thunder nerds, stop leaking classified military documents
Kritika Global will resurrect as a play-to-win NFT monstrosity next week
Fallout 76 exposé reveals a culture of crunch and chaos from devs who snubbed MMOs
Newly relaunched Kritika Online’s cash shop is just as gross as you’d assume
Diablo Immortal players uncover a ‘hidden’ third form of legendary crest lootbox
Play-to-earn Axie Infinity hasn’t weathered the crypto crash well as players ‘lose hope’
Activision-Blizzard workers on Board’s exoneration of execs: ‘The fish rots from the head’
Elite Dangerous griefers stream-sniped Frontier’s own community managers
Star Citizen QA tester is out of a job after pushing back against the company’s return-to-office policy [Updated]
US Senator Ted Cruz and Asmongold could have a meeting over gaming microtransaction legislation
Xbox head says reports of crunch at Fallout 76 studio are from a time when crunch ‘was just part of the industry’
EverQuest II unceremoniously wipes its ‘prison server’ and permabans every account
Axie Infinity’s massive crypto theft by hackers was possible thanks to a job search phishing scam
Ubisoft plans to yank multiplayer from 15 more of its games this fall as devs scramble to preserve them
Unity’s CEO says game devs who don’t include monetization in their design process are ‘f*cking idiots’
NFT MMO ArcheWorld plans testing of an AlphaPass and opens an ad sharing contest in Asian regions
Kakao Games invests in Korean studio Redlab Games to create a play-to-earn mobile MMO
Unity’s John Riccitiello apologizes for sentence he wishes he ‘never said’
Bungie accuses Destiny 2 player of cheating and harassment in latest lawsuit
Entropia Universe is laying NFT eggs that promise ‘rewards-earning opportunities’ for holders
EVE Online addresses community safety and promises more action to police community behavior
Square-Enix finally makes good on its threat of selling NFTs with NFT-linked action figures
Neopets gets hacked for all user account data and source code, hacker offers everything for sale for bitcoin
Roblox removes its iconic ‘oof’ sound effect as a result of an unexplained ‘licensing issue’
Voxelbox MMO Elteria Adventures goes pay-to-earn while promising a ‘true synergetic experience’
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
Bungie reduced direct communication with players over ‘real threats’ to devs
TwitchCon will have no mask or vaccination requirements despite the ongoing pandemic
Somebody paid-to-win so hard in Diablo Immortal that it wrapped around to pay-to-lose
Legends of Aria’s new blockchain owners are trying to sell $70 random P2W characters
Stalkers harassed Destiny 2 devs with racist voice mails and doxxing, new court filings show
Blizzard is union-busting again, this time targeting the Diablo IV team
MultiVersus players are facing DMCA strikes for uploading footage with modded character skins
Richard Garriott’s NFT MMO has a website and a name: Iron and Magic
China’s restrictions on game time sees a drop in minors’ gaming engagement in the country
Kickstarted MMO Untamed Isles ‘goes into hiatus’ after devs lose funds thanks to crypto market
CWA accuses Activision-Blizzard of spying on workers and threatening to shut down labor discussions
In-development play-to-earn racing game Torque Drift 2 earns a MegaGrant from Epic Games
Crypto WoW-wannabe Ragnarok loses $1.8M in ETH before it even gets off the ground
NFT gaming consultant proposes conscripting poor gamers as MMO NPCs
Someone hijacked Wizard101’s in-game alert feed to spam toxicity
Stick and Rudder: ‘Robin Hood’ scammer claims he robbed rich EVE Online corp of $100 billion ISK
Whatever happened to Kickstarted MMO Destiny’s Sword? Well, for starters, it’s not an MMO anymore
Ubisoft CEO suggests harassment claims come from a generational divide as employees call out ‘superficial’ reforms
Wizard101 admits the in-game alert system hijacking last weekend was an external hack
Bloomberg’s Twitch report exposes a platform rife with children and predators
G2 Esports loses bid to join Valorant’s league thanks to the org’s CEO partying with a flagrant misogynist
RuneScape rolls back its live servers and Fresh Start Worlds because of an issue with the latter being inaccessible
MMO turned visual novel Destiny’s Sword announces early access launch date of October 17
Apex Legends draws a line in the sand over increased developer harassment
Copyright lawsuit over Shin Megami Tensei MMO brings rogue server project to a halt
Danish Center for Gambling Addiction warns parents about Diablo Immortal’s monetization tricks
Roblox removes games depicting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but only after a BBC inquiry
Blade & Soul’s first-ever mounts are lockbox drops
Roblox faces lawsuit alleging it enabled the sexual exploitation of a minor
DC Universe Online players take advantage of a 1 credit cash shop oops – and end up facing suspensions
Shroud of the Avatar is back online, but that ‘test’ rollback to August has become a live reality
The foam pit at TwitchCon ended up being a landscape of serious bodily injury
Legends of Aria’s blockchain mess gets a new name – BRITARIA – as its token sinks
Chronicles of Elyria dev celebrates dismissal of backer lawsuit as next phase of ‘hero’s journey’
Activision-Blizzard is being sued by yet another of its sexual harassment victims
Record-setting data center fire disrupts some of Kakao’s online games (and its stock value)
Star Citizen reiterates anti-bigotry policy in response to toxic fan feedback on rainbow ship paint
The Secret World Classic won’t have a Halloween event this year thanks to… player feedback?
Two men who brawled over a Pokemon Go gym are found guilty of third-degree assault
Astellia Online is back again as a crummy blockchain MMO called Astel of Atra
Activision-Blizzard continues obstructing QA worker unionization with latest appeal
Star Stable calls Halloween’s soul shards a way to give players the power of choice, but fans largely disagree
Raven workers accuse Activision-Blizzard of ‘continued intransigence’ during union negotiations
Final Fantasy XIV’s Naoki Yoshida sparks backlash over a bad answer to questions on diversity in Final Fantasy XVI
Blizzard shuts down a major Overwatch 2 cheat software provider
WoW, Overwatch, Diablo, and more to sunset in China following failed Blizzard-Netease licensing deal
A new fan-made timeline shows Star Citizen development adjacent to the tech industry, From Software, and CD Projekt Red
Mortal Online 2 bans hundreds of accounts for an exploit that avoided full loot on death
Destiny 2 players exploited their way through a new event in record time
Video report highlights CS:GO’s ongoing skin gambling problems and Valve’s continued inattention
A group of Spiral Knights ‘fans’ form an LLC to try to purchase the game and turn it into a blockchain clowncar
Blizzard responds to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight criticism with questionable videos
Russian security forces apparently killed STALKER larpers they thought were real terrorists
Roblox’s sketchy monetization attracts kids, parents, and hungry corporations alike
Players caught Niantic’s Campfire app broadcasting private data in spite of security settings
New report on crunch at Diablo IV’s Blizzard Albany casts doubt on June 6, 2023, early access date
Unionizing ZeniMax QA workers claim ‘death from a thousand cuts’ thanks to crunch and low pay
Blizzard says it’s still working on finding a new Chinese publisher for World of Warcraft
Pokemon Go datamining group slashes engagement and output over Niantic’s poor management
Activision-Blizzard’s president/COO leaves in March – for the Bored Apes Yacht Club crypto outfit
Gamigo transfers publishing of Aura Kingdom, Grand Fantasia, Shaiya, and Last Chaos amid layoffs and Aeria portal closure
ROSE Online’s early access launch is waylaid by a user data leak that forces the game offline for recoding
TitanReach resurfaces with a 2024 launch promise, but it might have been stolen from the original studio
Fractured Online returns to closed development over ‘platform troubles’
If this is all just too much for ya, come back tomorrow for our warm fuzzies roundup instead. Later, 2022.
