Daybreak parent company EG7 attempted to woo investors in September with nebulous plans for a new EverQuest MMORPG, perhaps the long-rumored EverQuest III – but don’t get too excited as at best it’s in the “ideation” phase and would be targeting 2028 at the very earliest.
Meanwhile, Unity lit itself on fire and spent weeks blowing on it instead of putting it out, RuneScape thoroughly bungled its battlepass, Marvel Heroes got a juicy emu leak, and Elder Scrolls Online launched U40 and the Endless Archive.
Here’s the whole recap from September of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF SEPTEMBER 2023
Ashes of Creation’s latest video walks players through building up a node in Alpha Two
Cozy solarpunk survivalbox Loftia funded on Kickstarter with over $1.2M US
WoW Classic shares ‘gruesome data’ from hardcore’s first week
SAG-AFTRA union prepares for a second strike over video gaming’s use of AI and low wages
Bethesda vows to ‘keep working on’ Redfall, arguing it doesn’t ‘quit or abandon stuff’
Star Wars: The Old Republic’s 7.3.1 update and Season 5 launch today
World of Warcraft’s Fury Incarnate is out with Dreamsurges and heroic Dawn of the Infinite
Throne & Liberty is collecting feedback on autoplay, admitting it can wreck immersion
Rumor: RuneScape studio Jagex might be up for sale again, the fourth time in less than a decade
World of Warcraft’s Guardians of the Dream sends players to the Emerald Dream itself
The ESA is no longer working with ReedPop for the theoretical next E3 event
World of Warcraft contemplates buyable trader’s tender and an old world revamp
Overwatch 2 kicks off its single-player Hero Mastery mode with a limited-time event
RuneScape’s Jagex on the much-derided battlepass: ‘We messed up’
Skull and Bones loses yet another creative director as union assembles over labor conditions
Roblox confirms Quest VR release later this month, PlayStation launch in October
Diablo III’s Season 29 will bring one last new theme on September 15 before de facto maintenance mode
Star Citizen showcases alpha 3.20’s updates, declares it won’t answer ‘when’ questions anymore
Greg ‘Ghostcrawler’ Street ruminates on fixing MMORPG progression design failings
Rumor: Embracer is trying to sell Gearbox – and therefore Cryptic and its MMORPGs
Throne & Liberty addresses ‘static combat and boring growth’ with latest revamps
Dauntless and Fae Farm dev Phoenix Labs are losing more top execs, this time the CEO and COO
Roblox conference cut short after police arrested an allegedly armed community developer
EverQuest II’s Shattered Overture update is live this afternoon
Unity is adding excessive new per-install fees – game developers aren’t having it
Lost Ark’s jump-start servers arrive tomorrow with the Jump to the Endgame patch
Unity begins backtracking on new runtime fees, but it hasn’t addressed indies
Rumor: Tencent is apparently publishing the mobile version of Blue Protocol
Star Trek Online’s Incursion and season 30 are live on PC
Survivalbox Chimeraland is stealth-launching a surprise new update today
Unity asks game studios to trust its download estimates, closes offices over death threat
No Man’s Sky sees ‘its biggest month’ in years, possibly thanks to Starfield
PvP MMO Abyss admits it began life as a crypto game selling ‘satirical poop’ NFTs
Guild Wars 2’s Secrets of the Obscure performed ‘even better than expected,’ ArenaNet says
Elder Scrolls Online’s update 40 and Endless Archive repeatable content launch October 30
Unity’s runtime fee scheme sees game devs shut off Unity ads and employees turn in resignations
Unity promises ‘changes’ to its deeply unpopular install fee policy after a week of backlash
Marvel Heroes rogue servers are finally possible thanks to newly released emulator files
WoW Classic pits players against the Lich King – with the dungeon finder – on October 10
Unity’s leaked install fee concessions include a fee cap, self-reporting, and end to retroactivity
Last Oasis breaks its silence with confirmation of mod support and Season 6 development
A multiplayer Bluey videogame is coming to PC and console in November, and your kids want it
Absurdly cute co-op brawler Party Animals officially launches on PC and Xbox today
Terraria dev commits $200,000 plus monthly donations to open-source engine Unity rivals
Interview: How Dauntless’ weapon revamp will affect development and gameplay
EG7 hopes to develop a new EverQuest MMORPG (EverQuest 3?) for 2028 after years of rumors
Sea of Thieves is adding a super limited private instanced version called Safer Seas
EG7 and Daybreak: DCUO’s volatility, EverQuest’s stability, Cold Iron’s new game, LOTRO’s canceled remaster
The Division 3 is happening, but it’s going to be a while before we see it
UK government body ‘opens the door’ for Microsoft’s buyout of Activision-Blizzard in preliminary approval
RuneScape outlines initial plans to address its deeply unpopular Hero Pass monetization
Unity finally apologizes to game devs with latest round of fee concessions
EVE Fanfest 2023: EVE Online’s Havoc expansion will finally let you side with the pirates
Ultima Online is turning 26 years old today as New Legacy testing pushes onward
SAG-AFTRA members overwhelmingly vote in favor of a video game voice actors strike
Layoffs hit Blizzard’s Hearthstone team as Chris Metzen upgrades to new World of Warcraft exec title
Lord of the Rings Online studio pushes back against maintenance mode claims
Fortnite’s Epic Games confirms mass layoff of 830 workers
MMORPG sandbox BitCraft sets alpha for early 2024, picks up Austin Wintory and Rachel Hardy for the score
V Rising is still eyeing launch for Q2 2024, with a new biome, customization, and live events
Fall Guys developer Mediatonic ‘hit very hard’ by Epic Games’ mass-layoff – but not shuttered
Datamining uncovers potential details about World of Warcraft’s next expansion
Ashes of Creation announces Alpha Two for 2024 and previews its updated event system
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF SEPTEMBER 2023
WoW Factor: What would World of Warcraft ‘Classic Plus’ even look like?
Why I Play: Palia is cozy and fun, but why is it multiplayer – and where is it going?
LOTRO Legendarium: Of River Hobbits and river homes in Lord of the Rings Online
Wisdom of Nym: What seems to be cut content from Final Fantasy XIV
Choose My Adventure: Trialing and testing in Trixion before returning to Lost Ark
Fight or Kite: Harry Potter Magic Awakened is going to school you too
Hands-on: Cozy game Fae Farm might strike familiar gameplay beats, but its setting is the sauce
Perfect Ten: 10 of the worst launches in MMO history
Vague Patch Notes: The specter of racially locked classes in MMOs and before
Massively Overthinking: The dumbest deaths in MMORPGs
WoW Factor: World of Warcraft’s exhausting constant hype cycle
Global Chat: What makes an ‘MMO’ an MMO?
LOTRO Legendarium: Coping with Lord of the Rings Online’s Mount Everest of content
Wisdom of Nym: What was my journey made for in Final Fantasy XIV?
Vitae Aeternum: The pros and cons of New World’s transmog
Choose My Adventure: Slayer time with slightly boosted XP in Lost Ark
Perfect Ten: 10 MMOs you’ve already forgotten ever existed
LOTRO Legendarium: Lord of the Rings Online’s new Mariner class is the swashbuckler we needed
Vague Patch Notes: I don’t know what the deal is with Throne & Liberty
WoW Factor: MMO raid design and the antagonistic GM
Massively Overthinking: Do you sub to MMOs you’re no longer playing?
Global Chat: How do you make a compelling new player experience in MMOs?
Wisdom of Nym: Examining the Mamool Ja of Final Fantasy XIV
Fight or Kite: Harry Potter Magic Awakened’s housing might impress even die-hard housing fans
Choose My Adventure: Exploring Lost Ark’s jump start server and a regular XP-boosted character
Perfect Ten: 10 MMO things you can just stop waiting for
WoW Factor: So Blizzard backtracked on WoW Classic’s dungeon finder
Massively Overthinking: Massively Overwhelming content in MMORPGs
Vague Patch Notes: So what actually kills MMO communities?
Global Chat: Coming around on WoW Classic’s hardcore mode
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s October events are early with tricks if not treats
EVE Fanfest 2023: The EVE Online FPS is back as EVE Vanguard this December
LOTRO Legendarium: Nine LOTRO secrets worth discovering
Wisdom of Nym: Open questions spawned by the Tokyo Game Show’s Final Fantasy XIV live letter
Not So Massively: The growing field of StarCraft II spiritual successors
Choose My Adventure: Wrestling with disappointment, boredom, and comfort in Lost Ark’s jump start server
Casually Classic: Six reasons hardcore servers make WoW Classic worthwhile
Perfect Ten: The 10 unsung heroes of the MMO user interface
Vague Patch Notes: The games industry arrogance cycle, in MMOs and elsewhere
Interview: New World’s Scot Lane on the MMO’s past, future, and upcoming dungeon finder
Interview: New World’s Scot Lane on Edengrove housing, transmog tokens, and more
Massively Overthinking: The impact of jump start servers in MMOs
LOTRO Legendarium: It’s OK that LOTRO’s remaster isn’t going to happen
WoW Factor: If this is the state of World of Warcraft, why talk about it?
MMO Burnout: Non-MMOs that scratch my MMO progression grind itch
The Soapbox: The real cost of breaking trust with gamers
THE FULL 2023 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
MMO Year in Review: NetEase versus Blizzard (January 2023)
MMO Year in Review: Amazon’s expanding empire (February 2023)
MMO Year in Review: Press F7 for E3 (March 2023)
MMO Year in Review: Crisis maps (April 2023)
MMO Year in Review: Second breakfast (May 2023)
MMO Year in Review: Returning to Morrowind (June 2023)
MMO Year in Review: Dawn of the Entrails (July 2023)
MMO Year in Review: The mage’s tower (August 2023)
MMO Year in Review: The next EverQuest Next (September 2023)
MMO Year in Review: Angry Earth, hungry Microsoft (October 2023)
MMO Year in Review: The Worldsoul Saga (November 2023)
MMO Year in Review: Come on baby Light No Fire (December 2023)
