New World opened the gates of its Rise of the Angry Earth expansion this month, driving its servers and queues to capacity all over again (and largely charming our writers) with a new weapon and – finally – mounts.
October also saw the final steps in Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. You guys, there was a trailer, so you know it’s real. And yes, Bobby Kotick is apparently on his way out… in just a few more days, in fact.
Meanwhile, Final Fantasy XIV released its Growing Light update, Destiny 2 set off a firestorm with layoffs and retention chaos, Cryptic briefly revived Giganic, Elder Scrolls Online patch in the Endless Archive, and Pantheon admitted to the rumored extraction side-game.
Here’s the whole recap from October of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF OCTOBER 2023
Epic Games raises Fortnite prices in wake of layoffs and financial woes
Dark Age of Camelot celebrates its 22nd birthday with experience and PvP boosts
Final Fantasy XIV’s 6.5 Growing Light arrives with MSQ update, dungeon, and Island Sanctuary content
Lord of the Rings Online opens preorders for Corsairs of Umbar expansion, launching November 1
New World’s Rise of the Angry Earth expansion is officially here – and so are the queues
EverQuest II opens preorders and beta for Ballads of Zimara expansion, coming in November
Funcom celebrates its 30th anniversary as it looks back at Anarchy Online, Conan, and Secret World
Star Trek Online is discontinuing its 3-D-printed ship partnership with Gameprint
Warcraft Rumble will officially launch on November 3 at the start of BlizzCon
Sega’s cancelled PvPvE shooter Hyenas was reportedly a doomed project from the very start
Drakantos is an upcoming free-to-play MMORPG promising hundreds of missions and multiple heroes
Diablo IV launches on Steam alongside Season of Blood on October 17
Motiga’s MOBA Gigantic has been resurrected… for 33 hours starting this afternoon
EverQuest’s 30th expansion, Laurion’s Song, launches in December – with class swapping
Former Ubisoft execs and employees were detained by French police over sexual misconduct allegations
Ship of Heroes is running a free-to-play demo during next week’s Steam Next Fest
New World’s population – and queues – continue to climb thanks to Rise of the Angry Earth
New World’s concurrent players are higher than they’ve been all year thanks to Rise of the Angry Earth
RuneScape walks back detested Hero Pass, calls it a ‘misstep’
Unity CEO John Riccitiello resigns after nearly a month of self-inflicted corporate drama
World of Warcraft Classic Wrath finally brings about the downfall of the Lich King today
Fractured Veil delays its early access to next year over infrastructure concerns
EverQuest releases video and preorders for its December expansion, Laurion’s Song
Myth of Empires resolves ARK Survival Evolved copyright lawsuit, paving the way for its return
Activision-Blizzard’s latest internal town hall meeting was bizarrely helmed by a celebrity host
Remember that report about cops fired for playing Pokemon Go on duty? There’s video now, and it’s worse
Microsoft’s Activision-Blizzard buyout is official, Kotick to stay through end of 2023
World Eternal Online bizarrely claims it ‘decoupled from the blockchain’ as it launches early access on Epic
Ship of Heroes’ digital storefront leaks the MMORPG’s box price and subscription fee
Albion Online’s Wild Blood patch is live with shapeshifting weapons, tracking, and island updates
Whatever non-layoff thing is going on at Cryptic sounds ominous and we don’t like it
Elite Dangerous’ Frontier Developments readies a round of layoffs
Guild Wars 2 introduces a ‘leisurely’ version of the Mad King’s Clock Tower for Halloween
Diablo IV has launched on Steam to ‘mixed’ reviews alongside its Season of Blood update
Court docs show Activision-Blizzard helped a gun manufacturer market to ‘young consumers’ in Call of Duty title
Wargaming launches multiple charitable bundles for its slate of titles to benefit Ukraine
Star Wars The Old Republic players return to Ord Mantell in 7.4 Chains of the Dark
Pantheon confirms ‘247’ extraction play mode rumors: ‘This is not a cancellation of Pantheon’
Diablo IV wants your actual blood – for a good cause, of course
Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival London reveals: Viper, zones, and Echoes of Vana’diel
Star Citizen’s new test server will open Pyro to goodies pack owners and ‘active testers’ on October 31
Former Daybreak artist shares concepts from an unreleased ‘EverQuest X’ project
Amazon Prime’s exclusive Fallout TV series confirms a premiere date of April 12 next year
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes emulator continues to improve, but it’s still in alpha
Guild Wars 2’s latest roadmap plots events, balance, and betas well into 2024
Halloween events around the MMORPG world, 2023 edition
Warframe’s Digital Extremes has a new CEO: Soulframe boss Steve Sinclair
ARK Survival Ascended has finally hit early access on Steam to ‘re-energize the classic-ARK experience’
Testing Pantheon’s 247 mode won’t be cheap, according to Visionary Realms’ latest infodrop
Skull and Bones has been delayed for at least the seventh time
Diablo IV serves up ‘Nightmare Fuel’ audio experience in order to induce thematic lucid dreaming
Throne and Liberty ditches gacha business model for subs and passes
Elder Scrolls Online’s update 40 and Endless Archive launch today – here’s the trailer!
Sandbox MMORPG Abyss lists April 18 release date, shares gameplay footage and dev updates
Bungie studio hit by layoffs, delays of Destiny 2’s Final Shape and Marathon
Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.51 starts new PvP season, opens new variant dungeons, and begins Fall Guys collab
Wayfinder’s ‘biggest update yet,’ The Reaver King, launches today with load time fixes
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF OCTOBER 2023
Wisdom of Nym: The packed October for Final Fantasy XIV following patch 6.5
Choose My Adventure: What weapon goes best with New World’s new Angry Earth flail?
Fight or Kite: Harry Potter Magic Awakened’s guilds, story quests, and pay-to-win gacha mechanics
Perfect Ten: The delicate balancing act of designing MMORPGs
Vague Patch Notes: Why people can’t just ignore things they don’t want in MMORPGs
Massively Overthinking: What’s the most chaotic behavior you’ve seen from MMO players?
LOTRO Legendarium: Are we ready for LOTRO’s Corsairs of Umbar?
WoW Factor: For Khaz Algar!
Global Chat: So who’s ready for EverQuest 3?
Vitae Aeternum: Rise of the Angry Earth mounts and flail are the lift New World needed
Wisdom of Nym: Examining Final Fantasy XIV’s Growing Light group content (spoiler-free)
Lawful Neutral: Reverse engineering World of Warcraft’s subscriber numbers
Choose My Adventure: New World’s flail and void gauntlet go together like peanut butter and jelly
Perfect Ten: The interesting features EverQuest Next promised before it was canceled
Vague Patch Notes: Why procedural generation doesn’t solve the content problems of MMOs
Massively Overthinking: What do you wish gamers knew about the games industry?
WoW Factor: No-selling BlizzCon
Global Chat: What do I need to know about New World’s new expansion?
LOTRO Legendarium: What could a LOTRO challenge server look like?
Wisdom of Nym: Examining Final Fantasy XIV’s Growing Light story beats
Fight or Kite: Should PvPers return for New World’s Rise of the Angry Earth expansion?
Choose My Adventure: Amrine Excavation and other flail-based New World adventures
EVE Evolved: Is it too late to start playing EVE Online?
The Daily Grind: Do you worry about getting too old for MMORPGs to release?
Perfect Ten: Myths about balance in MMOs
Casually Classic: WoW Classic’s leveling journey shows how much retail has lost its way
Vague Patch Notes: Pivots don’t work with MMOs
Massively Overthinking: What’s next for Blizzard under Microsoft?
WoW Factor: This time will not be different
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s Party Play is peak Niantic
LOTRO Legendarium: Eight beneficial activities in LOTRO you may be overlooking
Wisdom of Nym: Reactions to Final Fantasy XIV’s London Fan Festival
Vitae Aeternum: New World Rise of the Angry Earth’s uneven Elysian Wilds and main story
Massively on the Go: Super Mario Bros. Wonder is pretty wonderful
Perfect Ten: Solid MMOs you might be sleeping on in 2023
Vitae Aeternum: New World Rise of the Angry Earth’s generous endgame and season three
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s November events are looking lean
WoW Factor: The dungeon finder really did muck up World of Warcraft’s leveling – but not the way you’re thinking
Massively Overthinking: Are there any MMOs for which a spin-off mode would be welcome?
Vague Patch Notes: Default MMORPG genre features change over time, and that’s OK
Why I Play: Five years in, Fallout 76 has become expansive, flawed, and engrossing
Global Chat: EVE Vanguard has a lot to prove
Wisdom of Nym: What’s left on the table for Final Fantasy XIV’s Tokyo fan festival?
Fight or Kite: Love anime, mechs, and battle royale? Super Mecha Champions is probably for you
Hyperspace Beacon: Have Star Wars The Old Republic’s visuals aged well?
Perfect Ten: 10 MMORPGs as Saturday morning cartoons
DragonCon 2023: Costumes and cosplay were a treat
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)
