Bye bye, War Thunder bots! “Over the last month, we’ve blocked 9,569 accounts that were found to be in violation of the rules,” Gaijin told players this week. “Specifically 3.2.3 of the EULA namely in the automation of gameplay (using bots) and cheat software.” And just to cap it all off, the team posted the whole list of banned folks, along with user ID numbers. If those numbers are assigned in order from the birth of the game as we suspect they are, then a couple of those players appear to have been among the first 100,000 players the game ever saw (most are in the 150,000,000+ range). That’s gotta hurt.
And this is just the beginning of the rest of the news! Read on for a roundup of other smaller MMO news stories and videos from this past week in this edition of The MOP Up (and if you don’t see a news story that we should have covered, drop us a tip)!
Age of Empires Online aka Project Celeste announced a new content pack called Conquest of Britannia, with new quests and new modes for existing quests. “Travel to the Roman city of Londinium, located in the all new region of Britannia, where for the first time ever, you will get to aid both sides of the ongoing war between the Celts and the Romans, and assist both Boudicca and Crassus!” (Thanks, Brandon!)
Terraria’s state-of-the-game memo for January promises that 2023 “has the potential to be the most impactful year for the game and community since the release of Journey’s End.”
Torchlight Infinite recapped its latest community Q&A, telling fans that it won’t be lowering the exp penalty and that chapter 4 and 5 are still on the way. “The plan is still in progress,” XD says. “These matters have been designed and planned, but to be frank, the progress is relatively slow because the team’s main focus is currently on adjusting some of the most basic gameplay experiences, such as the treasure hunting experience.”
Bohemia’s Vigor Chronicles released a new looter-shooter chapter called Isolation, perfect for the coldest months of the year.
Vendetta Online has added dozens of new missions in this month’s updates.
Following layoffs, Lost Skies’ Bossa Studios said it would be pulling back on its reveal cadence, though it did post a lengthy dev blog on how to simulate wind flow in the game.
Neverwinter’s latest patch buffed the Barbarian, Blademaster, and Rogue, among other things.
Second Life’s January update teased new scripting changes and a project viewer on deck.
MU Online launched the second part of its 18th season, adding a new map as well as the latest season pass.
Splatoon 3 has been talking up Side Order, the next chunk of its paid expansion pass DLC; it launches February 22nd.
SRL Big Newsroom here with an exciting announcement! Side Order, Wave 2 of the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass paid DLC, is coming at you on Thursday, February 22nd. Join up with new faces and old friends to escape the world of order! pic.twitter.com/ap9ORzxtMZ
— Splatoon North America (@SplatoonNA) January 24, 2024
And finally, Legends of Runeterra dropped a state of the game video – a bit somber, given that Riot Games has seriously cut down on content scope for the title since it’s apparently been losing money.
The MMO industry pumps out more and more news every year – no site could possibly cover everything. That’s why we gather together all the extras every week in The MOP Up, our a weekly compilation of MMO info we don’t want lost in the cracks of time. Send us your news bits through our tips line!
