We’re continuing our tour back through 2024, one month at a time, in MassivelyOP’s MMO Year in Review today.
March brought our genre the bizarre but welcome confirmation that ArenaNet is indeed working on Guild Wars 3. The news came thanks to a hostile shareholder meeting in Korea, during which an NCsoft exec announced the game by way of defending NC West’s output. Of course, everyone tried to walk it back afterward, but you can’t put a djinn back in the bottle.
Meanwhile, Cryptic devs rushed to reassure Star Trek Online, Neverwinter, and Champions Online players that everything was going to be OK as Embracer studio Deca Games took the reins. Plus, we got our first hint that New World was coming off the rails, our first tease of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s release plans, our first whisper of Brighter Shores, and our latest clue that the Riot MMORPG is even further away than anticipated.
Here’s the whole recap from March of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF MARCH 2024
Cryptic CEO says Star Trek Online, Neverwinter, and Champions Online are safe in a ‘steady state’ for content cadence
Changyou is sunsetting its global Shadowbane revival in May over ‘business adjustments’
Critter-catching MMO Duel Revolution launches to withering accusations of P2W, bugs, and bad gameplay
Dune: Awakening’s Direct shows off graphical touches, film references, and the basic survival loop of the game
Crema now says 1.8 will be Temtem’s last feature patch as it waffles on the game’s MMO status
Albion Online is launching a new fresh start server for Europe and the MENA region
Lost Ark is merging a total of 57 unique servers over the next two maintenance periods
Diablo IV unleashes the Gauntlet, its first PvE competitive game mode, today
The Crew 2 heads into maintenance mode with this week’s final update
The Fallout TV show is finally airing on April 11 – here’s the brand-new trailer!
Over 42,000 people played City of Heroes Homecoming in the last month
Throwback MMORPG Scars of Honor’s $200K Kickstarter bid ends unsuccessfully
Q4 2023: NetEase’s revenues soar as the company invests in the western gaming industry
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Classic is open for beta testing now
Overwatch 2 is collaborating with Cowboy Bebop on March 12
MultiVersus is back and launching May 28 with a ground-up rebuild and PvE mode
Elder Scrolls Online’s Scions of Ithelia DLC and update 41 are live on PC and Mac today
RIFT plans server merges and hunt event while Trove readies its Gear Up! Date
SWTOR’s Building a Foundation update arrives today with date nights and a new stronghold
Raph Koster’s Playable Worlds enlists ‘AI-powered’ character platform Popul8
Final Fantasy XIV’s Naoki Yoshida discusses making the game less stress-free, according to new interview
Besieged by bitcoin bots, BitCraft reiterates that it’s not a crypto or NFT MMO
Jagex co-founder announces Brighter Shores MMO, launching free-to-play in Q3 2024
CCP Games’ blockchain EVE Online spinoff Project Awakening plots next test phase for May
Has 2024 put the game industry ‘on the brink of disaster’? Extra Credits weighs in
EverQuest’s in-person Fippyfest is one-third sold through already as we’re finally getting more details
The Gigantic revival reveals two new maps coming with its April 9 relaunch
Gameloft unveils co-op Dungeons & Dragons survival life sim action RPG for PC and console
Camelot Unchained prequel Final Stand Ragnarok launches into early access – again – today
Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts confirms development is moving to a full 1.0 release
EverQuest celebrates its 25th anniversary with an infographic, free gifts, XP boosts, and quests
Shroud of the Avatar devs form new studio to make AI-generated roguelike battle royale Project Rise
Star Citizen’s 2022 financials offer additional information about investors and their expected returns
World of Warcraft announces Plunderstorm, a pirate-themed battle royale mode
Runes of Magic turns 15 years old today with a new trailer and endgame content
Lost Ark’s Breaker and fresh catch-up mechanics arrive in tomorrow’s Break Through to Thaemine
Ubisoft debuts AI NPC prototypes at GDC, and it went about as well as you’d expect
Everything we learned about the future of Star Trek Online, Neverwinter, & Champions Online from Cryptic’s stream
Riot has ‘decided to reset the direction’ of the Riot MMORPG as team goes ‘dark’ under new boss
Kakao Q4 2023: ArcheAge 2 has been delayed (again), now to some point in or after 2025
Wandering Wraeclast: Path of Exile 2 showcases the Ranger, announces beta delay and June alpha
Elder Scrolls Online crosses $2B in customer spending, revives Jester’s Festival for April Fools’ day
Wandering Wraeclast: Create your own graveyard with Path of Exile’s new Necropolis league
Tencent’s multiplayer zombie survival RPG Undawn ‘flopped spectacularly,’ according to Reuters
Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion is launching on July 2 following June 28 early access
Playable World’s Raph Koster refutes claim that his book Theory of Fun espouses a regressive agenda
Amazon team commits to New World and future expansions – but won’t spoil the June secret
Fallout 76 launches America’s Playground update and Season 16 Duel with the Devil
Daybreak’s DC Universe Online launches native PS5 version, picks up ex-Cryptic devs, drops huge 2024 roadmap
Throne and Liberty finally opens signups for April 10 global beta
NetEase and Marvel Games are building a new team shooter called Marvel Rivals, with closed alpha in May
No Man’s Sky launches Orbital update with major upgrades for space stations
Overwatch 2 announces nonbinary geotech hero Venture, trialing this weekend
Hostile NCsoft shareholder meeting reveals ArenaNet is working on Guild Wars 3
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer claims massive layoffs were due in part to gaming’s ‘lack of growth’
Cozy MMO Palia handwaves its bizarre beta obfuscation on the grounds that it’s free-to-play
New Hellgate game for PC and console, codenamed Hellgate Redemption, is in the works
Noah’s Heart is sunsetting April 29 as Archosaur diverts players to Dragon Raja
Path of Exile has cracked open the doors to its Necropolis expansion
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF MARCH 2024
Into the Super-verse: How City of Heroes shows its flexibility with how I’ve changed
Massively on the Go: Pokemon GO’s Season of Wonder is evasive, but March scores critical hits
LOTRO Legendarium: Three key problems LOTRO can’t seem to solve
Fight or Kite: Myth of Empires’ early gameplay is classic survival fare, but not as amazing as the trailer
Wisdom of Nym: What people don’t really get about the Warrior of Light in Final Fantasy XIV
Choose My Adventure: Starting on the road to success and self-reliance in Nightingale
Perfect Ten: MMOs where you can play as robots and cyborgs
Tamriel Infinium: Ranking Elder Scrolls Online’s 10 races from worst to best
Hey game devs, stop namedropping Star Wars Galaxies and make a spiritual successor
Into the Super-Verse: What kind of legs does City of Heroes have in the longer term?
Massively Overthinking: Are we ‘optimizing the fun out’ of MMOs?
Vague Patch Notes: Sort your own MMO community, guy
LOTRO Legendarium: Untangling LOTRO’s complicated travel system
Working As Intended: Cloud City apartments and player cities on Star Wars Galaxies Legends
Wisdom of Nym: So how are we going to sort out Final Fantasy XIV’s Vana’diel crossover?
Global Chat: Will World of Warcraft’s ‘bold experiment’ work?
Vitae Aeternum: New World’s dungeon finder is a welcome addition
Working As Intended: 10 more City of Heroes Homecoming base builds you need to see
Perfect Ten: 10 MMO monsters we don’t feel bad killing over and over again
Well Fed: An exploration of the Final Fantasy XIV official cookbook
Vague Patch Notes: You might be the reason you no longer love this MMO
Massively Overthinking: Are survival games the new MMO?
Into the Super-Verse: Tips for building your character in City of Heroes
LOTRO Legendarium: 10 fashion tips to make your LOTRO character pop
Wisdom of Nym: What we’re likely to see at Final Fantasy XIV’s PAX East 2024 panel
Choose My Adventure: Opening and exploring the astrolabe forest in Nightingale
Perfect Ten: MMOs with live-action media tie-ins
Global Chat: EverQuest hits the quarter-century mark
Vague Patch Notes: Why in the world do you want the Riot MMO to be a thing?
Fight or Kite: Is Epic’s MOBA Paragon just too easy to remake but impossible to succeed?
Massively on the Go: 10 Pokemon Go Mega Pokemon to invest now – and 2 for later
WoW Factor: World of Warcraft’s Plunderstorm is neither greedy nor good
Massively Overthinking: What’s the most polarizing topic in your favorite MMORPG?
Massively on the Go: 10 Mega Pokemon Legends Z-A could add to help Pokemon GO
LOTRO Legendarium: My 11 favorite zones in LOTRO
Vitae Aeternum: Analyzing New World’s ‘content drought,’ comms chaos, and lack of a 2024 expansion
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail release dates, event dates, and philosophy
Choose My Adventure: Losing myself roaming the realms of Nightingale
The Daily Grind: Do you experience social anxiety in MMOs?
Perfect Ten: MMOs that experienced a surprising comeback
WoW Factor: Blizzard didn’t reveal World of Warcraft sub numbers – it drew a Mystery Line
Massively Overthinking: Lies about MMOs we thought were true
Vague Patch Notes: The limits of data in MMORPGs
Tamriel Infinium: Elder Scrolls Online celebrates its 10th anniversary in Orc-land
Massively on the Go: Pokemon GO’s April content isn’t all laughs
LOTRO Legendarium: Middle-earth’s world integrity is an endangered species in MMOs
