We’re continuing our tour back through 2024, one month at a time, in MassivelyOP’s MMO Year in Review today.
Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail took July by storm, impressing players and even topping Endwalker’s peak concurrency.
Meanwhile, Daybreak shocked everyone by buying Palia studio Singularity 6, Pantheon resolved to launch early access in December, Neverwinter launched the Mountain of Flame module, No Man’s Sky released a massive universe refresh, Throne & Liberty began open beta, Kickstarted MMO Fractured Online officially launched, Sony canceled multiple Bungie projects, and the World of Warcraft team finally unionized. Hell yeah!
Here’s the whole recap from July of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF JULY 2024
Shroud of the Avatar offers an axe in honor of Richard Garriott’s birthday, but only for buying $80 in currency
Sega is promising a new open-world and massively multiplayer Crazy Taxi game
Daybreak bought Palia studio Singularity 6 and aims to bring the game to launch
Nexon’s co-op looter-shooter The First Descendant has officially launched today
Final Fantasy XIV’s massive Dawntrail expansion is officially live today
Funcom marks Secret World’s 12th anniversary with a brief message of thanks
Here’s how the ‘cellular automata simulation’ in Raph Koster’s new sandbox MMORPG Stars Reach works
CCP Games CEO says making EVE Online’s dev platform open source cements the MMO’s legacy
Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail peak player concurrency has apparently topped even Endwalker’s
PvPvE team shooter Exoprimal enters de facto maintenance mode starting July 11
Tencent’s co-op looter-shooter Synced is sunsetting just a year after its western PC launch
NetEase’s post-apoc survival MMO Once Human is live – and already tearing up Steam
Crowdfunded MMORPG Pantheon Rise of the Fallen is launching early access in December
World of Warcraft’s Ion Hazzikostas reflects on a ‘a time of introspection and reexamination’ for the MMORPG
Raph Koster lays out the (first) four pillars of design for his sandbox MMORPG Stars Reach
Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online are finally getting official Discords
Funcom says Conan Exiles’ dev cadence isn’t impacted by Dune Awakening
Kickstarted VR MMO Zenith officially goes into maintenance mode
Neverwinter’s Mount Hotenow-revamping Mountain of Flame module is live on all platforms today
Neverness to Everness is Hotta Studios’ next gacha RPG set in a ‘supernatural urban open world’
The No Man’s Sky Worlds ‘universe refresh’ is why you’re playing No Man’s Sky this weekend
Spellfarers is a new Palia-esque indie cozy MMO, headed to early access July 29
PSA: New World is planning to expire your character names after six months of inactivity
Former Blizzard and Funcom dev Craig Morrison is working on a cozy true crime MMORPG backed by NetEase
Throne & Liberty starts its open beta today – here’s the new trailer
Ultima Online previews New Legacy’s themepark stylings in its new gameplay video
Throne & Liberty’s open beta wrestles with login issues and EU server problems, showcases early access bundles
Settlers of Kalguur brings a massive melee overhaul and more to Path of Exile
Devs from multiple Bethesda offices formally create a ‘wall to wall’ union of over 200 workers
Save the date for Warframe and Soulframe’s 10th TennoCon: July 18-19, 2025
Microsoft calls FTC’s Game Pass filing ‘misleading’ owing to multiplayer functionality and Call of Duty availability
Stars Reach’s Raph Koster argues that a persistent virtual world is ‘too powerful an idea’ to dismiss
The pre-expansion patch for World of Warcraft: The War Within is live today
The Olympics now have an official esports event starting next year
NCsoft expands Throne & Liberty publishing to several additional regions in Asia and beyond
Kickstarted sandbox MMORPG Fractured Online is finally, officially out of early access
Blizzard’s World of Warcraft team just formed a wall-to-wall multidisciplinary WoWGG union
Apex Legends slightly reels back battle pass changes after players revolt on Steam
Stars Reach’s Raph Koster: ‘We’re going into space, and it’s going to be awesome’
Game studio execs weigh in on reasons for the high costs of American game development
SAG-AFTRA voice actors begin strike following failed games industry negotiations on AI protections
For Science: Research study identifies money laundering patterns in the Steam Marketplace
Path of Exile Settlers of Kalguur launch drove its Steam concurrency to an all-time peak
Dual Universe unveils a standalone version that lets players host their own fully customized private servers
VR MMO Zenith strives for ‘a more sustainable vision’ as it shuts down three servers
RuneScape microtransaction survey ponders the potential full removal of lockboxes
For Science: EVE Online ramps up cancer-fighting Project Discovery with new minigames and rewards
Lord of the Rings Online’s Update 41 adds birding hobby and hard tack crafting event today
Destiny 2 studio Bungie lays off another 220 workers, ending work on multiple games
Cozy multiplayer life sim Spellfarers conjures up an early access launch
Crowdfunded multiplayer RTS Stormgate enters headstart today ahead of its August free-to-play launch
Old-school web browser MMORPG Tanoth has been resurrected in a playable beta format
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF JULY 2024
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s relatively smooth early access isn’t a sign of doom
Vitae Aeternum: New World Aeternum’s stagger changes could make or break the game
Choose My Adventure: The Elite Dangerous vs Pax Dei rematch
The Game Archaeologist: World of Warcraft in the 1990s
Perfect Ten: 10 more MMOs you’ve already forgotten ever existed, from Elyon to Defiance
Vague Patch Notes: The stuff that has me excited about Stars Reach
First Impresions: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail is a dense summer getaway for the MMORPG
LOTRO Legendarium: Six ideas LOTRO totally should steal from other MMOs
Wisdom of Nym: Spoiler-free impressions of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s leveling dungeons
The Soapbox: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail, mortality, remembrance, and last chances
Fight or Kite: Multiversus relaunched is just as fun as ever
Perfect Ten: 10 MMORPGs with weirdly defensive fanbases
Massively on the Go: MOP’s planning guide for Pokemon Go Global Go Fest 2024
Vague Patch Notes: Yes, tutorials are a good thing in MMORPGs
Massively Overthinking: How often do you play human MMO characters when you have other choices?
WoW Factor: Blizzard started listening to World of Warcraft players for a reason its leadership doesn’t want to say
LOTRO Legendarium: Six ways you can prepare for the new legendary servers
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail’s delightfully light role quests
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go Fest 2024 aimed straight at the wallet
Not So Massively: The problem with The First Descendant’s character unlock mechanics
Choose My Adventure: Slipping back in to the simple pleasures of Elite Dangerous
Perfect Ten: Why World of Warcraft’s Legion was a top-tier expansion
Vague Patch Notes: How widespread free-to-play impacted MMORPGs
Path of Exile’s Settlers of Kalguur tackles real-time mechanics with city building
Massively Overthinking: When I’m president of video games…
WoW Factor: The mulligan problem in World of Warcraft’s narrative
LOTRO Legendarium: Is LOTRO’s early game too big and unwieldy?
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s Arcadion brings the noise
Choose My Adventure: Gleeful space truckin’ through Elite Dangerous
Fight or Kite: Backpack Battles puts your bag sorting skills to the test
Perfect Ten: 10 times MMOs appeared in TV and movies
The Soapbox: Why MMOs are the ultimate creature comforts
Vague Patch Notes: Everything in an MMORPG is time-limited
Working As Intended: The Fridge Poetry game is the latest distillation of MMORPG PvP
Global Chat: Looking back at 15 years of World of Warcraft blogging
Massively Overthinking: How much research do you do before playing a new MMORPG?
Storyboard: The fine art of letting your character fail in MMORPG roleplaying
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s August is leaning into Adventure
The Game Archaeologist: A look back at proto-MMOs through the 1980s
Wisdom of Nym: The actual storytelling issues with Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
Vitae Aeternum: Let’s design some New World artifacts
Choose My Adventure: Blowing up rocks for fun and profit in Elite Dangerous
Massively OP Podcast Episode 478: Ultima Online finds its stones
Perfect Ten: MMOs with outstanding tutorial sections
THE FULL 2024 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
MMO Year in Review: City of Heroes comes home (January 2024)
MMO Year in Review: PlanetSide on the move (February 2024)
MMO Year in Review: The bewildering announcement of Guild Wars 3 (March 2024)
MMO Year in Review: Stop killing games (April 2024)
MMO Year in Review: Cataclysm redux, Pandaria remix (May 2024)
MMO Year in Review: A Gold Road to a new New World (June 2024)
MMO Year in Review: Dawntrail, our summer destination (July 2024)
MMO Year in Review: War Within, Janthir Wilds (August 2024)
MMO Year in Review: ArcheAge Chronicles (September 2024)
MMO Year in Review: The rise of the Amazon MMORPG (October 2024)
