We’re continuing our tour back through 2024, one month at a time, in MassivelyOP’s MMO Year in Review today.
The MMO genre saw two major expansions in August: Guild Wars 2 sent us to cozy bear-land with its Janthir Wilds expansion, and then World of Warcraft released The War Within, the first of its three-part expansion set.
Meanwhile, Dungeons and Dragons Online launched its Myth Drannor expansion, Throne & Liberty saw another delay, Dune Awakening got a 2025 launch window, and Skyforge got a new owner. Unfortunately, we weathered some brutal news too: Blue Protocol announced it was sunsetting in Japan and never coming westward.
Here’s the whole recap from August of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF AUGUST 2024
LOTRO opens new legendary servers today, Before the Shadow is now free for VIPs
Raph Koster on designing and defining Stars Reach: ‘The Tragedy of the Commons is a lie’
Microsoft creates a small team to pump out AA titles of Blizzard franchises
Insiders say Bungie’s latest layoffs were an inevitable result of over-promising execs
Tencent and Square Enix are reportedly working on a mobile version of Final Fantasy XIV
Rumor: Riot Games is working on a Valorant-themed MMOFPS
APB Reloaded preps New Horizon patch with new F2P content and anti-cheat tech
Finnish game studio Social First secures $4.2M in funding for a ‘cross-platform social MMO’
Black Desert launches the Mountain of Eternal Winter expansion on console today
Stars Reach’s Raph Koster on MMO trust, fear, and freedom: ‘We understand how nervous players are about griefing’
Pearl Abyss Q2 2024: Equinox bolstered EVE Online revenues as Crimson Desert waits in the wings
New World effectively ends Season of the Guardian early after ‘issue’ takes out season leaderboard
Pearl Abyss America CEO steps down for ‘a new career challenge’ after six years
Palia sets Elderwood zone for 2025, says that over 1M homes have been toured so far
Kakao Q2 2024: Profits nosedive as ArcheAge 2 faces another potential delay
Rumor: Richard Garriott says he believes he will get Ultima Online back ‘soon’
Borderlands film adaptation bombs in its opening weekend in terms of reception and ticket sales
Former Pearl Abyss America CEO takes the helm of NCsoft America
Necesse is a 2-D multiplayer colony building and dungeon delving RPG featuring new graphics
Dungeons and Dragons Online has just launched its ninth expansion, Myth Drannor
Snail Games reveals For The Stars, a sprawling new multiplayer sci-fi survival sandbox
Amazon and NCsoft delay Throne and Liberty to October 1 for more progression retooling
Ashes of Creation boosts its alpha access bundle offerings following gamer uproar
Embracer Q1 2024: Sales and company debt lower while the LOTR MMO gets a mention
Elder Scrolls Online’s update 43 is here and we are so ready to tour all of your homes
Guild Wars 2’s Janthir Wilds expansion officially launches with player housing today
Laniatus-owned Idea Fabrik claims The Repopulation is back online, renews assault on former contractor
Gamescom 2024 Opening Night Live(blog): Dune Awakening launches on PC early next year
SkyVerse is a new Bohemia-pubbed Minecraft-esque multiplayer survival sandbox
World of Warcraft’s The War Within headstart is live – prepare for a long spoiler-dodging weekend
Amazon boss: ‘We’re still trying to find the hook’ for the new Lord of the Rings MMO
Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era is a prequel to the classic turn-based RPG with multiplayer features
NCsoft Q2 2024: NCsoft says it’s not shifting focus away from MMORPGs
Unleashed Games confirms its MMO Haven will be used for additional titles made with generative AI
MY.GAMES is handing Skyforge publishing off to Innova, and yes this is confusing
Team-based PvP shooter Concord’s release was marked by low interest and middling impressions
World of Warcraft The War Within officially releases today
Mobile online RTS Rival Kingdoms sunsets after eight years of operation
NetEase abruptly announces an October sunset for Harry Potter Magic Awakened’s western version
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria launches its co-op survival experience on PC and console
Blue Protocol is shutting down in Japan and will not be localized for the west
World of Warcraft cites ‘significant combat advantage’ for today’s War Within leveling nerf
Kickstarted VR MMO Zenith just released its last content patch before heading into maintenance mode
RuneScape fans revolt over Jagex’s second subscription fee hike in three years
Wizard101 is launching on PlayStation, Xbox, and the Switch ‘soon’
You can now properly play Elder Scrolls Online on your Steam Deck
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF AUGUST 2024
Vague Patch Notes: The player-provided guidance problem in MMORPGs
Hands-on with Arc Games’ Fellowship, a new game trying to distill the MMORPG dungeon experience
Massively Overthinking: Has Discord helped or hurt MMOs?
Design Mockument: How to make housing work in World of Warcraft
Not So Massively: Stormgate was not ready for early access
Global Chat: Reporting from the land of Throne and Liberty
LOTRO Legendarium: My six-month leveling plan for Lord of the Rings Online’s fresh legendary server
Wisdom of Nym: The story beats that really work in Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
Fight or Kite: Marvel Rivals replaces Overwatch heroes with Marvel flair
Choose My Adventure: Mission runs cap off a welcoming return to Elite Dangerous
Perfect Ten: 10 tabletop games based on World of Warcraft
Vague Patch Notes: Is it time for MMORPGs to start embracing romance?
Massively Overthinking: Is financial honesty the best policy for struggling MMORPGs?
The Soapbox: If MMO classes aren’t broken, please leave ’em alone
WoW Factor: The black mark of World of Warcraft’s player economy
Warframe of Mind: Partying like it’s 1999 at TennoCon 2024
LOTRO Legendarium: How can LOTRO keep legendary server vibes strong?
Wisdom of Nym: Why Dawntrail might be my favorite Final Fantasy XIV expansion in years
Flameseeker Chronicles: Previewing Guild Wars 2’s Janthir Wilds story, warclaw, and homesteading
Not So Massively: Immortal Gates of Pyre offers multiplayer RTS fans a glimmer of hope
Choose My Adventure: Aw man Pax Dei is just not for me
Perfect Ten: My 10 favorite MMO pet classes of all time
Vague Patch Notes: The great content consumption problem in MMORPGs
The Soapbox: Feeling the FOMO effect of positive MMO news
Conan Exiles’ Age of Heroes companions and living settlements will breathe more life into the sandbox
Massively Overthinking: Do the little things make or break an MMORPG?
Storyboard: Roleplaying in MMORPGs is much more common than you think
LOTRO Legendarium: Yondershire is one of the most fun zones in LOTRO
Wisdom of Nym: Speculating on Final Fantasy XIV’s Allied Societies for Dawntrail
Choose My Adventure: Fractured Online starts off unremarkably but comfortably
Fight or Kite: Necesse is a cute retro survival game for Minecraft and Terraria fans
Perfect Ten: The best MMOs from the years before we started counting
Vague Patch Notes: The problem with numbers in MMORPGs
Massively Overthinking: Frames of reference in MMORPGs
WoW Factor: Leaving World of Warcraft’s Dragon Isles for good
LOTRO Legendarium: The quiet failure of LOTRO’s birding hobby
Global Chat: Recapping World of Warcraft’s Pandaria Remix
Wisdom of Nym: Speculating on Final Fantasy XIV’s Beastmaster
Vitae Aeternum: Ranking New World’s zones by their player housing
Choose My Adventure: Leaving the tutorial island and gaining knowledge in Fractured
Flameseeker Chronicles: 10 easy Guild Wars 2 builds for solo play in 2024’s Janthir Wilds
The Soapbox: Paid MMO headstarts foster segregation and resentment in exchange for a revenue boost
Vague Patch Notes: When did Blue Protocol really die?
Perfect Ten: Underrated MMOs that deserve a second look in 2024
Massively Overthinking: The MMOs without player housing in 2024
Flameseeker Chronicles: How to gear up in Guild Wars 2 in 2024 – without breaking the bank
Into the Super-Verse: Looking back on Champions Online, 15 years later
Massively on the Go: Pokemon GO’s Max Out season brings a little hype back
LOTRO Legendarium: Why haven’t I burned out on LOTRO yet?
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)
