Another huge week for the MMO genre! On the AAA MMORPG front, Guild Wars 2 dropped its final season 3 episode, noted Mike Z is leading the expansion effort, and teased its expansion announcement for this week (stay tuned for our liveblog Tuesday!).
Star Citizen dominated the headlines and comment sections with the news that its alpha 3.0 has been delayed again, that the new concept ground vehicle boosted the game to $155M funding but won’t launch with 3.0, and that the studio has “no intention of reducing the size of the Star Citizen universe.”
And Citadel: Forged With Fire launched early access, building on last week’s Fortnite and Dark and Light momentum and leading into this coming week’s launch of The Secret World on Steam.
Read on for the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions.
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
The Soapbox: Getting to the heart of toxicity in MMOs - So we've gotten another post from a developer saying that they're going to really 100% be better about rooting out toxic players from their games. Seriously, we mean it this…
Massively Overthinking: How should MMOs make money in a world without lockboxes? - Earlier this week, MOP's Justin expressed frustration over lockboxes, feeling especially provoked. "As both a player and a journalist, I find it insulting when an MMO studio wants me to…
Guild Wars 2’s expansion reveal set for August 1 - Finally! Live on the Guild Wars 2 website is a teaser for the game's second expansion, to be formally revealed a week from today at noon on ArenaNet's Twitch channel.…
Chris Roberts has ‘no intention of reducing the size of the Star Citizen universe’ - Last week, German-language German website Gamestar published an interview with Star Citizen studio Cloud Imperium Games, noting that Roberts appeared to have said Star Citizen will launch with 5 to 10 star systems, an…
Star Citizen Q&A covers the Cyclone concept vehicle, which won’t make it into 3.0 - Earlier this week, we reported on Star Citizen's latest concept ship: The Tumbril Cyclone, a ground vehicle whose multiple variants will run up to $70 for those who buy in and whose…
Star Citizen’s latest concept ship isn’t a ship, and it’s pushed the game to $155M funding - Star Citizen's latest concept ship isn't a ship -- it's a freakin' rover. Dubbed The Tumbril Cyclone, the vehicle's multiple variants will run up to $70 for those who buy…
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2 One Path Ends is live, plus first impressions of Siren’s Landing - [AL:GW2]I realise that you were probably expecting some rather excited ramblings that contained my first impressions of the Guild Wars 2 season 3 finale, One Path Ends, to drop the moment…
Star Citizen’s 3.0 alpha appears to have been delayed yet again - Ever wonder whether developers regret transparency? With Star Citizen, probably not so much when the money keeps coming anyway, even when the game's 3.0 alpha and persistent universe continue being…
First Impressions: Splatoon 2 is a lobby shooter for socializers - After my hands-on at E3 and experience with the first Splatfest demo, I was a little concerned about Splatoon 2. I loved Splatoon 1, but something about the E3 Salmon Run fell flat,…
Citadel: Forged With Fire launches early access today - Those of you who hate long waits and excessive transparency during those waits are getting your wish today, as Citadel: Forged With Fire lumbers into early access on Steam today after…
Ashes of Creation gives an early glimpse of its PAX demo environment - At first glance, Ashes of Creation's PAX demo environment looks like pretty typical desert scrub: jutting rocks, occasional patches of flora, pools of water sitting in the middle of cracked…
SWTOR is moving toward a legacy-based currency system - [AL:TOR]The Hoojib is out of the bag: Star Wars: The Old Republic is planning on making a huge change to its currency systems. Responding to a question about one of…
ArcheAge server merges will impact 12 realms - [AL:Arche]Server merges are a nerve-wracking, anxiety-filled experience even on the best of occasions, but when an MMO offers contested territory and open world housing, it can become a nightmare. It's…
Valiance Online kicks off its investor alpha today - If you've been eagerly awaiting the day when Valiance Online would open for testers, the day has come. The investor alpha is starting today (it was announced yesterday, albeit when…
Secret World Legends prepares for Monday’s Steam launch - [AL:SWL]How many do-overs does Secret World Legends get? At least one more, as the rebooted horror MMO is anticipating its Steam launch on Monday after a month of beta live operation. Funcom is…
EverQuesting: A guide to EverQuest II’s Tinkerfest 2017 - After a few years, it can be difficult for long-time EverQuest II players to get excited over the return of a festival; not only are there many festivals to keep…
Mike O’Brien announces Mike Zadorojny as lead designer for the second Guild Wars 2 expansion - We've reached the end of the third season of Guild Wars 2's story, and now... what comes next? A new expansion, we all know that. If you've forgotten, that's being…
Fortnite touts sales figures while players lament pay-to-progress model - Epic Games' PvE multiplayer zombie tower defense survivalbox MMO thing Fortnite is doing well in its launch week, at least in terms of non-Steam PC early access sales. Creative Director…
LOTRO: Mordor is still aiming for a July 31 release - [AL:LOTRO]Lord of the Rings Online players are on pins and needles this week, wondering if they only have a few days before the expansion or if Standing Stone Games will…
City of Titans and Ship of Heroes team up for City of Heroes successor panel at PAX West - There will be a City of Heroes panel at PAX West... after a fashion. The game may be gone, but the City of Titans development team will be there to…
Tamriel Infinium: The problem with Elder Scrolls Online’s Morrowind plot is the twist - [AL:ESO]I played the Morrowind expansion for Elder Scrolls Online to death when it was sitting on the test server. But oddly, it was a bit more of a struggle to compete…
Rumor: Is En Masse publishing Closers Online in the west? [Update: Likely!] - We've been keeping half an eye on Closers Online since at least 2015, but with no clear sign of westward movement, that half eye was all we spared. But today,…
Perfect Ten: Observations on Secret World Legends’ relaunch - [AL:SWL]Everyone has those sacred video game cows that are dearly special to them, carry personal meaning, and trigger fear and anxiety when messed with. In the realm of MMORPGs, one…
Secret World Legends patch 2.0.3 changes auctions and dungeon requirements, adds a new lockbox - [AL:SWL]Good news for players of Secret World Legends eager to play the market: The newest patch contains a couple of big changes to auction functionality. Or mixed news, depending on…
Pokemon Go event organizers blame cell traffic overload for snafu - The fallout and analysis of the debacle that was last weekend's Pokemon Go Fest continues, as Niantic has been pressed for answers on why such a widespread failure happened -- and…
MMO dev and astronaut Richard Garriott hosts a Reddit AMA on /r/space today - [pullquote]Curious about astrophysics? The Massively OP Podcast brought on a special guest for a fun holiday bonus 'cast back in 2015 to answer a ton of listener questions on the…
Bless Online’s Rebuild Project homes in on character growth - Following the cancellation of the western version of Bless Online, Neowiz surprised everyone by announcing that it would be publishing the game here in the west on its own. Then last week,…
Villagers and Heroes slams RuneScape over ‘first-ever cross-platform MMO’ claims - Buckle up, MMO fans, because it's about to get really weird up in here. There seems to be this strange struggle between studios these days to claim the title of "first-ever…
Blade and Soul announces server merges, hypes upcoming patches - [AL:BaS]Major events are in motion over at Blade and Soul, illuminated by the game's newest producer's letter from Jonathan Lien. While Lien spent a few paragraphs touting the team's progress…
Citadel Forged With Fire’s last weekend beta was a bit rough - If you jumped into Citadel: Forged With Fire's stress-test-style of beta this past weekend, you may have gotten a heaping helping of just what to expect when the early access…
BioWare’s Anthem’s fourth pillar is obviously corn - Move over, Hearthstone's Ice Cream Citadel: BioWare is currently promoting Anthem by way of a massive corn maze and I am not even making that up. "In a world saturated…
Secret World Legends begins posting weekly news roundups, says GM team has grown by half - [AL:SWL]Without official forums for Secret World Legends, the team is apparently utilizing Reddit as an acceptable substitute. It's here that any fan of this rebooted game should go to learn…
World of Warcraft’s Burning Crusade emulator shut down by Blizzard cease-and-desist - Well, what did you think was going to happen? As they have no legal legs on which to stand, MMORPG emulator projects operate on the hope that they're under the…
The Soapbox: The disastrous Pokemon Go Fest was just Niantic being Niantic, and that has to stop - I know I complain a lot about Pokemon Go in my articles here, but there's a reason for this. I'm a huge fan not just of the Pokemon series but of what Niantic is…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Massively OP Podcast Episode 128: Geeks at Disney World
The Stream Team: More ARK Scorched Earth shenanigans
The Stream Team: Taking a Hobbit to Isengard in LOTRO
The Stream Team: Slicing up Conan Exiles’ slug boss
The Stream Team: Beginning Secret World Legend’s Blue Mountain
The Stream Team: First foray into Fortnite
The Stream Team: Charging ahead into Chapter XII of SWTOR’s KOTFE
The Stream Team: Collecting clockwork spiders in EverQuest II’s Tinkerfest
The Stream Team: Celebrating Warframe’s Chains of Harrow release on console
The Stream Team: Beating Chronicle: RuneScape Legends’ Bandit King (plus giveaway)
AND FROM OUR FRIENDS AT BLIZZARD WATCH
Know Your Lore: The tragic fall of Warcraft’s Arthas Menethil
WoW’s weekly world boss rotation won’t be random in 7.3
Christie Golden is writing another Warcraft novel
Every week, get caught up on the MMO genre’s latest news and Massively OP’s best content in our MMO Week in Review! Want more roundups of content? Try Friday’s Betawatch for MMO testing highlights, Saturday’s Make My MMO for MMO crowdfunding updates, and Sunday’s The MOP Up, which mops up all the little bits of news we didn’t cover anywhere else.
