Since early 2020, we’ve been covering the COVID-19 aka novel coronavirus pandemic as it’s spread across the globe, specifically as it affects the online gaming industry. To date, we’ve seen studios mandate work-from-home policies and major conventions and esporting events shut down in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. We’ve rounded up our complete coverage of the crisis here.
October 7, 2024: PSA: Overwatch 2 is clearancing out old Overwatch League skins, get ’em while you can
July 30, 2024: For Science: EVE Online ramps up cancer-fighting Project Discovery with new minigames and rewards
July 1, 2024: UK employment tribunal says Star Citizen studio discriminated against autistic employee
April 3, 2024: For Science: EVE Online’s Project Discovery initiative opens signups for mobile testing
February 19, 2024: Wisdom of Nym: How long until Final Fantasy XIV’s next expansion based on patch 6.57?
December 22, 2023: Guild Wars 2’s ArenaNet is working on expansions for both 2024 and 2025 already
October 13, 2023: WoW Factor: No-selling BlizzCon
September 18, 2023: Ubisoft Montreal employees accuse studio of lying about work-from-home policies as an RTO mandate begins
August 9, 2023: Following Final Fantasy XIV Fanfest COVID outbreak, one fan admits guilt – in a comic
July 19, 2023: Activision-Blizzard Q2 2023: Diablo IV doubled Blizzard’s revenues as MAUs continue decline
July 4, 2023: Massively Uplifting: Spring and summer philanthropy and farewells in MMOs
April 26, 2023: Activision-Blizzard Q1 2023: ABK revenues are up as Blizzard MAUs fall back down to reality
March 16, 2023: Polish and illness have slightly delayed Gameforge’s launch of Aion Classic in Europe
November 21, 2022: Destiny 2 talks remote engineering work, Crucible updates, and keeping Eliksni warm
October 27, 2022: MapleStory Fest confirms a November 12 date and a return to in-person festivities
August 4, 2022: Guild Wars 2 marks 10 years of operation with special community events at Gamescom and PAX West
August 2, 2022: TwitchCon will have no mask or vaccination requirements despite the ongoing pandemic
August 1, 2022: Activision-Blizzard Q2 2022: More revenue dips for WoW, ABK, and Blizzard in spite of Diablo Immortal
May 19, 2022: Star Citizen boss rests feature delay blame on COVID, touts rise in new players, and marks a path to beta
May 15, 2022: EVE Fanfest 2022: CCP delivered free food to EVE Online players waylaid by the Fanfest COVID outbreak
May 8, 2022: EVE Fanfest 2022: Fanfest attendees have already begun testing positive for COVID
May 3, 2022: PAX East 2022’s COVID outbreak has already resulted in one death
April 28, 2022: EVE Online shares a ‘megablog’ of details, events, and schedules for its upcoming Fanfest
April 25, 2022: PAX East vendor reports COVID-19 exposures from the event despite masking and vax requirements
April 25, 2022: Activision-Blizzard Q1 2022: Revenues plummet, Blizzard loses another 2M players
January 13, 2022: Valve abruptly cancels Dota 2 esports tourney over COVID, ticking off teams
January 7, 2022: E3 2022 will once more be an all-digital event in the face of COVID omicron surge
December 15, 2021: PAX East 2022 will be in-person in April, requiring vaccines and masking
November 5, 2021: EVE Fanfest set to return as a ‘COVID-safe event’ in May 2022
October 25, 2021: Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers (not) in review
October 23, 2021: Epic Games retracts a policy that granted extra days off to employees
October 20, 2021: Massively Uplifting: Warframe fights cancer, Square Enix helps the Red Cross, and Extra Life 2021 looms
October 4, 2021: DOTA 2 The International refunds live-audience tix because the pandemic didn’t go away
August 30, 2021: EVE London is returning with a physical viewing party of the Alliance Tournament on November 6
August 22, 2021: Gamescom 2021 touts over 70 devs and publishers, highlights panels on education and societal change
August 10, 2021: PAX Australia 2021 has been canceled due to COVID, replaced by online event
August 3, 2021: Activision-Blizzard Q2 2021: Activision revenues are up, Blizzard MAUs are down amid sexism scandal
August 2, 2021: Massively Uplifting: Summer goodness from SOLO, EVE, Bungie, Warframe, and Guild Wars
July 27, 2021: PAX West 2021 will require attendees to prove they’re vaccinated or COVID-free
July 16, 2021: PAX East 2021: Gaming streamers are frontline workers, not mental health experts
July 13, 2021: Multiplayer survival shooter Vigor brings back classic cosmetics with its first Legacy season
July 1, 2021: Here are the cities around the world that’ll host Pokemon Go Fest 2021
May 18, 2021: Flameseeker Chronicles: The disappointing second half of Guild Wars 2’s Icebrood Saga
May 7, 2021: EVE Online is declared immortal, draws scientists to its Project Discovery system, reveals a space cult
May 5, 2021: Gamescom 2021 will be an all-digital show thanks to COVID
May 4, 2021: Activision-Blizzard Q1 2021: Blizzard lost almost 29% of its overall active playerbase in three years
May 3, 2021: Massively Uplifting: Gaming charity endeavors support vets, autism, and AbleGamers
April 23, 2021: Warframe’s Tennocon 2021 will again be digital-only, benefiting homelessness relief
April 14, 2021: Star Citizen announces October 9 date for all-virtual CitizenCon
April 6, 2021: E3 2021 is officially a digital-only event this year
April 6, 2021: Lord of the Rings Online players create a video memorial for a fallen friend
April 5, 2021: Massively Uplifting: Gamestonk, gorillas, and giving in MMOs
March 29, 2021: PAX East 2021 has been canceled and replaced with PAX Online 2021 in July
March 26, 2021: WoW Factor: Why aren’t we getting more customization options in Shadowlands?
March 19, 2021: World of Warcraft fundraises for Doctors Without Borders by offering pet incentives
March 13, 2021: China shuts down Genshin Impact KFC promotion at certain locations due to pandemic concerns
March 3, 2021: MMO Business Roundup: Comic Con 2021, Apple v. Epic, and Twitch transparency
February 24, 2021: BioWare is halting development on Anthem Next, but Anthem itself will stay up
February 17, 2021: MMO Business Roundup: Stadia’s bungle, Axie Infinity’s $1.5M in-game property
February 9, 2021: E3 is currently in planning to be a digital-only event this year
February 4, 2021: Activision-Blizzard Q4 2020: Activision’s revenues are up QoQ and YoY as Blizzard MAUs drop again
January 11, 2021: SuperData says the gaming industry grew by 12% during COVID-dominated 2020
January 4, 2021: Massively Uplifting: Niantic, ArenaNet, and more MMO studios end 2020 on charitable high notes
January 4, 2021: Wisdom of Nym: Predicting Final Fantasy XIV’s 2021 for now
January 4, 2021: Popular World of Warcraft cosplayer Jarod Lee Nandin passes away from complications with COVID-19
January 3, 2021: Make My MMO: The biggest MMO crowdfunding news of 2020
January 2, 2021: Final Fantasy XIV’s Naoki Yoshida teases the next expansion while saluting frontline health workers
December 29, 2020: Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2’s 2020 year in review
December 21, 2020: Massively OP’s 2020 Awards: MMO Story of the Year
December 20, 2020: Into the Super-verse: A heroic year of superhero MMO development
December 17, 2020: Legends of Aria apologizes for COVID-related update and communication delays, shares details for Season 7
December 14, 2020: Tencent moves forward in buying Leyou Technologies for over a billion bucks
December 7, 2020: PAX hopes to return in 2021 with a full slate of conventions
December 2, 2020: End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO surprises of 2020
December 1, 2020: Black Desert pushes back its digital Calpheon Ball as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
November 26, 2020: Massively Overthinking: Gratitude for the devs of the MMO genre
November 25, 2020: Perfect Ten: 10 MMO blessings to be thankful for in 2020
November 20, 2020: Pokemon Go is reviving some of the COVID enhancements it had earlier rolled back
November 18, 2020: MMO Business Roundup: Twitch affiliate mess, NFL esports, Skull & Bones boss ousted
November 16, 2020: EVE Pulse thanks players for PLEX for GOOD donations and shows off an updated jump clone panel
November 14, 2020: The Daily Grind: How did the pandemic change your MMO gaming this year?
November 12, 2020: CCP Games’ EVE Online community raised $135,500 for COVID-19 response through PLEX for GOOD
November 2, 2020: Massively Uplifting: Supporting small businesses, grieving through games, and lending helping hands
October 29, 2020: Activision-Blizzard Q3 2020: Blizzard MAUs fell to 30M as overall ActiBlizz revenues hold steady
September 29, 2020: As US COVID deaths pass 200,000, the LA ComicCon refuses to cancel
September 22, 2020: EVE Online players submitted over 41M classifications to fight COVID for CCP’s latest Project Discovery initiative
September 7, 2020: Massively Uplifting: MMOs from LOTRO to ESO bring comfort, healing, camaraderie, and charity
September 6, 2020: The MOP Up: Elder Scrolls Online’s Stonethorn DLC arrives on consoles
September 3, 2020: Massively Overthinking: How we deal with burning out of MMOs
August 29, 2020: Ashes of Creation’s latest stream homes in on castle sieges and hybrid combat
August 26, 2020: G-Star 2020 will now be an all-digital event as a result of COVID-19
August 14, 2020: GDC Summer 2020: Better living, climate awareness, and citizen science through games
August 13, 2020: City of Heroes Homecoming confirms NCsoft talks continue, plans new name, domain, and launcher
August 11, 2020: ArtCraft on Crowfall’s beta release today, Eternal Kingdoms, the newbie experience, and much more
August 5, 2020: GDC Summer 2020: How Niantic adapted Pokemon Go gameplay in the time of COVID-19
August 5, 2020: Riot is closing up shop for a week to grant devs a break from crunch and deadlines
August 4, 2020: Activision-Blizzard Q2 2020: Year-over-year revenues are up for the first time in six quarters
August 3, 2020: Massively Uplifting: Good deeds don’t take the summer off for Bungie, Niantic, and Trolls in WoW
August 3, 2020: Camelot Unchained works on giants, pretty trees, wyverns, and replacing Ben Pielstick
August 3, 2020: Call of Duty gamers ignore pandemic-related safety orders at unofficial esports gathering
August 1, 2020: TennoCon 2020: Warframe’s infested open world Heart of Deimos launches August 25th on all platforms
July 31, 2020: Rumor: Halo Infinite leak suggests a free-to-play multiplayer experience
July 31, 2020: Here’s what to expect from Elder Scrolls Online at QuakeCon 2020
July 28, 2020: Flameseeker Chronicles: First Impressions of Guild Wars 2’s Jormag Rising, live today
July 26, 2020: The MOP Up: EVE Online’s Triglavian conflict comes to a head
July 23, 2020: SuperData June 2020: Valorant had the ‘biggest launch ever for a free-to-play PC title’
July 20, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: How the pandemic has affected game devs, GameStop’s flip-flopping on mask wearing policy
July 20, 2020: Warframe of Mind: A history of TennoCon reveals, from The War Within to Heart of Deimos
July 17, 2020: Albion Online celebrates three years online and spring playerbase peaks
July 16, 2020: Massively Overthinking: Has the pandemic changed your gaming habits?
July 13, 2020: The Daily Grind: What do you think about the New World delay?
July 8, 2020: EVE Online’s CCP Games cancels EVE San Diego and all 2021 events over COVID
July 7, 2020: Guild Wars 2’s latest balancing patch is live as ArenaNet offers summer roadmap
July 7, 2020: Dragon Con is the latest fan show that’s going virtual this year
July 6, 2020: Massively Uplifting: Speech therapy, a college class in WoW, and the Ian Holm tribute that crashed LOTRO
July 6, 2020: Quantic Foundry surveys say gamers are seeking more relaxing and less intense gaming experiences during COVID-19
July 5, 2020: The MOP Up: Roblox players spend over $1.5 billion to date
June 23, 2020: EA says it can ‘no longer be a bystander’ to toxicity in online gaming
June 23, 2020: Activision-Blizzard shareholders say nay votes constitute ‘rebuke’ of company pay practices
June 19, 2020: World War II Online aka Battleground Europe offers everyone a free premium month
June 19, 2020: MMO Business Roundup: Richard Garriott, Square-Enix’s charity, Stadia, and Team Fortress’ racist bots
June 17, 2020: Fortnite’s long-delayed Chapter 2, Season 3 is live today – bring your swimsuit
June 16, 2020: MMO Business Roundup: PAX Online, PAX Aus, games for ADHD, Epic’s $17B valuation
June 15, 2020: EVE Online’s Project Discovery initiative tasks players with helping research COVID-19
June 14, 2020: The MOP Up: COVID-19’s digital silver lining
June 5, 2020: MMO Business Roundup: Paradox signs union agreement, shareholders slam Activision-Blizzard
June 5, 2020: Final Fantasy XIV cancels its North American fan festival for 2020 over COVID-19, delays patch 5.3
June 1, 2020: Massively Uplifting: Charity tourneys, Asheron’s Call in Animal Crossing, and over a million Kind Words
June 1, 2020: Desert Oasis: Recapping Black Desert’s Heidel Ball, from backstage to balancing
May 31, 2020: The MOP Up: Second Life’s super expensive brothel
May 26, 2020: Blizzard has canceled BlizzCon 2020, aims for online replacement early next year
May 23, 2020: SuperData April 2020: Games spending shatters more records thanks to the pandemic
May 17, 2020: The MOP Up: Bossa Studios releases World War AI
May 13, 2020: Nexon Q1 2020 financials: COVID-19’s economic damage caused ‘no significant disruption’
May 13, 2020: Warframe of Mind: Five ways to make a more splendiferous TennoCon 2020
May 13, 2020: Black Desert moves Heidel Ball online, adds Striker on mobile and events on PC
May 12, 2020: MMO Business Roundup: Guerilla Collective, PlayStation Studios, XLGAMES’ new MMO, ChinaJoy, and NCsoft’s baseball team
May 10, 2020: The MOP Up: War Thunder helps the US Army train in quarantine
May 8, 2020: COVID-19 gaming impact roundup: Studios working from home, War Thunder as an Army training tool
May 6, 2020: Albion Online adds mobile improvements like a virtual joystick and Outland banks, raises €42K for COVID-19 relief
May 6, 2020: EA delivers solid Q1 2020, YOY revenue increases, and a promise of game upgrades for next-gen consoles
May 6, 2020: CCP intensifies fight against COVID-19, hopes EVE Online will ‘outlive us all’
May 6, 2020: Half a million people played Albion Online in April, so its studio is hiring again
May 5, 2020: Activision-Blizzard Q1 2020: Blizzard MAUs flat at 32M, but revenue jumps ahead of Shadowlands
May 5, 2020: Massively OP Podcast Episode 270: Words of Warcraft
May 4, 2020: Massively Uplifting: Communities and companies bolster COVID-19 relief and mental health support
May 3, 2020: World of Warships will commemorate the end of WWII with a virtual naval parade
May 2, 2020: LOTRO Legendarium: Wells of Langflood, River-hobbits, and free questing
May 1, 2020: Star Citizen just canceled this year’s CitizenCon 2950 thanks to the pandemic
May 1, 2020: Mark Jacobs says Camelot Unchained’s 90-day plan is still on track
May 1, 2020: GDC Summer, Dota 2’s The International, and Fortnite’s World Cup suffer fresh setbacks thanks to the pandemic
April 30, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: Rockstar and Jagex help save the UK’s National Videogame Museum and more
April 30, 2020: Guild Wars 2’s next living story episode, No Quarter, will launch without voice acting thanks to the pandemic
April 29, 2020: Bethesda donates a total of $1 million to COVID-19 relief efforts
April 27, 2020: Star Wars Galaxies Legends players share messages of support and goodwill
April 22, 2020: SuperData March 2020: Digital games spending sets achieves new highs thanks to COVID-19
April 22, 2020: PAX West 2020 is still tentatively on amid COVID-19 while GameStop re-opens
April 21, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: Teaching disease prevention in WoW Elysium, more sports turn to esports
April 19, 2020: Overwatch honors a fan on the medical front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak
April 18, 2020: San Diego Comic Con is officially cancelled this year thanks to COVID-19
April 17, 2020: Roblox will stream the One World: Together At Home event tomorrow
April 16, 2020: Massively Overthinking: MMO business models in the face of recession
April 16, 2020: COVID-19: Gamescom goes digital, Star Trek Online honors medics, Raph Koster tackles pandemic denialism
April 15, 2020: COVID-19 Roundup: EVE Online’s huge influx of newbies, live Gamescom is probably toast
April 14, 2020: RuneScape adjusts the Shattered Worlds (with help from the Ninjas), Jagex gives over $125k to charity
April 14, 2020: Massively OP Podcast Episode 267: Who had ‘New World delay’ on their bingo card?
April 14, 2020: Over a thousand people rolled toons in Ship of Heroes’ impromptu beta
April 14, 2020: Final Fantasy XIV kicks off an eight-day free login campaign
April 14, 2020: The Daily Grind: Have you noticed an uptick in players in your MMO of choice?
April 11, 2020: Star Wars: The Old Republic shakes up its release schedule thanks to the pandemic
April 10, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: Game spending shoots up, Stadia Pro goes free, and GDC tries again
April 10, 2020: Final Fantasy XIV’s Naoki Yoshida confirms that patch 5.3 will be delayed in the wake of the pandemic
April 9, 2020: Jagex cancels RuneScape’s RuneFest 2020, considers ‘alternative virtual events’
April 9, 2020: Chronicles of Elyria boss says development is still ongoing, still seeking funding
April 9, 2020: Blizzard hasn’t canceled BlizzCon 2020 over the pandemic, is still working on the show
April 9, 2020: Amazon’s MMO New World just delayed launch from May to August 25
April 8, 2020: MMO Business Roundup: Funcom’s corporate move, Japan’s ratings board, and Dean Hall’s next big thing
April 8, 2020: Elder Scrolls Online’s Greymoor has been delayed, but only by about a week
April 7, 2020: Our interview with Final Fantasy XIV’s Naoki Yoshida and Yusuke Mogi
April 7, 2020: Riot’s Runeterra launches April 30 while COVID-19 slows Valorant
April 6, 2020: Massively Uplifting: Cake, coloring, and EVE Online’s PLEX4Good COVID-19 relief
April 6, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: Brick-and-mortar game store stupidity, ‘reimagined’ E3 2021, and Twitch’s new record
April 6, 2020: Popular Chinese MMO JX3 Online will close in Taiwan following COVID-19 protest
April 4, 2020: EVE Online crowns its Champion of Lowsec, posts Pulse video and charity campaign
April 3, 2020: Massively Overthinking: How are MMO players faring through the pandemic?
April 2, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: Final Fantasy MMORPG disruptions, Xbox Series X release, and philanthropy from Sony and Albion Online
April 1, 2020: Pandemic roundup: Humble Conquer COVID-19, Bethsoft events canceled, EA ‘stay and play’
March 31, 2020: Massively on the Go: How Pokemon Go is improving without all the ‘go’
March 31, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: Game platforms, pandemic sales, and the potential for a digital Gamescom
March 30, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: #PlayApartTogether, Blade & Soul perks, and Twitch Aid’s $2.7M charity raise
March 29, 2020: Final Fantasy XIV temporarily suspends automatic housing demolition because of COVID-19
March 27, 2020: Guild Wars 2’s Super Adventure Box is coming mid-April, not next week, and there’s no new World
March 27, 2020: World of Warships’ exercises and recipes, World of Tanks’ overhaul, and War Thunder’s movie set
March 27, 2020: Here’s what you can do in Ship of Heroes’ surprise beta right now
March 26, 2020: Massively Overthinking: What do you hoard in MMORPGs?
March 26, 2020: Twitch Aid 2020 brings together gamers, musicians, and celebs for COVID-19 charity
March 26, 2020: COVID-19 drives up WoW Classic queues, threatens UK’s only videogame museum
March 26, 2020: Shroud of the Avatar extends an olive branch to Chronicles of Elyria’s community
March 24, 2020: MMO blogging community fights quarantine boredom with ‘Blapril 2020’ project
March 24, 2020: SuperData February 2020: Fortnite returns to the top 10 as analysts predict COVID-19 impacts
March 23, 2020: Skyforge postpones its anniversary, gives a month of free subscription
March 23, 2020: COVID-19 roundup: GameStop, unions call foul, Square-Enix, race cars, Blizzard, Skyforge, and Ultima Online housing
March 23, 2020: City of Heroes rogue server creates a folding@home team for players to combat coronavirus
March 21, 2020: Guild Wars 2 prepares a legendary armory for legendary use as the studio adopts work-from-home policy
March 20, 2020: World of Warships offers free premium play, World of Warcraft doubles experience during the outbreak
March 20, 2020: Ship of Heroes just announced a ‘surprise beta’ for everyone during the pandemic
March 20, 2020: GDC plans summer events as studios from Gamigo to Blizzard to Riot see player surges
March 19, 2020: Fallout 76’s free stuff, Population Zero’s giveaway, and Hearthstone’s private events
March 19, 2020: Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online just made most content free for the next few weeks
March 19, 2020: Razer to manufacture and donate up to a million surgical masks to battle coronavirus
March 19, 2020: More and more MMOs are offering sales and events during the coronavirus pandemic
March 17, 2020: Massively OP Podcast Episode 263: Cantha or bust
March 17, 2020: Daybreak, Cryptic, City State, Frontier, and more MMO studios affected by worldwide pandemic shutdowns
March 16, 2020: Coronavirus roundup: GamesCom 2020 is still planned for August – for now
March 16, 2020: Steam hits a new peak of 20 million concurrent users thanks to quarantines and social distancing
March 14, 2020: Coronavirus roundup: Blizzard, free APB Reloaded, EA esports, HPWU, and how your PC can help humans win
March 13, 2020: Warframe studio Digital Extremes cancels in-person TennoCon 2020, turns it fully online
March 13, 2020: Coronavirus roundup: EGX Rezzed, Pokemon Go, and using MMOs to learn from home
March 12, 2020: Coronavirus roundup: Virtual GDC, Overwatch League suspended, Crowfall and Funcom work-from-home
March 11, 2020: Coronavirus leads to E3’s cancellation, plus SMITE and Pokemon Go postpone events
March 9, 2020: Coronavirus concerns cancel SXSW, Minecraft Festival, and several FIFA 20 and Apex Legends esports events
March 6, 2020: Destiny 2 staff told to work remotely to keep season on track (and the novel coronavirus at bay)
March 5, 2020: Blue Protocol’s Japanese closed beta has been delayed nearly a month over coronavirus
March 4, 2020: The coronavirus has shut down another six gaming and tech events
March 3, 2020: Massively OP Podcast Episode 261: PAX yay, GDC nay
March 3, 2020: Coronavirus drives DCUO to beg off a ComicCon, but E3 planning is ‘full speed’ ahead
March 2, 2020: CSGO esports set a new online viewership record thanks to quarantine
March 1, 2020: The Daily Grind: How much do you see COVID-19 impacting the MMO sphere?
February 28, 2020: Coronavirus fears prompt GDC to reschedule to late summer
February 28, 2020: Blizzard has now bowed out of GDC 2020 over coronavirus fears
February 28, 2020: CCP Games just canceled April’s EVE Fanfest over coronavirus concerns
February 27, 2020: EVE Online tours offices as fans debate potential coronavirus impact on Fanfest
February 27, 2020: Coronavirus fears knock out more PAX East exhibitors, but GDC will go on as planned
February 25, 2020: Wandering Wraeclast: Discover Delirium when Path of Exile’s new league launches March 13
February 25, 2020: EVE Echoes has been ‘hindered’ by the coronavirus but will launch in ‘late 2020’
February 25, 2020: EA becomes the latest studio to back out of a con over coronavirus concerns
February 24, 2020: The mayor of Boston asks Sony to reconsider withdrawing from PAX East
February 23, 2020: The MOP Up: Coronavirus concerns are impacting PAX East 2020
February 21, 2020: Square Enix has canceled most of its Final Fantasy XIV and FFXI PAX East festivities over the coronavirus
January 31, 2020: MMO Business Roundup: Stadia, Coronavirus, E3, VR, EVE Fanfest, Discord, and WOTC’s BioWare devs
January 30, 2020: Blizzard’s Overwatch League matches in China are on hold for two months for the coronavirus
January 27, 2020: League of Legends Chinese pro esports league suspends events over spreading coronavirus
