While World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands smooth-launching expansion was certainly the big drop of the Thanksgiving season, several other MMOs brought the goods, including Guild Wars 2 (Truce), Elder Scrolls Online (Markath), and Fallout 76, which accidentally launched Steel Dawn a week early. We also got a deeper look at Amazon’s New World, a hands-on with Atlas Reactor’s revival as Atlas Rogues, and a detailed roadmap for Lord of the Rings Online.
Read on for the whole list from November of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF NOVEMBER 2020
Vampire the Masquerade sinks its teeth into the battle royale genre
NCsoft expected to change its name to NC before September
Elder Scrolls Online’s Markarth DLC and update 28 are officially live for PC players
Massively Uplifting: Supporting small businesses, grieving through games, and lending helping hands
Whatever happened to Valve’s digital card game Artifact?
World of Warcraft multiboxing just got a whole lot harder thanks to Blizzard’s new policy
What’s going on with Epic Games’ lawsuit against Google?
Ahead of Bless Unleashed’s PC closed beta, Round 8 Studio says it ‘learned a lot of lessons’ from Bless Online
Kakao Games’ Q3 2020 investor report suggests late 2021 western launch for Elyon Ascent Infinite Realm
Guild Wars 2 teases November 17 ‘Truce’ living world content chapter with brand-new trailer
Dungeons and Dragons Online: Fables of the Feywild launches
ArcheAge and ArcheAge Unchained announce Rise of Nehliya for November 12
Black Desert launches $29.99 ‘prestige’ editions for console today
Guild Wars 2 teased End of Dragons concept art during its $64K charity livestream
Ashes of Creation raised over $83k for Extra Life, so Intrepid’s Steven Sharif had to shave his beard
Interview: Crowfall’s Rhea Shelley on what to expect from Revival’s big class update
Starbase confirms another early access delay, this one to sometime in early 2021
Mobile real-time strategy game TERA: Endless War makes its global debut
Destiny 2’s Beyond Light expansion sends players to Europa today
The folks working on Raph Koster’s Playable Worlds MMO provide clues into what it’ll be
Mobile PvP MMO A3: Still Alive launches around the globe today
Neverwinter brings the final phase of Redeemed Citadel to PC alongside its Epic Games Store launch
EVE Online releases supercarrier updates, dynamic bounties, and the revamped ESS
ArcheAge’s Rise of Nehliya patch is live, adding new zone, quests, and farmhands
Pearl Abyss Q3 2020: EVE Online’s revenues are up 45% YOY, Crimson Desert reveal coming in December
Police evacuate Ubisoft Montreal over what appears to have been a fake threat report
World of Warcraft offers up a trailer for the upcoming Shadowlands launch
Atlas Rogues, Gamigo’s Atlas Reactor spinoff, begins $14.99 early access tomorrow
Niantic just announced Pokemon Go Beyond, the game’s biggest content update ever
Epic is suing Apple in Australia over Fortnite as Apple halves its profit cut from indie devs
For Science: Gaming is good for you, actually, suggests new Oxford study
Huge Lord of the Rings Online Q&A talks Gundabad, River-hobbits, Brawlers, and 2021 plans
World of Warcraft dev posts exit manifesto: ‘I was unhappy with the state of the game’
Activision-Blizzard lays off more support staff, this time in the Asia-Pacific region
New survey points to increase in hate and harassment in online multiplayer games
Star Wars: The Old Republic teases the ominous story of GU 6.2 Echoes of Oblivion
World of Warcraft’s pre-patch Scourge event is being used to kill freshly made characters
World of Warcraft Shadowlands is upon us tonight as WoW turns 16 years old
Superdata’s October 2020 report: Genshin Impact makes big bank, WoW is on the rise
Roblox goes public on the stock market with an IPO filing, confirms it’s operating at a loss
Cyberpunk VR MMO Zenith delays its alpha to early 2021
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands enjoys a relatively smooth launch, sees first level 60
Pantheon mourns the loss of technology lead Kurt ‘Molad’ Habetler
We’re years away from an open beta for Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings MMO
NCsoft Q3 2020: Guild Wars 2 just had its best revenue quarter in two years
Fortnite’s new subscription option is a $12 monthly program called Fortnite Crew
CIG recruits Turbulent to open a new Montreal studio and build new star systems for Star Citizen
Surprise: Fallout 76 accidentally releases Steel Dawn a week early
Mechwarrior Online’s Piranha Games is being bought out by EG7 for $24M+
TERA Console’s crossplay finally, finally goes live
PlayStation 5 launch is officially the biggest console launch in history
Star Trek Online lets Klingons fly the new and improved Titan
EverQuest’s Claws of Veeshan expansion gets a December launch date (and a $250 edition)
XLGAMES founder Jake Song shares a few lore and gameplay details for ArcheAge 2
Final Fantasy XIV drops a trailer and previews the content of patch 5.4, Futures Rewritten
Hearthstone’s community is in open revolt over the new reward system
Star Citizen debuts new $600 gunship at this year’s Intergalactic Aerospace Expo
SWTOR and Star Wars Galaxies players memorialize the life of Darth Vader actor David Prowse
WildStar’s devs and fans love on the game two years after its demise
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF NOVEMBER 2020
The Daily Grind: What’s the best ‘affordable’ MMO?
Fight or Kite: Spellbreak’s Clash 9v9 mode is absolute mayhem
Wisdom of Nym: The implications of Final Fantasy XIV Forspoken
Choose My Adventure: Exploring a new world and new bugs in No Man’s Sky
Perfect Ten: 10 reasons MMOs struggle with underwater content
The Daily Grind: What’s the worst mount in all of MMO land?
Vague Patch Notes: Managing the MMO message, volume two: How to shut up
Massively Overthinking: Does early access kill an MMO’s buzz?
WoW Factor: Ego, philosophy, and learning the right lessons in MMOs
The Daily Grind: Which MMO has the best playable cat race?
LOTRO Legendarium: How to make Lord of the Rings Online Classic work
Jukebox Heroes: The best of EverQuest’s MIDI soundtrack
Why I Play: Exploring World of Warcraft as a free-to-play game
Choose My Adventure: A slow, steady, and informational search for Artemis in No Man’s Sky
Wisdom of Nym: The roots of Final Fantasy XIV’s awful housing problem aren’t clear
Perfect Ten: 10 things to genuinely like about modern World of Warcraft
From dockyard disaster to sailing success: How World of Warships learned from the Puerto Rico event fiasco
EverQuesting: A sweet sixteen EverQuest II anniversary retrospective
Massively Overthinking: What one piece of advice would you like to give to MMO devs?
WoW Factor: Does Blizzard even know what it wants World of Warcraft to be now?
LOTRO Legendarium: Was LOTRO’s lifetime sub the best deal ever?
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s quality-of-life changes aren’t half bad
Fight or Kite: Is Crowfall ready to be your daily MMO?
Wisdom of Nym: My personal red lines for Final Fantasy XIV
Choose My Adventure: Paradise planets, destroyed freighters, and hellbeasts in No Man’s Sky
Flameseeker Chronicles: First impressions of Guild Wars 2’s Icebrood Saga: Truce
Amazon’s New World demo: Fishing, Reekwater, and hands-on havoc
Perfect Ten: The 10 qualities of MMO sandboxes
First impressions of Netmarble’s A3 Still Alive: Is it relevant in 2020?
Vague Patch Notes: Players aren’t the only people who should prepare for their MMO to die
Massively Overthinking: No-thank-you bites in MMO gaming
WoW Factor: A wild theory for World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands
LOTRO Legendarium: Getting a glimpse of LOTRO’s 2021 plans
Wisdom of Nym: Speculating on the timeline of the next Final Fantasy XIV expansion
The Soapbox: How Pathfinder killed World of Warcraft for me
First Impressions: Atlas Rogues’ current early access is a broken imitation of Atlas Reactor
Choose My Adventure: Surprise storytelling in No Man’s Sky’s base building progression
Perfect Ten: 10 MMO blessings to be thankful for in 2020
Massively Overthinking: Gratitude for the devs of the MMO genre
First Impressions of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, part one: Story and leveling
Desert Oasis: So, is the PlayStation 5 an upgrade for Black Desert on console?
Jukebox Heroes: The best of Ashen Empires’ soundtrack
First impressions of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, part two: Endgame experience
Wisdom of Nym: Analyzing the last pre-patch Final Fantasy XIV producer’s letter
ALL 2020 YEAR-IN-REVIEW POSTS SO FAR
MMO Year in Review: A new New World (January 2020)
MMO Year in Review: A ‘colossal’ announcement (February 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Gaming’s pandemic disruption (March 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Elyon’s pivot, Elyria’s fizzling storm (April 2020)
MMO Year in Review: ‘Technical clownshows’ for PSO2 and ESO Greymoor (May 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Solidarity (June 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Lord of the Rings Offline (July 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Business business business (August 2020)
MMO Year in Review: FFXVI, ArcheAge 2, and the Bethsoft buyout (September 2020)
MMO Year in Review: The Shadowlands delay (October 2020)
MMO Year in Review: Shadowlands’ arrival (November 2020)
MMO Year in Review: When Daybreak and Albion got bought out (December 2020)
