The Bless franchise had yet another go at the western gaming market this month as Neowiz and Round8 formally launched Bless Unleashed for PC players on Steam, where it actually performed pretty well, particularly for a port of a console game based on a flopped MMORPG. We also got a look at some of Guild Wars 2’s End of Dragons elites as the game celebrated 16M users, plus New World saw another delay and we gave Elyon a spin.
Meanwhile, the Blizzard scandal saw multiple big news blasts every week as MAUs fell, offenders were fired, J Allen Brack was ousted, and former employees spoke out; the upheaval continued to result in positive changes for World of Warcraft and Overwatch.
Read on for the whole recap from August of this past year.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF AUGUST 2021
Former ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain calls for game dev unionization
Crowfall launches The Shadow update, opens new recruiting campaign
Blizzard’s J. Allen Brack is stepping down ahead of today’s investor call
EVE Online’s record-breaking World War Bee 2 has seemingly come to an end
The gamer in the infamous BlizzCon video says she ‘dodged a bullet’ by not working at Blizzard
Tencent reacts to Chinese state media calling online games ‘spiritual opium’ by adding new restrictions
Activision-Blizzard Q2 2021: Activision revenues are up, Blizzard MAUs are down amid sexism scandal
Activision-Blizzard Day 14: Brack and Meschuk exits, fraud lawsuit, proto-union, and Q2 financials
RIFT quietly retires free subscription trial from Steam
Amazon Games just delayed New World again, now to September 28
Square-Enix Q2 2021 financials: Final Fantasy XIV’s subs are up
Bless Unleashed formally launches on PC today, counting 40K players in final test
For Science: Men roll more female characters than women roll male toons, new survey shows
New exposé reveals still more layers of sexual harassment and discrimination at Blizzard
Activision-Blizzard: Frances Townsend steps down from one studio post, Jeff Kurtenacker departs
Bless Unleashed’s PC launch is marked by 61K arrivals, server issues, region block, and rough Steam reviews
Star Citizen opens up the landing zone of Orison, adds new ships and ship features in alpha 3.14
Diablo community manager recounts low pay, a sexually threatening culture, and mistreatment at Blizzard
Astellia Online has now officially announced an October 29 sunset
Blizzard workers address the drawbacks of boycotts, gamers lament WoW’s deep decline
Galaxies of Eden is a new sandbox MMORPG with all the Star Wars Galaxies trappings
Lineage II’s casual-friendly edition launches today
$40M of Nexon’s $100M bitcoin investment poofed in the last four months
Blizzard apparently ousted three more key devs, including Diablo IV’s game director
Lord of the Rings Online hopes to start rolling out monetization changes in the next year
EA fires Apex Legends lead designer over past sexist and racist remarks
Overwatch League loses more sponsors as workers expose Activision-Blizzard’s toxic culture
Mortal Online 2 will launch early access October 26 – apparently with a sub
Nexon CEO blasts crunch and the ‘charade of launch timing’
WildStar’s Stephan Frost shares the depressing ‘flat circle’ of MMO development
Bless Unleashed PC counts a million downloads on PC since its Steam launch
EverQuest designer’s throwback MMO rebrands as Monsters & Memories
SOE’s Jeff Butler gives an epic three-hour interview on EverQuest, Vanguard, and EverQuest Next
Roblox sees net losses for Q2 2021, struggles with toxic player-generated content
World of Warcraft reverses course on player customization and promises more
CODEX, an MMO based on the Shards engine, launches early access today after a brief delay
Roblox’s shameless exploitation of child labor is why we can’t have nice things
Former developers of 38 Studios are receiving a portion of their final paychecks after a nine year wait
Elder Scrolls Online’s Waking Flame DLC and update 31 are live on PC, Mac, and Stadia
World of Warcraft will add solo island expeditions in patch 9.1.5
Destiny 2 Witch Queen expansion leaks ahead of today’s stream [Updated]
Guild Wars 2 counts 16M accounts, drops fall roadmap, teases End of Dragons fishing and skiffs
Book of Travels has delayed its early access launch for the fourth time
Multiplayer co-op shooter Aliens Fireteam Elite officially launches
EA’s ‘patent pledge’ openly shares tech patents in an effort to increase game accessibility
California lawsuit now alleges Activision-Blizzard HR literally ‘shredded’ evidence
Gamescom 2021: New World open beta Sept. 9, plus DokeV, Valheim, Halo Infinite, Riders Republic news
Pearl Abyss downgraded DokeV from an MMORPG to ‘open-world action adventure’
Blizzard is changing the name of Overwatch’s character McCree
Daybreak CEO Ji Ham takes over as Enad Global 7’s acting CEO
Fortnite had to disable nearly every emote in the Martin Luther King event area
Indie MMO TitanReach has apparently suspended development as ‘funds have dried up’
China now limits minors’ gaming time to three hours a week, indicates anti-monopoly policies are forthcoming
EG7 Q2 2021: What the heck is going on at EG7 and Daybreak and who the heck owns Cold Iron
Pokemon Go subreddit goes dark to protest Reddit’s stance on COVID disinfo
Considering the ‘housing crisis’ in MMOs like Ultima Online, FFXIV, and EVE Online
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF AUGUST 2021
Not So Massively: Magic the Gathering Arena is great, but it can’t replace Magic Legends
Wisdom of Nym: What will Final Fantasy XIV add to its magical DPS?
Flameseeker Chronicles: The End of Dragons reveal didn’t wow people – and that’s OK
Choose My Adventure: Tearing through the colorful world of Trove at breakneck speeds
The Soapbox: Pokemon Unite’s monetization is gross and threatens a competent game
Vague Patch Notes: Blizzard may live on, but it will never be Blizzard again
Perfect Ten: The top 10 non-traditional MMO fantasy races
Massively on the Go: Niantic ditching Pokemon Go’s COVID benefits was a dangerous mistake
WoW Factor: The ethics of playing on private World of Warcraft servers right now
The Game Archaeologist: Defining the eras of MMORPG history
Wisdom of Nym: A letter to new players and old hands in Final Fantasy XIV
Fight or Kite: Crowfall’s latest release brings RvR and ‘pop-up PvP’ to the forefront
The Daily Grind: Has there been a demographic shift in who plays MMOs, and why?
Into the Super-verse: First impressions of Ship of Heroes’ mission beta
Choose My Adventure: A sample platter of classes and a taste of Geode boredom in Trove
Perfect Ten: MMORPGs that would actually benefit from a Classic server
WoW Factor: What do changes in Blizzard management mean for World of Warcraft?
Massively Overthinking: What’s your favorite type of MMORPG raid?
Vague Patch Notes: The lesson hidden in the Astellia shutdown
LOTRO Legendarium: Exploring Lord of the Rings Online’s choose-your-own-ruleset
The Soapbox: World of Warships’ aggressive monetization incited a mass-exodus of content creators
Opinion: Free Guy is a great watch – particularly for MMO fans
WoW Factor: World of Warcraft’s burning of Teldrassil plot wrap-up is terrible
First impressions: Exploring Neverwinter’s leveling revamp and bard class
Choose My Adventure: Back to the basic joys of dungeon running in Trove
Flameseeker Chronicles: Hands-on with Guild Wars 2’s new Harbinger, Virtuoso, and Willbender elite specs
Wisdom of Nym: What will Final Fantasy XIV add to its healers in Endwalker?
Pokemon Go’s New Zealand rollbacks show Niantic is more concerned with local law than actual safety
Massively Overthinking: The MMO roadmaps worth following
Perfect Ten: My top 10 MMO pet peeves
LOTRO Legendarium: Why Lord of the Rings Online is worth playing in 2021
First impressions: Elyon is a boring world with compelling gameplay and customization systems
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s cash shop and the existential horror of monetization
Fight or Kite: How Guild Wars 2’s Harbinger, Willbender, and Virtuoso stack up in PvP
LOTRO Legendarium: Ranking LOTRO’s Rhovanion zones from worst to best
Choose My Adventure: A quick spot of building and crafting in Trove
Perfect Ten: 10 MMOs that waved goodbye without ever making it to launch
Massively Overthinking: The worst chat in the MMORPG genre
Vague Patch Notes: Why the depth of an MMORPG’s world matters
The Game Archaeologist: Jeff Butler on EverQuest, EverQuest Next, and Vanguard
Interview: Crowfall’s Global Conquest update brings ‘mega’ changes to the world
Not So Massively: Diablo II Resurrected is a lot of old school jank in a pretty wrapper
Wisdom of Nym: What will Final Fantasy XIV do for melee damage dealers in Endwalker?
Choose My Adventure: Club Worlds are the pinnacle of player creativity in Trove
Massively on the Go: Monster Hunter Stories 2’s biggest problem is too much Pokemon
ALL 2021 YEAR-IN-REVIEW POSTS SO FAR
MMO Year in Review: At least it wasn’t 2020? (January 2021)
MMO Year in Review: The first and only BlizzConline (February 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Magic Legends begins (March 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO is over (April 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Odyssey and a billion betas (May 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Blackwood, New Genesis, and Burning Crusade (June 2021)
MMO Year in Review: The Blizzard lawsuit (July 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Bless redux (August 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Old genre, New World (September 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Elyon, Book of Travels, and Queue World (October 2021)
MMO Year in Review: The Marvel MMO, $400M, and Blizzard’s decline (November 2021)
MMO Year in Review: Endwalker, Cryptic, and Crowfall (December 2021)
