This year, we’re taking a time-machine back through our MMO coverage, month by month, to hit the highlights and frame our journey before we head into 2016.
Two stories dominated July 2015.
After Daybreak CEO John Smedley called out a Lizard Squad e-thug convicted of thousands of crimes — including the crime of making a terrorist threat on a plane Smed was on in 2014 — Daybreak itself was slammed with DDoS attacks, ultimately leading Smed to nuke his social media accounts and step down as CEO. Tributes flowed in his wake.
And then there was “Internet Warlord” Derek Smart, who kicked off the month by throwing punches at Star Citizen, presenting a list of demands to Chris Roberts, getting booted from backerdom, and then upping the ante by demanding Roberts resign in what has become the industry embarrassment of the year.
In happier news, July was also the month we opened our Marvel Heroes guild. Read on for a look at the best stories and articles of July 2015.
Smed calls out Lizard Squad e-thug convicted of 50,700 cybercrimes
Smedley isn’t backing down from tough talk about hackers
Daybreak slammed with apparent DDoS attack [Updated]
John Smedley relinquishes his post at Daybreak
Derek Smart says Star Citizen, ‘as has been pitched, will never get made’
Derek Smart calls for FTC investigation of Star Citizen’s finances, presents Chris Roberts with list of demands
The war of words between Derek Smart and Star Citizen continues
Derek Smart demands Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts resign, fronts $1M for audit
Roberts calls b.s. on Star Citizen’s feature creep police
Star Citizen dismisses ‘feature creep’ concerns, declares Star Marine has NOT been canceled
Final Fantasy XIV previews Alexander, claims 5M all-time subs
Mark Jacobs explains Camelot Unchained’s beta delay, confirms game title [Updated]
WoW’s last major Draenor raid is Hellfire Citadel
WildStar’s devs spill more on F2P transition
Reddit protest sees /r/gaming lock its doors
Daybreak overrules EverQuest progression server vote
Trion: Devilian has ‘all the features of your dream ARPG’
TERA is going berserk with its new update and new class tease
Former WildStar dev Stephan Frost is now WoW’s design producer
Cabal 2 launches right here, right now
The Warcraft movie might become a trilogy
RaiderZ is shutting down in August
ArcheAge’s skill queues lead to near-instant kill exploits [Updated]
Black Desert video review rips MMO beta as a ‘shallow game’
Revival’s Gonzalez: ‘This is a passion project and not a money grab’
Pro e-sports player admits using performance-enhancing drugs, says doping is widespread
Guild Wars 2 confirms the last Revenant legend is Shiro Tagachi
Playable Togrutas confirmed for SWTOR Update 3.3
Skyforge soft launches after technical issues
Guild Wars 2 confirms the Elementalist’s Tempest elite spec
NCsoft Q2 2015: Guild Wars 2 is up, WildStar is down
The Soapbox: Star Citizen is still worth the wait
WoW Factor: Draenor’s imminent content drought
EverQuesting: Holly Longdale was right about casuals and raiding
MMO Mechanics: Four inspiring indie developments worth watching
Flameseeker Chronicles: Trinity dependence in Guild Wars 2 Heart of Thorns
Tamriel Infinium: Why I believe Elder Scrolls Online’s Veteran Ranks are here to stay
Massively Opinionated: Which MMO payment model is the best?
Perfect Ten: Ten lessons I learned as an MMO healer
SWTOR: Knights of the Fallen Empire makes large-scale operations and flashpoint changes
EVE Evolved: It’s never too late to start playing EVE
Guild Chat: Coping with the loss of your guild
Marvel Heroics: Help! What hero should I play?
MMO Burnout: Why I want an Assassin’s Creed MMO
Massively Opinionated: Which MMO should never have existed?
Windows 10 and your favorite MMORPGs
EverQuest II’s prog server isn’t as fun as the real thing
MMO Year in Review: Daybreak’s downslide (February 2015)
MMO Year in Review: Crowfall’s Kickstarter (March 2015)
MMO Year in Review: A Star Wars Galaxies postmortem (April 2015)
MMO Year in Review: WoW’s nosedive (May 2015)
MMO Year in Review: Heavensward’s arrival (June 2015)
MMO Year in Review: Smed & Smart (July 2015)
MMO Year in Review: Into the Heart of Thorns (August 2015)
MMO Year in Review: WildStar Reloaded (September 2015)
MMO Year in Review: The SWTOR vs. Guild Wars 2 showdown (October 2015)
MMO Year in Review: Blizzard’s big plans (November 2015)
MMO Year in Review: Star Citizen’s triumph (December 2015)
