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.
August began with the news that World of Warcraft had lost another 1.5 million subscriptions, dropping from 10 million in the months following the launch of Warlords of Draenor. But the month turned around when Gamescom brought news of Guild Wars 2’s free-to-play transition and Heart of Thorns raiding, as well as WoW’s Legion expansion.
It was also the month that Funcom started to look for a buyer, Smed started a new studio, and Infinite Crisis sunsetted. Check out the rest of August’s big stories and editorials!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF AUGUSTÂ 2015
World of Warcraft announces Legion expansion with Demon Hunter class, Broken Isles continent; beta this year
Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns launches October 23rd
Guild Wars 2’s PAX reveal leaks early, and it’s a big deal
Guild Wars 2’s base game is F2P for everyone today; Heart of Thorns introduces raiding
Activision-Blizzard Q2 2015: WoW has 5.6 million subbers, Blizzard’s doing fine anyway
Gamescom 2015: Guild Wars 2 confirms 2015 expansion launch
Ex-Daybreak President John Smedley starts his own company
Star Citizen threatened with class-action lawsuit
Funcom in trouble, open to investors or acquisition
RIFT community manager: ‘RIFT is in zero danger’
Gamescom 2015: Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts dismisses Derek Smart
Ex-WoW lead Rob Pardo says industry devs are avoiding the ‘MMO’ label
LOTRO announces its 10 surviving servers
CCP announces Gunjack, a VR title for mobile
Reddit revolt erupts over Elite: Dangerous expansion price
Star Trek Online announces Season 11: New Dawn
Heimburg: Project Gorgon is ‘the most ambitious thing I’ve ever attempted’
Gamescom 2015: Star Citizen gets a monthly report and a big Gamescom presentation
Gamescom 2015: WildStar F2P beta is now live!
Hearthstone dominates digital CCG market with $20M monthly sales
H1Z1 significantly overhauls its map plans and development schedule
Exclusive: Guild Wars 2’s Revenant elite spec is the Herald
ESL to test for cannabis at this month’s Counter-Strike tourney in Cologne
Today is the last day to play Infinite Crisis
Here’s ‘everything you need to know’ about ArcheAge server merges
Player housing is coming to Elder Scrolls Online
Revival and Star Citizen studio IllFonic lays off six
Elite: Dangerous brings back lifetime expansion passes before Horizons
Blade & Soul founder packs are now available for planned Q1 2016 launch
Eternal Crusade loses creative director, plans closed alpha sooner than expected
Get a recap of Star Citizen’s development journey to date
More layoffs for ZeniMax (Update: Confirmed)
EverQuest II’s prison server is a ‘one-way trip for an entire account forever’
Trion’s Trove has a million monthly users
The Secret World launches Issue 12 today
Final Fantasy XIV boasts 5 million registered accounts
Star Citizen has refunded over 1,200 backers
Project Gorgon wraps up Kickstarter campaign with over $74K
Funcom releases second quarter financials and announces The Park
PAX Prime 2015: Trion tries turn-based strategy with Atlas Reactor
Star Citizen’s social module is now playable
Hi-Rez really is working on Tribes: Ascend again
Star Citizen’s Chris Roberts on dedication, delays, and Derek Smart
Elder Scrolls Online unlocks the doors to the Imperial City
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF AUGUSTÂ 2015
The Soapbox: Why I’m hopeful for the future of MMOs
Perfect Ten: Clever features that should be in more MMOs
Nexus Telegraph: Righting the S.S. WildStar
MMO Mechanics: Brilliant MMO boss mechanics
Perfect Ten: Ten MMO futures that never were
EverQuesting: (Almost) everything we know about EverQuest Next
WoW Factor: Analyzing Legion with a critical eye
Nexus Telegraph: Four things that have me excited about WildStar’s F2P patch
EVE Evolved: CCP can’t just focus on EVE Online any more
Hyperspace Beacon: Eight misconceptions about SWTOR’s Knights of the Fallen Empire
Chaos Theory: I’d fund The Secret World for Funcom if I could
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR datamining and guild building
Marvel Heroics: My Marvel Heroes wish list
Perfect Ten: Mobile MMOs coming soon to a pocket near you
The Soapbox: These three MMOs deserve a do-over
The Game Archaeologist: Star Wars Galaxies’ NGE
Flameseeker Chronicles: Am I the only one who doesn’t enjoy Guild Wars 2 datamining?
Perfect Ten: Amazing MMO cosplay
The Soapbox: The fun and frustration of SWTOR’s housing system
ALL MONTH-IN-REVIEW POSTS TO-DATE
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)
