Industry

They said what? They’re using that business model? They hired whom? [Follow this category’s RSS feed]

The Magic to Master mess devolved into DMCA abuse as Laniatus promises launch ‘regardless of Kickstarter’

40
We've been trying real hard not to have to write about this game again, but here we are back touching base on the Magic...
This isn't how it had to be.

Perfect Ten: Thoughts on Star Wars The Old Republic’s impending move to Broadsword

22
My relationship with Star Wars: The Old Republic is best described as "complicated." The game launched at a time when I was still pretty...

Amazon Games’ Bill Trost vacates creative director position to become lead designer for Ashes of Creation

16
The name of Bill Trost will likely strike familiar to older vets of the MMORPG genre. He was one of the original design leads...

Court grants FTC temporary restraining order to block Microsoft/ABK merge ahead of ongoing lawsuit

6
Yesterday, we reported on the FTC's appeal to the US District Court of Northern California to block Microsoft's buyout of Activision-Blizzard. The FTC maintained...

FTC asks US court to block alleged Microsoft/ABK plan to ‘consummate’ merge despite ongoing lawsuit

20
So remember how the Microsoft buyout of Activision-Blizzard was supposed to be all wrapped up by June of 2023? We're kinda there now, with...

Embracer (Gearbox) announces major restructure with layoffs and canceled games

29
Just three weeks ago, Embracer Group - the megacorp that owns gobs of properties, including Gearbox, which governs Cryptic and a bunch of MMORPGs...

All your favorite MMORPG subreddits went dark over Reddit’s ruinous anti-app plans

47
Discord must be loving this: All the big MMORPG subreddits have been flagged private right now in protest over Reddit's planned API switcharoo, with...

Lawful Neutral: How might the so-called AI revolution affect the MMO genre?

56
This article has been rolling around in my head since ChatGPT rocketed into the public awareness a few months ago, and just in the...

Riot Games and pro League of Legends esports players reach compromise to end strike

6
At the end of May, we covered a disturbance in the Riot Games League of Legends esports community: Riot had slashed the North American...

Whatever happened to Space Punks, ReWorld Online, and Shattered Galaxy?

1
Welcome back to another trio of games that needs a second look here in Whatever Happened To! Space Punks: Space Punks is the Jagex-published looter-shooter...

Fans and game devs alike react to Star Wars The Old Republic’s move to Broadsword

21
Yesterday saw the 100-ton news bomb of Star Wars: The Old Republic changing hands from BioWare to Broadsword Games drop on the genre's collective...

Riot Games collabs with Coca-Cola on Coke Ultimate flavor, the taste of League of Legends XP

19
You know, I came very close to sending a MOP staffer in California to the reveal of this promo, but since it has almost...

Star Wars: The Old Republic development is moving from BioWare to Broadsword

67
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, BioWare poured an insane amount of money, developers, and voice talent into making Star...
great work, guy!

Microsoft is hit with $20M fine for collecting the personal information of children on Xbox

9
Microsoft has earned the ire of the US Federal Trade Commission and has been slapped with a $20M fine by the government agency for...
Recruitment!

World of Warcraft announces price hikes on subscription plans for Turkiye and Ukraine

27
Fans of World of Warcraft who live in Turkiye and Ukraine are seeing some bad news this week, as Blizzard has confirmed that the...

The Magic to Master Kickstarter fiasco has become a scandal over Idea Fabrik, Hero Engine, and The Repopulation

20
Last week, we reported on the dubious Kickstarter of studio Laniatus' MMO Magic to Master, an old MMO being brought back from the dead...

Microsoft is reportedly considering pulling Activision out of the UK market over regulatory block

17
The locking of horns between Microsoft and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority over Microsoft's billion-dollar acquisition of Activision-Blizzard appears to be reaching a...

Union pressure forces Activision-Blizzard to share details of workers’ union rights

3
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has filed unfair labor practice charges against Activision-Blizzard multiple times, but at least three of those ongoing ULPs...

Embers Adrift pivots to a buy-to-play business model with optional sub

30
For a hardcore niche PvE game, Embers Adrift probably hobbled its chances at launch by demanding both a box price and an ongoing subscription...

Make My MMO: In for a penny, in for a pound with Star Citizen

12
Welcome to another blast of MMO crowdfunding news from the last few weeks! Star Citizen has made headlines lately thanks to the fact that...