Massively Overpowered

The MMO industry is a vibrant market that's always shifting as developers move between projects. So who has gone where lately? For starters, former EverQuest Next Lead Content Designer Steve "Moorgard" Danuser has migrated over to World of Warcraft, where he's taken up the position of a senior designer. Danuser was one of the many developers let go during the...

As promised, buy-to-play indie PvP sandbox Das Tal has begun a Kickstarter campaign today to coincide with the launch of the German wing of the Kickstarter platform. Das Tal isn't a new game for many of you as we've been covering it on Massively OP and Massively-that-was, but the pitch puts the game's development goals in focus: Das Tal is...

It's indisputable that World of Warcraft took a lot of nods from online Diablo II when it first launched. Sometimes, it almost seems as if the game was mechanically meant to be an online Diablo title. But guess what? In a recent interview on the Pointless Podcast, David Brevik -- formerly of Diablo and now of Marvel Heroes -- revealed...

This morning's Daily Grind hurtles through space and time to us from Kickstarter donor Kenneth "Fizwocket" Gonsalves, who wonders about the console community potential in MMORPGs. Is there a community on console MMOs? With the upcoming console release of Elder Scrolls Online, I've been thinking about how players socially interact sans keyboard in a world where MMOs all seem to have some sort of...

Path of Exile announced a potentially revolutionary and futuristic sounding new Deterministic Lockstep mode that promises sharper gameplay and zero desync for those on fast internet connections. Blizzard announced an upcoming balance patch for Heroes of the Storm and revealed that the Chinese release of Diablo III's expansion has sold over a million units sales in just two over weeks....

Final Fantasy XIV has been pleasing MMO audiences around the globe for nearly two years now. Except for those unfortunate South Korean franchise fans who have thus far been left out in the cold. Square's title is finally coming to the region courtesy of publisher Actoz Soft, though, with the initial closed beta phase scheduled for June 11th through...

Are you itching to turn back the clock with EverQuest's progression server? You don't have much longer to wait, as Daybreak has announced that Ragefire will launch on May 20th. If you're planning to take the day off work, though, you might want to reconsider, since Daybreak says that the "server will need a little bit of love after the...

Final Fantasy XI may be nearing maintenance mode after a long and illustrious career, but Square released details of a new explorable area for its 13-year-old MMORPG yesterday. It's called Escha-Zi'Tah, and it's accessible after progressing through the Rhapsodies of Vana'diel scenario. Killing mobs in the zone will reward players with unique regional currencies (escha silt and escha beads) which can...

Expect to hear a lot more about MapleStory 2 now that the game has wrapped up with its Korean closed beta test cycle. Steparu.com reports that with the CBT done with, the game is now preparing to head into open beta in the region this July. MapleStory 2 is the 3-D sequel to Nexon's long-running MapleStory, and boasts a...

What do live-action sword-wielding Japanese schoolgirls have to do with Black Desert? Hell if I know, but they're front and center in a new promotional trailer for the sandbox MMO as it enters its Japanese open beta. Korea-made Black Desert is being published by Pmang in Japan, which is also sponsoring a launch event featuring Japanese actress Maika Yamamoto and...