‘Buy-to-play’ is a term that refers to games that have box or download fees associated with them but do not incur a mandatory subscription. Some have optional subscriptions and are more properly referred to as hybrid B2P. Most have cash shops and microtransactions.
buy to play
Vague Patch Notes: Crime and punishment and intent in MMOs
Last week, we saw Blizzard explain its philosophy behind why some World of Warcraft bugs in which players got to get more stuff than...
Interview: ArcheAge Unchained’s Merv Lee Kwai on housing, RMT, and the future of the game
The announcement of ArcheAge Unchained and its buy-to-play, no-pay-to-win ruleset has been one of the big surprises of the season for the five-year-old MMORPG...
Massively Overthinking: MMOs, challenge, and flow
A couple of weeks ago, MMO developer Mark Kern tweeted a controversial claim about how challenge and interactivity is the point of games (and...
Elder Scrolls Online on the ‘class identity’ that informs its upcoming combat and balance changes
If you're looking at the headline here and thinking oh no not class fantasy, then be aware: ZeniMax knows it's a loaded term and...
The Stream Team: MOP experiences Guild Wars 2’s new prologue, Bound by Blood
There is more content ready to be explored in Guild Wars 2, and Massively OP is up to the challenge! How dangerous could a...
Destiny 2 prepares for its Steam jump with maintenance and preloading
It's almost time for Destiny 2 to enter the verdant fields of Steam, and you had best believe that comes along with some maintenance times....
The Daily Grind: What constitutes a ‘classic’ MMO to you?
Earlier this week, a job posting on Blizzard's career site made it clear that the company considers Diablo III one of its "classic" games....
Massively OP Podcast Episode 239: Astellia ascending
Justin and Bree discuss Astellia, Guild Wars 2, ArcheAge Unchained, WoW, LOTRO, PlanetSide Arena, and Project Gorgon, with a mailbag topic on making gaming more productive (or not).
The Daily Grind: Do you appreciate MMOs and games that challenge you mentally?
MOP reader and backer Avaera proposed an interesting Daily Grind topic recently about challenges in MMORPGs - and no, "challenge" doesn't refer to boss...
Fight or Kite: Guild Wars 2 PvP – where good intentions and stubbornness meet
Earlier this month, Guild Wars 2Â Game Director Mike Zadorojny had an interview with PCGamesN in which he discussed a number of items - most...
The Daily Grind: Has a class spec or overhaul ever saved an MMO character for you?
Thieves and rogues and backstabby stealthy types don't usually do much for me in MMORPGs. Oh sure, I play a stealth thief in literally...
Battle Bards Episode 153: Elder Scrolls Online Summerset
Gryphons, Elves, and gobs and gobs of singing people — that’s Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset for ya! The Battle Bards return to Tamriel to...
The MOP Up: League of Legends’ future looks bright
Don't let games like Fortnite and Overwatch make you forget that League of Legends is still a thing. In fact, Riot Games' MOBA saw...
One Shots: Tossing virgin gamers into volcanoes
The great volcano god Kenny is angry (again). Kenny's got a temper like you wouldn't believe, and he goes off on every perceived insult...
Here’s where Frontier stands on Elite Dangerous’ September patch bugfixing
In the wake of Elite Dangerous' September patch, which ostensibly added a new newbie tutorial and revamped the cash shop to use a new...
Massively Overthinking: Is the age of the $15 subscription coming to an end?
Massively OP's own Justin Olivetti penned a blog post this week in which he muses on the lifespan of the $15 MMO sub fee,...
Funcom’s running a free-play weekend for Conan Exiles, Conan Unconquered, and Age of Conan
Conan fans, this unlikely weekend is your moment to shine, as Funcom's making all the things free free free.
First up is Conan Exiles, normally...
Leaderboard: Astellia Online vs Archeage Unchained
I keep seeing these "should I play Astellia Online or ArcheAge Unchained" threads pop up across Reddit, and at first, I thought it was...
Bungie’s latest video talks up Destiny 2’s Shadowkeep and the plan for Year Three
Another "ViDoc" from the folks at Bungie is, as one would expect, chock-full of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep hype. In this latest sizzle reel-cum-documentary, players...
Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 just lost another great dev in Bill Freist
Not a week ago, we reported on the loss of two developers from Guild Wars 2 studio ArenaNet, a lead game designer and a...