microsoft
Microsoft will require Final Fantasy XIV players to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass in order to play the game
It's tucked away in the announcement that Final Fantasy XIV's beta on the Xbox Series X|S starts on February 21st, but the announcement does...
Final Fantasy XIV’s open beta for Xbox X|S starts February 21 – here’s how to get in
This time it's for real instead of a mistakenly early announcement: The Xbox X|S open beta test for Final Fantasy XIV has locked down...
Palworld counts 19M players across Steam and Xbox, becomes the largest third-party release for Game Pass
The juggernaut that is the early access survivalbox Palworld doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon, as developer Pocketpair has once again...
MMO Business Roundup: Krafton likes AI, Call of Duty moderation, and German lockbox regulation push
Welcome back to another roundup of MMO and MMO-adjacent industry news. We've got a lot to cover, so let's dive right in.
Krafton pushes AI...
Johanna Faries is the new president of Blizzard following Mike Ybarra’s ouster
Following last week's layoffs, it didn't seem likely that the potentially frozen throne at the head of Blizzard Entertainment would remain vacant for long....
Microsoft lays off 1900 workers: Blizzard sheds Mike Ybarra, its survival game, and its customer support in one day
We've updated this story at the bottom with some of the latest news that has come forth about the scope of the layoffs and...
Final Fantasy XIV jumps the gun on Xbox open beta announcement
One of the biggest developments for Final Fantasy XIV in 2024 that isn't named "Dawntrail" has to be the MMO's debut on Microsoft's game...
Massively Overthinking: The 2023 MMO trainwrecks (almost) nobody noticed
This might be one of the most important Massively Overthinkings we do all year, and it's a pretty salty one. We always come away...
Four Winds: Catching up with Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis
I believe it was Napoleon Bonaparte that once said "SEGA better release Phantasy Star Online 2 stateside or I'm going to conquer France." Unfortunately,...
Rumor: Sea of Thieves may be coming to other consoles
Here is a dollop of spicy rumor to float in your grog: Sea of Thieves may be coming to the PlayStation and Switch in...
Massively Overthinking: Hopes and fears for MMOs in 2024
For our first Massively Overthinking of the year, we're drawing a hard line between what we think will happen, what we mean to make...
Following Bobby Kotick’s exit, former ABK devs call out his toxic management and Overwatch 2 sabotage
Now that Bobby Kotick has floated away from Activision-Blizzard on a doubtlessly diamond-encrusted platinum parachute, some former developers at Blizzard are feeling confident enough...
Rumor: With Kotick gone, Blizzard and NetEase might repair year-long rift over China publishing
Readers likely remember that 2023 started off with a tire fire as Blizzard and NetEase had a particularly nasty dissolution of a licensing deal...
Tamriel Infinium: Rounding out Elder Scrolls Online’s ninth year of adventures
No matter what your predictions may be, how a year turns out often involves unforeseen twists and turns. Even the world of Tamriel was...
MassivelyOP’s 2023 Golden Yachties: Best Worst MMO Transmedia Synergy
Welcome back to MassivelyOP's not-so-serious end-of-the-year awards as we present our award for Best Worst MMO Transmedia Synergy. Yes, it's the Golden Yachties series,...
WoW Factor: Evaluating World of Warcraft’s 2023 progress and performance
So 2023 is not completely in the rear view yet, but at least in terms of major developments for World of Warcraft we can...
Bobby Kotick finally departs Activision-Blizzard next week, but Microsoft will keep some of his execs
Bobby Kotick - a man who somehow hung onto his job even after The Wall Street Journal published the revelation that he'd threatened to...
QA employees accuse Activision-Blizzard of a ‘soft layoff’ after studios mandate a return to offices in January
Activision-Blizzard is once again electing to mistreat its QA employees according to a statement from the A Better ABK proto-union, which accuses the company...
Activision-Blizzard settles its 2021 California Civil Rights department lawsuit for $50M
Who here wanted one final reminder before the end of the year that we live in a cursed capitalist hellscape where justice can be...
End-of-Year Eleven: The biggest MMO stories of 2023
Some years, it's hard to really cut a distinction between the biggest stories of a year and the biggest surprises. There can be a...
