“Pay-to-win” aka P2W is a term used by online gamers for any game system or mechanic that allows a player to acquire advantages over other players using real-world money.
pay to win
New World rebuts ‘pay-to-win’ accusations from PvPers eyeing Rise of the Angry Earth’s item level bumps
Amazon's Scot Lane, David Verfaillie, and Katy Kaszynski are back with a new video for New World, its 50th Forged in Aeternum, and because...
PvP MMO Abyss admits it began life as a crypto game selling ‘satirical poop’ NFTs
Back in August, we covered a seemingly new project from a new-to-MMOs team called Old World Labs. The so-called Abyss sounded interesting, with immersive...
AdventureQuest 3D players raise pay-to-win alarm on pets granting best-in-slot gear
Normally, an AdventureQuest 3D update is a cause for celebration as this plucky little MMO continues to expand its world. However, the recent "Nulgath...
Competitive team PvE game Evercore Heroes hits paid closed beta today [Updated]
We don't often receive press releases for a game that declares itself "completely unique competitive PvE experience that’s not a MOBA or an MMO"...
LOTRO Legendarium: Is level boosting in LOTRO worth it?
While I make my way through the new King's Gondor zone in Lord of the Rings Online -- impressions coming next week, hopefully --...
Massively on the Go: Jurassic World Alive plods on five years later, encumbered by over-monetization
Ludia's Jurassic World Alive is still stomping along. It's gotten some features over the years that seem, well, "borrowed" from that Pokemon GPS game, but yeesh,...
Vitae Aeternum: Analyzing New World’s disappointing first season
It's now been a few weeks since the launch of New World's first season, Fellowship and Fire. I wanted to give it some time...
Players cry foul over Call of Duty Warzone cash shop skins that offer unfair advantages
More often than not, the term "pay-to-win" is used as a weapon against almost anything, but in the case of some discovered premium skins...
EverQuest II community accuses Daybreak of pay-to-win over raid chests
A recent addition to EverQuest II has a portion of its community accusing Daybreak of blatant pay-to-win practices.
The issue ties in with a personal...
Massively Overthinking: When is localization itself the kiss of death for an imported MMORPG?
Last week, when I was poking around the internet trying to understand why Amazon was still making excuses for de-sexualizing some Lost Ark characters...
Vitae Aeternum: The uncomfortable truth of New World’s lax monetization
I have a pretty laid back approach to monetization in online games. Bar mandatory subscriptions and a few egregious outliers, I am generally fine...
First impressions of Marvel Snap, an addictive mobile card game by Hearthstone’s former director
Feeling the effects of the "superhero movie fatigue syndrome" that's going around these days, I wasn't overly eager to check out Marvel Snap when...
Temtem defends its battle pass, plans adjustments to pass XP and inclusion of pass items to its store
The fact that Temtem has a battle pass isn't anything exactly new, as developer Crema Games announced its intention in a February 2020 roadmap...
Massively Overthinking: Who’s really paying for MMOs?
Two years ago, we did a piece on dark patterns in MMO design, and in the comments, a reader named Shadex De'Marr penned a...
Guild Wars 2 celebrates a decade online with 16M players, Steam launch, and birthday gifts
Guild Wars 2's anniversary hoopla and Steam rollout are underway today as planned, and it's got plenty of gifts in store.
We checked out the...
Grimdark MMO Mad World confirms 2022 launch as ‘permanent open beta,’ aims for a primary male audience
Jandisoft's Mad World is looking more and more like a candidate for a 2022 release: Not only did we spot a new "winter 2022"...
Legends of Aria’s new blockchain owners are trying to sell $70 random P2W characters
The hits keep coming for Legends of Aria, and we don't mean the greatest hits compilation kind.
We regret to remind you that Aria, which...
Somebody paid-to-win so hard in Diablo Immortal that it wrapped around to pay-to-lose
The industry was generating so many "internet guy spends a fortune on Diablo Immortal" stories there for a while that we stopped even covering...
Fight or Kite: King of Crabs is just what you need to start your summer right
It’s summertime, and being the king ain’t easy… the king of crabs, that is! King of Crabs is an easy-breezy PvP MMO that apparently...
Lost Ark explains the June patch’s delay, removes P2W statted cosmetics from update
Though Amazon has delayed Lost Ark's summer patch - to the very last day of June - that hasn't put a damper on the...
