pgc
20-year-old Ultima Online is going free-to-play (kinda) and getting player-generated quests
In preparing tomorrow's birthday piece for Ultima Online, I confidently wrote that Ultima Online was not going free-to-play because that's what the devs always...
Perfect Ten: MMOs that changed their names
Names and titles fascinate me. While sometimes they have no deeper meaning than to sound pleasant and be memorable, a label can indicate purpose,...
PAX West 2017: Dual Universe demos its persistent, seamless, sandbox universe
If you were hoping that another title would pick up the idea of a voxel world and run with it, you're getting your wish....
Perfect Ten: The 10 saddest MMORPG stories
Every MMO tells a story through the run of its life. A lot of those stories are pretty happy, too. Ultima Online may not...
The Daily Grind: What MMO would you like to see dump its branding or IP?
On Tuesday, Daybreak formally announced that the neglected PvE half of H1Z1, Just Survive, would be shedding its H1Z1 branding once and for all. The...
Whatever happened to PlanetSide 2, A Tale in the Desert, and Istaria?
Ever pause during your day and find yourself wondering, "What ever happened to that game?" With hundreds upon hundreds of online titles these days, it's surprisingly...
Perfect Ten: EverQuest’s EverExpanding franchise
When Daybreak announced last year that it was cancelling the highly anticipated EverQuest Next project, the series' forward momentum lurched to a halt. This wasn't...
One Shots: Walk of shame
From Zulika Mi-Nam's Adventures in Tale of Toast:
Log into a game to do some play testing.
"Hey, look at these cutsie graphics and...
Massively Overthinking: MMO monetization run amok
Over the last couple of weeks, the monetization of unreleased games has become a pervasive and uncomfortable theme for the MMO genre. Just in...
Perfect Ten: MMORPGs that died too soon
Your favorite game is going to die. I wrote about that. Some games are never even going to get to launching in the first...
The Stream Team: A first look at Legends of Aria (and a giveaway!)
If you've had an interest in Shards Online but wanted something bigger and more MMO-y, we've got someone we'd like you to meet. Well,...
Enter to win a Legends of Aria alpha trial key from Citadel and MOP
Legends of Aria's alpha launched yesterday, setting loose the new and more MMORPG-like vision for the game formerly known as Shards Online. While normally...
Legends of Aria’s alpha has begun, infusing the Shards Online sandbox with MMORPG
Back at PAX East, MMO players were startled but pleased at the revelation that Shards Online was getting a massive revamp as well as...
One Shots: MMOs are serious business
As we all well know, MMORPGs are a Serious Business indeed. We must treat them reverently and with our utmost due diligence as we...
Legends of Aria delays next alpha test to May 12
The Game Formerly Known As Shards Online (which can also be represented by an abstract symbol or its new name, Legends of Aria) announced...
Legends of Aria rewrites Shards Online’s combat system
When Legends of Aria emerged from Shards Online, it changed more than just the name. In the first Aria-era dev diary, the team explains...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 110: Legends of Aria’s Derek Brinkmann
Justin interviews Legends of Aria's Derek Brinkmann on the game's switch from Shards Online, Ultima origins, open PvP, private servers, and the shift to full MMORPG status.
Legends of Aria begins focused testing, delays Steam launch
Legends of Aria is shaking things up from the old Shards Online paradigm. In addition to the name change and broader focus, the fantasy...
Remembering EverQuest Next
Is it too soon -- or perhaps too pointless -- to wool-gather about EverQuest Next? After all, that MMO project is deader than dead,...
Massively OP’s PAX East 2017 awards and best-in-show reader vote
We've finished rolling out all of our PAX East content this year, and we've put our MMORPG-addled noggins together to try to choose our...
