Subscription MMOs are generally those that restrict play to gamers who pay an ongoing fee, usually monthly, though shorter and longer subscriptions, as well as lifetime subs, do exist. Some free-to-play and buy-to-play games also include optional subscriptions.
subscription
WoW Factor: What would a factionless World of Warcraft look like?
You know, part of me honestly figured that the speculation around World of Warcraft abandoning the faction split would have died out months ago...
Final Fantasy XIV announces maintenance for its first noteworthy Shadowbringers patch
Yes, it's time for the first patch to Final Fantasy XIV since its most recent expansion, and... oh, stop staring in dumbfounded shock and...
World of Warcraft: Classic outlines the Hunter issues that are being worked on for the game’s launch
Ah, the endless dance of issues and things which are not actually issues in World of Warcraft: Classic. Let's recap quickly. The fact that...
The Daily Grind: Which MMO suffers the most from powercreep?
Last month, an MOP reader named Swifty replied to our Daily Grind about the last MMO he'd quit by calling out EverQuest II -...
Massively Overthinking: What would you want out of a potential WoW sequel?
It's a rare MMO player who's never played World of Warcraft, which makes this particular summer an interesting one for the whole genre. Even...
EVE Evolved: EVE Online’s comms blackout will lead to absolute anarchy
All hell is about to break loose in EVE Online for the territorial alliances waging wars in the depths of space following some the...
Take a tour of a chunk of World of Warcraft remade in Unreal Engine 4
There are a lot of landscapes in World of Warcraft that players can't readily forget. The cliffs, valleys, and scrubland of Durotar. The surreal...
Vague Patch Notes: Why live MMOs struggle to onboard new players
There are, at the time I write this, two basic approaches for getting new players up to speed in existing MMOs. Both of them...
Check out this fan-made version of Final Fantasy XI… for the GameBoy
If you're really tired of waiting for the mobile version of Final Fantasy XI, perhaps you're willing to go a bit more low-tech with...
Perfect Ten: Reasons why I quit your MMORPG
We have all been there with subscription MMORPGs, where we go to unsubscribe and after a mild guilt trip, the cancellation screen asks us...
That new Lord of the Rings MMORPG is still happening, now with Amazon’s New World team on board
Hey remember last September when Athlon Games - owned by Leyou Technologies, which also owns Warframe studio Digital Extremes - announced that it was...
The Daily Grind: How can MMOs better guide you through endgame activities?
One of my constant frustrations with MMOs is that they are generally good at explaining the game, its systems, and means of progression early...
More eyeballs lingered on League of Legends than Fortnite this year – so far
So, battle royale - was it just a fad? Probably not, or at least, if it is, it's not even close to being over....
Massively OP Podcast Episode 228: Justin, interrupted
Justin and Bree discuss anticipated MMOs, Warframe, FFXIV, WoW Classic, Pagan Online, Fallout 76, RuneScape, Blue Protocol, and Elite Dangerous, with mailbag questions on how MMOs find audiences and how we pick which MMOs to cover.
The new item level season in World of Warcraft starts today
The musical Rent suggests measuring a year in seasons of love, which doesn't seem particularly easy to quantify. World of Warcraft, meanwhile, measures a...
Naoki Yoshida wants to collab with Blizzard to bring Diablo and WoW to Final Fantasy XIV
As any Final Fantasy XIV fan can tell you, the game is known for its bevy of crossover events that range from the logical,...
Final Fantasy XI patches in Ninja changes and a Cait Sith battlefield
The latest version update for Final Fantasy XI has arrived, and as always it brings with it new things to fight. Sure, there's the...
Catching up with City of Heroes’ Homecoming rogue servers as NCsoft negotiations continue
It's been a while since we checked in on the flourishing City of Heroes rogue server community, but it's been busy indeed, with multiple...
Wisdom of Nym: The subtle mechanical shifts in Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers
A lot of mechanics changed with the latest Final Fantasy XIV expansion. You probably don't need me to tell you that, but there are...
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s third anniversary report card
Well hey, it seems like it's another birthday for Pokemon Go, so you all know what we have for the anniversary party: another report card!...