virtual world
Disney axes its fledgling metaverse division as part of a 7,000 employee layoff round
How long does it take for the House of Mouse to decide the metaverse isn't worth it? Roughly a year, apparently, as Disney has...
The MOP Up: Open-world tactical RPG Wartales releases next month
Looking to wage medieval war in a different format? You'll soon get your chance with Wartales, an open-world tactical RPG that's fully luanching on...
Second Life plans to launch a beta for its new mobile viewer later this year
Linden Lab is bringing a Unity-based mobile viewer to its long-running virtual world Second Life, according to a preview the company posted last weekend.
"This...
Massively Overthinking: That moment when you realize an MMO is truly something special
MOP commenter Bruno tweeted something the other that that I thought would make a fun topic. Here's what he said, printed with permission:
"Wanna know...
Q4 2022: Krafton threatens to launch a ‘create-to-earn’ platform in 2023
Korean games giant Krafton reported $1.47B US in revenues for the full year 2022 period, with operating profit up 15.5% year over year but...
The Game Archaeologist: PlaneShift, the poster child of open-source MMOs
As the character creation screen fades out, a dark vista fades into being. The fledgling adventurer looks around at dim shapes and sinister movements...
Victorian gaslamp multiplayer PvE sandbox Nightingale teases travel in new Game Awards trailer
We've had an eye on Inflexion Games' multiplayer survival sandbox Nightingale since its debut last year - in fact, it was meant to hit...
How WoW Classic became a ‘hellscape of instrumental practices’
Are other people jerks when they decry your poor World of Warcraft performance, or is it your fault? That's the general topic being taken...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 396: Crowfalling
Justin and Bree discuss Crowfall, Blue Protocol, SWTOR, New World, Q3 2022 financials (for Blizzard, Pearl Abyss, Square Enix, NCsoft), and new patches (for DDO, Neverwinter, Blade and Soul, EVE Online, Guild Wars 2, Elder Scrolls Online), with a mailbag topic covering Shadowbane, Second Live, Secret World, and Ultima Online.
Massively Overthinking: Would you do hard MMO content without rewards?
Are you here for the challenge or here for the shinies? That's the core question the MOP team and audience is tackling this week...
The Daily Grind: Are you hoping for ‘market disruption’ in the MMO genre?
Over the summer, a Twitter user replied to one of our Daily Grinds suggesting that a certain MMORPG was poised to "disrupt the MMO...
Massively Overthinking: Do gaming ‘tourists’ ruin MMOs?
Yes, I know that's a provocative title. Yes, we're gonna talk about it with some nuance. It's a topic inspired by a Reddit thread...
Trucker gaming community turns its simulators into an MMORPG
As you might have heard me babble on the podcast this past week, I've been weirdly engrossed in American Truck Simulator as of late....
The Game Archaeologist: How Ultima Online got made
You know how there’s that yokel in every global chat channel that likes to troll players by claiming that World of Warcraft was the...
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 is finally launching on Steam next week – just in time for its 10th birthday
So you folks remember when Guild Wars 2 was planning to launch on Steam, right? It was originally announced way back in 2020 and...
One Shots: A salute to the world’s pylon-proppers
Heroes come in many shapes, forms, and professions. While nobody typically thinks of them, the pylon-proppers are always selflessly keeping virtual world docks from...
Massively Overthinking: What endgame content keeps you in an MMORPG long-term?
A while back on the MassivelyOP Podcast, Justin and I were trying to sort through why New World's endgame hasn't had staying power with...
Global Chat: The virtue of smaller shared worlds
With the rise of online sandboxes and other mini-MMOs (if that oxymoron can exist), several long-time MMO bloggers are praising the virtues and benefits...
Raph Koster talks about the ‘mission’ of Playable Worlds, his vision of the metaverse, and player ownership
Raph Koster is no stranger to talking about the concept of the metaverse - he's done it a couple of times already, trying to...
