https://massivelyop.com MMORPG news and opinions Wed, 26 Apr 2023 16:01:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/activision-blizzard-q1-2023/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/activision-blizzard-q1-2023/#comments Wed, 26 Apr 2023 15:35:13 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437352 Activision blinked: Activision-Blizzard wasn’t supposed to release its Q1 2023 financials until tomorrow after the bell, but it’s just done it this morning out of the blue, presumably attempting to ward off the sharp stock drop it experienced this morning after UK regulators moved to block its merge with Microsoft. So it’s here early, and let’s […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/activision-blizzard-q1-2023/feed/ 29 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/uk-regulators-block-microsofts-buyout-of-activision-blizzard/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/uk-regulators-block-microsofts-buyout-of-activision-blizzard/#comments Wed, 26 Apr 2023 12:00:06 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437247 Multiple outlets are reporting this morning that Microsoft’s buyout of Activision-Blizzard has been blocked in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority aka CMA determined that the merger of the two megacorps – to the tune of almost $70B US – would impede industry competition in the country, saying the move could “alter the future […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/26/uk-regulators-block-microsofts-buyout-of-activision-blizzard/feed/ 33 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/appellate-court-reaffirms-apples-store-is-not-monopolist-but-must-still-allow-third-party-purchasing-options/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/appellate-court-reaffirms-apples-store-is-not-monopolist-but-must-still-allow-third-party-purchasing-options/#comments Tue, 25 Apr 2023 19:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437061 The three year-long legal fight between Apple and Epic finally made another step forward yesterday, but since it has been that long, allow us a moment to recap prior events. Back in 2020, a legal battle erupted between Epic Games, Apple, and (to a somewhat lesser degree) Google, when an update to the mobile version […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/appellate-court-reaffirms-apples-store-is-not-monopolist-but-must-still-allow-third-party-purchasing-options/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/cliff-bleszinski-is-apparently-interested-in-a-lawbreakers-revival/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/cliff-bleszinski-is-apparently-interested-in-a-lawbreakers-revival/#comments Tue, 25 Apr 2023 18:30:39 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437173 For three blissful years now, no one has had to give any thought to LawBreakers outside of those of us who remember this bizarre industry. Cliff “Cliffy B” Bleszinski had last brought it back to our memories back in 2020 when he tried to claim that it failed because it was “too woke,” which gives […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/cliff-bleszinski-is-apparently-interested-in-a-lawbreakers-revival/feed/ 19 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/that-netease-lawsuit-against-blizzard-turns-out-to-have-been-a-clerical-error/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/that-netease-lawsuit-against-blizzard-turns-out-to-have-been-a-clerical-error/#comments Tue, 25 Apr 2023 13:00:48 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=437062 Yesterday, we – and just about everyone else in the industry – picked up a Wowhead story about a lawsuit being lodged by NetEase against Blizzard in a Shanghai court to the tune of $43M, sourced through a legitimate Chinese financial website. But the story is far weirder than that, as it turns out, as […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/25/that-netease-lawsuit-against-blizzard-turns-out-to-have-been-a-clerical-error/feed/ 9 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/red-cross-launches-an-initiative-that-challenges-fps-players-to-follow-real-world-humanitarian-laws-of-war/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/red-cross-launches-an-initiative-that-challenges-fps-players-to-follow-real-world-humanitarian-laws-of-war/#comments Mon, 24 Apr 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436763 It can often look like the opposite is true, but in wartime, many countries theoretically follow a set of laws known as the International Humanitarian Laws, which are intended to ensure armed conflict harms no innocent people, offers care for wounded on both sides, and keeps prisoners free from undue cruelty. It’s these laws that […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/red-cross-launches-an-initiative-that-challenges-fps-players-to-follow-real-world-humanitarian-laws-of-war/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/call-of-duty-is-planning-to-release-a-board-game-with-a-kickstarter-planned-for-this-fall/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/call-of-duty-is-planning-to-release-a-board-game-with-a-kickstarter-planned-for-this-fall/#comments Mon, 24 Apr 2023 17:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436917 There’s a point in the movie Spaceballs where it lampooned a certain franchise’s merchandising zeal, but it likely didn’t account for the Call of Duty franchise getting to that point of absurdity in a very literal and unironic sense, as the FPS is going to be adapted as a board game. Somehow. Call of Duty: […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/call-of-duty-is-planning-to-release-a-board-game-with-a-kickstarter-planned-for-this-fall/feed/ 7 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/netease-is-suing-blizzard-for-300m-over-failed-and-reneged-licensing-agreements/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/netease-is-suing-blizzard-for-300m-over-failed-and-reneged-licensing-agreements/#comments Mon, 24 Apr 2023 12:30:08 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436873 We’ve updated this story at the end as NetEase’s name has been removed from the lawsuit. The original article follows. If you thought the NetEase vs. Blizzard showdown couldn’t get any spicier than demolished statues and personal attacks being leaked by execs, then you are in for a dramatic surprise today as NetEase has taken […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/24/netease-is-suing-blizzard-for-300m-over-failed-and-reneged-licensing-agreements/feed/ 23 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-22/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-22/#comments Sun, 23 Apr 2023 00:00:30 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436665 Welcome to another blast of MMO crowdfunding news from the last few weeks! The chaos still trailing behind the failed Kickstarter MMO TitanReach continued through April; readers will recall that TitanReach was covered in red flags long before it went belly up after its angel investor caught its lead dev embezzling from the company, and […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/22/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-22/feed/ 2 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/square-enix-claps-hands-with-a-blockchain-game-platform-that-hides-web3-technology-under-the-hood/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/square-enix-claps-hands-with-a-blockchain-game-platform-that-hides-web3-technology-under-the-hood/#comments Fri, 21 Apr 2023 15:30:50 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436618 At this point, game publishers and developers are likely wise to the fact that the vast majority of gamers don’t want, like, or need speculative blockchain and NFT nonsense worming its way into their games. It’s likely because of this that Square-Enix has decided to enter a partnership with Elixir Games, a company that actively […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/21/square-enix-claps-hands-with-a-blockchain-game-platform-that-hides-web3-technology-under-the-hood/feed/ 30 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/perfect-ten-10-ways-world-of-warcraft-feels-like-a-dead-mall/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/perfect-ten-10-ways-world-of-warcraft-feels-like-a-dead-mall/#comments Wed, 19 Apr 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436157 There was a time that I lived next to a very small mall that’s tucked kind of out-of-the-way in a part of my state. It was already kind of a low-rent location even when I went there in middle school, but as time went by it only got more dead over time. By the time […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/19/perfect-ten-10-ways-world-of-warcraft-feels-like-a-dead-mall/feed/ 109 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/world-of-warcraft-producer-claims-blizzard-is-bleeding-talent-and-creating-crisis-maps-for-feature-releases/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/world-of-warcraft-producer-claims-blizzard-is-bleeding-talent-and-creating-crisis-maps-for-feature-releases/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=436045 It would appear that another bout of brain drain is afflicting Blizzard as a whole and World of Warcraft in specific. One of the MMORPG’s game producers took to Twitter to bemoan losing another employee and remark aloud that upper management is to blame. “Blizzard is losing amazing talent because someone in power doesn’t listen to […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/18/world-of-warcraft-producer-claims-blizzard-is-bleeding-talent-and-creating-crisis-maps-for-feature-releases/feed/ 32 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/nexon-formally-files-a-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-against-dark-and-darker-studio-ironmace/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/nexon-formally-files-a-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-against-dark-and-darker-studio-ironmace/#comments Mon, 17 Apr 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435864 Considering the very public back-and-forth between Nexon and Dark and Darker developer Ironmace, this development seems like a foregone conclusion, but it is now official: Nexon is taking Ironmace to court for copyright infringement. Nexon’s legal complaint makes similar accusations that it did when the dungeon crawler was first hit with a Steam copyright strike […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/nexon-formally-files-a-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-against-dark-and-darker-studio-ironmace/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/riot-mmos-principal-game-designer-steps-down-but-a-former-riot-employee-calls-it-a-natural-part-of-the-life-cycle-of-a-game-dev/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/riot-mmos-principal-game-designer-steps-down-but-a-former-riot-employee-calls-it-a-natural-part-of-the-life-cycle-of-a-game-dev/#comments Mon, 17 Apr 2023 13:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435726 The MMORPG that Riot is developing has apparently lost another member of its senior staff. Justin “Xenogenic” Hanson announced his departure from Riot this past Friday for an unexplained new opportunity. “Very sad to be leaving, on the one hand, yet excited for a new adventure on the other,” Hanson writes. “The MMO team is […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/17/riot-mmos-principal-game-designer-steps-down-but-a-former-riot-employee-calls-it-a-natural-part-of-the-life-cycle-of-a-game-dev/feed/ 13 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/players-cry-foul-over-call-of-duty-warzone-cash-shop-skins-that-offer-unfair-advantages/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/players-cry-foul-over-call-of-duty-warzone-cash-shop-skins-that-offer-unfair-advantages/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435600 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 coming to the DMZ mode of Call of Duty: Warzone, that may actually be the case, as these cash shop outfits confer some sizeable advantages. Some of the furor first erupted […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/players-cry-foul-over-call-of-duty-warzone-cash-shop-skins-that-offer-unfair-advantages/feed/ 17 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/steams-automodding-of-counter-strike-skin-selling-bots-is-catching-legitimate-players-in-its-dragnet/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/steams-automodding-of-counter-strike-skin-selling-bots-is-catching-legitimate-players-in-its-dragnet/#comments Fri, 14 Apr 2023 18:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435610 Welcome back to another episode of We Don’t Need to Fear the Singularity Because the People Writing AI Are Too Stupid for That to Happen. Today, we focus in on Steam, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin selling, and the automod algorithm that’s dishing out hefty bans to legitimate players in its zeal to stop bots. The […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/14/steams-automodding-of-counter-strike-skin-selling-bots-is-catching-legitimate-players-in-its-dragnet/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/13/microsoft-president-and-us-intel-say-russian-operatives-are-targeting-gaming-for-espionage/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/13/microsoft-president-and-us-intel-say-russian-operatives-are-targeting-gaming-for-espionage/#comments Thu, 13 Apr 2023 16:30:07 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435394 Earlier this week, we covered the bizarre but sadly believable news that the military secrets leak every major newspaper is currently focused on may have been promulgated through a Minecraft server. As we noted at the time, while a lot of the classified info turned out to be fake or already public, other parts appeared […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/13/microsoft-president-and-us-intel-say-russian-operatives-are-targeting-gaming-for-espionage/feed/ 27 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/genshin-impacts-latest-update-replaces-tighnaris-english-voice-actor-after-sexual-allegation-scandal/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/genshin-impacts-latest-update-replaces-tighnaris-english-voice-actor-after-sexual-allegation-scandal/#comments Wed, 12 Apr 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435210 The latest patch available for Genshin Impact features a lot of things in its notes, but fans might also see an important piece of detail in the audio section, which outlines updated English voice lines for the character Tighnari. That new voice is being provided by Zachary Gordon, who takes up the role after original […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/genshin-impacts-latest-update-replaces-tighnaris-english-voice-actor-after-sexual-allegation-scandal/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/gamer-antitrust-lawsuit-against-microsoft-is-resubmitted-with-additional-sales-data-and-internal-documents/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/gamer-antitrust-lawsuit-against-microsoft-is-resubmitted-with-additional-sales-data-and-internal-documents/#comments Wed, 12 Apr 2023 18:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435199 Last month, an antitrust lawsuit filed by gamers against Microsoft was temporarily kicked to the curb, as the judge hearing the case ruled that the original challenge lacked sufficient detail and gave the plaintiff 20 days to refine the suit’s arguments. Sure enough, the lawsuit has been re-filed, and this time it features the “additional […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/gamer-antitrust-lawsuit-against-microsoft-is-resubmitted-with-additional-sales-data-and-internal-documents/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/pokemon-go-pulls-a-fortnite-by-opening-its-own-store-in-some-regions/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/pokemon-go-pulls-a-fortnite-by-opening-its-own-store-in-some-regions/#comments Wed, 12 Apr 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=435124 As first reported by Pokemon GO Hub, Niantic has announced it’s opening separate out-of-game store for its MMOARPG Pokemon GO. Readers will recall that a similar issue saw Fortnite booted from Apple’s App store and resulted in a lengthy legal battle, but so far, Niantic has limited the news and the store to out-of-game advertising only. […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/12/pokemon-go-pulls-a-fortnite-by-opening-its-own-store-in-some-regions/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/11/war-thunder-welcomes-minecraft-to-the-gaming-playerbases-leaking-military-secrets-club/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/11/war-thunder-welcomes-minecraft-to-the-gaming-playerbases-leaking-military-secrets-club/#comments Tue, 11 Apr 2023 13:00:05 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434991 Over the last half week, the intelligence community has been reeling over a serious leak of military documents that apparently were promulgated through a Minecraft server before hitting 4chan and then going mainstream. The documents appear to include legitimate US intelligence analyses of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and though much of it was already […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/11/war-thunder-welcomes-minecraft-to-the-gaming-playerbases-leaking-military-secrets-club/feed/ 9 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/10/chatgpt-is-utilized-by-mud-aetolia-to-generate-npc-dialogue-and-send-someone-on-a-fake-quest/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/10/chatgpt-is-utilized-by-mud-aetolia-to-generate-npc-dialogue-and-send-someone-on-a-fake-quest/#comments Mon, 10 Apr 2023 17:30:19 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434899 Some game developers continue to laud AI generation tools like ChatGPT as the future of many frontiers, including NPC behavior in MMORPGs and gaming in general, all while downplaying the potential negative human impact. One such developer is Matt Mihaly, the man behind the MUD Aetolia, who ran a live experiment on players that used […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/10/chatgpt-is-utilized-by-mud-aetolia-to-generate-npc-dialogue-and-send-someone-on-a-fake-quest/feed/ 4 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/10/raph-koster-predicts-the-future-of-the-metaverse-is-a-virtual-machu-picchu-that-you-can-leave/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/10/raph-koster-predicts-the-future-of-the-metaverse-is-a-virtual-machu-picchu-that-you-can-leave/#comments Mon, 10 Apr 2023 15:00:50 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434843 If you’re not exhausted of seeing the word “metaverse” just yet, MMORPG developer Raph Koster has published a blessedly brief whitepaper on the evolution of online spaces like MMOs into metaverses – and by extension why we don’t have one yet in spite of billions of dollars wasted and endless babble from tech companies. In […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/10/raph-koster-predicts-the-future-of-the-metaverse-is-a-virtual-machu-picchu-that-you-can-leave/feed/ 60 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/08/ccp-games-ceo-defends-project-awakenings-existence-as-the-studio-seeks-a-blockchain-ecosystem-dev/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/08/ccp-games-ceo-defends-project-awakenings-existence-as-the-studio-seeks-a-blockchain-ecosystem-dev/#comments Sat, 08 Apr 2023 20:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434700 Any cryptocurrency-focused video that opens with a gigantic legal disclaimer stating its content shouldn’t be taken as legal or financial advice should immediately set off every single instinct to flee, but we’re going to dive in anyway because this particular video features CCP Games CEO Hilmar Petursson, the recently announced blockchain game in the EVE […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/08/ccp-games-ceo-defends-project-awakenings-existence-as-the-studio-seeks-a-blockchain-ecosystem-dev/feed/ 22 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/microsoft-welcomes-uk-governing-bodys-reassessment-of-actiblizz-buyout-while-sony-cries-foul/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/microsoft-welcomes-uk-governing-bodys-reassessment-of-actiblizz-buyout-while-sony-cries-foul/#comments Thu, 06 Apr 2023 19:00:43 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434484 This is one of those “water is wet” news stories considering the parties involved, but in the interest of continuing to follow the ever-lengthening multi-billion dollar buyout of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft, we’re going to post this follow-up anyway. Readers might recall that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority pulled a provisional about face last week […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/microsoft-welcomes-uk-governing-bodys-reassessment-of-actiblizz-buyout-while-sony-cries-foul/feed/ 11 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/ncsoft-is-taking-kakaos-archeage-war-to-court-over-alleged-plagiarism/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/ncsoft-is-taking-kakaos-archeage-war-to-court-over-alleged-plagiarism/#comments Thu, 06 Apr 2023 13:30:02 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434427 ArcheAge War isn’t just a delayed blockchain mess: It’s also the subject of a new lawsuit. According to The Korea Times, NCsoft has filed a complaint in the Korean courts against XL Games and Kakao over what it alleges is copyright infringement and unfair competition. “NCsoft confirmed that ArcheAge War, released by Kakao Games and […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/ncsoft-is-taking-kakaos-archeage-war-to-court-over-alleged-plagiarism/feed/ 4 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/the-daily-grind-whats-your-self-admitted-dumbest-reason-for-not-playing-an-mmo/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/the-daily-grind-whats-your-self-admitted-dumbest-reason-for-not-playing-an-mmo/#comments Thu, 06 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434362 There are a lot of super valid reasons to not play an MMO. It’s an open PvP game and you don’t like that, for example. You don’t have time for another game and all of your friends play something else. The monetization is predatory. You don’t care about the IP. The gameplay loop isn’t what […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/06/the-daily-grind-whats-your-self-admitted-dumbest-reason-for-not-playing-an-mmo/feed/ 39 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/amazon-games-hit-with-layoffs-but-the-new-world-team-in-irvine-will-grow/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/amazon-games-hit-with-layoffs-but-the-new-world-team-in-irvine-will-grow/#comments Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:09:19 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434377 Amazon is apparently continuing its mass layoffs, as this week the company slashed jobs even more relevant to MMO fans than Twitch: This time, the cuts include Amazon Games’ San Diego branch. According to CNBC, that brings the total layoffs from Amazon over the last few rounds to something like 27,000 people. MMO fans are […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/amazon-games-hit-with-layoffs-but-the-new-world-team-in-irvine-will-grow/feed/ 22 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/monster-energy-drink-is-hassling-indie-game-dark-deception-monsters-mortals-over-its-name-and-logo/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/monster-energy-drink-is-hassling-indie-game-dark-deception-monsters-mortals-over-its-name-and-logo/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434321 Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals hasn’t ever crossed our desk before, not being anything resembling an MMORPG, but it’s multiplayer with PvP and co-op play, so it’s close enough to highlight, albeit for less-than-pleasant reasons. Apparently, last week indie games studio Glowstick Entertainment was threatened with legal action over the name and logo of the […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/monster-energy-drink-is-hassling-indie-game-dark-deception-monsters-mortals-over-its-name-and-logo/feed/ 10 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/warframe-has-opened-up-its-physical-ticket-sales-for-tennocon/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/warframe-has-opened-up-its-physical-ticket-sales-for-tennocon/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2023 20:00:15 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434355 There’s no game out there quite like Warframe with its uniquely baroque and futuristic style, and that means there’s no physical convention quite like TennoCon. The event is occurring on August 26th in London, Ontario, and the tickets for it went on sale at 2:00 p.m. EDT. As of this writing… those tickets are going […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/warframe-has-opened-up-its-physical-ticket-sales-for-tennocon/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/massively-on-the-go-its-pokemon-no-time-again-for-pokemon-go-players/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/massively-on-the-go-its-pokemon-no-time-again-for-pokemon-go-players/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2023 17:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434185 Niantic is the master of drip information, and most of it is both poor and incomplete, which is why we relegate most Pokemon GO news to monthly event roundups here in Massively on the Go. Those who have been following our April guide or social media won’t be terribly surprised by this, but Niantic once again […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/massively-on-the-go-its-pokemon-no-time-again-for-pokemon-go-players/feed/ 6 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/perfect-ten-ten-mmo-promises-that-are-not-filling-me-with-confidence/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/perfect-ten-ten-mmo-promises-that-are-not-filling-me-with-confidence/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433995 Every game’s development – and this includes MMOs – involves certain promises being made that the developers probably half-knows are not going to wind up being true. With a little bit of luck, the audience also knows that this is untrue. Yes, you plan to have monthly content updates without fail. Very nice, Guild Wars […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/05/perfect-ten-ten-mmo-promises-that-are-not-filling-me-with-confidence/feed/ 24 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/a-year-after-ftc-complaint-roblox-will-now-hide-ads-for-players-13-and-under/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/a-year-after-ftc-complaint-roblox-will-now-hide-ads-for-players-13-and-under/#comments Tue, 04 Apr 2023 18:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433755 Last year, the watchdog group Truth in Advertising (TINA) filed a complaint with the FTC over Roblox’s “deceptive advertising” reach towards younger players, claiming that “brands [the game] has invited into its metaverse, […] along with undisclosed avatar brand influencers and AI-controlled brand bots, are running roughshod on the platform, manipulating and exploiting consumers” and […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/a-year-after-ftc-complaint-roblox-will-now-hide-ads-for-players-13-and-under/feed/ 5 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/overwatch-teases-lifeweavers-abilities-ahead-of-his-addition-to-the-game-on-april-11/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/overwatch-teases-lifeweavers-abilities-ahead-of-his-addition-to-the-game-on-april-11/#comments Tue, 04 Apr 2023 17:30:37 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434175 My therapist: “Prettier Healing Hanzo isn’t real in Overwatch 2, he can’t hurt you.” Me: “No, you don’t understand, he’s going to be real on April 11th. And he’s a support healer, so he’s mostly facilitating other people hurting me by making it harder for me to hurt them. Like, he recovers their health, or […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/overwatch-teases-lifeweavers-abilities-ahead-of-his-addition-to-the-game-on-april-11/feed/ 11 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/us-department-of-justice-and-activision-blizzard-reach-a-settlement-over-an-esports-salary-lawsuit/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/us-department-of-justice-and-activision-blizzard-reach-a-settlement-over-an-esports-salary-lawsuit/#comments Tue, 04 Apr 2023 14:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=434011 It would apparently not be enough for Activision-Blizzard to treat its employees poorly; it also has been found to treat those who compete in its esports leagues poorly as well. The US Department of Justice filed a civil suit against the company yesterday over a rule in its Overwatch and Call of Duty esports leagues […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/04/us-department-of-justice-and-activision-blizzard-reach-a-settlement-over-an-esports-salary-lawsuit/feed/ 1 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/a-new-video-on-decentraland-a-blockchain-based-metaverse-game-highlights-the-metaverse-as-the-digital-version-of-a-dead-mall/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/a-new-video-on-decentraland-a-blockchain-based-metaverse-game-highlights-the-metaverse-as-the-digital-version-of-a-dead-mall/#comments Mon, 03 Apr 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433328 Hey kids! Do you want to see a dead retail environment? Go to a shopping mall in the United States of America of slightly smaller size and gaze at such glories as unfilled store fronts, soul-crushing desperate kiosks, and the saddest shoppers shuffling around the barely maintained walkways. Or you could get that same dead […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/a-new-video-on-decentraland-a-blockchain-based-metaverse-game-highlights-the-metaverse-as-the-digital-version-of-a-dead-mall/feed/ 14 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/labor-board-moves-forward-on-unions-labor-law-charges-against-activision-blizzard/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/labor-board-moves-forward-on-unions-labor-law-charges-against-activision-blizzard/#comments Mon, 03 Apr 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433764 We admit that it’s hard to keep track of all of the malfeasance that the Communications Workers of America has been calling out against Activision-Blizzard (on top of all of the other behaviors the company has been found doing), but this story relates to an August 2022 complaint from the CWA that accused ActiBlizz of […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/labor-board-moves-forward-on-unions-labor-law-charges-against-activision-blizzard/feed/ 8 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/galaxies-of-eden-insists-that-its-shuttering-the-social-mmo-completely-to-develop-a-dubious-ai-generated-playground/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/galaxies-of-eden-insists-that-its-shuttering-the-social-mmo-completely-to-develop-a-dubious-ai-generated-playground/#comments Mon, 03 Apr 2023 20:00:57 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433955 So remember how Galaxies of Eden had delayed its pre-alpha testing because of technical roadblocks and bugs? Well, we’ve finally heard from the studio behind the game again, and it’s… perhaps not what anyone was expecting. Instead, it’s the studio announcing that it is completely abandoning the social MMO that it was developing and will […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/galaxies-of-eden-insists-that-its-shuttering-the-social-mmo-completely-to-develop-a-dubious-ai-generated-playground/feed/ 16 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/why-i-play-diablo-iii-from-reaper-of-souls-to-today/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/why-i-play-diablo-iii-from-reaper-of-souls-to-today/#comments Mon, 03 Apr 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433372 In the first part of this Why I Play retrospective on Diablo III, I discussed the early issues that accompanied the game’s record-setting debut. And while that rocky period is likely something many gamers remember well, it was certainly not the end of the story. In the second and final chunk of this series, we’ll […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/03/why-i-play-diablo-iii-from-reaper-of-souls-to-today/feed/ 3 https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/01/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-1/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/01/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-1/#comments Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433544 Welcome to another blast of MMO crowdfunding news from the last few weeks! Is it a great idea to set devs to crunching for the next patch when the last patch is still a mess? Star Citizen sure thinks so, and it’s working on intermediary updates in the meantime: “In order to increase our efficiency […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/04/01/make-my-mmo-crowdfunding-roundup-2023-apr-1/feed/ 6 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/betawatch-blue-protocol-runs-a-network-test-in-japan/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/betawatch-blue-protocol-runs-a-network-test-in-japan/#respond Fri, 31 Mar 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433561 And there we go: Another round of network testing has begun in Japan for Blue Protocol. Bandai Namco promised it would happen in March, and it is still technically March! It’s March somewhere. If you’re reading this in April, just pretend it’s still March. As of this writing, it’s March here for several more hours! […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/betawatch-blue-protocol-runs-a-network-test-in-japan/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/how-final-fantasy-xivs-localization-improved-after-the-relaunch/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/how-final-fantasy-xivs-localization-improved-after-the-relaunch/#respond Fri, 31 Mar 2023 21:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433157 The Final Fantasy XIV localization has a distinct character to it, part of what makes the story and its characters so memorable for fans. But moving into the relaunch, translation director Michael Christopher Koji Fox describes the attitude in the localization department as despondent. After all, the game flopped hard on launch, and even if […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/how-final-fantasy-xivs-localization-improved-after-the-relaunch/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/eden-eternal-starts-pre-registration-and-offers-players-nfts-for-participation/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/eden-eternal-starts-pre-registration-and-offers-players-nfts-for-participation/#comments Fri, 31 Mar 2023 19:00:54 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433548 If you were looking forward to the relaunch of Eden Eternal under X-LEGEND, we have some bad news for you. It’s not exactly the bad news you might normally expect. The game has started its pre-registration phase for players to sign up for the upcoming game’s launch, and that’s fine… up until the part where […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/31/eden-eternal-starts-pre-registration-and-offers-players-nfts-for-participation/feed/ 18 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/ubisoft-paris-is-accused-of-developer-crunch-and-poor-project-management-by-french-game-workers-union/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/ubisoft-paris-is-accused-of-developer-crunch-and-poor-project-management-by-french-game-workers-union/#comments Thu, 30 Mar 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433032 Solidaires Informatique, the French game workers union that has been working with employees at Ubisoft Paris since the developer’s widespread sexual harassment claims came to light in 2020, is once more calling out Ubisoft Paris with fresh allegations of mismanagement and employee crunch as the studio worked on last November’s Just Dance 2023. These revelations […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/ubisoft-paris-is-accused-of-developer-crunch-and-poor-project-management-by-french-game-workers-union/feed/ 6 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/e3-2023-has-officially-been-cancelled/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/e3-2023-has-officially-been-cancelled/#comments Thu, 30 Mar 2023 20:55:13 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433374 This probably isn’t going to come as a surprise to anyone, but it’s still a significant announcement. E3 2023 has been cancelled outright according to emails sent out by the ESA. It’s the sort of thing that was a long time in coming after multiple major publishers had already pulled out of the show, with […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/e3-2023-has-officially-been-cancelled/feed/ 27 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/australian-parliament-proposes-ratings-changes-to-games-with-lootboxes-and-simulated-gambling/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/australian-parliament-proposes-ratings-changes-to-games-with-lootboxes-and-simulated-gambling/#respond Thu, 30 Mar 2023 18:00:33 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433273 It appears that the Australian parliament is looking to make some moves against games with lockboxes, or at the very least a half-measure: The Australian government has put forth a proposal to change game classifications for certain titles, suggesting that games with lootboxes receive an M rating and games with “simulated gambling” receive an R […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/australian-parliament-proposes-ratings-changes-to-games-with-lootboxes-and-simulated-gambling/feed/ 0 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/vague-patch-notes-can-anyone-really-cover-games-objectively-when-theres-suffering-built-in-to-them/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/vague-patch-notes-can-anyone-really-cover-games-objectively-when-theres-suffering-built-in-to-them/#comments Thu, 30 Mar 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433202 In July of 2021, we started a roundup tag in our tag cloud that most of us probably didn’t expect to still be using nearly two years later. It’s just “blizzard-scandal,” but that kind of says everything we need to. I wrote about it at the time, but since then it has only gotten worse. […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/vague-patch-notes-can-anyone-really-cover-games-objectively-when-theres-suffering-built-in-to-them/feed/ 46 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/electronic-arts-lays-off-hundreds-of-employees-as-part-of-a-restructuring-plan/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/electronic-arts-lays-off-hundreds-of-employees-as-part-of-a-restructuring-plan/#comments Thu, 30 Mar 2023 13:30:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433190 Pink Easter eggs may be in season, but over at Electronic Arts, employees are filling up their baskets with pink slips instead. The video game giant announced that it’s laying off 6% of its work force — estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 775 people — as part of a “restructuring” plan. EA […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/30/electronic-arts-lays-off-hundreds-of-employees-as-part-of-a-restructuring-plan/feed/ 17 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/29/disney-axes-its-fledgling-metaverse-division-as-part-of-a-7000-employee-layoff-round/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/29/disney-axes-its-fledgling-metaverse-division-as-part-of-a-7000-employee-layoff-round/#comments Wed, 29 Mar 2023 22:00:00 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433003 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 handed 7,000 employees a pink slip, including the 50 employees who were hired for its metaverse division. The so-called “Next Generation Storytelling and Consumer Experiences team” was formed last November with […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/29/disney-axes-its-fledgling-metaverse-division-as-part-of-a-7000-employee-layoff-round/feed/ 26 https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/29/donkey-crew-announces-new-survival-game-bellwright-as-last-oasis-begins-fourth-year-of-early-access/ https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/29/donkey-crew-announces-new-survival-game-bellwright-as-last-oasis-begins-fourth-year-of-early-access/#comments Wed, 29 Mar 2023 20:00:42 +0000 https://massivelyop.com/?p=433138 You know how it goes. You’re enjoying a normal one, just chilling and vibing, and then suddenly the constabulary shows up all, “uh, so we think you murdered the Prince, you have to come with us now?” And of course you’re all like no way and you head off into the wilderness to survive and […]]]> https://massivelyop.com/2023/03/29/donkey-crew-announces-new-survival-game-bellwright-as-last-oasis-begins-fourth-year-of-early-access/feed/ 6