Post by Morreion on Dec 31, 2016 9:34:00 GMT -5
Perfect Ten: The biggest MMORPG stories of 2016 (MOP)
Perfect Ten: Biggest MMORPG surprises of 2016 (MOP)
EverQuest Next dies prematurely
We here at Massively OP might have traveled around the block more than a few times when it comes to MMORPGs and the industry, but even we don’t have a clue what’s going on in the seemingly chaotic offices of Daybreak these days.
The studio stunned — but perhaps did not surprise — fans by canceling the development of EverQuest Next back in March after years of work. Daybreak stated that the game as it stood “wasn’t fun” and did not meet the team’s expectations. Considering that EQN was one of the very last big-budget western MMOs in development, it was a harsh blow.
Pokémon Go takes over the world
Before June 2016, alternate reality games were a sideshow attraction on the video game circuit. But then Pokémon Go launched, and overnight this ARG became a global phenomenon.
For a good while there, practically anywhere you went, you would see Pokémon Go players hunched over their phones like the world’s most good-natured apocalypse cult. It took a long while for things to calm down, and while Pokémon Go isn’t quite the hot stuff that it was back in the summer, it’s definitely here to stay and has undoubtedly inspired countless other ARG projects to start development.
World of Warcraft: Legion recaptures the magic
With the overall disappointment of Warlords of Draenor and the rapid exodus of subscribers, a lot was resting on Legion’s shoulders. Fortunately for Blizzard, the expansion was a strong success, selling 3.3 million copies by the end of the first day of launch, garnering positive reviews, and boosting the game’s concurrency levels significantly. With a more aggressive patch rollout for this expansion cycle, Blizzard is giving its players more of a reason to stick around than ever before.
EVE Online goes free-to-play
One of the last holdouts of the classic subscription model, EVE Online finally bowed to the pressure — or appeal — of the free-to-play model. It’s Ascension expansion gave new and returning players a cost-free option to enjoy the game, albeit with restrictions. Coupled with the tutorial overhaul, the expansion was definitely a bold move to draw in a larger crowd to the space sandbox. It seems to have paid off, at least initially.
We here at Massively OP might have traveled around the block more than a few times when it comes to MMORPGs and the industry, but even we don’t have a clue what’s going on in the seemingly chaotic offices of Daybreak these days.
The studio stunned — but perhaps did not surprise — fans by canceling the development of EverQuest Next back in March after years of work. Daybreak stated that the game as it stood “wasn’t fun” and did not meet the team’s expectations. Considering that EQN was one of the very last big-budget western MMOs in development, it was a harsh blow.
Pokémon Go takes over the world
Before June 2016, alternate reality games were a sideshow attraction on the video game circuit. But then Pokémon Go launched, and overnight this ARG became a global phenomenon.
For a good while there, practically anywhere you went, you would see Pokémon Go players hunched over their phones like the world’s most good-natured apocalypse cult. It took a long while for things to calm down, and while Pokémon Go isn’t quite the hot stuff that it was back in the summer, it’s definitely here to stay and has undoubtedly inspired countless other ARG projects to start development.
World of Warcraft: Legion recaptures the magic
With the overall disappointment of Warlords of Draenor and the rapid exodus of subscribers, a lot was resting on Legion’s shoulders. Fortunately for Blizzard, the expansion was a strong success, selling 3.3 million copies by the end of the first day of launch, garnering positive reviews, and boosting the game’s concurrency levels significantly. With a more aggressive patch rollout for this expansion cycle, Blizzard is giving its players more of a reason to stick around than ever before.
EVE Online goes free-to-play
One of the last holdouts of the classic subscription model, EVE Online finally bowed to the pressure — or appeal — of the free-to-play model. It’s Ascension expansion gave new and returning players a cost-free option to enjoy the game, albeit with restrictions. Coupled with the tutorial overhaul, the expansion was definitely a bold move to draw in a larger crowd to the space sandbox. It seems to have paid off, at least initially.
Perfect Ten: Biggest MMORPG surprises of 2016 (MOP)
No Man’s Sky skitters away from multiplayer
Once upon a time, No Man’s Sky promoted itself as a multiplayer space exploration sim, which is why Massively OP started covering it. Yet as the game neared its (disastrous) launch, the studio started backing away from claims of interactive multiplayer features and issuing all sorts of confusing and contradicting statements. It was only part of the overall tapestry of failed promises that rocked NMS on release, but for us, it was significant.
Revival gets tanked
It’s always such a shame when an MMORPG doesn’t even get out of the door before it gets canned. The gothic sandbox Revival was “indefinitely suspended” back in March with a slim-to-none chance of its future, er, revival. As the game drew heavily from crowdfunding for finances, its end met with not just a few grumblings and gnashing of teeth from the community that bankrolled its development.
Turbine gets out of the MMO business
In a late entry to this category, Turbine came out of the blue to announce that it was ditching all four of its MMORPGs. The once-great indie MMO studio is now focused on producing mobile titles, apparently. This might be good news for LOTRO and DDO, which both carried their devs team to a new studio, Standing Stone Games, but it was the end of the line for Asheron’s Call 1 and 2, which will sunset in January.
Once upon a time, No Man’s Sky promoted itself as a multiplayer space exploration sim, which is why Massively OP started covering it. Yet as the game neared its (disastrous) launch, the studio started backing away from claims of interactive multiplayer features and issuing all sorts of confusing and contradicting statements. It was only part of the overall tapestry of failed promises that rocked NMS on release, but for us, it was significant.
Revival gets tanked
It’s always such a shame when an MMORPG doesn’t even get out of the door before it gets canned. The gothic sandbox Revival was “indefinitely suspended” back in March with a slim-to-none chance of its future, er, revival. As the game drew heavily from crowdfunding for finances, its end met with not just a few grumblings and gnashing of teeth from the community that bankrolled its development.
Turbine gets out of the MMO business
In a late entry to this category, Turbine came out of the blue to announce that it was ditching all four of its MMORPGs. The once-great indie MMO studio is now focused on producing mobile titles, apparently. This might be good news for LOTRO and DDO, which both carried their devs team to a new studio, Standing Stone Games, but it was the end of the line for Asheron’s Call 1 and 2, which will sunset in January.
