Frontier lays off 15 employees originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Jef took a look at sandbox Space Engineers for MMO Burnout.
• League of Legends' 2015 World Championship will be held in Europe.
• Marvel Heroes kicked off a cow-themed promotion and opened pre-orders for the Winter Soldier.
• DayZ has now sold over 3 million early access copies.
• Elite: Dangerous' February patch will focus on "new type of story-driven collaborative content."
• Heroes of Newerth is adding a new quest system and game mode.
• Path of Exile threatened cheaters with the banhammer.
• The Crew announced a new three-car DLC bundle.
• TUG implemented multiplayer.
• World of Warships now has aircraft carriers.
• Borderlands Online posted a trailer in time for its Chinese technical test.
• My.com released a new World of Speed trailer (it's after the cut).
• Heroes in the Sky is yet another WWII arcade battler.
• Shards of War introduced a new playable sentinel named Patches.
• League of Legends new Nemesis Draft mode is not going well.
• Destiny's getting a new PvP mode.
• Hearthstone's January 2015 ranked play season is drawing to a close.
• The "Wyrmius" minigame arrived in Warframe.
• Nosgoth landed in open beta.
• MOBA The Witcher: Battle Arena launched on mobile.
• A town in the Philippines banned Dota following a fatal stabbing over the game.

Continue reading Not So Massively: The pseudo-MMOs of PAX South 2015

Not So Massively: The pseudo-MMOs of PAX South 2015 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Jan 2015 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading One Shots: Haiku edition

One Shots: Haiku edition originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Jan 2015 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading PAX South 2015: Hangin' with Frontier, playin' Elite on the Oculus Rift

PAX South 2015: Hangin' with Frontier, playin' Elite on the Oculus Rift originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Jan 2015 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Global Chat: Guild Wars 2's economy is broken

Global Chat: Guild Wars 2's economy is broken originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Jan 2015 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Heroes of the Storm is now in closed beta. Blizz also previewed the Sky Temple map.
• Blizzard announced the 2015 Hearthstone World Championship.
• Riot announced League of Legends' mid-season invitational for May, pushed patch 5.1 live, and revealed Nemesis Draft, a new featured game mode. The game will also be celebrating Aussie players on Oceania servers later this month.
• Elite: Dangerous mapped out the beta schedule for its inbound updates and teased future expansions.
• Path of Exile completed PvP season one with its invitational tournament this weekend.
• Marvel Heroes pubbed its level 52 Hulk review.
• Diablo III patched 2.1.2 and ended season one.
• Borderlands Online revealed its four classes.
• World of Tanks introduced personal missions.
• MOBA Nosgoth's open beta is set to begin on January 21st.
• MMORTS Elvenar explained how to upgrade buildings.
• Square Enix publishe a dev blog for MOBA Lord of Vermilion.
• Infestation: Survivor Stories EP Sergey Titov admitted that the post-apoc game's original name, The War Z, was a "terrible choice."
• King of Wushu released videos for three new playable characters.
• Massively's Jukebox Heroes column reviewed Destiny's soundtrack. The game will launch the hardmode version of Crota's End this week.
• Dota 2 now boasts over 10 million players.
• Netmarble and Visual Toys announced they'll launch MOBA Pirates: Treasure Hunter next month.
• Former pro League of Legends team Vulcan leaped into fantasy e-sports.
• MOBA Summoner's Legion opens its first official server this coming Wednesday.
• Way, way too many devs think MOBAs are smart and sustainable for it to actually remain true. Ahem.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Closed beta for HOTS; tourneys for Hearthstone and LoL

Not So Massively: Closed beta for HOTS; tourneys for Hearthstone and LoL originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Jan 2015 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• We took a hands-on look at The Repopulation's alpha.
• Neverwinter is now taking signups for its February Xbox One beta test.
• Heroes of the Storm formally entered closed beta.
• Elite: Dangerous mapped out its update beta schedule and teased paid DLC.
• Crowfall posted new screenshots, game systems, and play2crush explanations.
• Camelot Unchained met its stretch goal to fund a dedicated sound engineer.
• Skyforge dished out new details on its combat system.
• Pantheon devs insisted the game is still being made.
• Nosgoth's open beta is set to begin on January 21st.
• Maestros of the Anthymn launched a new Kickstarter campaign.
• Black Desert is preparing its siege system for a January 17th test.
• Tree of Savior opened its beta in South Korea.
• Maplestory 2 will see its first Korean beta event from January 21st through the 25th.

Continue reading Betawatch: January 10 - 16, 2015

Betawatch: January 10 - 16, 2015 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Jan 2015 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Currently beta testing will be available for those who already have beta access for the main game. For players participating in the beta tests there will be a separate mechanism for playing so testing does not affect your game and that you can continue to play the retail version as well. Options for players currently without beta access to be able to purchase beta access will be available. Details will be made available nearer the time. Depending on how the update Betas go in test, we expect them to be released to everyone a week or so after the Beta release.​

Elite: Dangerous maps out update beta schedule, teases expansions originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Jan 2015 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Rumors are swirling about a possible "total reboot" for BioWare's episodic OARPG Shadow Realms.
• SMITE's world championships closed with half of a $2.6 million prize pool -- the third largest in e-sports history -- awarded to winners Cognitive Prime. SMITE also revealed character Hou Yi and opened Xbox One beta signups.
• Heroes of the Storm previewed hero league and draft mode, promised new skins and mounts, and posted a Brawl with the Blues event for this coming Wednesday. [Thanks, Dengar.]
• Valve declared that Dota 2's The International 2015 will take place from August 3rd to 8th in Seattle.
• Blizzard's Overwatch has already bumped into trademark issues.
• Hawkgirl arrives in Turbine MOBA Infinite Crisis on January 21st.
• Both Destiny's latest update and its holiday gift to players were guns. Lots of them.
• Elite: Dangerous is expanding both its team and its feature set, and it reversed its decision on how to handle the billionaire players created by last week's bug. Elite: Dangerous players also made headlines with their goal to chart out the whole galaxy for science.
• Blacklight: Retribution's Zombie Studios is shutting down, but the online shooter will live on.
• Hearthstone posted the winners of its ninth ranked season. Grats to SexyEnvelope. Great name too.
• MMO guild site Guild Launch rebranded as Gamer Launch in an attempt to target MOBA players.
• Check out this zombieless fan film honoring DayZ.
• Another university is adding League of Legends scholarships: Kentucky's University of Pikeville.
• War Thunder's WW2 Chronicles event series reached its fourth week.
• MOBA Chaos Heroes Online launched on Steam.
• Minecraft-like Planets³ is now in pre-alpha for pre-order players.
• And speaking of Minecraft: Mojang developer Nathan Adams tweeted that almost a million people were playing the blocky sandbox at what he said was a non-peak time on Friday.

Continue reading Not So Massively: SMITE's tourney, Shadow Realms' do-over, Heroes of the Storm's new mode

Not So Massively: SMITE's tourney, Shadow Realms' do-over, Heroes of the Storm's new mode originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Daily Grind: Would you like community filters in your MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Jan 2015 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Frontier expanding Elite's dev team, feature set originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Jan 2015 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Elite: Dangerous rolls back decision on billionaire rollback originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Jan 2015 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Elite: Dangerous players aim to chart out the whole galaxy originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Elite: Dangerous' server issues over the holiday created instant billionaires.
• Destiny is rumored to be due for yet another expansiaDLCpackaddonupdate. If you were hoping to upgrade your game to next-gen console, you can do so for free for a limited time.
• Hearthstone's new ranked season began; there's a new Maraad card to win too.
• League of Legends' Snowdown events come to a close tomorrowday.
• Path of Exile released its PvP Invitational standings to date.
• PlanetSide 2's John Smedley denied that implant changes in the game are a "money grab."
• Star Citizen's Chris Roberts looked back on a year of wild growth for the crowdfunded game.
• SMITE posted videos about Arachne's lore and wrapped up its Odyssey promotion.
• PlayStation Now is now offering subscription services.
• A talented player put Valve's Gabe Newell into Dota 2 as a shopkeeper.
• We dug into research suggesting non-causal links between emotional sensitivity and online games.
• Massively's Game Archaeologist discussed how DikuMUD shaped modern MMOs.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Destiny's rumored DLC, Elite's server blip, Hearthstone's new season

Not So Massively: Destiny's rumored DLC, Elite's server blip, Hearthstone's new season originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Frontier testing Elite server-side fix tonight originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Jan 2015 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Elite: Dangerous server goes haywire, creates instant billionaires [Updated]

Elite: Dangerous server goes haywire, creates instant billionaires [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Jan 2015 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Daily Grind: What add-ons can you not live without? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Dec 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Stick and Rudder: This is not an Elite: Dangerous review

Stick and Rudder: This is not an Elite: Dangerous review originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Daily Grind: Are you keeping up with your current MMO's lore? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Dec 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Jagex announced that it plans to shut down the Transformers Universe MOBA in January.
• Elite: Dangerous launched this week. We compared it to EVE Online and drooled over a ridiculously cool Elite-centered PC rig.
• SMITE explored Awilix in depth, kicked off Saturnalia, and announced a $2,000,000 prize pool for its World Championships. SMITECentral named it the 5th highest prize pool in e-sports history. [Thanks, Sorenthaz!]
• Star Citizen released Arena Commander 1.0.
• League of Legends issues a royal welcome to one and all to its Snowdown 2014 celebration.
• Hearthstone formally launched worldwide on Android devices.
• Marvel Heroes adds Venom and put almost everything in the game on sale for 50% off.
• MechWarrior Online patched in a 64-bit client.
• War Thunder's Steel Generals expansion beta is live.
• A Destiny player beat the expansion's new content solo.
• Riot Games tried to beat League of Legends hackers by hiring them.
• Undead Labs answered player questions about Moonrise.
• DayZ is adding a bunch of new themed items for the holidays. The team also posted an anniversary video.
• Infinite Crisis released playable Swamp Thing.
• MOBA Shards of War introduced new sentinel Bastion.
• After much delay, GTA Online will be getting heists next year.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Elite's launch, Transformers' sunset, and SMITE's $2M prize pool

Not So Massively: Elite's launch, Transformers' sunset, and SMITE's $2M prize pool originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Check out the ultimate Elite: Dangerous setup

Check out the ultimate Elite: Dangerous setup originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Daily Grind: Can you get immersed in an accessible MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Dec 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Landmark's closed beta launched PvE combat this week; SOE says it will shift full-time to working on EverQuest Next in early 2015.
• Shroud of the Avatar's devs spoke to us about its community and development process.
• Black Desert officially launched into open beta in Korea.
• Sandvox SkySaga began its alpha phase for UK players.
• Skyforge launched a beta contest and demoed two classes.
• Cabal II's closed beta is taking signups; the first focus test is slated for this weekend.
• Valiance Online kicked off a Steam Greenlight campaign. It's currently in pre-alpha stress testing.
• Space strategy MMO AD2460 leaves testing and launches on December 29th.
• MapleStory 2 will begin closed beta signups in Korea next week.
• Albion Online's winter test begins January 26th.
• Rainbow Saga softlaunched into open beta.
• MMORTS Siegelord's closed beta began this week as well.

Continue reading Betawatch: December 13 - 19, 2014

Betawatch: December 13 - 19, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Elite: Dangerous scores a HUD color mod and grats from Chris Roberts originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Dec 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Leaderboard: Are you playing Elite: Dangerous this week?

Leaderboard: Are you playing Elite: Dangerous this week? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Entrants must start from a fresh save on the release version of Elite: Dangerous, starting with the Sidewinder and 1,000 CR, and use 'Open Play' multiplayer mode only. They can use the slight advantage of the Eagle starship offered as part of Elite: Dangerous' Mercenary Edition, but otherwise it should be a level playing field. If in Frontier's sole opinion, there has been any cheating, then an entry may be disallowed. This is a skill-based competition with the following prizes for the first person to reach:
1. Elite in combat - £1,000 or $1,500 or €1,200*
2. Elite in exploration - £1,000 or $1,500 or €1,200*
3. Elite in trading - £1,000 or $1,500 or €1,200*
4. Elite in all three - £10,000 or $15,000 or €12,000*
(* currency as applicable)

Elite: Dangerous offers cash prizes in the race to 'Elite' originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Elite: Dangerous' launch-day roundup

Elite: Dangerous' launch-day roundup originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Dec 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Bungie's been banhammering Destiny players with modded consoles. The Dark Below, the game's first DLC, launched last week, but crazy people beat the raid within just a few hours and went back to mocking the Paul McCartney video.
• Hearthstone players struggled to buy the right expansion packs. But there's good news for (some) Android gamers: The game soft launched today on Google Play in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
• HEX released a new card set expansion, Shattered Destiny.
• Dota 2's engine updates forced Valve to cancel Frostivus events.
• Elite: Dangerous launches tomorrow.
• Marvel Heroes now features a female Wolverine.
• Path of Exile went live with its update 1.2 PvP revamp. It also released a video of Leo Redmane, Master of the Arena.
• Star Citizen's latest patch added another ship and the all-important drunk effects.
• The Crew corrected a bug that was accidentally erasing player stats.
• King of Wushu got new PS4 trailers at the Shanghai PS4 conference.
• SMITE doled out five videos full of advice on breaking into the games industry. There's also a new dev blog on Awilix, Goddess of the Moon.
• MechWarrior Online entered beta testing for Community Warfare.
• MMOFPS Dizzel formally launched.
• NetEase announced the English version of 3-D MOBA Wildfire.
• Shadowrun Online's December 17 update includes bigger parties, skill trees, co-op, and new missions.

Continue reading Not So Massively: HEX gets new cards, Dota 2 cancels Christmas, and Hearthstone lands on Android (sorta)

Not So Massively: HEX gets new cards, Dota 2 cancels Christmas, and Hearthstone lands on Android (sorta) originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 15 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Elite: Dangerous has no offline mode for story reasons originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 15 Dec 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Elite: Dangerous leaves gamma 2 and launches on Tuesday; no more wipes are planned.
• H1Z1 announced early access for January 15th.
• MechWarrior Online opened beta testing for Community Warfare.
• Gloria Victus' pre-alpha loaded up a new weather system.
• World of Warships and Age of Ascent are both running test events this weekend.
• Black Desert unleashed multiple videos ahead of its Korean beta.
• Skyforge previewed one of its locations, Naori Island.
• Shards Online's Kickstarter is expected to end tonight, a wide success.
• Origins of Malu is angling for Steam greenlighting.
• MMOFPS Dizzel formally launched out of early access beta.
• Bless Online added mounts to its closed beta.
• Oort Online polled players about its alpha direction.

Continue reading Betawatch: December 6 - 12, 2014

Betawatch: December 6 - 12, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 12 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Elite newsletter talks new ships, Voyager 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 12 Dec 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hi guys, This is just a quick update to confirm that there won't be a wipe at launch.

Continue reading Elite: Dangerous is due for zero more wipes, releases launch trailer

Elite: Dangerous is due for zero more wipes, releases launch trailer originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Hearthstone's first expansion, Goblins vs. Gnomes, launched earlier today after major balance tweaks last week.
• Ubisoft's action-driving MMO The Crew launched, landing at #6 on the UK charts.
• Destiny previewed The Dark Below and again rejected raid matchmaking.
• Over 27 million people tuned in to watch League of Legends' world finals.
• Zombie MOBA Dead Island: Epidemic launched into open beta.
• That rumor about a Borderlands MMO was true, though it's coming only to China.
• Warface will sunset on the Xbox 360 in February.
• Path of Exile prepped for its 1.3 update and tournament season one.
• Heroes of the Storm teased model updates and master skins.
• Infinite Crisis dredged up a playable Swamp Thing.
• Star Citizen's Hornet was made available to all backers.
• Frontier teased the Elite: Dangerous trailer and gave away old-school Elite for Mac.
• World of Speed profiled the BMW Z4 roadster in a new video.
• World of Warplanes taught us how to do a canopy roll.
• Nerd Kingdom told backers it's hopeful about an investor for TUG.
• Elvenar's devs posted a video preview of the MMORTS.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Hearthstone's expansion, The Crew's launch, and Dead Island: Epidemic's beta

Not So Massively: Hearthstone's expansion, The Crew's launch, and Dead Island: Epidemic's beta originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Black Desert rolls into Korean open beta on December 17th.
• We had a looksee at Elite: Dangerous' gamma 1 build.
• Elder Scrolls Online has apparently further delayed the launch of its console version.
• The Crew departs our list this week following its formal launch.
• Shards Online crossed another crowdfund threshold and will add a permadeath ruleset.
• Camelot Unchained kept us updated in its next pre-alpha test phase.
• The Repopulation made plans to expand its alpha even more.
• Age of Wulin officially launched in Europe.
• Nerd Kingdom is hopeful about an investor for TUG.
• Friend of Massively Steparu updated us on the Korean betas for Soul Master Online, Closers Online, and Luna Moonlight Thieves.

Continue reading Betawatch: November 29 - December 5, 2014

Betawatch: November 29 - December 5, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Frontier teases Elite: Dangerous trailer, gives away old-school Elite for Mac originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Dec 2014 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• League of Legends revealed Rek'Sai, the Void Burrower.
• Ubisoft pooh-poohed doubts about The Crew's launch tomorrow but refused to grant reviewers pre-launch access.
• Massively's Mike journeyed into Elite: Dangerous' gamma build.
• DayZ plans price hikes over the course of 2015 in the leadup to its 2016 launch.
• Path of Exile plans a massive PvP update for patch 1.3.
• Bungie's COO thinks Destiny and games like it -- so, you know, MMOs -- are special snowflakes that are too hard to review.
• Star Citizen eclipsed $63 million and added pets and a new $350 ship.
• The latest World of Speed vid showed off the Camaro and Mustang.
• Civilization Online demoed its character creation.
• Players datamined 37 Heroes of the Storm characters.
• Bigpoint's MOBA Shards of War introduced new Sentinel Zel.
• Heroes of Newerth put together a 526,372-piece LEGO replica of one of its zones.
• Multiple teams were expelled from the Dreamhack e-sports event over cheating.

Continue reading Not So Massively: LoL's Rek'Sai, DayZ's price hikes, and The Crew's launch

Not So Massively: LoL's Rek'Sai, DayZ's price hikes, and The Crew's launch originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Living and dying in the Elite: Dangerous gamma build

Living and dying in the Elite: Dangerous gamma build originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Nov 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Skyforge is offering beta keys to those who play a browser minigame.
• Black Desert posted new screenshots ahead of next month's Korean open beta.
• Valiance Online canceled its Kickstarter and began seeking stress test alpha testers.
• Journey to the West opens up its international beta tomorrow.
• The Crew is apparently a special snowflake, unreviewable ahead of launch because it's an MMO. Huh.
• Civilization Online teased its hardcore character creation.
• Both Shroud of the Avatar and Lost Saga landed on Steam.
• Star Citizen raked in another million; it's now sitting pretty at $63 million raised.
• Chinese MMO Revelation Online will enter open beta January 15th.
• Bless Online announced its second closed beta test schedule.
• Lord of Vermillion's alpha is recruiting testers.

Continue reading Betawatch: November 22 - 28, 2014

Betawatch: November 22 - 28, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Nov 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The Stream Team: Elite Dangerous returns

The Stream Team: Elite Dangerous returns originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Nov 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PSA: Elite pre-order customers can play right now originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Nov 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.