We’re continuing our tour back through 2024, one month at a time, in MassivelyOP’s MMO Year in Review today.
Elder Scrolls Online ought to have dominated June as it launched its customary expanshachapter – this one dubbed Gold Road – right at the top. However, New World’s disastrous announcement of a console port, Aeternum, coupled with its pretense that it was no longer an MMORPG despite still having all its MMORPG features, sucked up most of the air in the room.
Even so, there was plenty of other big news this month: Raph Koster announced the Star Wars Galaxies-esque Stars Reach, Tencent released Tarisland in the west, Guild Wars 2 announced Janthir Wilds, Destiny 2 launched The Final Shape, EVE Online released its Equinox update, Pax Dei slipped into early access, ArcheAge officially sunsetted, and the Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail hype was through the roof.
Here’s the whole recap from June of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF JUNE 2024
Tibia dev CipSoft just announced Persist Online, a post-apoc PvPvE MMORPG
World of Warcraft arrives on GeForce NOW’s cloud service, as Blizzard confirms support on the forums
Elder Scrolls Online’s Gold Road chapter and Update 42 is now live for PC players
Twitch eliminates its safety advisory council after just four years of operation
New World is rolling out new layered instancing tech Amazon is calling ‘shards’
Destiny 2’s long-delayed Final Shape expansion is officially live today
Guild Wars 2 announces Janthir Wilds expansion – with player housing and raid – coming August 20
Fractured Online plans summer launch, new server, and a major PvP ruleset revamp
Legends of Aria’s crypto version, Britaria, goes bust over ‘financial constraints’
Former City of Heroes developers talk design chaos, sequels, and the MMO’s enduring legacy
MassivelyOP’s complete coverage from the Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail media tour
Ikea wants to pay people to sell furniture and serve meatballs inside of its digital Roblox store
Awake: Afterdark Apocalypse is a ridiculous gen-AI Kickstarter game that purports to be ‘the spiritual successor to the MMO’
For Science: Gamer Motivation Survey data suggest strategic gaming in is a nasty decline
Gamigo/KingsIsle parent company MGI is rebranding as AI ad platform Verve
SGF 2024: Amazon unveils New World Aeternum, its console relaunch of the MMORPG
EVE Online: Equinox launches today with a rejuvenated nullsec
Wayfinder returns to Steam today with buy-to-play Echoes update and slick new animated feature
Fallout 76 expands its game map to the south with today’s Skyline Valley update
‘I have to run a sustainable business’ – Microsoft’s Phil Spencer addresses layoffs and studio shutdowns
New World’s new Q&A struggles to explain why a massively multiplayer online RPG isn’t an MMORPG
Star Citizen suspends over 600 accounts over ‘illicitly gained’ credits earned thanks to an exploit
‘Multiplayer conquest adventure’ MMO Havenhold readies an alpha test for next week
World of Warcraft general manager John Hight leaves Blizzard ‘to explore new opportunities and challenges’
Final Fantasy XIV reveals its Dawntrail launch trailer on the last Live Letter before the expansion
With June patch inbound, Project Gorgon is safe and will see content through at least early 2025
Jagex postpones RuneScape’s in-person RuneFest event after showrunner company implodes
Fippyfest 2024: EverQuest and EverQuest II reveal 2024 expansions, Anashti Sul Origins progression server opens June 19
Sandbox MMO Pax Dei has officially entered early access for at least the next year
Interview: Bohemia on multiplayer sandbox Ylands’ Switch release, Steam development, and games as a service
Riders of Icarus is shutting down its Southeast Asian servers without any sort of character transfer
EverQuest II’s Anashti Sul progression server is live with its 2006 throwback vibes
The Classic Secret World community is hosting a 12th anniversary event for the game – not Funcom
Jandisoft’s Mad World is sunsetting on July 4 after only 15 months online
Tencent’s MMORPG Tarisland is officially live in the west today with Season 0: Mystery of the Hollows
Multiplayer Viking-themed survival settlement manager ASKA begins its early access
Anime hero shooter Second Wave and its developer shut down after a disastrous dev cycle
Heidel Ball 2024: Black Desert is adding Seoul and the Dosa class, then going to the past
Blue Protocol’s fate up in the air after Bandai Namco Online declares insolvency
Sigh, yes, a man tried to bludgeon another man with a hammer IRL over ArcheAge
Guild Wars 2’s new housing looks like WildStar’s islands plus the old Hall of Monuments
War Thunder apologizes for accidentally using imagery of the Challenger shuttle disaster for its keyart
XLGAMES’ messy masterpiece ArcheAge has officially sunsetted
Neverwinter announces Mountain of Flame module, coming July 16
Star Wars: The Old Republic celebrates its first year under Broadsword’s banner
Amazon Games shares its long focus approach while saying that the Lord of the Rings MMO is ‘not too far away’
Tribes 3 Rivals heads into de facto maintenance mode as developers offer compensation
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF JUNE 2024
First Impressions: Corepunk’s MOBA-esque closed alpha was fun – with lots of room to grow
Wisdom of Nym: No new crafting or gathering in Final Fantasy XIV
Second Wind: World of Warcraft’s Dragonflight story dragonflies right off a cliff
Choose My Adventure: Returning to Star Citizen (and fussing with tech)
Perfect Ten: 10 reasons World of Warcraft is pure cozy comfort
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail media tour: MassivelyOP’s coverage begins now
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail media tour: Hands-on with the Pictomancer and Viper
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail media tour: Tank and melee DPS job abilities in Dawntrail
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail media tour: Ranged, magical, and healing job abilities in Dawntrail
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail media tour: Hands-on with Dawntrail’s first dungeon, Ihuykatumu
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail media tour: Exploring Dawntrail’s Tuliyollal, Urqopacha, and Kozama’uka zones
Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail media tour: Questions and answers with Naoki Yoshida
Persist Online interview: CipSoft explains why Persist is an MMORPG, not a survival shooter
Massively Overthinking: If you lost your account in your main MMORPG, would you start over?
Vague Patch Notes: Chasing the metagame in MMOs isn’t the metagame at all
MMO Burnout: Cozy Caravan brings an incomplete yet instantly charming chore-filled break
Vitae Aeternum: New World’s Aeternum relaunch is actually a solid update – with terrible timing and comms
Global Chat: FFXIV’s out-of-control cutscene scene
LOTRO Legendarium: Is Lord of the Rings Online’s new birding hobby a flight of fancy?
SGF 2024: Hands-on with NetEase’s team shooter Marvel Rivals
Wisdom of Nym: Looking for support in Final Fantasy XIV
Progress Bar: Wayfinder is in a much better place as an offline game
SGF 2024: Aloft is a cozy Ghibli-inspired PvE-centric survival sandbox in the sky
First Impressions: Elder Scrolls Online story, not scribing, is Gold Road’s apex
SGF 2024: Path of Exile 2 is fun and satisfying, but it’s still no cakewalk
SGF 2024: Monster Hunter Wilds is a dynamic Worlds-like game
WoW Factor: The streak The War Within needs to break for World of Warcraft
Hands-on with V Rising: PC vs. PS5, multiplayer, and progression impressions
SGF 2024: Amazon discusses New World Aeternum on console, swimming, solo content, and archetypes
SGF 2024: Hands-on with New World’s controversial Aeternum reboot, which is still an MMORPG
Global Chat: So many questions about Guild Wars 2’s housing
Perfect Ten: MMOs where you travel back in time for some reason
Fight or Kite: 33 Immortals continues the trend of pseudo-MMO gaming
SGF 2024: Hands-on with PvE-centric sci-fi horror survival shooter MMO Once Human
Vague Patch Notes: Housing is really back in MMORPGs
Massively Overthinking: The New World Aeternum debacle
LOTRO Legendarium: What will happen when Lord of the Rings Online dies?
Massively on the Go: Splatoon 3’s Big Big Run highlights the big problem with its PvE
Wisdom of Nym: Musings on Final Fantasy XIV’s last live letter before Dawntrail
Second Wind: Final thoughts on returning to World of Warcraft in 2024, from community to dragonriding
Choose My Adventure: Flying, dogfighting, and struggling with hardware in Star Citizen
SGF 2024: Hands-on with NCsoft’s long-awaited Throne and Liberty, launching September 17
LOTRO Legendarium: Am I excited at all for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO?
Perfect Ten: Lessons I’ve learned doing the MOP Podcast
Vague Patch Notes: Have a seat for your MMO
SGF 2024: Previewing Funcom’s Dune Awakening, from PvP philosophy to the survival MMO label
Massively Overthinking: Unfair stigmas that follow MMORPGs
WoW Factor: Is The War Within going to be ready for its launch?
LOTRO Legendarium: LOTRO announces its next legendary servers, Angmar and Mordor
First Impressions: Tarisland’s interesting gameplay isn’t enough to surmount shoddy temport quality
Wisdom of Nym: MOP’s last-minute prep checklist for Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
Fight or Kite: Battle Crush is a snack-sized take on the mythological battle royale scene
SGF 2024: Hands-on with The First Descendant, plus a chat with the Nexon devs
Perfect Ten: The MMORPG terms we use but never define, from murderhobo to sandpark
First impressions of ASKA, Sand Sailor’s brand-new colony-building survival sandbox
Vitae Aeternum: A new theory on what went wrong with New World’s 2024 plans
Vague Patch Notes: Many kinds of challenge and many kinds of fun in MMOs
Massively Overthinking: How ‘massively multiplayer’ do we expect MMORPGs to be?
Raph Koster’s new MMORPG is called Stars Reach, and yes, it’s basically Star Wars Galaxies 2
Heidel Ball 2024: The streets of the real Heidel of Black Desert
WoW Factor: MMORPG raiding is not special
Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s July spread is basically just marking time until Go Fest
Four Winds: Wuthering Waves, Genshin Impact, and the burgeoning gacha gaming industry
Global Chat: Tarisland’s controls, WoW Classic permadeath, and Dawntrail tips
The Game Archaeologist: World of Warcraft in the 1990s
THE FULL 2024 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
