August hasn’t always been a month for major MMO launches, but 2023 certainly didn’t disappoint, with Guild Wars 2’s expansion Secrets of the Obscure headlining a lineup that also included WoW Classic’s hardcore mode, Palia’s open beta, and Wayfinder’s early access.
Meanwhile, ArcheAge 2 eyed 2024, Baldur’s Gate 3 wowed the multiplayer community, Star Citizen reached $600M in crowdfunding, Gloria Victis announced its sunset, and NCsoft’s Throne & Liberty delayed to 2024.
Here’s the whole recap from August of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF AUGUST 2023

‘Medium-ly multiplayer’ cozy MMO Loftia just fully funded with $150K on Kickstarter

LOTRO and DDO go offline for 23 hours to add new storefront, LOTRO adds River Hobbit starting instance

War of Dragnorox pivots to Eternal Tombs moniker with new combat style and beta signups

New World’s 2.0.2 performance patch is finally expected this morning after 25 hours of delays

Kakao Games Q2 2023: ArcheAge 2 targets second half of 2024, Ares Rise of Guardians launches in Korea

ASTRA Knights of Veda is an upcoming 2-D ‘MORPG’ promising tactical beat-em-up action

Baldur’s Gate 3 delivers a multiplayer-optional Baldur’s Gate threequel after 20 years

EVE Online removes a contentious item from a cash shop bundle after player backlash

EVE Online’s studio is Kickstarting a Titan Forge-built EVE-themed board game

Dungeon Fighter Online grants compensation after catching former dev criming with an RMT ring

Multiplayer RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 tops 814K concurrent players on Steam

Square-Enix Q1 2024: Overall profits and MMO sales drop as FFXVI underperforms

Blizzard’s Warcraft Arclight Rumble is soft launching as Warcraft Rumble

Throne & Liberty’s Western release delays into 2024, adds action combat

Following Final Fantasy XIV Fanfest COVID outbreak, one fan admits guilt – in a comic

NCsoft Q2 2023: Throne & Liberty delayed as revenues, mobile games, and MMOs decline

Dark and Darker launches into paid early access in spite of ongoing legal battle with Nexon

Ashes of Creation has enough testers, prepares to stop selling pre-order packs

Survival MMO-lite Dawnlands launches to a righteous roasting on Steam

Pearl Abyss Q2 2023: EVE surges, Black Desert stumbles, Crimson Desert hedges

Destiny 2 has a new Commander Zavala following the untimely death of Lance Reddick

Palia’s open beta is officially underway as S6 calls it a ‘marathon’ it’ll run ‘one update at a time’

Roblox Q2 2023: Roblox sees a net loss of $282M, goes all in on AI

Co-op monster hunter Atlas Fallen officially launches

Overwatch 2’s Invasion PvE makes both devs and players regret what could’ve been

SMITE runs charity sale to aid Maui wildfire relief efforts

Titan Quest II is officially happening – and yes, it has online multiplayer

Overwatch 2 is (still) getting absolutely pummeled on Steam

Embracer Group’s botched $2B deal was with Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group

‘Romantic gold rush’ MMO Annex rebrands as Pioneers of New Dawn, plans fourth quarter alpha testing

EG7 Q2 2023: Daybreak’s MMORPGs are ‘predictably stable’

Mortal Online 2’s ‘monumental’ territory control and siege systems are live – here are the patch notes

Dungeons and Dragons Online releases its new Vecna Unleashed adventure DLC and Update 61

Riot Games exec says MMO is still in early phases, but the studio is ‘committed to the genre’

Ankama’s Waven has officially entered early access today – and it’s F2P too

Aion Classic EU summons the Storm in Balaurea with today’s 2.0 update

NetEase announces another new MMO studio: Rich Vogel’s T-Minus Zero Entertainment

War Thunder Mobile has officially launched on Android and Apple today

Wayfinder proves its MMO heritage with a messy MMO-esque early access launch

Warcraft Rumble soft launches in several more countries including Australia and Canada

Elder Scrolls Online’s Update 39 is live on PC/Mac today with lowbie UX revamp and more

Embracer Q1 FY 23/24: Sales and debts improve, Cryptic MMOs bolster back catalogue

Guild Wars 2’s Secrets of the Obscure expansion is live today – along with a roadmap for what’s next

Destiny 2’s The Final Shape arrives February 27, 2024, as season 22 launches today

Gamescom 2023 ONL: Nightingale, Crimson Desert, Diablo IV, Fae Farm, Marvel Snap

Recapping Guild Wars 2’s Secrets of the Obscure launch

BioWare is restructuring – and that means 50 roles ‘eliminated’ at the studio

No Man’s Sky’s 4.4 Echoes release is live – meet your new space robot friends

Kakao is effectively sunsetting ArcheAge Unchained, merging it into two remaining western ArcheAge servers

Dark and Darker is getting a mobile version thanks to a licensing partnership with Krafton

WoW Classic’s hardcore realms officially open tonight at 6 p.m. EDT – are you prepared?

Diablo IV general manager: ‘We made some sort of mistake in managing expectations’

Wayfinder reduces queues ahead of the onslaught of expected players this weekend

WoW Classic’s hardcore realms claim over 90K character lives in the first day

TennoCon 2023: Warframe cross-save launches this year, mobile pre-orders are live

Star Citizen crowdfunding hits $600M under the specter of reported layoffs at CIG

TennoCon 2023: Warframe 1999’s trailer goes back to the future

Warframe’s Whispers in the Walls adds new narrative, hub, and Tenno ‘skin’

Albion Online is killing off its Crystal League Championship PvP tournaments in spite of 300K daily players

Abyss is a new PvP sandbox MMORPG coming in 2024, and it’s already selling currency

Star Trek Online Incursion launches for PC on September 12, starring Garrett Wang, Kipleigh Brown, and Erin Macdonald

Lord of the Rings Online releases Update 37 with River Hobbits and the stat crunch

Over 3,000 EVE Online players assembled for an impromptu battle at 4-ABS8

Dauntless outlines plans for weapon overhauls and a weapon swapping feature coming next summer

Lost Ark interview: Amazon talks jump-start servers, battle royale, dodging power creep, and more

Pantheon Rise of the Fallen promises a focus on updating its ‘old’ and ‘unappealing’ art style

Indie MMO Gloria Victis and its studio are shutting down on Halloween after a decade online
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF AUGUST 2023

Lawful Neutral: Assessing the privacy policies governing World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV

Some Assembly Required: Building and fighting to the Industrial Age in Craftopia

Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go August update mentions Go Fest but lacks communication

Perfect Ten: 10 memorable MMO marketing campaigns from the genre’s past

Singularity 6 interview: Palia is the cozy cottagecore sandbox to beat as it begins closed beta

Vague Patch Notes: Contemplating the origin of the Big Five in the MMO space

Global Chat: Is Wurm Online fatally imploding?

Massively Overthinking: What’s the best way a studio can save a struggling mid-size MMO?

Design Mockument: What would a Transformers MMORPG even look like?

Massively on the Go: Orna’s pet-battler is fluffy – but not cheap

LOTRO Legendarium: Ranking LOTRO’s forests from maddening to awesome

First Impressions: Palia is missing the depth MMO life-skillers are hoping for

Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV will have to dig deeply for future jobs

Fight or Kite: Decks-building and fast-traveling in Harry Potter Magic Awakened

Some Assembly Required: A trip around the world in Craftopia for materials and exploration’s sake

Massively OP Podcast Episode 432: Palia breaks through to the other side

Perfect Ten: Every expansion era of World of Warcraft ranked

Vague Patch Notes: Almost nobody can save struggling mid-to-small MMOs

Global Chat: Fresh voices on the MMO blogging circuit

Massively Overthinking: Rescuing the worst economies in the MMO genre

First impressions: Palia is a half-baked project that could rise to be a masterpiece

Not So Massively: Despite everything, Overwatch 2’s story missions deliver an epic experience

Massively on the Go: A practical guide to Pokemon Go gym defense

Wisdom of Nym: The unspoken but expected features of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

Flameseeker Chronicles: Hands-on with Guild Wars 2’s Secrets of the Obscure

Some Assembly Required: Trapped by exploration and age progression in Craftopia

Massively OP Podcast Episode 433: Throne & Delay

Perfect Ten: 10 MMORPGs whose worlds were built from scratch

Vague Patch Notes: The shell game of MMO subscriber numbers and player counts

First Impressions: I honestly can’t tell whether I like Wayfinder or not

Massively Overthinking: Do you strive to be ‘rich’ in MMORPGs?

The Soapbox: How Vanguard’s diplomacy system could be revived and improved

WoW Factor: Potential features for the next World of Warcraft expansion

Massively on the Go: Our planning guide for Pokemon Go Global Go Fest 2023

LOTRO Legendarium: Six ways to spice up your next LOTRO alt

Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV’s content pipelines and what we’re getting for whom

First Impressions: I sat through Wayfinder’s queues so you don’t have to

Not So Massively: First impressions of Warcraft Rumble

First Impressions: Hands-on with Fae Farm’s delightfully strong opening chapters

WoW Factor: Long-shot potential additions for World of Warcraft’s next expansion

Some Assembly Required: Craftopia’s housing customization options leave a lot to be desired

Vague Patch Notes: Internet killed the MMORPG star

Fight or Kite: Harry Potter Magic Awakened offers up plenty of combat in duels and dungeons

Massively Overthinking: What makes you embarrassed to be an MMORPG player?

WoW Factor: So what is Mike Ybarra teasing for the future of World of Warcraft?

Global Chat: Getting sucked into Palia

Massively on the Go: Splatoon 3’s revolving Challenges add needed spice

LOTRO Legendarium: LOTRO’s higher difficulties are a breath of fresh air

Wisdom of Nym: Looking back at a decade of Final Fantasy XIV

Casually Classic: Hardcore realms are merely a Band-Aid for WoW Classic

Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go delivered a merely average Go Fest, bugs and all

New World’s first expansion, Rise of the Angry Earth, launches October 3 with mounts, flails, new housing, and more

Previewing New World’s Rise of the Angry Earth expansion: Artifact gear, endgame, crafting, and onward

Perfect Ten: Times when MMOs brought about world-shattering cataclysms

Some Assembly Required: Taking a look at other players’ Craftopia creations

TennoCon 2023: The soul of Soulframe is healing, redemption, and cute critters

Vague Patch Notes: What you leave behind in MMOs

Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s Adventure Abounds repeats old problems while skipping Galar

Massively Overthinking: Does reused content in MMOs bother you?
THE FULL 2023 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
Advertisement