It’s time for our MeinMMO format “MMORPG news in two minutes” again. We summarize the most important news around the best genre in the world. Look forward to a success story from Germany and cool sign-up rewards from Tamriel. However, there were also dramas and a prominent resignation from the team of World of Warcraft.
The highlights of the week:
- The launch of the first EU server of Albion Online was a complete success. There was a player record on Steam and only WoW was bigger on Twitch at times. On May 2, the Foundations Patch 1 followed, with balancing adjustments and fixes – here are the official patch notes.
- On May 8, the WoW Patch “Dark Heart” will be released, featuring the prologue to The War Within, the traditional armors of the Draenei and trolls, as well as the event Remix: Mists of Pandaria (starting only on May 16). The corresponding in-game trailer brings a popular mage into trouble. Here are the official German patch notes from Blizzard.
- In early May, the pre-patch for WoW Cataclysm Classic was released. The update heralds the shattering of Azeroth and the changed landscape of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. You can expect various system changes, new race and class combinations, as well as the new races of Worgen and Goblins. You can also learn the archaeology profession and improve equipment through reforging (via Blizzard).
What else happened? We stay with Blizzard. The well-known best-selling author Christie Golden has also hung up her hat. She had been directly employed by Blizzard for the past six years as part of the “Story & Franchise Development” team. The resignation is said to have already occurred in January, during the extensive layoff wave at Team Xbox.
The in-game trailer for WoW Patch “Dark Heart”:
WoW: Dark Heart – The Search for the Harbinger
An MMORPG Oldie is Taking Its Leave
This happened with the big MMORPGs:
- Producer and director Naoki Yoshida provided an update from the benchmark front. The updated software for Final Fantasy XIV is expected to go live on May 23. Due to the numerous improvements, the release could also be postponed.
- It is also clear that Final Fantasy XIV will receive a new European data center named Shadow with the servers Innocence, Pixie, and Titania (via Square Enix). This prepares the developers for the player surge that will surely come with the Dawntrail expansion.
- Among the daily login rewards, The Elder Scrolls Online will offer in May 2024, among other things, an oasis as a home and a pig as a companion. Additionally, you can preview the new chapter Gold Road and update 42 on the PTR.
- Whoever wants to completely upgrade the Warbands bank in the WoW expansion The War Within needs to invest a whopping 3,126,000 gold pieces.
This happened with the small MMORPGs:
- After the end of ArcheAge, privately run servers see their chance. The operators entice players with special events and have been quite successful with it.
- The developers of Star Wars: The Old Republic have revealed which content will land on the live servers of the MMORPG with update 7.5. Highlights include the new story chapter revolving around Padawan Sa’har Kateen, the restoration of a farm, and the breeding of a basilisk companion. Additionally, SWTOR will celebrate Star Wars Day on May 4 – you can secure a BX-24 droid.
- Since NCSoft officially supports the Homecoming server of City of Heroes since January 2024, the MMORPG oldie can now celebrate its 20th anniversary.
- The Twitch streamer Niru was supposed to be the first player in the world to reach level 300 in MapleStory. However, during the hour of triumph he gave the studio behind the MMORPG a piece of his mind. No one thanked him for that. Instead, there were negative impacts on his viewer numbers, his family environment, and his content plans for MapleStory.
- Despite Kickstarter success and Early Access launch on Steam, the MMORPG Genfanad – Generic Fantasy Adventure never really got off the ground. The servers went offline on April 30, 2024.
- Final Fantasy XI celebrates its 22nd anniversary this month, with celebrations starting on May 14 (via Square Enix).
- In Eve Online, the Capsuleer Day celebrations are ongoing. Exploration and combat areas have appeared all over New Eden, and you can earn valuable data and technologies (via CCP Games).
- In Dungeons & Dragons Online, the 50th anniversary of D&D has been celebrated for some time. Currently, you can secure one of the expansions of the MMORPG for free in the game. More information can be found on the official website.
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This happened with MMORPGs in development:
- The monthly livestream of Ashes of Creation focused this time on the Mage and the dark nights of the MMORPG. Look forward to almost 30 minutes of gameplay.
- In a new trailer, the developers of The Quinfall presented the caravan system of the MMORPG.
- Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street once again spoke about his MMORPG project “Ghost,” which is not meant to fill your entire free time.
- Motivating MMORPG fans with a giveaway for pre-registration has been worth it for the operators of Tarisland so far. Over a million players had registered by the end of the month. On Friday, they were able to surpass the mark of 1.5 million registered.
- While we had rated the alpha of Pax Dei quite critically last week, the well-known streamer Asmongold celebrates the game from Mainframe. For him, this clearly has the best building system of an MMO sandbox. As proof of this thesis, he proudly showed off a huge castle that his guild built around a mountain in just a few days.
Thus, we have summarized the most important things that have happened recently in the world of MMORPGs. What did you enjoy this week? What annoyed you? Let us know in the comments at MeinMMO.
If you are looking for affordable MMORPGs in 2024, the following list might help you: The 12 best free-to-play MMORPGs 2024 compared
