Guild Wars 2 is changing part of the endgame in February, wants to make raids more accessible

It is time for our MeinMMO format “MMORPG-News in 5 Minutes”. We summarize the most important news around the best genre in the world. You can expect secret insights, new updates, notable premieres, and a viral Twitch event.

Highlights of the week:

• Patch 12.0 in World of Warcraft is live. This marks the beginning of the era of Midnight – and thus a whole new age in the history of Blizzard’s MMORPG.
• However, the new update caused some trouble: Mythic bosses are the toughest in WoW. But after the patch, that was not the case. How broken the scaling was could also be seen from that healing potions no longer heal. And then all players also unexpectedly had to pay gold.
• Unfortunately, the new specialization for the Demon Hunter is not going well in WoW. You hardly have any buttons – and they do nothing at all.
• In 2026, the developers of Elder Scrolls Online want to implement several experiments in the MMORPG. These include new difficulty levels for the world of Tamriel. The developers have now presented their concrete plan for it.
• ZeniMax Online Studios, the creators of The Elder Scrolls Online, were working on a new MMORPG that was under the name “Project Blackbird”. However, Microsoft axed the project. Now there are pictures showing what the game would have looked like.
• On February 3, the first content update of Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity will be released. Look forward to a revision as well as an expansion of the raid content. The developers have now explained the details on guildwars2.com. You can find a video preview on YouTube.
• NCSoft is removing Dreadmyst a freshly released and quite popular MMORPG from Steam. The reason: The rights to some of the assets from the game are said to belong to the publisher and were used there without permission. Apparently, particularly sound and audio files are affected (Source: Reddit).

What else has happened? The Sauercrowd event in WoW Classic Hardcore has entertained its fans wonderfully again this week (and even established a meme). Among the fatalities, there was a particularly prominent victim. Due to the many losses there was a crisis meeting. A statement from guild leader Metashi caused further unrest among German streamers.

Black Desert sends new players to school

This is what happened with the big MMORPGs:

• World of Warcraft could get a “second Cataclysm” – as the developers want to fill the old world with new life.
• New information makes it clear that there could soon be even more specializations in World of Warcraft. Healing mages or tanking warlocks …
• WoW Legion Remix has come to an end. Only now at the end do many fans realize how much fun they actually had.
• Although it should not yet be accessible in World of Warcraft, some players smuggle items from the next expansion into the auction house.
• From January 21 to February 4, 2026, the world event “White Plank’s Massacre” is running in The Elder Scrolls Online.
• On January 27, Patch 7.41 for Final Fantasy XIV will be released. For this, the developers have expanded the special update page with new information this week on finalfantasyxiv.com.
• After the final announcement about the end of New World, there were many discussions around the game. Meanwhile, the other MMORPG from Amazon, Lost Ark, is not doing much better.
• On January 22, Update 3.18.0 for Throne and Liberty went live. There were mainly adjustments to the weapons, and you can find the patch notes on the official website. There was also a preview of the Tower of Greed, which is set to open on January 29. A video on YouTube shows the cooperative content.
• The new update from Black Desert on January 22 is mainly aimed at new players. The Olvia Academy is designed to provide a more structured entry with courses for fighting as well as life skills and motivate with useful rewards. For the German patch notes, visit playblackdesert.com. A video from the devs on YouTube will give you a preview:

This is what happened with the small MMORPGs:

• The RuneScape franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026 and the festivities start today in RuneScape 3 with an update that everyone has probably been waiting for.
• Although the MMORPG Tibia was released by the German developer CipSoft in 1997, it is still popular today – so much so that players struggled with queues. Some even feared logging out. The developers are aware of the issues and have commented on them.
• Speaking of: The developers have announced a comprehensive overhaul of the classes. You can find out more at tibia.com. Also noteworthy: The first player of the MMORPG, Dejairzin, managed to break the magical limit of level 3,000. You can find the leaderboard also on tibia.com.
• When it comes to the prettiest MMORPGs, Pax Dei should not be missed. If you want to see for yourself, you can do so for free on Steam in the coming days.
• The German MMORPG Albion Online celebrated its 8th anniversary in 2025. But that seems to be just the beginning. In a recent video, the game presents a new roadmap for spring and summer 2026.
• Crystal of Atlan has received a new update, with fresh events, optimizations, and more. You can find the patch notes on Steam.
• Naica Online has been released on Steam, a new 8bi MMORPG. The first reviews are mixed, with 62 percent positive ratings.
• Dungeon Fighter Online has received a new update with Act 6 of Season 9. Included are: a new raid, fresh rewards, story content, and more. You can find the patch notes on dfoneople.com.
• Entropia Universe is getting a new crafting interface as well as a spring cleaning of the blueprints. You will find the exact details at Steam.

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This is what happened with the MMORPGs in development:

• According to a former employee of Intrepid, layoffs have occurred at the studio behind Ashes of Creation. Studio head Steven Sharif has now confirmed the layoffs.
• Formerly Legacy: Steel and Sorcery, now Eldegarde: The new game from a former WoW developer leaves early access on Steam and is changing not only its name. From an extraction game, it now becomes a “mini-MMO” that also allows you to play completely PvE.
• While players in the West are still waiting for Aion 2, there is anger over the prices of the new battle pass, which are really high in Asia.
• On the weekend, the MMORPG Apogea started its game test on Steam and attracted many players. But those who like to relax are not welcome.
• The MMORPG based on League of Legends is still deep in development but is now sending a signal of life in the form of a new hire. A well-known developer is joining Riot Games as a new employee.
• With PlaneShift, a hobby MMORPG has entered early access on Steam that is supposed to be free. Expect a medieval world with magic and monsters, crafting and more.
• When The Quinfall launched in 2025, many players were disappointed. The indie MMORPG could not meet expectations. But rather than giving up, the developers have continued working and are now presenting a new combat system that looks surprisingly good. But see for yourself:

With this, we have summarized the most important events that have recently occurred in the world of MMORPGs.

What were you happy about this week? What upset you? Let us know in the comments. If you are looking for a comprehensive overview of the history of online role-playing games, you will find it in this comprehensive special: The History of MMORPGs – From Habitat to Throne and Liberty, and everything that has happened in between