It’s time for our MeinMMO format “MMORPG News in 5 Minutes.” We summarize the most important news about the best genre in the world. You can expect big updates, exciting announcements, and successful premieres.
Highlights of the Week:
- In WoW Mists of Pandaria Classic, the update “The Thunder King” has been released. Starting with: “Throne of Thunder,” one of the best raids in WoW history, featuring 12 diverse bosses waiting for you. Plus: Isle of Thunder, Isle of Giants, 2 world bosses (Oondasta and Nalak), and the continuation of the legendary quest line. You can find all the details on blizzard.com.
- On December 16, 2025, Patch 7.4 of Final Fantasy XIV goes live. Here you can read what content awaits you besides the new main story. The new trailer for “Into the Mist” accompanies the upcoming boss fight with a rocking song from a Grammy winner.
- On December 11, 2025, the first major patch for the global version of Where Winds Meet was released. We show you all the highlights of 1.1 and bring you the full patch notes. There was also a preview of a major update in 2026 at the Game Awards.
- The final phase of World of Warcraft Legion Remix is live. The item level has been raised, and there is plenty of chaos.
- For Star Wars: The Old Republic, this week, Update 7.8 “Trails of Corruption” has been released, featuring new story content, a fresh region, and the start of PvP season 9. You can find the patch notes on swtor.com.
What else has happened? On December 11, 2025, Ashes of Creation launched on Steam in early access. Despite the high entry price, the demand was high. This led to problems and frustration, but there are also positive early impressions from the community. Fun fact: The lead of Ashes of Creation tested his idea for the MMORPG in a D&D campaign first. Additionally, the developers set player expectations prior to launch: This is an unfinished alpha!
Ashes of Creation stimmt im Trailer auf Early-Access-Start auf Steam ein
Everyone is celebrating Christmas
This is what happened with the major MMORPGs:
- A highlight from WoW patch 11.2.7 was waiting for its release and was launched on December 10, 2025. There was the comeback of the “Fight Club” from Azeroth, which offers numerous solo challenges.
- The latest patch for World of Warcraft is providing some people with a veritable gold blessing. That’s thanks to housing.
- Flying houses in World of Warcraft should be brought down from the sky. Now we know: No, they simply look too stylish.
- The housing in World of Warcraft inspires creativity – and sometimes sends players in very strange directions. But what were we expecting?
- Many long-time WoW players are experiencing a long-standing strength of Azeroth through the housing system anew, because they now move more consciously through the regions of the game world.
- If you want really stylish decor in World of Warcraft, you have to lead your own troops to ruin. Cruel, but efficient.
- All achievements in World of Warcraft have been earned. That sounds crazy – but one player did it 6 times in a row.
- Speaking of which: In World of Warcraft, there are achievements for which you have to go to the brink of madness to complete them. One player is now happily sharing such an achievement with the community.
- The Twitch streamer Maximilian “HandOfBlood” Knabe talks about how even before the big WoW hardcore event, there’s fighting over who takes which role. The rogue role seems to be popular, while another role is avoided.
- From December 17 to December 31, the Starlight Festival is running in Final Fantasy XIV. You can find all the event info on finalfantasyxiv.com.
- The developers of Elder Scrolls Online want to modernize all classes and bring their identity more to the forefront over the coming months and this week, they provided a hint about an upcoming developer stream on elderscrollsonline.com.
- In the new issue of Eye on Arkesia, new solo raid modes for Lost Ark, adjustments to the progress system, and a first roadmap for 2026 were discussed. For that, check out YouTube.
- On December 11, Update 3.12.0 for Throne and Liberty was released. Included: the Starmap Solstice event, weapon changes, and minor improvements. You can find the patch notes at playthroneandliberty.com.
- New World is at its last gasp. On X, the developers announced further server mergers.
- At the Game Awards, the developers of Guild Wars 2 released a new trailer for the current expansion Visions of Eternity. If you missed the video, check it out on YouTube or watch it below:
This is what happened with the smaller MMORPGs:
- In Lord of the Rings Online, from December 11, 2025, to January 5, 2026, the Yule Festival is taking place. You can find the event overview at lotro.com. Additionally, Update 46.0.1 has gone live this week, and the patch notes can also be found at lotro.com. Note: Due to a bug, the raid “Tower of Orthanc” had to be temporarily closed.
- After the Reforged remake has allowed for a strong comeback of Guild Wars on Steam, the developers at ArenaNet are now following up with a heartwarming documentary.
- The team behind Albion Online wants to improve the combat experience in their MMORPG and has published a deep dive article on albiononline.com.
- The MMO LEGO Universe from 2010 was actually supposed to target a younger audience. Therefore, it is challenging when the protection of children and young people cannot be guaranteed due to the emergence of gender parts everywhere. One of the more remarkable reasons for an MMO closure was followed by a quiet comeback in 2024.
- For Dungeons & Dragons Online, Update 77 has been released. Enjoy a dungeon, the Event Festivult, and more. The patch notes are available at ddo.com.
- In EVE Online, ice storms rage from December 9 to January 12. What else the Winter Nexus holds can be found at eveonline.com.
- It will also be frosty in Star Trek Online, as Q’s Winter Wonderland opens its doors. The info can be found at playstartrekonline.com.
- RuneScape spreads even more Christmas cheer. The patch notes for the Christmas Event 2025 can be found at runescape.com.
- Allods Online received Update 16.0 this week, featuring the new Allod Xadagan, a fresh story, and more. The patch notes can be found at allods.my.games.
- For EverQuest II, the expansion “Rage of Cthurath” has been released. The level cap is now at level 135. There are new challenges and rewards. You can find the details at everquest2.com.
- The superhero MMORPG has hardly any players on Steam, yet it is hosting a Christmas event these days. If you want to check it out, you can find the info at shipofheroes.com.
- Christmas is also celebrated in Rift, where it’s called the Fairy Yule Festival. What the special features are, you will learn at riftgame.com.
More about MMORPGs:
More on the topic
The 10 MMORPGs on Steam with the best ratings in March 2026
More on the topic
The 10 MMORPGs with the most players on Steam in March 2026
This is what happened with MMORPGs in development:
- The new MMORPG Aion 2 is continuing its great success about 3 weeks after its launch in Asia. Now the developers reveal how well the MMORPG is really doing.
- With the early access start on Steam, many new players will set foot in the world of Ashes of Creation starting from December 11, 2025. This guide to AoC will make it easier for you to start. If you want to know whether PvE fans can have fun in the MMORPG, here you will find the answer.
- For the open-world MMORPG Past Fate, there is currently a playtest running on Steam, which you can freely participate in. Early access is expected to start on January 7, 2026.
- Also on Steam, the indie MMORPG Battle for Embolia is getting ready for early access. However, there is no date yet.
- With the early access start on Steam, Ashes of Creation will receive a new feature that triggers major world events at regular intervals. You will have several options for utilizing the content to earn the current best loot in the MMORPG.
- Fractured Online is set to return in revamped form, under the new name Fractured Conquest and with a buy-to-play model in 2026. This announcement was made on YouTube.
- In a new blog post on pantheonmmo.com, the developers of Pantheon spoke about the upcoming improvements for combat and progression.
- For mobile, the open beta for Eudemons Online started this week. You can find the download at play.google.com.
- Brighter Shores is celebrating Christmas in early access, with a new event and an update bringing quality-of-life improvements. You can find more details on Steam.
- Eclipse: The Awakening is a new multi-platform MMORPG from NPixel that is expected to be released in 2026 and has now received a new trailer. Where? On YouTube.
- World of Titans has released its first trailer and aims to show how the game world should look in the finished MMORPG. However, despite the promised fresh approach, everything looks like WoW.
World of Titans shows in the first trailer what the game world of the MMORPG is supposed to look like
With that, we have summarized the most important news that has recently occurred in the world of MMORPGs.
What have you been happy about this week? What have you been annoyed by? Please write to us in the comments. If you are looking for an 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 in between
