This week there were both positive and negative news in the MMORPGs. We would like to especially highlight the new MMORPG Starfall, the latest patch in FFXIV, and the postponed test for Blue Protocol. However, there were also updates regarding WoW, Lost Ark, and others.
The highlights of the week:
- A new MMORPG called Starfall has been announced, which uses Minecraft as its engine.
- In Final Fantasy XIV, the new patch 6.3 was released. Here you can find out how to unlock the raid, and here is a guide to the new outfit Yakaku Dogi.
This week’s shock: Blue Protocol has postponed its scheduled network test in Japan indefinitely. The reason cited is server and network problems, which are said to be “serious.” When the test will take place is currently unknown (via Twitter).
Whether this will affect the planned release in spring 2023 in Japan is also uncertain.
The discussion of the week: We wanted to know which of the new MMORPGs for 2023 you are most excited about. Unsurprisingly, Throne and Liberty won. Here you can find the latest trailer for the game:
A new MMORPG podcast: Alexander Leitsch and Mark Sellner – two of the three MMORPG authors here at MeinMMO – have started a podcast together. In MMO News, they discuss the most important events in the MMORPG world every two weeks and give their opinions on them. Additionally, there will be specials about individual games from time to time.
You can follow the podcast on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube. It is an independent project by the authors. It is not a successor to the MeinMMO podcast and does not have any other connection to MeinMMO.
Lost Ark and New World lose players and ArcheAge releases a strange trailer
This is what happened with the big MMORPGs:
- In WoW, the new patch 10.0.5 is expected to be released in January. It brings mostly small adjustments to transmog, the trading post, and a new event. Additionally, a piece of jewelry is currently making waves and we have compiled the current DPS rankings for you.
- Lost Ark has lost 200,000 players in one day because many bots were banned.
- The head of FFXIV is considering what should happen to characters from level 100 onwards.
- In Guild Wars 2, the lunar new year has begun.
- The Elder Scrolls Online has shared the date for the big annual review, which will take place on January 25 during a livestream (via ESO).
- A new update has been released in Black Desert, which brought new events, balance changes, and adjustments to the UI (via BDO).
This is what happened with the small MMORPGs:
- New World has lost about 30,000 players since the Fresh Start. Nevertheless, it is currently in a better position than in summer 2022.
- ArcheAge was the big hope for sandbox fans in 2014. Since then, things have changed and the latest trailer even makes us a bit sad.
- How is Tower of Fantasy – the Genshin MMORPG – doing 5 months after release? We checked it out. Additionally, it recently received an update that brought ray tracing on PC and new events (via TowerOfFantasy).
- The Secret World was once a really strong MMORPG, but now only has 124 players on Steam. What happened?
- Embers Adrift – the MMORPG with weak graphics but a strong focus on PvE group play – is hosting a free weekend at the end of January (via Twitter).
- From January 11 to February 8, a new event is running in Aion (via Gameforge).
- Blade & Soul is celebrating its 7th birthday and has started an event for this (via Blade&Soul).
- EverQuest 2 shared its roadmap for 2023, with a new expansion and a new progression server (via Twitter).
This is what happened with the MMORPGs in development:
- Chronicles of Elyria received $9 million in crowdfunding, but was considered dead for a while. Then developers started working on it again, but now the last employee has been laid off.
- MMORPG visionary leaves Amazon – even before his first game was released
These are the MMORPG news of the week at a glance. What was your personal highlight? Did you experience anything interesting this week that you would like to share? Or have we perhaps forgotten something important? Feel free to let us know in the comments here at MeinMMO.
We have collected all the new MMOs and online games for 2023 here: New MMOs and multiplayer games 2023: The big release list.