There was once an official MMORPG for Warhammer. Or rather: there is, because unofficial servers are still running after many years. MeinMMO editor and Warhammer expert Benedict Grothaus has taken a look at Return of Reckoning and feels like he is in a history lesson that you can touch.
In 2008 there was an attempt to launch Warhammer Online as a competitor to World of Warcraft. The MMORPG had a similar structure, with two factions (Order against Chaos), races, classes, and a very similar control scheme. Unfortunately, it did not last long.
By 2013, the servers were shut down again – at least the official ones. Because just a few months later, in July 2014, a few fans started unofficial private servers, which are still running today. Return of Reckoning is the project and receives regular updates.
For a long time, I postponed a visit, simply because MMORPGs consume so much time. But Return of Reckoning is different. For me, it is not just a game I play, but a playable history from one of the best fantasy worlds of all time.
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Der Cinematic-Trailer zum uralten MMORPG Warhammer Online
Return of Reckoning is the world of Warhammer to touch and explore
I don’t want to bore you with my entire gaming experience, especially since I have only managed to play a few hours so far. Most of the time I simply hang out in the world and admire the surroundings.
As a Druchii player, I am particularly taken by the world of Dark Elves. Just to explain: Return of Reckoning is divided into campaigns and chapters. Depending on which race you play, you have a different story ahead of you.
As a Dark Elf, you start right in the war with the High Elves somewhere in Ulthuan. After a few lore-correct kill quests, I come to a place that amazes me every time I log in: a black ark. These are the ships of the Dark Elves, or rather: floating cities.
I knew these barges were huge, but I didn’t expect them to be of such absurd size. The ark is no less impressive than the entrance to Icecrown Citadel in World of Warcraft, and you discover it right at the beginning:
A black ark of the Dark Elves.
Right next to it, there are a few buildings of the High Elves, whose architecture I know pretty well from Total War: Warhammer 3, but have never been able to see up close. For the nerds among you, a few other places you can visit are:
The grind festival from July 21 to 27 During this week, you can expect exciting articles every day around the topic of MMORPGs. Included: a journey through the history of online role-playing games, as well as nostalgic throwbacks, streaming evenings, interviews, columns, and analyses.
Lore-accurate classes feel much cooler than the RPG standard
Return of Reckoning actually caught my interest right at character creation. Sure, the graphics are very outdated. Unlike WoW, Return of Reckoning has never received a graphics update and still looks like it is from 2008.
But the class selection blew me away. There are classic archetypes like the “ranged fighter”, a “light melee fighter” or a “healer”, so in the end tank, rogue, mage, hunter or whatever.
But all classes have their own designation, and it is different for each race – and fits the respective lore:
“Rogues” of humans are Witch Hunters/Inquisitors; those of High Elves are the White Lions of Chrace
dwarves have Ironbreakers as tanks, while High Elves have Swordmasters of Hoeth, and the Black Orcs are at the front with Greenskins
The Empire offers Fire Wizards, while Chaos provides a daemon-summoning Magus.
Dwarves, who cannot use magic, heal through Rune Priests, while the Empire relies on Sigmar Priests
There are some peculiarities: Dwarves have Slayers who are exclusively male and Machinists as ranged fighters. Among the Dark Elves, there are Witch Elves exclusively for female characters
Most classes still follow certain archetypes, but they all have special mechanics and are only somewhat comparable to their counterparts in other races. That is the diversity I love about Warhammer.
More a museum than a game – in several ways
Return of Reckoning is still actively played, but the majority of players are at endgame. In particular, PvP is an important part of the game and belongs to the world, but in this case, organically. The open areas blend in so well that PvP – outside of dedicated battles – is rarely noticeable.
Otherwise, players are constantly looking for companions for dungeons and such in the global chats – but at a high level. This means: while leveling, you won’t encounter many other players, rather none.
Return of Reckoning is still worth it in 2025, as our MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz has pointed out. And it is true, but you should prepare to spend the first hours solo or be carried through.
Glorious has introduced a new gaming mouse with the Model O Eternal: Weighing 55 grams, it is very lightweight and has a large body suitable for bigger hands. But how does the gaming mouse perform in a test?
What device is this? The Eternal version is a lighter model of the previous standard Model O: The Eternal variant is 12 grams lighter than the original, which weighs 67 grams. The sensor is significantly weaker compared to the normal Model O, but the mouse is also considerably cheaper. Priced at around 35 euros, it is one of the more affordable options among gaming mice.
I currently own over 20 gaming mice and have tested over 15 keyboards. Privately, I also have over 10 sets of in-ear headphones. I’ve been testing hardware for our readers at MeinMMO since 2019. Besides the PC and the PS5, I am now also using the Steam Deck.
Our review unit was provided to us by the manufacturer.
Benedikt Schlotmann Hardware Editor MeinMMO
Technical Details:
Details
Sensor
12K Sensor
Resolution
Up to 12,000 DPI
Switches
Glorious Switches, up to 80 million clicks
Buttons
5 Buttons
Design
White mouse. RGB lighting at the bottom, asymmetrical right-handed mouse.
Glide Feet
4
Cable
2.0 m USB-C cable
Weight
55 grams
Price (RRP)
39.99 Euros
Contents, Design, and Build
What does the package include? In addition to the gaming mouse, there is only a thin manual and a few stickers in the box. Since the mouse is wired, there is no wireless adapter, and no further accessories or spare parts are included.
How is the mouse built?
On the top of the mouse are the main buttons and the scroll wheel in between. There is a button on the top in front of the scroll wheel to adjust the DPI.
On the bottom, there are 4 small mouse feet; there are no additional buttons here.
On the left side of the mouse, there are two additional buttons in the thumb area that you can personalize in the software if needed.
What is special? The entire mouse features a honeycomb structure, a so-called “honeycomb” pattern. This is intended to make the mouse lighter since the housing requires less material.
Build Quality
In general, you get a robustly constructed gaming mouse: during the shake test, nothing rattles. The cable cannot be removed and is overall stiff.
However, the porous honeycomb pattern design has the downside of getting dirty more quickly. The housing cannot be opened to clean the mouse. In practice, cat hair and other dirt quickly get caught in the housing. How long the technology inside the mouse can handle this in the long run, I cannot say.
Software
The Core software is used for the Model O Eternal. Here you can make all the essential settings for the gaming mouse.
Positively: The software is large and thus excellently readable on a big monitor. Other manufacturers like Turtle Beach or Logitech could learn something from this. Additionally, the software can be easily scaled over the monitor. This is really great.
Large text and big design. This is very commendable and great for large monitors.
Negatively: Some menus in the software are truncated at the bottom and are not displayed completely. A reinstallation did not help.
The software is only offered with white text on a black background. There is no option to change the colors, such as for color-blind individuals.
The menus in the Glorious Core software are partially cut off at the bottom. This looks odd but shouldn’t be intentional.
Weight and Ergonomics
The weight: With 55 grams, the mouse is very lightweight and thus ranks among competitors positioned similarly. At 55 grams, it is also 3 grams lighter than the Model O- (Minus) from its own house:
Turtle Beach Burst II Air: 47 g
Razer Viper V2 Pro: 58 g
Glorious Model O-: 58 g
Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2: 62 g
The ergonomics: I have very large hands with a hand size of 19 centimeters. The mouse itself is surprisingly large and fits comfortably in my hand. It is very well suited for palm grip. If you have played with a Glorious mouse before, you will feel right at home. The hand or palm rests well on the mouse, and all the buttons are easily reachable.
For fingertip or claw grip, the mouse is almost a bit too large. With fingertip grip, the thumb buttons are just reachable for me before it becomes uncomfortable.
The gliding ability of the mouse, however, feels rather weak. Glorious does not use PTFE for the feet like many other manufacturers in the shooter sector, but UPE. UPE is considered durable but has a higher friction resistance than PTFE. Other mice are better suited for very fast movements.
This could also be due to the mediocre PVC cable, which is quite stiff overall. Other manufacturers use significantly more flexible options, such as Turtle Beach or Razer.
The Mouse Buttons, Scroll Wheel, and Sensor
The mouse buttons: Under the buttons are Glorious Switches, which should last up to 80 million clicks. This places Glorious on par with other manufacturers that also promise 80 to 100 million clicks. They are audible but pleasantly restrained. There is no loud click like on the Logitech G309 or a dull “thock” like on the Burst II Air.
The scroll wheel: The scroll wheel feels a bit spongy in everyday use. This is mainly due to the scroll wheel lacking a hard ratchet: scrolling feels very soft, you can feel a ratchet but need to work a bit more precisely. The Burst II Air from Turtle Beach does this significantly better.
Sensor: The mouse contains a sensor from Glorious that is not specified further, simply referred to by the manufacturer as “12K Optical”. With an IPS of 300 and an acceleration of 35 g, the sensor is more of an entry-level model.
Conclusion: Budget Mouse with Too Strong Competition
Who is the mouse suitable for? The Model O Eternal is a budget gaming mouse that shows its low budget everywhere. In this price range of around 40 euros, there are significantly better offers: The Razer Cobra is regularly available for 30 euros, offering a better sensor, better cable, and better buttons.
The SteelSeries Prime is also regularly available for around 30 euros and clearly outperforms the Eternal: This is mainly due to the magnetic switches, which feel more precise and trigger more accurately. For this reason, there is hardly any real substantial reason to buy the Eternal at this time. At least not at the RRP of 40 euros.
What alternatives are there?
The Turtle Beach Burst II Air costs between 60 and 70 euros and is often available at a significantly lower price. The build quality is mediocre, but it convinces in terms of haptics and sensor.
The Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 is available on sale for around 100 euros, is powerful, and also suitable for small hands. However, the build quality did not convince me in the long run.
Razer Kobra and SteelSeries Prime are both mice around 30 euros that offer a good sensor and good haptics. The SteelSeries Prime also offers even better build quality with magnetic buttons.
An Australian company claims responsibility for the removal of hundreds of games from Steam in July 2025.
What kind of company is that? Collective Shout is an Australian company that positions itself as a movement against the objectification and sexualization of women in media, advertising, and pop culture.
In past campaigns, the company advocated (via collectiveshout):
To have content removed from Pinterest that sexualized teenagers
To ban deepfake content created without the consent of the depicted person
To urge online marketplaces like Temu and Etsy to take action against the sale of child sex dolls
In the gaming space, they recently succeeded in a campaign aimed at having the game “No Mercy” removed from various platforms such as Itch.io and Steam, where the player commits sexual violence against the protagonist’s family members.
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Steam bans games that violate the standards of companies like PayPal
What kind of ban is this? No specific type of game has been explicitly banned, but Steam added a new rule in July stating:
Content that may violate the guidelines and standards set by payment processors affiliated with Steam, related card networks and banks, or internet service providers. In particular, certain types of adult content.
The new rule therefore states that games must comply with the policies of Steam’s payment service providers. These include PayPal, Visa, Skrill, and Mastercard.
What type of games have been banned? Valve did not publicly disclose what types of games were specifically banned, but as the database SteamDB noted in a post on X, a plethora of incest-based games were removed from Steam at the time the new rule was implemented.
In a statement to the English-language online magazine PC Gamer, Valve explained in this context:
“We were recently informed that certain games on Steam may violate the rules and standards of our payment processors and their affiliated card networks and banks. Therefore, we are removing these games from sale in the Steam Store.”
Collective Shout called on service providers to take action
How did the company achieve the ban? On July 11, 2025, Collective Shout addressed an open letter to companies like PayPal and Mastercard, demanding that they “cease processing payments on Steam and Itch.io, as well as on all other platforms” that offer games “that have themes of rape, incest, and child sexual abuse” (via collectiveshout).
Shortly thereafter, Steam made a rule change, which seems to be due to pressure from the payment service providers.
On July 18, Collective Shout indirectly claimed the ban and the removal of the games in a post on X. The company wrote: “Since we launched our campaign asking payment processors to stop enabling payments for games with themes of rape, incest, sexual torture, and child abuse on Steam, they have added a new rule to their guidelines and removed hundreds of these games.”
Last weekend, the Community Day with Kwaks in Pokémon GO reignited an old discussion: the issue with time.
Did you catch a shiny Kwaks over the weekend? Your chances were good because the Water Pokémon had its own Community Day on Sunday from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Three hours during which one encountered Kwaks at every corner of the game.
But only if you had time—or the right weather. And this is exactly a point that the community criticized in light of the last Community Day.
Some players are sad to miss the popular C-Day events due to external circumstances.
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The Community Day is not a day—Would it be better?
In the subreddit for Pokémon GO, a player expresses dissatisfaction with the recently concluded event. The main issue raised in the post by “carlkentt” was the weather: It is summer, and the timing from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM can be quite intense regarding heat.
Of course, you want nice weather while playing Pokémon GO. However, noon is often the hottest time of the day, and if it gets too hot, it not only eventually affects the performance of some smartphones but is also physically really exhausting. In extreme heat, one can even risk health problems.
The user suggests times of 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM or 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM during the summer. Some agree and mention that they had strong issues with the heat themselves. Others point out that not everywhere in the world these weather problems occur at this time, many can relate to the difficulty, though. And: Generally, the timings are a problem for some.
Community Days are always on weekends and typically last three hours during midday. This doesn’t fit into some people’s planning. The fact that the “Day” event does not run all day bothers some players—or at least longer.
They suggest various options:
A user suggests 6 instead of 3 hours, possibly also split, to offer two slots in the morning and noon (via Reddit).
Another suggests that the C-Day could also be its own smoke item that one activates at the appropriate time and then uses the bonuses for 3 hours (via Reddit).
A larger time window would simply suffice for others (via Reddit).
Wasn’t it like that before? Indeed, it was. During the pandemic, the Community Day window was extended to six hours and remained that way for a while. In spring 2022, it was reverted. At that time, it was also explained that Niantic aimed to bring the community together more in real life, to meet outside. That would work better with the shorter events.
What has changed? At least, a limited research concept for Community Day was introduced some time ago, which always runs for a week from the start of C-Day. Here, you have the opportunity to catch the event monster again for a few days, also with a special background. Furthermore, it has been introduced that the evolution-attack bonus can be used during the same period.
What do you think about the current times of the Community Day? Do you like using the event, does it fit in your calendar? Or do you have problems with the timings? Let us know in the comments! And to plan well for the upcoming month: Here you can find the remaining events in July 2025 for Pokémon GO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A mass of content is flooding the scientific market. Researchers see this as a significant danger to the future of research, as the quality is rapidly declining and harming the research.
The process of reviewing a scientific paper is not easy, and the market is being overwhelmed with millions of new publications. Many of these are now AI-generated.
Researchers and editors who need to check this content are now reaching their limits and raising alarms. Researchers even see the future of research as threatened.
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Researchers see a great danger in massive scientific content
What is the problem? For years, the number of scientific contents published on platforms has been rising rapidly: In 2022, the total number of articles was about 47% higher than in 2016. And that creates new problems: Both publishers and their editors can no longer keep up with checking millions of submissions.
And there are hardly any reasonable ways to sort the sheer volume of content landing on publication platforms for scientific papers, causing researchers to panic.
What are scientists afraid of? Researchers cite several reasons why they view the current situation with concern:
Publishers can no longer afford the time to check millions of submissions, leading to a rapid decline in the quality of individual contributions. Quantity currently takes precedence over quality.
AI-generated content is flooding research and is not being properly reviewed, which could lead to significant problems and lasting damage to the research.
And AI has become significantly better at creating images and texts. In the world of scientific research, quantity rather than quality has become the new norm, and the ability to utilize AI to create absurd and strange research papers has become a path to profit for many. The “research paper” about a rat with an oversized penis, which was AI-generated, has become famous (via Vice.com).
The publishing industry is broken: Quantity over quality for profit
What do researchers say about this? Many researchers, according to the English-speaking TheGuardian, believe that the scientific publishing system is broken, unsustainable, and produces too many works that border on worthless.
Sir Mark Walport, the former chief scientist of the government and chairman of the publishing committee of the Royal Society, stated in this context that quantity is a poor decision:
Volume is a poor driver. The incentive should be quality, not quantity.
However, this is tied to another deeply rooted problem: For publishers and researchers, it is financially more appealing to favor quantity over quality.
Some researchers have published a joint paper on MIT.edu proposing measures to rein in the large volume of content. And, according to researchers, urgent changes are needed, as “Recent controversies already show this threat, as research paper mills within publishing groups have led to massive retractions of articles.”
Many Gen Z individuals are turning away from studying and looking for regular jobs. Some have realized that a long academic path is not for them. Instead of pursuing education and seeking high-level positions, there is now a turnaround among the first members of Generation Z: Many are now seeking jobs, and there are good reasons: Generation Z has just made a tough decision: They are starting to work
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Now is the perfect time to embark on World of Warcraft. Let’s look at why getting started is worthwhile now.
With its lifespan of almost 21 years, World of Warcraft is one of the largest and oldest MMORPGs on the market – and surely the game that everyone has heard of at some point.
But hasn’t the train for starting WoW already left?
If someone hasn’t played so far, can they still join in?
Isn’t it all way too complex and vast, don’t you have to buy dozens of addons?
We want to address the most important reasons why WoW is currently in excellent shape to finally take the plunge into the world of Azeroth. Along the way, we will debunk a few myths and explain why it has never been easier to step into World of Warcraft.
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WoW: The War Within – Forces Within
World of Warcraft – Why Now?
The fact that now is such a good time to start playing World of Warcraft has several reasons.
The best endgame state ever: Especially the endgame of the game, meaning everything you can do at max level, is more diverse and complete than ever before in the history of MMORPGs. Whether you’re interested in large raids, dungeons, or solo content – everything is open and offers appropriate progression. For really good gear, it is no longer necessary to prepare for raids many nights a week. You can also succeed alone or in small groups, and a variety of content offers something for every playstyle.
Good story entry: The story of World of Warcraft can seem relatively confusing and convoluted because it is often told in pieces. The addons are often only loosely connected, and the relevant characters frequently change. With the current addon cycle “Worldsoul Saga,” this is different. The War Within was the beginning of a three-part epic, which will soon continue with “Midnight.” Those who join now can comfortably play the story of The War Within and then almost seamlessly continue with Midnight.
The story is being well explained, thanks also to the new lore-walking quests.
Preparing for housing: In a few months, the biggest feature ever will start in World of Warcraft: Player housing. This has been requested by many fans for two decades and is finally coming with the new expansion “Midnight.” Even the first preview of the feature makes it clear that it fulfills all dreams and far exceeds the community’s expectations. It could be the most extensive housing ever in an MMORPG and might even overshadow the grand model WildStar.
Level event with a lot of gear: Currently active is the event “Winds of Mysterious Luck”. With this you not only get more experience points but also find additional rewards in many enemies. This ensures that you always wear solid equipment that is appropriate for your level. XP accumulates faster and more efficiently, allowing you to quickly advance to the endgame.
The Grindfest from July 21 to 27 In this week, exciting articles about MMORPGs await you every day. Included: a time travel through the history of online role-playing games, as well as nostalgic retrospectives, streaming evenings, interviews, columns, and analyses.
Additionally, you can also use the coming days to collect a respectable number of mounts or transmog templates, so your character always has the perfect look. Because until July 29, the event grants you increased drop chances for mounts and transmog rewards. It’s worth diving deep into the variety that WoW has to offer.
A nice side effect: If you farm old dungeons and raids for the rewards, you also earn a nice sum of gold along the way, making your entry into World of Warcraft even easier.
Leveling goes fast – and there’s bonus loot too.
Isn’t it super expensive and do you have to buy a lot?
Anyone looking at the list of addon releases can almost hear their wallet crying. There have been a total of 10 addons for WoW so far – and do you have to buy them all?
No, you don’t. For World of Warcraft, you pay a monthly subscription that costs between 11 and 13 euros.
Note: The subscription fees can theoretically also be paid with earned in-game gold and by purchasing a “WoW” token. However, this is rather unrealistic for newcomers – and would likely reduce the enjoyment of the game since a large part of the time would have to be spent just farming gold.
In addition to the subscription, only the current expansion needs to be purchased. Currently, that would be “The War Within,” in a few months it will switch to “Midnight.”
The next expansion is already almost at the starting line.
The costs for WoW thus amount to 13 euros per month, and roughly every two years a new expansion needs to be purchased for €50 – €60.
Considering that some people have over 720 days of pure playtime in WoW – that’s over 17,000 hours – one can spend a lot of time in the game and be well entertained for the invested money.
What’s not going so smoothly?
Although World of Warcraft is currently in very good shape, there are still a few issues.
Especially leveling for new accounts – without the currently running event “Winds of Mysterious Luck” – can be difficult because players are forced to level their first character in “Dragonflight” and may encounter an item bottleneck that slows down progress. Although this is currently being corrected by the running leveling event, Blizzard still needs to find a long-term solution.
The toxic community – it exists, but it is no bigger or smaller than in other games. You have to filter.
Moreover, there is often criticism regarding the “toxic community.” However, it must be said rather neutrally that the WoW community is hardly different from other MMORPG communities.
It is definitely worth looking for a guild that plays on the same wavelength early on. This significantly reduces the chance of getting into conflicts. Some veterans, who have been playing for 21 years, often lack the necessary patience for newcomers – but at the same time, as a newcomer, you should not be rushed and explore everything at your own pace.
It usually helps tremendously if you clearly communicate that you are new to the game. The willingness to help is then significantly greater when everyone knows that you are simply new to Azeroth.
Essentially, when you start WoW, you should mainly enjoy the time. There is almost an endless amount to discover, and the magic of the first weeks quickly fades if you spend too much time with guides, tips, and instructions from other players.
Explore Azeroth at your own pace, take a closer look at what you like. You’ll have all the time in the world later for guides and data simulations when you delve into the depths of the endgame. But be warned: once you start with WoW, you will be trapped in the 10 phases of every WoW player forever.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In a new financial report, Ubisoft explains to its investors which risks can lead games to fail, and your feedback is part of that.
What kind of report is this? As a major gaming company, Ubisoft is also publicly traded. This means that anyone who wants to can purchase shares of the company. In order for shareholders to know which risks affect the company and how it is currently performing, the company regularly publishes new financial reports.
The current report (via Ubisoft.com) goes into great detail regarding the risks of developing new games. Your expectations and feedback are one of many reasons that can lead a new game to fail.
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Many risks in game development
Which risks stand out? Ubisoft addresses many of the risks in game development in its report (via Ubisoft.com). It describes that simultaneous releases, issues with server providers, or new legislation pose risks for new titles.
Some of the risks, the company writes, also lie with the player. The company states in the financial report: “In a highly competitive environment where players pay much attention to the quality and content of the games, the success of a video game depends as much on the efficiency of its development process as it does on its market release.”
Furthermore, Ubisoft mentions factors that should not suit you in new titles. These include bugs and poor (server) performance in the first hours of gameplay, promises that did not make it into the final game, lower quality of the title than previously communicated, or when the competition offers a comparable, better product.
Even when games are released too early and are not yet refined, or when they are sold too expensively, Ubisoft claims that this can lead to problems with the community.
What impact do comments have? If something about the title does not suit you for any of the reasons mentioned above, or even for a completely different issue, you let Ubisoft know. Accordingly, comments from players, videos from influencers, or poor reviews from the press are another risk factor for Ubisoft.
Similarly, the launch of a video game can be affected by […] negative reviews, whether from the press or from players, which are amplified through social media and review platforms, potentially damaging the game’s image or even the brand’s reputation.
Above all, the so-called “bashing” is a risk for Ubisoft. This does not refer to individual or constructive critiques, but rather to “massive, often intense, and organized campaigns of criticism against its [Ubisoft’s] products, teams, or public statements”.
These frequently occur “in social media, on content-sharing platforms, or in certain specialized media, particularly following strategic decisions, technical issues with games, or statements perceived as controversial by certain segments of the public,” Ubisoft writes in the report (via Ubisoft.com).
According to Ubisoft, “the changed perception of the video game industry as a cultural and artistic medium […] has also led to an increase in criticism [of Ubisoft]”.
Ubisoft sees its analysis accordingly considering shitstorms as a risk, which, according to the report, can not only damage a game release but, in the worst case, also harm Ubisoft’s image. These could diminish customers’, business partners’, and other stakeholders’ impressions of the brand, Ubisoft writes.
On Twitch, there are various things that are not fundamentally forbidden but are received negatively by the majority of the community. The CEO of Twitch is now being criticized for self-promotion, even though he did it for a good cause.
What did the Twitch CEO promote? On July 19, Dan Clancy, the CEO of Twitch, held his own stream as part of the GCX Charity Marathon. Between July 14 and 21, various Twitch streamers streamed and raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
As of the latest update (July 21, 2025, 11:06), the charity event has generated over $355,000 in donations.
Before his stream, the CEO promoted it, but not through booked campaigns or partnerships, rather in the chats of other streamers. This does not sit well with many, as it breaks one of Twitch’s most important etiquettes.
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Twitch CEO makes shameless self-promotion
How did he self-promote? Zach Bussey, a news channel about Twitch and streamers, posted a chat excerpt on x.com. There, a user named DJClancy writes: I shamelessly go into the chats of streamers I know to ask for raids when they are done. DJClancy is Dan Clancy’s channel. In the screenshot, you can even see that the CEO received a Timeout.
In his own stream (via Twitch), around 00:25:00, you can also see him reading the message aloud before seemingly posting it in other chats.
Zach Bussey comments: This is so disrespectful and ignores the most basic rules of Twitch etiquette. (Source: x.com).
Dexerto reports that this message was likely posted to at least 5 streamers, including Gassymexican and Fanfan.
Is this forbidden? Generally not. Self-promotion in the streams of others, such as asking for raids or viewers, is not forbidden according to Twitch’s guidelines. However, if such messages accumulate, it could quickly be considered spam, which would indeed be forbidden on Twitch.
Besides that, this form of self-promotion is not well-seen by the Twitch community.
How does the community react? The community strongly criticizes this self-promotion, especially the irony that it comes from the CEO himself. There is considerable criticism from Twitch streamer Gothalion (Source: x.com). He questions why the CEO did not proactively prepare collaborations with companies or crossovers with other streamers. Other users also comment under the tweet, wondering if the CEO of Twitch should not have significantly more options to generate attention.
Lord of the Mysteries is an anime from China (Donghua) that recently launched in Germany. It was celebrated beforehand for its animation, but there is one drawback.
What kind of “anime” is this? In the Donghua, Zhou Mingrui lives in modern-day China, but is reborn in the body of Klein Moretti due to an incident. Klein lives in a world that could originate from Victorian England in the 19th century. There are steam engines, warships, and other traces of the emerging industrialization everywhere.
This world is inhabited by Beyonders. These are people who gain superhuman abilities by drinking special potions. There is a complex system with 22 paths, divided into tiers of power.
Klein must discover how he died and what the Beyonders have to do with it. The anime was already celebrated beforehand for its animation, which is said to have an even higher frame rate than Solo Leveling. However, there is also a drawback for which the screenwriter apologizes.
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Lord of the Mysteries: Trailer for the Donghua with great animations
Lord of the Mysteries goes too fast
What is the drawback? Gideon-Liu is the screenwriter of Lord of the Mysteries. He recently admitted on social media that he is not as satisfied with the first three episodes as he is with the rest of the Chinese anime.
The reason for this is the approach in anime, as often the first three episodes determine how good a series is and whether viewers stay engaged (via X):
The script is an art bound to certain requirements, and the end of the clown fight in episode 3 was a tough assignment. This corresponds to the widely accepted “three-episode rule,” according to which viewers judge anime/Donghua.
Of course, one regrets the first three episodes – painful compromises had to be made. Personally, I am more satisfied with episodes 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. Regarding difficulty, episode 1 was by far the hardest.
In the first three episodes, the pacing of the developments is said to be much too fast for some viewers. On X, some fans write that they found the story too rushed. However, with the quick handling in the first three episodes, fans know right away what awaits them with the Donghua.
Gideon-Liu can at least reassure that the pacing slows down again from episode 4. This way, viewers can enjoy the story of Lord of the Mysteries at a suitable pace. If you watch the series, you should keep this in mind.
Chinese animes are becoming increasingly popular. To Be Hero X also comes from the country. The series has the unique feature that fans can already help determine how the Donghua will continue. You can find out how this is arranged here: In a new series, you can decide how strong the characters are for season 2
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the role-playing game “Back to the Dawn” on Steam, you are transported as a fox into a high-security prison and must escape. The game is well-received by many gamers and receives positive reviews.
What kind of game is this? Back to the Dawn is a story-driven RPG with stealth, puzzle, and point-and-click elements, in which you take on the role of an unjustly imprisoned animal journalist or a secret agent. The two are represented by an anthropomorphic fox and a panther. The other inmates are also inspired by animals.
The RPG is set in a high-security prison from which you want to escape. Your task is to find evidence of your innocence, build relationships with fellow inmates, pit factions against each other, and ultimately find a way to freedom, be it through escape, influence, or violence.
The title launched on November 3, 2023, in Early Access and celebrated its full release on July 18, 2025. Since then, around 9,162 players have joined the adventure simultaneously (see SteamDB, as of July 21, 2025, 11:00 AM). Until July 31, 2025, you can purchase it at a discounted price of €16.57, after which it will increase to the regular €19.50.
The gameplay resembles classic RPGs, focusing on sometimes consequential decisions. How you proceed, who you ally with, and which skills you develop greatly influence the course of the story. Whether through stealth, manipulation, or brute force, any means is fair as long as it brings you closer to the truth.
A concept that obviously resonates well not only with critics but has also sneaked into the hearts of many players.
You can get a first impression in the launch trailer:
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Launch trailer for Back to the Dawn shows prison escape in fox fur on Steam
“This game is the best RPG I’ve played in the last few years, except maybe Baldur’s Gate 3”
How is the game received? Even during its time in Early Access, Back to the Dawn was able to gain many positive voices. It won the Steam Silver Award in 2023 as the top Early Access title of the year (see Steam). It has also received several awards, nominations, and finalist positions in the indie sector.
The reviews on Steam come with stellar ratings. Around 92% of all reviews (currently about 4,825, as of July 21, 2025, 11:15 AM) are positive, giving the game an overall rating of “very positive.” The critical focal point is often the time management feature, which some find stressful. Others see it as an incentive to replay the game more frequently:
The Hungry Werewolf writes, for example: “The time limit isn’t scary; it just means that you can do different things on repeat playthroughs, and I think that’s great. And otherwise? Yes, the game is really fun.”
shaosc3 praises: “This game is the best RPG I’ve played in the last few years, except maybe Baldur’s Gate 3.”
Ironbound describes: “I stumbled upon this gem by chance and can’t recommend it enough. Imagine Prison Architect crossed with Disco Elysium and a touch of Zootopia. It’s packed with deep RPG mechanics, a great story, and solid gameplay. Ridiculously cheap for what you get. I absolutely love it.”
SoulessBlade criticizes: “The game is really good so far, but the time limit ruins all the tension for me.”
grubby justin makes you think: “I appreciate the work and quality of the game, but I’m not a big fan of the time management aspect. The rest of the game seems great, but this element just makes it too stressful and takes the fun away for me. However, if you don’t mind the time management, I can recommend the game 100%.”
The new expansion of Destiny 2 brought many changes, but some of them that fans have discovered were not listed in the patch notes. Fans believe that Bungie is hiding something, but now a studio employee is clarifying.
What was “hidden”? When the new expansion “Beyond Fate” was released, guardians noticed that some changes made by Bungie were not recorded in the patch notes (Source: Reddit). Many guardians referred to these as “Stealth Nerfs”, which means changes that are concealed because they could weaken the guardians and cause turmoil.
While Bungie had already spoken out in some Reddit posts to clarify the accusations, there is now a large, final statement from Principal Communications Manager dmg04 explaining what these nerfs are all about.
Start video
The launch trailer of “The Edge of Fate” showcases the new expansion of Destiny 2
The patch notes were gigantic
What did dmg04 have to announce? The Principal Communications Manager addressed Reddit with a huge statement regarding the accusations of stealth nerfs. First, he wants to apologize on behalf of the studio for the stealth nerfs that have occurred in the past. The team is working to improve the processes so that this never happens again.
However, dmg04 indicated that this is not a case of stealth nerfs but rather an oversight. There was a gigantic list of patch notes, and some points were overlooked and not recorded.
The following is what dmg04 announced on Reddit: “This was one of the (if not THE) longest patch note submissions we ever had, and although we hoped we addressed all points, we admit that we overlooked some important ones.”
The team is now working on listing the missed changes and explaining them to the fans. However, dmg04 cannot yet say when exactly this will happen.
What do fans say about the statement? They thank dmg04 for the update and information, but they are unsure how such significant changes can be released under the radar of Bungie without any of the developers noticing. They are skeptical and let their opinions run wild on Reddit:
“So all Warlock nerfs were ‘missed changes’? Didn’t anyone notice that the Warlock range was incredibly short when all these nerfs were planned? Sure. And are the values that don’t work as explicitly promised (new 70=old 100) just a typo?” – AWildeOscarAppeared
It’s crazy to think that things that were supposedly meant to be buffed for Warlocks are actually nerfs. How could that be overlooked? – HamiltonDial
“There are practically never stealth buffs that are ‘missed’ in the patch notes. It is always stealth nerfs that are ‘missed’. Strange how that works.” – tintedlenz
“It’s an accident if it happens once or twice, but this is routine. The communication between teams is fundamentally broken at best, or it is being deliberately hidden because they know it will have negative consequences in the worst case.” – catchemist117
The developers of Old School RuneScape are embarking on an experiment and removing a feature from some servers of the popular MMORPG, which has many fans but also many critics.
What is this feature? It involves the ability to apply cosmetic skins over the actual equipment, allowing players to customize their character’s appearance without having to adjust their strength. In WoW, this feature is referred to as Transmogrification and was introduced with the Cataclysm expansion in patch 4.3.
This is exactly the feature that the developers of Old School RuneScape wish to forgo in an upcoming experiment. Specifically, there will be “Cosmetic-Free Worlds” from July 28 to September 30, where cosmetic adjustments for equipment, icons, teleportations, animations, and other areas will not be visible.
Pets will also not be available on these servers. A complete list of the restrictions can be found on runescape.com.
The Steam trailer for Old School RuneScape:
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Old School RuneScape – Trailer for the Steam Release
What is the goal of the experiment? The developers have repeatedly received feedback from the community that cosmetic items negatively impact the personal gaming experience. Through the test, the team wants to find out:
What does the game feel like without the currently available cosmetics?
Which cosmetics are missed or appreciated as visible?
What are the players’ thoughts on the visual identity and style of the game when only the “more realistic” items are present from the gameplay?
How many players use the cosmetic-free worlds, how many return to the cosmetic-free worlds, and how long do they play on these?
A high for the 12-year-old MMORPG: According to ChaseYoungHTTR, there were 200,000 players online in Old School RuneScape simultaneously over the weekend (July 19-20, 2025) (via Reddit). Currently, according to runescape.com, there are still strong 122,544 (July 21, 2025, 9:52 AM). Additionally, Old School RuneScape consistently ranks among the 10 MMORPGs on Steam with the best ratings.
Clothes make the man, and brings money
Why can cosmetics be a problem in MMORPGs? Before the ability to apply cosmetic items over the actual equipment of a character, many avatars looked similar; however, it was possible to directly see which content they had played and which challenges they had mastered. Some players miss this visual feedback.
Additionally, many MMORPGs have started to closely tie cosmetics to their monetization with the introduction of these items. While Pay2Win or Pay2Progress offers that directly affect progress or character strength continue to be strongly criticized, the sale of cosmetic items has become widespread.
This also means that designers spend a lot of time designing cosmetic skins to attract as many players to the shop as possible. The appearance of earnable clothes often suffers as a result. In some MMORPGs, even high-level heroes wear better rags until they invest money in the shop. This devalues every item they can earn in the game.
Unfortunately, the sale of cosmetic goods generates so much money in many games that hardly any developer will be willing to give it up in the future. After all, there are more than enough players who are eager to visually customize their characters. Additionally, many genre fans prefer a Free2Play model. They can much more easily live with cosmetic sales than with Pay2Win or Pay2Progress.
Young people fear phone calls. And Google sees this as a potential business opportunity to make money.To address this, they offer a new digital assistant that young people are supposed to use to get tasks done.
23% of 18 to 34-year-olds never answer a phone call.
About 61% of this age group prefer to receive a message rather than a voice call.
More than half of 18 to 24-year-olds believe that a call out of the blue means bad news.
Google sees a new business opportunity in these concerns to attract new customers to its platform.
Start video
Students spy on passersby with hidden cameras and AI, find name and address in seconds
Virtual Assistant to Reserve Restaurants or Cancel Doctor Appointments
What does Google do? Google aims to provide young people with a new way to engage in so-called asynchronous communication. To this end, Google intends to offer a new digital assistant. This has been reported by the English-language magazine Fastcompany.com.
The idea behind this digital agent is that Google’s artificial intelligence calls a restaurant to reserve a table, cancel the next doctor’s appointment, or simply have a quick chat with a business. So far, the concept is only available in the United States.
When and if this feature will come to Germany is not yet known. Initially, the feature is supposed to be available only in the USA. However, it could well be that in the future you will hear not a person, but an AI on the other end of the line.
A trend seems to be particularly popular among young people of Gen Z: job ghosting. This is indicated by survey data from a platform that questioned applicants and companies: 78% of all applicants are said to have intentionally ignored the employer: Gen Z has a popular trend: They do not attend job interviews
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The roots of the MMORPG genre run deeper than you might think. Join us on a journey through the history of online role-playing games – from the 1960s to 2025! You’ll encounter the most significant milestones, remarkable curiosities, and exciting analyses!
MMORPGs, or “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games”, are online role-playing games that immerse you in their respective persistent worlds where you can encounter a large number of other players. The term “persistent” specifically refers to the progress of your character as well as the game world, which continues to exist even when you are offline.
When players today discuss the beginnings of the MMORPG genre, titles like Meridian 59 and The Realm Online from 1996 or Ultima Online, which was released in 1997, quickly come to mind. However, the roots of online role-playing games go much deeper. They trace back to the 1960s.
In the following, we want to take you on a journey through the history of MMORPGs. From their beginnings to the current status today. We focus on the defining milestones, important games, and remarkable curiosities. You’ll learn how the genre has changed over the decades.
The Grinding Fest from July 21 to 27 This week, exciting articles about MMORPGs will be waiting for you every day. Included: a journey through the history of online role-playing games, as well as nostalgic looks back, streaming evenings, interviews, columns, and analyses.
You can easily jump to the sections you are interested in via the table of contents:
[toc]
Students set the spark … out of boredom
In the early 1960s, the University of Illinois introduced the teaching and learning system “PLATO” (via Wikipedia), which had communication functions that were later developed into emails, chat rooms, remote screen transmissions, and more.
Bored students, however, used PLATO to connect via the network to engage in simple battles together or against each other. Later networks like Arpanet (via Wikipedia) built on this and enabled the development of the first multiplayer games such as Maze War, which originated in 1974 at NASA’s Ames Research Center.
This first milestone offered a graphical, virtual 3D maze that players explored from a first-person perspective. And not alone, but with other players who were sitting at other PCs within the network. Such a thing had never been seen before!
Our MMORPG talk from Caggtus 2025:
Start video
MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz and MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski discuss the current state of MMORPGs
MUDs – the Multi-User Dungeons conquer the universities
Maze War was the predecessor of the so-called MUDs, i.e. Multi-User Dungeons. These are games that allow multiple adventurers to explore some form of dungeon or virtual world simultaneously. The first of its kind, MUD1, emerged in the late 1970s. The focus was still on social interaction. Up to 36 players could play at the same time.
In the 80s, the new genre gained significant popularity as affordable home computers became available. At the same time, the first commercial projects came onto the market. Among them was the text adventure Sceptre of Goth, released in 1983, which was based on the popular pen-and-paper role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, bringing up to 16 players into the dungeons at the same time and even offered PvP. The cost: just under 3 US dollars per hour.
Lucasfilm Games as a Technical Innovator Today, when one hears of Lucasfilm Games or LucasArts, one immediately thinks of various Star Wars games or adventure classics like Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island, or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
However, even before all these renowned milestones, George Lucas’s video game division had already established a name as a technically adept game studio. An example of this is the online RPG Habitat, which was released in the USA from 1986 to 1988 as a beta version for QuantumLink (an online service for the Commodore 64) and was then referred to as a “virtual online environment with multiple participants.”
Habitat is considered the first MMORPG with a graphical interface, reminiscent of the style of Maniac Mansion or Labyrinth. There were customizable avatars, text chat, quests, trading of goods, marriage communities, and much more. Those who want to learn more and see screenshots from the game should definitely visit c64-wiki.de.
Another commercial but graphical multi-user dungeon came out in 1985 and is called Island of Kesmai. The game featured character creation (choosing class, race, and gender) and a chat room. In the virtual world, consisting of 5 regions with 62,000 locations, up to 100 players could roam simultaneously.
Additionally, there were about 2,500 creatures as well as NPCs. Rewards could be earned through quests. The MUD utilized ASCII graphics to represent player characters, world boundaries, opponents, and loot. Interested players could experience Island of Kesmai through the CompuServe online service, for about 12 US dollars per hour.
In 1989, the text-based online RPG Avalon: The Legend Lives was released, featuring remarkable systems for economy, agriculture, and jobs. On top of that, there was a player-controlled government, with ministers and elections, as well as conquest battles involving entire legions, trenches, minefields, and fortifications.
In short: The developer aimed to create a believable world in which players could lead a virtual life (via Wikipedia). Avalon: The Legend Lives was thus an evolution of Habitat from 1986, which hit a similar note and offered many freedoms. So many that gangs and in-game organizations quickly formed.
Also noteworthy from this time is Kingdom of Drakkar, which emerged in 1989 from the text-based MUD Realm from 1984, and attracted players with 2D graphics. Players could choose between races as well as classes and genders. There was loot. PvP was possible, but prohibited.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Dune: Awakening, there are many creative builders showcasing their skills in impressive constructions. One has expressed themselves in a way that is typically seen only in Minecraft.
What kind of artwork is this? In Dune: Awakening, a player recently got quite creative. With the limited options provided by the survival game, the builder created a canvas along with a large artwork. For this, they placed various light blocks in the shape of a big wall.
To turn the wall into a piece of art, the player used various blocks such as windows, chests, or shields for the eyes.
As artwork, they created a Pikachu from Pokémon, behind which the Shai-Hulud, the giant sandworm, is sneaking up and already opening its mouth to devour the Pokémon immediately.
Here you can see the Reddit video where the builder presents their canvas:
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Can he achieve something with his artwork? Currently, the first major community event from the developers is running in Dune: Awakening. Players are to showcase their skills and build beautiful bases for the Harkonnen and Atreides factions, or create a neutral base.
Under the Reddit post from the user, some are encouraging him to enter his artwork in the building competition, but the artist declines. He believes his canvas is beautiful, but does not fit the theme of a faction base.
Nevertheless, the players encourage him to submit his creative artwork to at least receive the weapon skin as a reward for an honorable mention from the developers. However, whether the player complied with the request remains unanswered.
Here you can see what the future holds for Dune: Awakening:
Will the player create more artworks? He is not sure, as another artwork would mean the destruction of the Pikachu. The player writes on Reddit that he only has three building spots, and two of them are needed for bases in the Hagga Basin and the Deep Desert.
To create a new artwork, he would therefore have to destroy the old one, and he himself states that he does not know if he could bring himself to do this. Creating another artwork would also be expensive, as the player utilized all maximum possible expansions of the bases to construct the Pikachu in the sight of the sandworm.
One Piece is a long-running anime and has some arcs that are considered filler. However, with the new chapter, one of the filler arcs suddenly becomes important.
Which arc is it about? In the “Long Ring Long Land” arc, the Straw Hat Pirates must compete against the Fox Pirates in a Davy Back Fight. This is a competition in which two different pirate crews participate. The captain of one crew challenges the captain of another. If the challenge is accepted, there is a competition over three rounds.
The challenger determines how the individual games of the competition will look. The loser of the Davy Back Fight loses a member of their crew to the other team. Foxy and Luffy face off in such a competition in the anime. However, Luffy must realize that Foxy does not play fair.
The arc is considered one of the least popular storylines among fans. Even we at MeinMMO actually recommend that you don’t watch the arc if you just want to see the main story. But the new chapter shows that even such an insignificant arc can suddenly become important.
Start video
One Piece Film: Gold – The trailer for the anime movie
Unpopular arc becomes important for brutal pirates
Warning, Spoilers: Here there is information about Chapter 1555 of the One Piece manga.
This is how he built one of the most powerful crews. These include:
Whitebeard
Kaido
Big Mom
Buckingham Stussy
Shiki
Those who have watched the filler know how such battles work and that they can be unfair. But don’t worry: You don’t necessarily have to catch up on the filler arc.
Do I need to catch up on the arc now? The manga briefly explains how a Davy Back Fight works and how Rocks got his pirate crew. It is also suggested that the pirates do not care about the life of their captain. With this, you know the essentials needed for the story. However, if you want to learn more about these battles, feel free to watch the arc.
Although new releases for the MMORPG genre are currently scarce, there are various exciting titles with a lot of potential on the list of online role-playing games that are currently in development.To kick off the MMORPG theme week on MeinMMO, we want to know which upcoming MMORPG you are looking forward to the most.
The most beautiful adventures of our favorite MMORPGs will eventually run out. But the next world is already eagerly waiting to be discovered by you.
Do you want to dive into a beautiful and large world like in Ashes of Creation or would you rather become the next hero in small indie projects? The future for the MMORPG genre looks exciting, with new games for well-known franchises, as well as completely new worlds. As part of our MMORPG theme week, we want to know which upcoming MMORPG you are particularly looking forward to.
The Grind Festival from July 21 to July 27 In this week, you can expect exciting articles every day about the topic of MMORPGs. Included: a journey through the history of online role-playing games, as well as nostalgic throwbacks, streaming evenings, interviews, columns, and analyses.
Which MMORPGs are available for selection? We have compiled a list of the officially announced MMORPGs for you. Some of them will be released this year or are already available in an early access version.
The MMORPG Chrono Odyssey shows next-gen graphics in the trailer
We want to hear your opinion
Each of you probably has an MMORPG you are waiting for. But which of the announced MMORPGs can you hardly sit still for? Choose an online role-playing game of the future that you are particularly looking forward to!
Feel free to tell us in the comments why you are looking forward to certain MMORPGs or why you are skeptical about them. You can also mention online role-playing games that you are really excited about, but which we haven’t included on our list.
MMORPGs can be quite a hurdle for new players and can feel overwhelming due to the plethora of content. Thus, it is even more important to get a good introduction to the genre without wanting to flee immediately. MeinMMO has introduced you to 5 MMORPGs to get started in order to get to know the genre: The 5 best MMORPGs for beginners
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Games Workshop has announced several new products for Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 – including something that hasn’t existed before: helmets. And they’re not just for decoration; they actually work. A whole series is planned, but even the first one is likely to excite fans.
This is what Games Workshop has presented:
At the Summer Preview on July 18, 2025, the creators of Warhammer showcased a ton of new products for the world, the tabletop, and everything around it – including an army of evil dwarves that is causing excitement.
In addition to new figures, which is what Warhammer is primarily known for, there was also a very special announcement: a wearable helmet.
In collaboration with JoyToy, Games Workshop is releasing Space Marine helmets with some features that can actually be worn. The first one presented belongs to a legendary man.
This is the helmet: The piece is inspired by the helmet of the legendary Lieutenant Titus, the hero from Space Marine 2. Titus was with the Deathwatch for a while, but the design is based on his original armor.
Accordingly, the helmet is in the colors of the Ultramarines, the chapter to which Titus belongs: the base is blue, adorned with white stripes and a red line in the middle – so the color combination for a lieutenant. In the center, a silver skull is prominently displayed.
Although the helmet is meant to be a decorative item, it can actually be worn, for example, at conventions. The eyes light up when powered by an integrated compartment with AAA batteries, and the helmet itself is adjustable with a headband.
There should even be enough space under the helmet to wear in-ear headphones if you want to game in cosplay, as suggested by Games Workshop. For the nerds: the model is a type X “Tacticus” helmet.
Normally, fans have to build their helmets themselves:
Start video
Twitch: HandofBlood throws himself into a special outfit for Space Marine 2
Titus’ helmet is just the first of many
Together with the helmet, you can purchase a stand on which to display the armor piece, complete with Ultramarines emblem and decoration. In the official store, you can already pre-order the helmet for the proud price of €159.99 in a bundle with a shirt. We don’t yet know the delivery dates.
There haven’t been any major reactions to the helmet yet, but cosplay is a big topic in the community. In particular, helmets seem to be in demand; one user on Reddit has a whole collection of them.
At the moment, Games Workshop is presenting a ton of new products, alongside the helmet from Titus and the Chaos Dwarves, such as the Idoneth Deepkin for Age of Sigmar and new armies, models, and rules for all existing realms.
The next big raid boss in World of Warcraft takes inspiration from Final Fantasy. But fans are celebrating it: “Finally a real boss fight!”
The next big boss in World of Warcraft is Dimensius. He is a Lord of the Void and essentially the first and so far only Lord of the Void that we have really interacted with. He is the central antagonist in Patch 11.2 Spirits of K’aresh. However, he brings something that fans of Final Fantasy are likely to recognize – but that makes the fight even better in the eyes (and ears) of many fans.
Start video
Nur im Juli 2025: Diese 3 Mounts in WoW solltet ihr jetzt farmen
What has been released? In the latest version of the PTR (Test Server) for Patch 11.2, many pieces of music have been added. This includes the musical accompaniment for the boss fight against Dimensius. To summarize the voices from the community: What bangers.
For the fight against Dimensius, a total of 30 minutes of music is available, divided into 14 individual pieces. Even though the songs are all very similar, there are fine differences – some pieces sound a bit more hopeful, while others sound significantly more negative.
What’s exciting here is that the music is not just “ambient” music that plays quietly in the background – rather, choirs are employed that do nothing but sing the name of the boss.
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What do the lyrics sound like? It is quite difficult to make out the exact lyrics of the music without official lyrics, as the singing is often drowned out by the instruments. However, the repeatedly sung name of the boss, Dimensius, can be clearly heard. Additionally, the Latin words “Mundus Devora,” which roughly translates to “Devour the World” – very fitting for someone who calls himself “Dimensius, the Devourer of All.”
Where does this music genre come from? That the actual boss music consists of a choir singing the name of the boss is something that gaming veterans will recognize, especially from JRPGs. Particularly Final Fantasy VII with the fight against Sephiroth and the – absolutely legendary – soundtrack “One Winged Angel” is likely burned into the memory of most players.
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What is clear is that Blizzard is taking a different direction with the music, possibly just as a trial. That something can be extremely successful and engrave itself into the memories of fans is not just the case with Final Fantasy, but was also popular with Baldur’s Gate 3. There, the devil himself sang his own boss music.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
What do League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and Warhammer have in common? Surprisingly a lot, as one player has found out. After initially being a bit upset with his MOBA, the community explained to him how all the worlds are connected.
This is what the player experienced:
On Reddit, a new player shares that after a long time in League of Legends, he plays WoW Classic for the first time, which is the “old” version of World of Warcraft – similar to the LoL bully Tyler1 before him.
After four months of completely immersing himself in the MMORPG, he notices more and more similarities between LoL and WoW.
His “discovery” is no surprise, especially for veterans of the games, but it sparks a discussion about the origins of the worlds.
What does LoL “steal”? In his thread, the user shows various images comparing designs from League of Legends with those he now discovers in World of Warcraft. He is not particularly happy about his discovery.
He writes: “It looks like League was strongly inspired by WoW. And that actually makes me hate LoL, but that’s not necessarily bad. Now I have found my true home.” His findings include:
The champion Vel’koz, who resembles the old god C’thun
Runes on the summoning stones in front of dungeons in WoW, which can almost be identically found at the edge of the LoL map
Designs of certain champions like Sion or Taric, who look similar to some characters from Warcraft (specifically: Orcs or certain crystal armors)
The design of certain weapons
The champion Skarner, who looks almost exactly like Skorpyron from the Legion raid “The Nighthold”
In the comments, other users agree but explain: It is quite clear that much is similar. After all, League of Legends only exists because of Warcraft.
Without Warcraft, there would be no League of Legends …
League of Legends is actually a standalone version of “Defense of the Ancients”, short: DotA. DotA was one of the most popular map mods for Warcraft 3 and already had an identical gameplay concept like LoL and other MOBAs do today.
Even many of the heroes and their abilities back then were adopted, not only in LoL but also in DOTA 2 and later in Heroes of the Storm. The designs were also relatively similar. A user adds:
Some of the original designers of the DotA mod were the initial designers that Riot brought in to develop League because they wanted a “spiritual successor” to DotA that didn’t require the base game [Warcraft 3], which was no longer supported by the developers. Blizzard was already focused on WoW.
In a response to this, it says: While it wasn’t the initial designers, the original creators actually came to Riot later. The similarities are therefore not surprising.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
