BlizzCon dominated the week as expected, and whether you thought the show was worth the wait probably depends entirely on whether the new announcements catered to you. Most notably, the company announced a new open-world StarCraft shooter for 2030, Diablo V coming in 2029, and World of Warcraft Forever launching in just a few weeks.
In fact, BlizzCon’s big announcements were so deafening that you probably missed the news that Ship of Heroes is sunsetting, that WoW’s next retail expansion is The Last Titan, that people are already mad about WoW Forever’s monetization, that Kakao is playing financial footsie with ArcheAge, that Pantheon was hit with layoffs, and that Stargate Worlds is back from never.
Read on to catch up with the very best of this week’s MMO news and opinions today as every Sunday (since 2010!) in Massively Overpowered’s Week in Review!
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
BlizzCon 2026 Liveblog: StarCraft’s open-world shooter, Diablo V’s reveal, and World of Warcraft’s version of Classic Plus – Today’s the day when we all answer the most important question: What sort of impressive outfit will Holly Longdale be wearing? Oh, and there’s all of the reveals to come…
BlizzCon 2026: World of Warcraft Forever is a ‘permanent home’ for Classic players – It’s time to stop calling it «Classic Plus» — we now know that World of Warcraft’s next MMO is World of Warcraft Forever, an expanded version of Classic with a…
BlizzCon 2026: World of Warcraft Forever deep dive promises ‘adventures worth telling in the original world of Azeroth’ – Just minutes after the surprising/not surprising announcement of World of Warcraft Forever at BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard took the stage once again to go into a deep dive on this brand-new…
BlizzCon 2026: Diablo V previews a world in ruin, game mechanics, and classes during its panel – Diablo has won. Sanctuary is lost. The apocalypse is here and the world is just one last stepping stone in the Eternal Conflict. These are the desperate situations woven byDiablo…
BlizzCon 2026: World of Warcraft Forever’s deep-dive panel talks group play, progression, and item updates – The big reveal ofWorld of Warcraft Forever has definitely been a seismic impact, and it seems inevitable that folks are going to have a lot of questions about this extending…
Fans raise a ruckus over the paywalling of World of Warcraft Forever’s Skyborne ‘cash elves’ – AsWorld of Warcraft Forever continues to dominate the conversation among fans after its BlizzCon reveal, another round of chatter is quickly gaining momentum: the matter of the Skyborne race, or…
Ship of Heroes will officially sunset after just one year of live operation on September 22 – Normally a one year anniversary is a momentous and celebratory occasion, but in the case of Ship of Heroes, that anniversary is going to markthe ill-fated MMO’s end of operation,…
XL Games sells off most of the ArcheAge property to Kakao Games-owned entity – Earlier we had wondered aloud howArcheAge Chronicles andArcheAge S: Strait of Freedom could happen at the same time. Well, as it turns out, there appears to be a business-related reason…
No Man’s Sky Cosmos lets players control space stations, join a guild, build in space, and fly into the sun – Have you ever dreamed of yeeting yourself into a sun inNo Man’s Sky? Thanks to thenewly released Cosmos update, you absolutely have the option to do so, though we might…
Stargate Worlds, an MMO that never launched, gets its own rogue server that you can play right now – If you cast your mind way, way back, you might recall the promising MMO project that was Stargate Worlds. Based on the hit sci-fi franchise from the ’90s and 2000s,…
Valheim enters its full release with a new biome, new gear, and some all-new mechanics – Today is the day for the co-op survival sandboxValheim to end its five year-long early access trudge and make its way into full release. The game’s1.0 update is officially live,…
The Game Archaeologist: World of Warcraft is unfairly portrayed as the villain of MMO history – In the years that I’ve covered MMO history and news, there’s been this accepted narrative that’s gone unchallenged in this space. And that narrative goes something like this: Up until…
Legends of Aria Eternal has relaunched with the ability to run your own server – Good news, everyone! There was a brief moment where it looked likeLegends of Aria might not launch againat all this year, butLegends of Aria Eternal is live now for everyone.…
Pantheon Rise of the Fallen suffers layoffs as it promises to refine its development processes – Good news never seems to come on a weekend afternoon, and so it goes for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, as Visionary Realms CEO Chris Rowanhas penned a letter to…
Mini MMO Farever previews new bosses and new rewards in its forthcoming Call to Glory update – Mini MMO Farever’s been quietly chugging along through the summer of its early access, seeing its population dip from an average of 6252 players in May to 571 in the…
Lord of the Rings Online begins testing Wolves of Mordor’s neighbours system – As Lord of the Rings Online heads into Wolves of Mordor territory, it looks as though players will be getting one of the major systems of the expansion a little…
Mabinogi focuses on combat and endgame improvements in its Renovation Season 8 update – It’s time for a renovation! And luckily, that doesn’t mean thousands of dollars of contracted labor and having to vacate your house for an undisclosed length of time. No, we’re…
ChatGPT employee’s vibecoded Old School RuneScape ripoff lived for three days before a legal takedown – We might have a new record for the shortest length of time for an MMO to release and then shut down, which would normally be a sad moment but for…
Warframe of Mind: The big guide to picking a frame – Atlas, Wukong, Ivara – All right, now it has beenmore than a month. I amslacking. I do not know how that even happened, other than just… not wanting to do this batch? But that…
Monsters & Memories plunges testers into The Deep weeks ahead of early access launch – Just weeks ahead of its October 1st early access launch, throwback-styled MMO Monsters & Memories pushed out its first major module: The Deep. This patch unlocked Deep Elves and Deep…
Saudi Arabian fund is reportedly considering merging Electronic Arts with Savvy Games group – It’s always great news to learn that massive companies are combining into one ultra-conglomerate. Just in case that sarcasm wasn’t obvious, the news coming out of the Saudi Arabia government’s…
Massively Overthinking: Should MMORPG development be approached like a ‘grail quest’? – I find myself ruminating more and more about the statements made by Riot Games’ Mark Merrill regarding the in-development MMORPG that his studio has been working on for a worryingly…
WoW Factor: The well intentioned errors of World of Warcraft’s Ula’tek storyline – I’m offering up my thoughts on World of Warcraft’s latest major patch, 12.1: Curse of Ula’tek. In my previous piece, I covered the new content and updated game systems, but…
Cozy MMO Loftia begins pre-registrations for this fall’s early access launch – The winner of the most anticipated game of the 2026 Cozy Game Awards is edging ever closer to launch — and you can get in on the action from the…
Vague Patch Notes: In defense of not knowing what you like in MMORPGs – As a person, it was a very good move for me when I was younger to identify the sort of games that I liked. Understanding not just what I liked…
Steam now requires Australian gamers to verify their age with something most don’t use: a credit card – We’re sure that many folks are going to be just shocked to learn that a massive company has handled age verification badly, but even so, we feel it is worth…
Palia announces a Nintendo Switch 2 release and ‘cozy’ multiplayer dungeon delves – ConsideringPalia’s whole vibe where the most combative thing that players have ever done is fire a bow and arrow to hunt creatures, you’d be forgiven for thinking that multiplayer dungeons…
Riders of Icarus officially returns from its sunset this fall, with closed beta scheduled for September 29 – Earlier this week, we noted how Valofe was planning to bring back the pet taming MMORPGRiders of Icarus back from the dead, with a full announcement teased for today, September…
Dungeons and Dragons Online begins testing a major balance pass, including a new enhancement tree feat – Sometimes an MMORPG needs to pause between content releases to regroup and take stock of how all of the classes and systems are doing. That’s what Dungeons and Dragons Online…
Casually Classic: Tempering personal expectations for the WoW Classic BlizzCon announcement – As I sit down to write this column, it’s the week before BlizzCon 2026 descends upon Anaheim. I bumped into a couple the other day at the barbershop who were…
Perfect Ten: Strange omissions from the initial lineup of beasts to tame for Final Fantasy XIV’s Beastmaster – So the latestFinal Fantasy XIV patch is out, and it lets you play as Beastmaster. This is good news for any and every player who has wanted to be sure…
Star Stable developer suffers layoffs to ensure the MMO can ‘adapt, grow, and deliver memorable experiences’ – Well, this sucks to report: Just weeks after we checked back in on the equestrian MMORPGStar Stable and found it marking 15 years of operation, the developer of the game…
Nearly two thousand Blizzard devs secure a union contract that includes AI safeguards and layoff protection – It’s a momentous day for the developers of Blizzard’s games, as 1,900 unionized members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) havesecured a new contract that is being lauded as…
Star Trek Online walks players through Spock’s life with September 22’s Rediscovered update – Few fictional characters need an introduction less than Spock, so it’s only fitting to learn howStar Trek Online is using the IP’s 60th anniversary to commemorate the iconic character withthe…
ArcheAge Chronicles takes you on a whirlwind tour of its fantasy world – As it barrels through beta testing and heads toward Steam early access later this year, ArcheAge Chronicles has quite the job on its hands to convince MMO players — and…
Guild Wars 2’s Code of Creation adds new zone, new fractal, and new raid on September 15 – The time is almost here for Guild Wars 2: Visions of Eternity to have its final major update. In fact, we now know precisely when that will be, as ArenaNet…
WoW Factor: Exploring the content and systems of World of Warcraft’s Curse of Ula’tek – I’m back in World of Warcraft after a short break, and while I was initially overwhelmed by the amount to catch up on, I have now had time to properly…
Final Fantasy XIV launches patch 7.56 with Beastmaster and its second half of the MSQ – Do you ever find yourself asking if your beasts are sufficiently mastered? It’s a problem that many people have, butFinal Fantasy XIV’s new patch today lets you answer that question…
Shroud of the Avatar heralds over 2000 changes and improvements are arriving this October – Shroud of the Avatar has been building towards a major milestone release, at least according to an announcement post that heralds a «bright and chaotic future» for the MMORPG –…
Massively on the Go: Scopely sold out players for Go Fest 2026’s Go Fest Finale – If you thought the original event was a letdown, Pokemon Go’s 10th Anniversary Go Fest finale, the so-called Mega Finale, was a mega disappointment, to the point that it reminded…
Champions Online throws a major bash for its 17th anniversary – As we all well know, most MMOs actually are pretty lame when it comes to throwing a party for their own anniversary. «Another batch of fireworks as a gift» is…
Here’s all you need to know about Monsters & Memories early access, from costs to content to start times – With the throwback MMORPGMonsters & Memories readying to arrive toearly access on Thursday, October 1st, the team at Niche Worlds Cult has made sure toput together an FAQ about what…
Wisdom of Nym: Potential melee weapons for future jobs in Final Fantasy XIV again (again) – You might be thinking that I would redo my entire column plans because we got a preview image for the next part of theFinal Fantasy XIV MSQ releasing tomorrow and…
Rise of Agon’s 32-bit server shutters September 16 while its 64-bit server enters beta September 30 – «One era ends, another begins.» Thus opens the newsletter fromDarkfall Rise of Agon’s Toxic Rain Studios, as the devs behind the revival of the sandbox MMORPG have put out amajor…
ArcheAge S Strait of Freedom plots a second quarter 2027 release window and gameplay preview this month – Last month was when wefirst heard about Kakao’s and XL Games’ plans to launch ArcheAge S: Strait of Freedom, an in-development version of the sandbox that promised to both bring…
Former Old School RuneScape developer sentenced to 150 hours community service for in-game gold theft – Crime is crime, even if it happens in an MMORPG, and it’s just as prosecutable as any other crime. This is the lesson that former Jagex developer Andrew Lakeman learned…
The ‘grail’ of building an MMO is a ‘worthy quest,’ Riot Games founder Marc Merrill says – Are you still holding a torch for the long-in-development Riot MMORPG? Be encouraged, because the studio is too, and it’s not shy about saying so. During a panel at PAX…
Bungie confirms that it is renting out its massive office headquarters in Washington – That headline is going to come as little surprise to those who have been watching the slow self-immolation of Bungie, but it still likely sucks to learn, particularly if you’re…
Guild Wars 3 discusses its more approachable setting and being ‘meaningfully multiplayer’ – To be fair, much of whatGuild Wars 3’s devs discussin a recently published video interview from PC Gamer might not come as much of a surprise, particularly if you readthe…
BlizzCon 2026: World of Warcraft shows off what’s next for Midnight – It’s gotta be weird to think that to a certain degree, World of Warcraft upstaged itself at this year’s BlizzCon. The current expansion,Midnight, isn’t nearly as exciting as the upcomingWorld…
BlizzCon 2026: Retail World of Warcraft teases the Last Titan expansion and Eclipse update – Yeah, World of Warcraft Forever is getting all the hype right now, but Retail WoW also got its fair share of announcements at the BlizzCon opening ceremonies this afternoon.
BlizzCon 2026: Blizzard just launched a new Warcraft 3 campaign after 23 years – It’s been 23 years… are you ready for some Warcraft 3? At BlizzCon this afternoon, Blizzard’s Holly Longdale announced a new campaign for the antique strategy game. Seriously. Best yet,…
BlizzCon 2026: Blizzard announces Diablo V for 2029, plus Diablo IV’s next season – Did you have «Diablo V gets an announcement» on your BlizzCon bingo card? Probably not unless you frequent the rumor Reddits, but yep, it’s happening. Blizzard announced that the fifth…
BlizzCon 2026: Blizzard announces new open-world StarCraft shooter – At BlizzCon this afternoon, Blizzard officially announced StarCraft as an open-world shooter, confirming months – years, really – of rumors about a return to the franchise after almost a decade.…
THIS WEEK’S CASTS & STREAMS
Every week, get caught up on the MMO genre’s latest news and Massively OP’s best content in our MMO Week in Review! Want more roundups of content? Try Friday’s Betawatch for MMO testing highlights, Saturday’s Make My MMO for MMO crowdfunding updates, and Sunday’s The MOP Up, which mops up all the bits of news we didn’t cover anywhere else.
