MMORPG News

General: Mapping Player Motivations on Four Game Quadrants
Das Tal: Spring Alpha to Last 30 Days & Other Testing Opportunities
Black Desert Online: BDO's Greatest Enemy is Information
General: Ubisoft Seeking Investors to Hold Off Vivendi Takeover Bid
Runescape: Goop for Good Event Kicks Off Today -- With Unicorn Poo
Champions Online: Score a Free Specialist Archetype Through March 3rd
SMITE: SMITE PS4 Alpha Key Giveaway
ArcheAge: 'Leap' to a New Server on February 29 + Black Pegasus Mount
The Division: New York Collapse - Part Survival Guide, Part Tie-In Novel
Black Desert Online: PewDiePie Goes Artsy in BDO Character Creation Tool
Crowfall: World Building Shown in Pictures
Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward: Gears of Change Finalized Update Notes Released
TERA: Dawnfall to Launch on March 1st
Black Desert Online: The Valkyrie - Setting Her On the Path to BDO Tanking Glory
Uncharted Waters Online: Ancient Glory Expansion Sets Sail
Star Trek Online: Skill System Undergoing Revision for Next Update
General: Portal Knights Arrives on Steam Early Access
Necropolis: Launch Day Moved to Summer 2016 for Multiplatform Release
General: Shakes & Fidget MMO Lands on Steam
The Black Death: Steam Early Access Pushed to April

General: Mapping Player Motivations on Four Game Quadrants

Posted: 26 Feb 2016 06:52 AM PST

Quantic Foundry has an interesting survey for those who might like to assess their personal gamer motivation profile as well as compare themselves to the over 220k gamers who've already taken part in the survey. A five minute questionnaire will yield a profile based on four quadrants: Deep Story, Action-Packed Narrative, Immersive Challenge and Open Mayhem.

Das Tal: Spring Alpha to Last 30 Days & Other Testing Opportunities

Posted: 26 Feb 2016 06:48 AM PST

The Das Tal team has published an extensive newsletter about the changes the team has implemented over the past month and that will be incoming through March. In addition, players will have at least a couple of opportunities to try out various systems with the March 15th US Clan Pre Alpha 2 Playtest with invites to PvP guilds already sent. Lastly, Spring Alpha will get underway "soon" with more to be revealed at a later date.

Black Desert Online: BDO's Greatest Enemy is Information

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:00 AM PST

The recent buzz surrounding Black Desert Online these past few weeks hasn't been all that positive. There's been a fervent argument back and forth about it being pay-to-win, not having any relevant endgame, and even a vocal minority still attacking it for not being free-to-play. All of those are conversations worth having, but after several dozen hours spent playing Black Desert Online, its biggest problem isn't any one of those issues.

General: Ubisoft Seeking Investors to Hold Off Vivendi Takeover Bid

Posted: 26 Feb 2016 05:04 AM PST

According to the Globe & Mail, Ubisoft is fighting a takeover by French company Vivendi. To stave off the takeover, Ubi is looking for Canadian investors. According to the report, Ubi has been in talks with several potential investors in an effort to keep Vivendi at bay as pressure mounts with a hostile takeover underway for Ubi's gaming sibling, Gameloft.

Runescape: Goop for Good Event Kicks Off Today -- With Unicorn Poo

Posted: 26 Feb 2016 04:20 AM PST

Jagex is hosting a special charity event that will begin later today and run through Saturday. During the gaming event, as fund raising goals are met, team members will "get gooped with over 1,000 liters of pink, glittery unicorn poo". The team will also be hosting a special charity auction for special collectibles and tech items.

Champions Online: Score a Free Specialist Archetype Through March 3rd

Posted: 24 Feb 2016 04:00 PM PST

Looking to collect a new Champions Online Archetype but haven't managed to get to the CO Store yet? You may want to get there before March 3rd as Cryptic Studios is giving away the Specialist Archetype for free!

SMITE: SMITE PS4 Alpha Key Giveaway

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:49 AM PST

MMORPG.com has been given a limited number of keys for the SMITE alpha test on the PS4 platform. We have 950 keys for the Americas region as well as 950 keys for the European region (including some non-EU nations). Get your key now while they last!

ArcheAge: 'Leap' to a New Server on February 29 + Black Pegasus Mount

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 03:03 PM PST

The ArcheAge team has a pair of cool notes for players. The first comes in the announcement that paid character transfers will be opening again on "leap day", February 29th. For about 2700 Credits, players can purchase a Character Transfer from the Glyph Store. Be sure to head to the ArcheAge site to read the fine print and preparations for leaping to a new server.

The Division: New York Collapse - Part Survival Guide, Part Tie-In Novel

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 01:37 PM PST

A new website for the tie-in book to Tom Clancy's The Division has been revealed. Called "New York Collapse", the book is described as part "discarded survivalist guide, written before the collapse" and a book that contains a mystery that sends readers on an interactive journey through one woman's mission to discover why the city fell and the conspiracy behind it.

Black Desert Online: PewDiePie Goes Artsy in BDO Character Creation Tool

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:11 PM PST

**Warning: Off color language** YouTube sensation PewDiePie has made a brand new video where he runs through the Black Desert Online character creation tool. With the pithy commentary and the goofy music, it's a fun look at how character creation can happen in BDO.

Crowfall: World Building Shown in Pictures

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:39 AM PST

The Crowfall site has been updated with a fascinating look at how new locations and maps are created utilizing world building tools. While there is some text, the procedure really shines in the beautiful screenshots taken when the new locations were uploaded to a test server.

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward: Gears of Change Finalized Update Notes Released

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 10:38 AM PST

Square Enix has announced that the Gears of Change update notes for Final Fantasy XIV has been published on the Lodestone. Among other things, Gears of Change sees a new main scenario added, new Chronicles of a New Era quests will be included, Anima and Zodiac weapon quest lines will have been adjusted and much, much more.

TERA: Dawnfall to Launch on March 1st

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 10:31 AM PST

En Masse Entertainment has announced that the Dawnfall content expansion to TERA will launch on March 1st. Dawnfall sees the original Island of Dawn turned into a level 65 BAM hunting ground; the return of the Dreadspire and the arrival of Forsaken Island in hard mode.

Black Desert Online: The Valkyrie - Setting Her On the Path to BDO Tanking Glory

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 05:14 PM PST

For those Black Desert Online players who prefer a front line tank that wears heavy armor, with the ability to aggro and hold piles of enemies and that has the ability to be a utility (albeit a lightweight) to other players, a survivable, durable presence, a CC-specialist and do some damage in the process, the Valkyrie may be the class of choice.

Uncharted Waters Online: Ancient Glory Expansion Sets Sail

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:42 AM PST

OGPlanet has announced the successful deployment of the latest expansion to Uncharted Waters Online. Called "Ancient Glory", the expansion brings players to a Neo-Babylonian Empire that includes the Hanging Gardens, Tower of Babel and the Mesopotamia River Basin region. In addition, new relics and discoveries themed around the time period have been included as well as a pair of new ships.

Star Trek Online: Skill System Undergoing Revision for Next Update

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:36 AM PST

Cryptic Studios has announced that the skill system in Star Trek Online will be undergoing a significant overhaul that will be deployed with the next game update. In a new article on the game's site, a handy FAQ is posted to give players a bit more knowledge about why skills are being reworks, when and how players will re-spend skill points and much more.

General: Portal Knights Arrives on Steam Early Access

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 08:15 AM PST

505 Games has announced that its 3D sandbox action-adventure RPG, Portal Knights, has officially landed in Steam's Early Access program. Players will craft, battle and build adventures in randomly generated worlds playing as any one of the three character archetypes available at the moment: Warrior, Ranger or Mage.

Necropolis: Launch Day Moved to Summer 2016 for Multiplatform Release

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 08:11 AM PST

Harebrained Schemes has announced that Necropolis will not be making its PC Steam debut next month as originally planned so as to bring about a simultaneous multi-platform release in the summer of 2016. While Harebrained will continue to be the named publisher of Necropolis's PC version, Namco-Bandai will take on publication of both the PlayStation 4 and XBox One versions.

General: Shakes & Fidget MMO Lands on Steam

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 07:25 AM PST

After a successful Greenlight campaign, Playa Games has announced that Shakes and Fidget has landed on Steam. The new version includes Steam achievements and more. Originally released as a browser MMO in 2009 and quickly became a cross-platform MMO with the launch of tie-in mobile apps.

The Black Death: Steam Early Access Pushed to April

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 07:05 AM PST

Green Man Gaming reached out to let us know that the Steam Early Access program for The Black Death has been pushed from March 2016 to April 19, 2016 to give the developers more time with game systems and professions.