We’re persevering with our tour again by way of 2024, one month at a time, in MassivelyOP’s MMO Yr in Assessment right this moment.
Dawn took heart stage in February: Not solely did it deem 2024 the Yr of EverQuest and revive its neighborhood occasion in Fippyfest, however DC Universe On-line noticed layoffs and EG7 admitted to promoting off the PlanetSide IP.
In the meantime, Gigantic returned from the lifeless, Palworld stored blowing up, we discovered Throne & Liberty was struggling in Korea, Ubisoft lastly launched Cranium & Bones, Camelot Unchained resurfaced with a 2025 launch goal, and even extra studios noticed layoffs.
Right here’s the entire recap from February of this previous 12 months, from our prime information tales of the month to our greatest editorials.
TOP NEWS STORIES OF FEBRUARY 2024
Palworld counts 19M gamers throughout Steam and Xbox, turns into the most important third-party launch for Sport Move
Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast denies that it’s trying to unload Dungeons & Dragons
NCsoft pronounces plans to maneuver Aion, Lineage II, and Blade & Soul to its Purple platform
Kickstarted VR MMO Zenith is launching a derivative F2P co-op RPG referred to as Zenith Infinite Realms
Former devs of The Day Earlier than recount a office of worker fines, shifting whims, and ‘pure megalomaniacal chaos’
Microsoft would require Last Fantasy XIV gamers to subscribe to Xbox Sport Move to be able to play the sport
Tencent buys up majority stake of Swords of Legends developer and good points entry to the IP
Scars of Honor is a throwback to the ‘golden age’ of MMOs with a $200K Kickstarter
Disney invests $1.5B into Epic Video games with plans to create a ‘enormous Disney universe’ in Fortnite
Cranium & Bones’ gentle launch is underway for preorder gamers forward of subsequent week’s formal launch
Lunar New Yr occasions across the MMORPG world, 2024 version
Former Overwatch 2 lead vfx artist calls out Blizzard for misleading promotion and pay habits
Microsoft insists Activision-Blizzard was planning on mass layoffs earlier than the merger
RuneScape’s Jagex confirms it’s being bought for the fourth time in eight years because it talks up ‘without end video games’
Dawn’s DC Universe On-line studio Dimensional Ink is the newest video games group hit with layoffs
Magic to Grasp goes crypto, ties down a writer, and eyes a nebulous February early entry launch window
NCsoft This fall 2023: Guild Wars 2 is a vivid spot for NCsoft as Throne & Liberty stumbles
EG7 This fall 2023: DCUO’s delayed latest-gen console launch damage Dawn’s revenues final quarter
Star Wars Galaxies Legends dropped an enormous participant metropolis improve (with roads!) for Valentine’s Day
It seems to be just like the ‘noncore IP’ Dawn bought for $5.9M is PlanetSide in spite of everything
Crowfall proprietor Monumental hit with layoffs whereas eyeing blockchain
Valentine’s Day occasions across the MMORPG world, 2024 version
Narrative director Steve Danuser quietly left World of Warcraft final fall
Diablo IV releases its uber distinctive crafting system, tries promoting portal results for $30
Star Citizen’s stay recreation director vacates place after 9 years at CIG
Haven is a co-op centered MMORPG being constructed by Blizzard, EA, and Turbine veterans
Pearl Abyss This fall 2023: Properly a minimum of EVE On-line had a great monetary 12 months
Diablo IV lands on Xbox Sport Move March 28, Sea of Thieves will broaden to PS5 and the Change
Helldivers 2 will ‘by no means’ add a PvP mode in an effort to ‘cut back poisonous components from the neighborhood’
Skyforge devs promise that ‘improvement of Skyforge continues’ despite lengthy silence
Embracer confirms layoffs of practically 1400 folks have been a part of efforts to ‘at all times maximize shareholder worth’
Palworld’s neighborhood supervisor suggests you simply… play different video games in case you’re bored
Bandai Namco studies YoY gross sales drop, admitting Blue Protocol JP ‘considerably fell brief’
Stormgate studio plans to promote firm inventory to its gamers to be able to elevate advertising funds
First Impressions: Gigantic resurrects as a B2P no-cash-shop Rampage Version on April 9
Helldivers 2 is affected by success as servers crumble below a flood of record-breaking participant numbers
Nightingale’s early entry launches to blended Steam evaluations, efficiency hotfixing, and a rising playerbase
Kickstarted OARPG Final Epoch formally launches as gamers overwhelm its servers
Titan Forge’s EVE Warfare for New Eden board recreation closed out a profitable Kickstarter with $682K
Netmarble’s Paragon spinoff Paragon: The Overprime is slated for sundown on April 22
Dawn pronounces Fippyfest 2024, an in-person and digital occasion celebrating EverQuest
Corepunk boss says early entry launch in 2024 is ‘very lifelike’
Survivalbox Nightingale pivots on co-op design, guarantees offline mode ‘as quickly as possible’
Temtem subreddit mods quickly shut the sub following Temtem Swarm uproar
Zenith OARPG Infinite Realms launches right this moment as Steam evaluations plummet over MMO improvement halt
Sony is shedding practically a thousand staff, 8% of its international workforce, following $1.5B inventory buyback
Black Desert celebrates 55M registered gamers and €2B income since 2014
EA lays off practically 700 staff to ‘ship the leisure gamers need’ and ‘optimize its international actual property footprint’
Dawn’s EverQuest-themed Fippyfest fan occasion will value in-person attendees $1499
Star Citizen’s CIG admits to rumored layoffs, blaming restructuring and relocation
10-year-old Camelot Unchained is launching ‘late subsequent 12 months’ following CSE rebrand and funding haul
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF FEBRUARY 2024
THE FULL 2024 YEAR-IN-REVIEW
