Virtual World News
Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Contests, Events (In-Game), PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Anniversaries
Hitting the big 1-0 is certainly a cause for celebration. So how does Conquer Online top its free trip to China offered last year? With a trailer that offers a unique look at the last 10 years and turns attention towards the future. That, and a number of festivities lasting through mid-June that span events, bonuses, and gifts galore. Oh, did we mention another trip to China? This time the trip goes to the supreme champion of the first World Fighting League, a contest open to all new and veteran players spanning all 10 versions of CO.Launched in 2003, the oriental fantasy game boasting plenty of kung-fu elements has continually added new content over the years, including pirates and more PvP-based activities. This year will see even more expansions, from a new character (the mysterious Kung Fu Master) to a new massive cross-server PvP battle, the Kingdom War. To accommodate new players, Conquer Online has opened two new servers and is giving away special Starter's Packs to aid the newcomers. Veterans have not been forgotten; they'll receive a gift when logging into their original servers.
Want a glimpse at what the future holds for Conquer Online? You'll have to get through the first half of the video to see the preview. Check it out after the cut.
[Source: TQ Digital press release]
Continue reading Conquer Online 10th anniversary trailer takes the cake
Conquer Online 10th anniversary trailer takes the cake originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, Trading Card Games, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding
HEX: Shards of Fate, the MMO trading card game that we first introduced last week, is doing fairly well in its current Kickstarter campaign. How well, you ask? So far the company has raised over $600,000 of the game's $300,000 goal with 21 days still to go! That's thanks to almost 5,000 backers so far.While these numbers are impressive one week into the campaign, it should be no surprise considering the talent working on this MMOTDG. Cryptozoic Entertainment is a veteran studio that has developed and published several other trading card and board games for The Walking Dead, Lord of the Rings, DC Comics, World of Warcraft, and more.
With the game already funded at this point, it's still worth checking out the game's reward tiers and stretch goals to see if it's something you might be interested in supporting. You have only 21 more days!
[Thanks for the tip, Sounder!]
MMOTCG HEX doubles Kickstarter goal with 3 weeks left originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Kickstarter campaign
Filed under: Fantasy, Previews, Free-to-Play, RIFT
What will RIFT's free-to-play version look like? While we won't get to see it in action until the game makes the transition on June 12th, Trion Worlds has posted a screenshot of the new item store and some of its offerings for players to peruse.The store screenshot includes a preview pane of a character wearing a fancy outfit and a top hat, as well as a list of several items. These include 30-day patron pass, faction changing scroll, character rename scroll, rename guild scroll, transfiguration bauble, rune unsocketing apparatus, and planar essence removal device. Later on in the thread, the studio posted a picture of a different cosmetic outfit being worn by a female character.
To "ensure a successful transition," Trion has sent out surveys to all current subscribers about the free-to-play switch.
RIFT gives a sneak peek at F2P item shop originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Survey notice, Item store first look
- Via: RIFT Junkies
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, MMO Industry, Buy-to-Play
Guild Wars 1 has seen the end of an era of live development today, as ArenaNet stated that it is switching the game over to automation. The studio said that players should not expect any further content other than the systems being put into place to keep the game running on auto-pilot for the foreseeable future."Over time, our focus has shifted to updates that not only help maintain Guild Wars but help the game maintain itself," ArenaNet posted. "With this focus in mind, we'll no longer be releasing any new content for the live game except in support of automation. Our goal is to get the game to a place where it can continue to run and be available to all of our fans. We have a lot of love for Guild Wars -- it's the game that made us what we are today -- and we want to continue sharing it with everyone!"
Tournaments, events, and birthday prizes will be moved over to automation during this transition. The studio said that automating the game will keep it running longer and that it will keep a live team on Guild Wars to handle critical fixes and troubleshooting.
ArenaNet ceases Guild Wars 1 live development, automates game originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Automation notice
Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Gree starship Grey Secant is returning to Star Wars: The Old Republic's planet Ilum. BioWare's website has updated with all the details on the event's return engagement, which starts May 21st and runs through the 28th.Players can earn reputation, rare armor, vehicles, and pets, and BioWare says that "this is a great time for players at level 45-plus to jump into the event before the event returns at level 55 in the future." More info is available via the Relics of the Gree event blog.
SWTOR's Gree event returns May 21 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Announcement
Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Defiance, Buy-to-Play
Were you waiting for Trion to drop Defiance's $59.99 launch price point before taking a look? That day has arrived, as the B2P shooter MMO is now available for $29.99. The promotion runs through Sunday, May 19th, and it applies to the PC version of the sci-fi title.Defiance is also available on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, but as of press time the console versions still feature launch-day pricing. You can learn more about the PC version via our launch week diary series and our livestream channel.
[Thanks fueldbygin!]
Defiance PC client half off through Sunday originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Promo
Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items
IGN is reporting "massive" layoffs at Trion. Though the website doesn't cite any sources, it suggests that "well over half the company has been let go," and it also says that those affected may include as much as 80% of the company.An undisclosed IGN source says that "employees are being escorted out of the building and that senior leaders from various Trion teams may not receive severance due to 'undelivered services.'"
Trion recently announced a free-to-play offering for its RIFT MMORPG. It also launched Defiance earlier this year and partnered with Korea's XLGAMES to bring the company's ArcheAge sandbox MMO to western audiences. We've contacted Trion for an official comment regarding layoff numbers but have so far received only the official statement without numbers.
[Update: Kotaku is reporting that the layoff numbers have been exaggerated.]
[Update 2: RIFT developers stated during today's official stream that the RIFT team is not affected by the layoffs.]
[Thanks to everyone who sent in updates!]
Trion reportedly undergoing 'massive' layoffs [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: IGN
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Final Fantasy XIV, Subscription
The team at Square-Enix has a treat for fans eagerly awaiting Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn today: several screenshots showing off the possibilities that await in the updated character creation tool.Several interesting looks are on display here, including vibrant hair color, hair styles, tattoos, long hair for females, plenty of sliders, and new colors for eyes. Check out these radical looks in the gallery below!
Take a gander at Final Fantasy XIV's character customization possibilities originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Official blog
Filed under: Sci-Fi, Expansions, Previews, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play
Klingon Defense Force players who have been crying out for years for a significant update to their unfinished faction will have their prayers answered when Star Trek Online's Legacy of Romulus expansion releases next week. Cryptic posted a blog telling these gamers that they have not been forgotten but will be vindicated with a complete experience from level 1 to 50."It was always promised that if Star Trek Online was ever going to add a third faction, we would make sure that Klingons would get expanded content first (or at the same time). With Legacy of Romulus adding Romulans as a playable faction, it was a matter of honor that the Klingons get their own content from level 1 to 50," Cryptic wrote.
The devs give slight spoilers to the new, reworked, and revised content that Klingons will be experiencing, such as how players will get their first starship and what iconic locations they'll be visiting (hint: a certain prison planet from Star Trek VI will come into play). The studio is also adding a pair of new KDF ships to the store when the expansion hits.
Star Trek Online fulfills its promise to Klingon players originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Klingon post
Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items
Trion recently announced a free-to-play offering for its RIFT MMORPG. It also launched Defiance earlier this year and partnered with Korea's XLGAMES to bring the company's ArcheAge sandbox MMO to western audiences. We've contacted Trion for an official comment regarding layoff numbers but have so far received only the official statement without numbers.
[Thank you to everyone who helped us develop this story.]
Trion hit with another round of layoffs [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 May 2013 17:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: IGN








