Want to ask the Neverwinter developers about the state of the game going forward? You’ll have your chance on Tuesday March 7 at 2pm Pacific, as community managers Julia Fredrickson and Andy Wong are joined by lead designer Thomas Foss to discuss the latest expansion and future content development. Questions will be taken during the stream, however you can submit yours early by clicking on the link below.
Check out the details below.
(Source: Neverwinter)
In their latest quarterly report, Funcom has announced that there is no further significant work expected for both Anarchy Online and Age of Conan. Both games are presumably still profitable as they contributed a heavy portion of Funcom’s revenue this past quarter, however as far as development costs go it looks like the writing is on the wall for both titles to enter maintenance mode. The report doesn’t go into detail on what Funcom considers to be “significant work,” which may relegate both titles to bug fixes, server maintenance, and perhaps small chunks of content.
For gamers, the concept of depreciation is well known when it comes to live games and support from developers. It makes sense, as games age and with a few exceptions, they inevitably decrease in population, and thus revenue stream, and thus the ability to support themselves. Funcom has been referencing this for years in their quarterly reports, and it only seems inevitable that older titles like Anarchy Online (a 2001 release) will hit a point where simple cost of operations is higher than its income.
(Source: Funcom)
Nexon has announced that its subsidiary Nexon Korea has made a strategic investment in IMC Games, developer of the Tree of Savior MMO. Tree of Savior has been up and running in Korea since December 2015 and September 2016 in Japan, features fairytale-motif graphics, and a class development system for character customization. IMC Games is best known for its MMORPGs including Tree of Savior and Granado Espada.
“We’re thrilled to strengthen our collaboration with our talented partner, IMC GAMES,” said Jiwon Park, Chief Executive Officer of Nexon Korea. “We are confident that together we will continue to deliver high-quality games that leverage strength of each company in game development and publishing.”
Tree of Savior is free to play on Steam.
(Source: Nexon press release)
If you pay attention to the media, reboots are all the rage this season (this season itself being a reboot of a previous iteration of the universe). In their latest quarterly report, outside of congratulating Conan Exiles for hitting its 12 month sales target within a month, Funcom has a lot to say about its New World Order MMO, The Secret World. Funcom hopes to rekindle interest in the MMO by bringing in new players and ex-players alike, improving the combat system and new player experience.
The Secret World will be relaunched during the first half of 2017. The goal of the relaunch is to broaden the appeal of the game through:
- Redesigned new player experience
- Major improvements to gameplay including combat.
- Introduction of new retention systems such as daily rewards.
- Adjustments to the business model, including allowing access to the story content for free.
Relaunch activities for The Secret World are set to start in March with the relaunch to occur in the first half of the year. MMO Fallout will cover the details as they are revealed.
Perhaps you’ve played RuneScape and fantasized about what you could do with a real dragon scimitar, be it opening letters, showing off your bottle opening skills, or just convincing your neighbor to stop stealing your morning paper. Well you now have that chance, provided your skills in combat are already up to the test. Old School RuneScape is holding a competition to win a real life (replica) dragon scimitar, and it will be handed out along with a free year of membership to whoever has the fastest fight cave time before midnight on Wednesday, March 8th.
You’ll need your wits about you, as well as a healthy amount of potions, food and gear.
(Source: RuneScape)
Marvel Heroes has updated with its 61st playable hero: Black Bolt. If you’re scratching your head wondering who Black Bolt is, you can find extra reading material here. Black Bolt first appeared in Fantastic Four in 1965 and his super power is his voice.
Having experienced terrigenesis before he was born, Blackagar Boltagon was granted frighteningly destructive powers. With a voice strong enough to destroy whole worlds, his parents would isolate and teach him to control his abilities. Finding silent companionship in one of his few visitors, Medusalith Amaquelin, the two’s romance would blossom into marriage.
But when Blackagar used his voice to protect the city, many lives of the Inhumans’ leading council were lost–including his parents. Blackagar reluctantly inherited the mantle of King of the Inhumans with Medusalith at his side. Though he justly serves the people of Attilan through the wise words his council, he chooses his own words to protect Attilan from those who would put the Inhumans in danger.
(Source: Marvel Heroes)
Fairytale Distillery’s MMORPG The Exiled has officially hit Steam. The Exiled bills itself as a social sandbox, combining strategy with survival and showcasing full loot and unrestricted PvP. The game is available to try on Steam for free for 7 days, after which you can continue playing with one of the game’s access packs.
“We believe giving all players an opportunity to try our game for 7 days will be incredibly beneficial to the long tail and overall support of The Exiled during its time as an early access title.” said Fairytale Distillery Managing Director Alexander Zacherl.
(Source: Fairytale Distillery press release)
The latest trailer for Elder Scrolls Online is out, showing off new weapons, armor, locations, and monsters that players will encounter in the upcoming Morrowind expansion. Morrowind launches this June.
Daybreak Game Company has announced that the next big tournament for H1Z1: King of the Kill with a prize pool of three hundred grand for those willing to throw their hat into the ring. The tournament comes alongside a documentary on eSports to be aired on the CW, culminating in the 75-person tournament. First prize nets $180 grand of that total. In order to qualify, you’ll need to set up a team and ensure each player is qualified by ranking on the Twin Galaxies leaderboard.
H1Z1: Fight for the Crown is a six-part esports docuseries coming this spring to The CW Network, with the finale featuring the first ever 5-man H1Z1: King of the Kill tournament! The 75-person tournament will feature 15 elite teams of five, including Echo Fox, Rogue Gaming, Panda Global and Denial Esports, all competing for their share of a $300,000 prize pool.
Information regarding signing up is available at the page below.
(Source: H1Z1)
The world is slowing down, or at least that’s what the song in Neverwinter’s latest expansion told me. The Cloaked Ascendancy sees the city of Neverwinter once again under attack from external threats. It is up to you, the adventurer, to delve into the River District to fight back the Cloaked Ascendancy and once again keep the world safe from harm.
The campaign content this time around involves reclaiming the River District from the Cloaked Ascendancy and returning it to its former glory, before returning to the Spellplague Caverns Dungeon to bring the fight to the enemy. Along with the new adventure zone and dungeons, players will also be able to get their hands on artifact weaponry.
The Cloaked Ascendancy is available today on PC with console launch coming later this year.
MMO Fallout 