Category: News

Flying May Not Be Coming Back, Says Blizzard


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World of Warcraft’s 6.2 patch brings players to a revamped Tanaan Jungle, but if you were hoping that the update would finally unlock flying in Draenor’s zones, you’re out of luck. Flying isn’t coming to Draenor in patch 6.2, and like never will, according to a Polygon review with Blizzard’s lead designer Ion Hazzikostas. Blizzard’s apparent regret over flying mounts has been well known for a couple of years now, going back to 2013 when then lead system designer Greg Street stated that he would not add flying mounts, given another chance.

“There’s more room for exploration, for secrets, for discovery and overall immersion in the world. At this point, we feel that outdoor gameplay in World of Warcraft is ultimately better without flying. We’re not going to be reintroducing the ability to fly in Draenor, and that’s kind of where we’re at going forward.”

While flying mounts aren’t completely ruled out of future content, but that they would likely be added in a more restricted way that makes sense in the context of the zone.

(Source: Polygon)

Star Vault Posts Higher Q1 Earnings


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Star Vault has released their first quarter sales for 2015, and the results are rather positive. While sales are down from where they were last year, net sales increased over the fourth quarter to $68 thousand. Likewise, Star Vault’s net loss fell substantially from over $100 thousand in Q4 to $61 thousand this quarter.

According to Star Vault’s report, the number of subscribers remained about the same over last quarter.

CEO Henrik Nystrom’s note:

We have recruited a further enhancement to our team, in the form of an experienced programmer with great interest in game development. This gives us the resources for the Steam release. Our new additions will work in several areas of development in Mortal Online – it’s great with fresh eyes coming from outside that can give feedback on what areas can be improved. We also have an additional encoder remotely in the US who now helps us with GUI and flash programming.

(Source: Aktie Torget)

Disclosure: Star Vault’s finances are published on the Aktie Torget stock exchange in Swedish, linked above, and translated using Google’s automatic tools. Figures shown above are based off of the SEK to USD conversion rates as of the day of their publishing. This is for informational purposes and is not meant to advise investment.)

(Editor’s note: Henrik Nystrom’s note only includes the last of three paragraphs. The first two were removed for brevity and poor translation, and cover outdated information on the Sarducca update)

Xsyon Continues Month of Updates


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Notorious Games has announced the launch of Xsyon’s latest update, introducing a trading post to the post-apocalyptic MMO. The trading post allows for trade with tribes beyond the mist, and accompanies several other tweaks and improvements.

This update sets the stage for many upcoming building uses including infirmaries, welcome stations, taverns, craft workshops and toll gates. Along with the current commissaries, trade totems and quest totems, these building types will help players create active town centers to bring together players old and new.

More information can be obtained at the Xsyon official website.

(Source: Notorious Games Press Release)

Triad Wars Beta Key Giveaway


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I’m pleased to announce that MMO Fallout is teaming up with United Front Games to distribute beta keys for Triad Wars. Triad Wars is an upcoming MMO set in the world of Sleeping Dogs, with players given the role of kingpin to a growing criminal empire in Hong Kong. We have one thousand beta keys to give away, so make sure to pick one up before they are gone.

I’ve been playing in the Triad Wars beta for a few weeks now, and found a lot to enjoy so far. You can find a link to my beta impressions piece along with more information on the game at the giveaway page.

You can get more details on Triad Wars and grab a key by checking out our giveaway page here.

TERA Declares Itself #1 MMO On Steam


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En Masse Entertainment has declared TERA to be the #1 MMO on Steam, based on peak concurrent players compared to other MMOs on the digital platform.

Since launching on Steam on May 5, 2015, TERA has seen explosive growth, with new and returning players pushing the total number of accounts to over 4.5 million in North America and 20 million worldwide! And those players have been busy—killing an average of 6 million BAMs (Big-Ass Monsters) and clearing 70,000 dungeons a day.

You can read more about TERA’s launch on Steam with this handy infographic.

(Source: En Masse Entertainment press release)

Half-Elfs Break Everquest’s Progression Server


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If you’ve been waiting for Daybreak to unlock the Ragefire progression server for Everquest, you’ll be waiting a bit longer. The server has been taken down due to a bug allowing players to log in with fully-formed level 50 characters. The Daybreak team is currently looking into what caused this.

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Daybreak Unbanning Cheaters Who Apologize On Youtube


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The first step for a recovering cheater is admitting you have a problem and placing your faith in an almighty benefactor. That benefactor, in this case, is Daybreak Game Company. John Smedley took to Twitter to comment that, after a recent massive ban wave in H1Z1, a large number of players have been emailing him to beg for forgiveness. Instead of asking for Daybreak’s forgiveness, Smedley wants cheaters to ask for the player’s forgiveness. Publicly, via Youtube.

Apologize publicly and you get another chance. Do it again and I hear John Smedley makes you smoke the whole pack of cheats.

With seven thousand ESP hackers banned over the past few days, that’s going to be a lot of Youtube videos.

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Blade & Soul Hits Western Shores This Winter


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Put down your torches and extinguish your pitchforks, because Blade & Soul is joining Fievel and going west. The long awaited MMO from NCSoft will go into closed beta this fall with a launch sometime during the winter. Players will be able to get their hands on six classes, four races, and a level cap of 45 at launch to go through the game’s first three acts (the Korean version is up to act 6).

Blade & Soul has been a bit of a mystery for the past few years, with NCSoft touting the game’s success and continued growth in its launch territories while refusing to give a hint on westward expansion. Today’s news should ease those pained hearts.

Gamers will be able to get their hands on Blade & Soul when it launches as a free to play game this winter.

(Source: MMORPG.com)

Funcom Reports Lower Revenues In First Quarter


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Funcom has released their first quarter finances for 2015, and the results are a bit of a mixed bag. Revenue fell over the first quarter from the same time last year, down from $3.8 million in 2014 to $2.7 million. Despite this drop, Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization came out higher, $487 thousand compared to $451 thousand. In line with revenue falling, Funcom was also able to cut operating costs down to $2.2 million, $1.4 million down from the same point nearly a year ago.

Over on the operations side, Funcom’s bread and butter continues to be its three profitable MMOs (The Secret World, Age of Conan, and Anarchy Online). Lego Minifigures Online is set to launch on tablets this summer, however the game will be undergoing a business transition to buy to play instead of its original free to play. In the report, Funcom admits to overestimating the buying power of its target audience, and has committed to making changes to improve on player satisfaction.

(Source: Funcom)

Green Man Gaming Tick Tock, Limited Stock Sale


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Green Man Gaming is celebrating five years with a flash sale on a few select games. Until supplies run out, you can get your hands on Sleeping Dogs, Thief, and Tomb Raider for $6. The sale only lasts as long as supplies do, so if you see something you want, pick it up now before the price goes back up.

¹ Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition cannot be played in Germany.