MMO Year in Review: The next EverQuest Next (September 2023)

Daybreak parent company EG7 attempted to woo investors in September with nebulous plans for a new EverQuest MMORPG, perhaps the long-rumored EverQuest III – but don’t get too excited as at best it’s in the “ideation” phase and would be targeting 2028 at the very earliest.

Meanwhile, Unity lit itself on fire and spent weeks blowing on it instead of putting it out, RuneScape thoroughly bungled its battlepass, Marvel Heroes got a juicy emu leak, and Elder Scrolls Online launched U40 and the Endless Archive.

Here’s the whole recap from September of this past year, from our top news stories of the month to our best editorials.

TOP NEWS STORIES OF SEPTEMBER 2023

Ashes of Creation’s latest video walks players through building up a node in Alpha Two

Cozy solarpunk survivalbox Loftia funded on Kickstarter with over $1.2M US

WoW Classic shares ‘gruesome data’ from hardcore’s first week

SAG-AFTRA union prepares for a second strike over video gaming’s use of AI and low wages

Bethesda vows to ‘keep working on’ Redfall, arguing it doesn’t ‘quit or abandon stuff’

Star Wars: The Old Republic’s 7.3.1 update and Season 5 launch today

World of Warcraft’s Fury Incarnate is out with Dreamsurges and heroic Dawn of the Infinite

Throne & Liberty is collecting feedback on autoplay, admitting it can wreck immersion

Rumor: RuneScape studio Jagex might be up for sale again, the fourth time in less than a decade

World of Warcraft’s Guardians of the Dream sends players to the Emerald Dream itself

The ESA is no longer working with ReedPop for the theoretical next E3 event

World of Warcraft contemplates buyable trader’s tender and an old world revamp

Overwatch 2 kicks off its single-player Hero Mastery mode with a limited-time event

RuneScape’s Jagex on the much-derided battlepass: ‘We messed up’

Skull and Bones loses yet another creative director as union assembles over labor conditions

Roblox confirms Quest VR release later this month, PlayStation launch in October

Diablo III’s Season 29 will bring one last new theme on September 15 before de facto maintenance mode

Star Citizen showcases alpha 3.20’s updates, declares it won’t answer ‘when’ questions anymore

Greg ‘Ghostcrawler’ Street ruminates on fixing MMORPG progression design failings

Rumor: Embracer is trying to sell Gearbox – and therefore Cryptic and its MMORPGs

Throne & Liberty addresses ‘static combat and boring growth’ with latest revamps

Dauntless and Fae Farm dev Phoenix Labs are losing more top execs, this time the CEO and COO

Roblox conference cut short after police arrested an allegedly armed community developer

EverQuest II’s Shattered Overture update is live this afternoon

Unity is adding excessive new per-install fees – game developers aren’t having it

Lost Ark’s jump-start servers arrive tomorrow with the Jump to the Endgame patch

Unity begins backtracking on new runtime fees, but it hasn’t addressed indies

Rumor: Tencent is apparently publishing the mobile version of Blue Protocol

Star Trek Online’s Incursion and season 30 are live on PC

Survivalbox Chimeraland is stealth-launching a surprise new update today

Unity asks game studios to trust its download estimates, closes offices over death threat

No Man’s Sky sees ‘its biggest month’ in years, possibly thanks to Starfield

PvP MMO Abyss admits it began life as a crypto game selling ‘satirical poop’ NFTs

Guild Wars 2’s Secrets of the Obscure performed ‘even better than expected,’ ArenaNet says

Elder Scrolls Online’s update 40 and Endless Archive repeatable content launch October 30

Unity’s runtime fee scheme sees game devs shut off Unity ads and employees turn in resignations

Unity promises ‘changes’ to its deeply unpopular install fee policy after a week of backlash

Marvel Heroes rogue servers are finally possible thanks to newly released emulator files

WoW Classic pits players against the Lich King – with the dungeon finder – on October 10

Unity’s leaked install fee concessions include a fee cap, self-reporting, and end to retroactivity

Last Oasis breaks its silence with confirmation of mod support and Season 6 development

A multiplayer Bluey videogame is coming to PC and console in November, and your kids want it

Absurdly cute co-op brawler Party Animals officially launches on PC and Xbox today

Terraria dev commits $200,000 plus monthly donations to open-source engine Unity rivals

Interview: How Dauntless’ weapon revamp will affect development and gameplay

EG7 hopes to develop a new EverQuest MMORPG (EverQuest 3?) for 2028 after years of rumors

Sea of Thieves is adding a super limited private instanced version called Safer Seas

EG7 and Daybreak: DCUO’s volatility, EverQuest’s stability, Cold Iron’s new game, LOTRO’s canceled remaster

The Division 3 is happening, but it’s going to be a while before we see it

UK government body ‘opens the door’ for Microsoft’s buyout of Activision-Blizzard in preliminary approval

RuneScape outlines initial plans to address its deeply unpopular Hero Pass monetization

Unity finally apologizes to game devs with latest round of fee concessions

EVE Fanfest 2023: EVE Online’s Havoc expansion will finally let you side with the pirates

Ultima Online is turning 26 years old today as New Legacy testing pushes onward

SAG-AFTRA members overwhelmingly vote in favor of a video game voice actors strike

Layoffs hit Blizzard’s Hearthstone team as Chris Metzen upgrades to new World of Warcraft exec title

Lord of the Rings Online studio pushes back against maintenance mode claims

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MMORPG sandbox BitCraft sets alpha for early 2024, picks up Austin Wintory and Rachel Hardy for the score

V Rising is still eyeing launch for Q2 2024, with a new biome, customization, and live events

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Datamining uncovers potential details about World of Warcraft’s next expansion

Ashes of Creation announces Alpha Two for 2024 and previews its updated event system

FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF SEPTEMBER 2023

WoW Factor: What would World of Warcraft ‘Classic Plus’ even look like?

Why I Play: Palia is cozy and fun, but why is it multiplayer – and where is it going?

LOTRO Legendarium: Of River Hobbits and river homes in Lord of the Rings Online

Wisdom of Nym: What seems to be cut content from Final Fantasy XIV

Choose My Adventure: Trialing and testing in Trixion before returning to Lost Ark

Fight or Kite: Harry Potter Magic Awakened is going to school you too

Hands-on: Cozy game Fae Farm might strike familiar gameplay beats, but its setting is the sauce

Perfect Ten: 10 of the worst launches in MMO history

Vague Patch Notes: The specter of racially locked classes in MMOs and before

Massively Overthinking: The dumbest deaths in MMORPGs

WoW Factor: World of Warcraft’s exhausting constant hype cycle

Global Chat: What makes an ‘MMO’ an MMO?

LOTRO Legendarium: Coping with Lord of the Rings Online’s Mount Everest of content

Wisdom of Nym: What was my journey made for in Final Fantasy XIV?

Vitae Aeternum: The pros and cons of New World’s transmog

Choose My Adventure: Slayer time with slightly boosted XP in Lost Ark

Perfect Ten: 10 MMOs you’ve already forgotten ever existed

LOTRO Legendarium: Lord of the Rings Online’s new Mariner class is the swashbuckler we needed

Vague Patch Notes: I don’t know what the deal is with Throne & Liberty

WoW Factor: MMO raid design and the antagonistic GM

Massively Overthinking: Do you sub to MMOs you’re no longer playing?

Global Chat: How do you make a compelling new player experience in MMOs?

Wisdom of Nym: Examining the Mamool Ja of Final Fantasy XIV

Fight or Kite: Harry Potter Magic Awakened’s housing might impress even die-hard housing fans

Choose My Adventure: Exploring Lost Ark’s jump start server and a regular XP-boosted character

Perfect Ten: 10 MMO things you can just stop waiting for

WoW Factor: So Blizzard backtracked on WoW Classic’s dungeon finder

Massively Overthinking: Massively Overwhelming content in MMORPGs

Vague Patch Notes: So what actually kills MMO communities?

Global Chat: Coming around on WoW Classic’s hardcore mode

Massively on the Go: Pokemon Go’s October events are early with tricks if not treats

EVE Fanfest 2023: The EVE Online FPS is back as EVE Vanguard this December

LOTRO Legendarium: Nine LOTRO secrets worth discovering

Wisdom of Nym: Open questions spawned by the Tokyo Game Show’s Final Fantasy XIV live letter

Not So Massively: The growing field of StarCraft II spiritual successors

Choose My Adventure: Wrestling with disappointment, boredom, and comfort in Lost Ark’s jump start server

Casually Classic: Six reasons hardcore servers make WoW Classic worthwhile

Perfect Ten: The 10 unsung heroes of the MMO user interface

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