MMO Archives

AppWizard

June 21, 2026

Bryce Clark, game director of Poppy Playtime, has played 23,000 hours of Steam games: ‘I’m a bit obsessed with learning the market’

Bryce Clark is the game director of Poppy Playtime and has a history in gaming that began with DOS games. His childhood favorite was the 1994 RTS Dominus, which had technical difficulties that required troubleshooting. He has worked for studios like 343 Industries and Blizzard and became the lead technical artist at Mob Entertainment in 2023 before directing Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5, released in February. Clark enjoys games like Aethus, Strange Antiquities, and Prosperous Universe, and recently played Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library and Forza Horizon 6. The oldest games on his PC are No Man's Sky and The Hunter: Call of The Wild. He has logged over 23,000 hours on Steam, with Rocket League and Ark: Survival Evolved among his top titles. Clark finds comfort in The Hunter: Call of the Wild and Subnautica. He uses Snagit for screenshots and video recording and WinDirStat for disk space management. He has shifted to a minimalist desktop organization style, using the taskbar and search bar instead of desktop shortcuts.

AppWizard

June 21, 2026

Guild Wars 3 isn’t the only new Guild Wars on the way: ArenaNet just announced a Guild Wars card game

ArenaNet, in collaboration with NC, has announced an official Guild Wars card game titled Mistbound, which follows the recent announcement of Guild Wars 3. Mistbound is developed with bilibili and features a dynamic 5x3 tactical grid for gameplay, allowing players to modify character attributes and reposition units and commanders turn by turn. It aims to simplify card game complexity by expressing strategic depth through battlefield mechanics rather than individual cards. The game will include various mechanics such as knockbacks and flanking maneuvers, and will feature beloved characters from the Guild Wars universe as commanders. The development emphasizes community engagement, incorporating player input, and there are expectations for the game to evolve into an esport. A specific release date has not been announced, but it may debut late this year or in 2027.

AppWizard

June 21, 2026

5 promising games recently cancelled by Microsoft

Microsoft is undergoing a restructuring that includes layoffs across its game studios and further job cuts and studio closures as part of the "Xbox reset" initiated by new CEO Asha Sharma. This initiative has resulted in the cancellation of several game projects, including: - Odyssey: Shelved in 2024 after challenges in development, including a switch from Unreal Engine to an internal engine. - Everwild: Canceled in 2025 after years of development and at least one reboot. - Perfect Dark: The reboot was canceled in 2025 despite a positive gameplay reveal, with reports of interest from Take-Two Interactive. - Contraband: Development ceased in 2025, leaving the future of the co-op smuggling game uncertain. - Project Blackbird: Canceled in 2025 after over six years of development due to financial concerns regarding the investment required for an MMO. Following the cancellation of Project Blackbird, some team members formed a new studio named Sackbird.

AppWizard

June 19, 2026

Guild Wars 3 is ‘significantly more’ of an MMO than the first game, but that doesn’t mean it’s like GW2: ‘All three of our games can coexist as different experiences’

Guild Wars 2 is a significant title in the MMO genre, following the original Guild Wars, which is more accurately described as a mission-based action role-playing game (ARPG) with shared town hubs. ArenaNet's studio head, Colin Johanson, confirmed that the upcoming Guild Wars 3 will be an MMO, with some nuances. He categorized the original Guild Wars as a "cooperative online RPG" and noted that Guild Wars 2 was designed as a true MMO. Johanson's comments reflect on the challenges and emotional experiences associated with MMOs.

AppWizard

June 17, 2026

Guild Wars 3 hopes to solve the problem that made me quit Guild Wars 2 after thousands of hours with the series

Guild Wars 3 has been announced, with beta testing scheduled for 2027. ArenaNet has outlined core philosophies for the game: it will have no subscriptions, no pay-to-win mechanics, respect players' time, and aim to evolve the MMO genre. The game seeks to create an accessible experience for both new and veteran players, acknowledging the busy lives of its audience.

AppWizard

June 14, 2026

Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies vet tells me the theme park ‘assembly line’ MMO just isn’t viable anymore, especially as dev costs spike: ‘We hit the wall’

Raph Koster, known for his work on Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies, is developing a new MMO called Stars Reach, which aims to recapture the sandbox experience of earlier games. Koster believes the current MMO industry is stagnating, with many players feeling bored and frustrated due to a lack of innovation and over-monetization. He acknowledges the challenge of revitalizing the genre but hopes that Stars Reach will offer a fresh and novel experience for players. The game is set to enter early access this summer.

AppWizard

June 13, 2026

It’s bittersweet that the best time to play Destiny 2 in years coincides with its end, but I’m happy for the new players who get to experience its most liberating iteration yet

Bungie has released the final update for Destiny 2, featuring extensive patch notes that include 71 pages and 17,000 words of changes. Key highlights of the update are: - Catalysts for all exotic weapons that previously lacked them. - Reworked anti-champion mods linked to weapon frames and the ability to choose from seven seasonal artifact sets. - New aspects, grenades, and abilities. - Enhanced attunement options for targeted farming. - An increase of 300 vault space slots and eight additional loadout slots. - Improvements to Gambit addressing long-standing player complaints. Bungie has also introduced a collection bundle for players to access all available expansions at a discount. The update aims to provide a more liberating experience by removing escalating power gains and unnecessary grinds, enhancing gameplay for both new players and veterans.

AppWizard

June 11, 2026

EVE Online’s survival spinoff Frontier is a hardcore space sim you can play on a gamepad that’s unlike anything else out there

EVE Frontier is gaining acceptance from the EVE Online community despite skepticism regarding its relevance amidst the crypto gaming trend. It features an innovative server-side modding system and showcased a combat arena experience at EVE Fanfest, where participants had ten minutes to compete. The gameplay is designed with a slower pace, reminiscent of survival horror games, and takes place in a moody nebula with immersive audio. The game's aesthetic combines cyberpunk elements with ancient motifs, and it introduces both manual aiming and auto-targeting weapon systems, allowing players to choose their combat style. This marks a departure from EVE Online's mechanics, which relied heavily on auto-targeting. A major update, Cycle 6: Sanctuary, is set to launch on June 25.

AppWizard

June 7, 2026

AION 2 Just Announced Its Launch Window at Summer Games Fest – Here’s Why MMO Fans Should Be Paying Attention

AION 2 is an MMORPG set 200 years after the original AION, which debuted in 2008. The game features an expansive world 36 times larger than its predecessor, developed using Unreal Engine 5, with detailed environments and familiar locations. Players can explore on foot or by mount, swim, and fly, with extensive character customization options including over 200 features. There are eight character classes that influence gameplay and narrative. The combat system is real-time and skill-based, focusing on player control without auto-combat mechanics. AION 2 has been well-received in Korea and Taiwan and is set for a global PC launch in September 2026.

AppWizard

June 6, 2026

Question time: How often do you actually talk to strangers in MMOs?

Developers of MMOs are increasingly creating solo-friendly content to accommodate players with busy lives, such as those with 9-5 jobs and family commitments. In Final Fantasy 14, players can complete most main story quests solo, while World of Warcraft has introduced solo-friendly endgame activities like Delves and Prey. The design of these games has shifted to prioritize casual content that requires less coordination, with classes becoming more self-sufficient. The author expresses a preference for solitary gaming experiences, valuing interactions with a close-knit community over broader social engagement. A poll is suggested to gauge readers' social interaction styles within MMOs.