Diablo: Immortal is a mobile MMOARPG developed by Chinese studio NetEase. Diablo: Immortal provides a persistent game world accessible from anywhere right at your fingertips!
[singlepic id=74917 w=428 h=240 float=none]
Publisher: Activision Blizzard Playerbase: High Type: Action MMORPG Release Date: June 02, 2022 Pros: +The first F2P Diablo experience. +Varied Classes. +PC Client. +Authentic Chinese gameplay! Cons: -Extreme pay to win elements. -Developed by third party, not Blizzard. -Free players severely time gated.
The gaming intelligence firm SuperData, now owned by Nielsen, just released their worldwide digital games market report for the month of September 2018. Headline figures showed another month of remarkable growth, from $912 million last September to $1.24 billion in total digital gaming revenue this September.
As in previous months, the majority of that growth comes from the growth of mobile gaming and the continued shift from physical to digital game sales on consoles. The major event for the month was the release of the Forsaken expansion for Destiny 2 with over 60% of monthly active users purchasing the expansion. That catapulted Destiny 2 to the top of the console charts, beating out Marvel's Spider-Man (2.17 million digiital sales), and FIFA 19 which hit a franchise record for digital launch sales. NBA 2K19, another sports franchise, also hit a new record for digital launch sales.
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) beat out Fortnite on PC, but the roles were reversed on consoles. Neither game made the top 10 on mobile, with NetEase's Knives Out being the battle royale of choice on that platform.
Globally, digital sales now make up ~43% of PlayStation 4 software sales. As that number continues to grow, SuperData's numbers, which do not include physical sales revenue, will become more and more accurate as a reflection of the total gaming industry.
Standing Stone Games, the developers of Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) have revealed plans for a progression server for the 11 year old fantasy MMORPG. The new server will give players the opportunity to relive the LOTRO legend from the very beginning. Thus dubbed as a Legendary server, it is set to go live this fall with content from the original Shadows of Angmar content.
Content from additional expansions are set to open in 4-month intervals, but its important to note that the Legendary server will not be a classic or 'vanilla' server. All UI/graphic updates that are found in the current version will also apply to the new server. Additionally, new classes and races added over the years will be available on day one. The Legendary server will not include the classic class/progression system and thus will include the current talent tree and other class skill/progression changes.
The new server will only be available to subscribers (monthly and lifetime), but will still launch with the premium shop. Veterans looking to relive the original LOTRO experience when monsters were tougher and micro-transactions were nonexistent may be disappointing.
Standing Stone has stated that the launch of the Legendary server will not slow down development on the current live servers, instead it will serve as a complimentary option for long time subscriptions who want a chance to move through the game's decade plus history of content step by step. Progression servers have proven to be a huge success in other classic MMORPG titles like EverQuest so expect to see more and more titles implementing similar systems. Perhaps Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO), another fantasy MMORPG developed by Standing Stone, will get the progression server treatment next.
A detailed FAQ is listed below the official announcement, check it out for more details on the upcoming Legendary server!
Valve's Steam platform has emerged as an unexpected beneficiary of China's sweeping video game approval freeze. While Steam was never officially approved in China, it hasn't been officially censored either. The gray space the platform occupies has made it an attractive refuge for both Chinese gamers and developers who have grown frustrated with the ongoing game approval freeze which domestic platforms like Tencent's WeGame must honor.
While a variant of Steam does have Chinese approval, it only supports Dota 2. The global version of Steam took off in China only recently, with the explosive growth of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) in 2017. Since then, over 30 million Chinese users have registered and are active on the platform. That represents ~25% of Steam's total registered accounts and is a large enough pool to attract even Chinese indie devs frustrated with the local game freeze.
A recently released Chinese indie title, The Scroll of Taiwu, was recently listed on Steam and sold over 800,000 copies despite only being available in simplified Chinese. Another Chinese language only title, Chinese Parents has also proven to be popular, with even some Westerners purchasing the game and leaving positive reviews despite no localized language support.
Beyond local titles, Steam has served as a backdoor method of accessing thousands of games that never went through the official approval process in China. Hyper violent games like Grand Theft Auto 5 have been accessible to intrepid Chinese gamers only through Stream despite having little chance of ever receiving official approval.
While there's no word on how long the official game approval freeze will last, I suspect Steam's free ride won't last long. In a country of 1.4 billion, its easy to see state censors could have missed a tiny platform like Steam with only a few million users. As more and more Chinese gamers learn about the Steam-loophole and sign in, news of the American owned platform flaunting Chinese law will make its way to Beijing.
Perhaps Valve itself will reform its Chinese offering before then. The company is already working with Perfect World Entertainment to launch an official version of Steam in China. While we have no release date yet, there's no way an official version of Steam in partnership with an established Chinese firm will be able to skirt Chinese rules and regulations. For more details on Steam's growth in China, check out the South China Morning Post's article on the matter, link provided below.
Confirming leaked rumors that appeared mere hours ago, Trion Worlds has announced that the MMO studio would be 'transitioning' to Gamigo Group. In a brief press release, provided in full below, Trion World states that not all of the studio's employees would be making the transition.
Theres no word yet on whether any of the 5 games currently offered by Trion would be shutting down. The studio is best known for the fantasy MMORPG Rift which started as as subscription game in 2008 and had its own 'transition' to free to play in 2013. Trion also develops Atlas Reactor, Trove, and Defiance 2050. They are also the Western publisher of Korean MMORPG ArcheAge.
Gamigo is a free to play MMO portal based in Europe that is best known for publishing Grand Fantasia and Last Chaos. The company purchased rival gaming portal Aeria Games in 2016. Previously, Gamigo purchased the assets of defunct North American portal Outspark. With its active track record in the industry, its fair to say Trion will not be Gamigo's last acquisition.
We'll provide updates to the merger as they become available.
Full Press Release:
Greetings — We can confirm that there has been a transaction involving Trion Worlds and its games.
While many of the names and faces you’ve come to know in our studios will remain on through this transition, others will not be making the journey. To those who are leaving us, we are forever grateful for your incredible work and contributions over the years.
We’d like to assure our communities that the games will continue on in capable hands moving forward, as everyone involved is aiming to make this transition as smooth as possible for you. We will have more information to reveal as soon as we possibly can.
From the bottom of all of our hearts, we thank you for your time and dedication to our games and hope that you’ve enjoyed the experience as much as we have. From spending time with you in game, to seeing you at conventions, to talking with you on livestreams and forums, it’s been our pleasure to be a part of this exceptional community with you since our first launch more than seven years ago.
Please know that you have our deepest gratitude. As for our games, we hope you continue to enjoy playing them far
In a press release issued October 19, 2018 CCP Games and NetEase formally unveiled EVE: Echoes, a mobile MMO based on the Iclandic studio's Sci-Fi MMORPG EVE Online. The game is set to release sometime in 2019.
Previously known as EVE: Project Galaxy, Echoes will be built on NetEase's proprietary graphics engine NeoX. While details are scarce at this time, it seems likely that the bulk of the development for the Android/iOS title will be done by the Chinese studio NetEase with CCP offering design and other consultation.
Despite the change in platform and key developer, EVE: Echoes promises many of the same features that have made EVE Online standout for the past 15 years: a player-driven sandbox experience where users can explore a massive galaxy, form corporations and forge alliances, plot trade routes, and take part in epic space battles. While we've been given little details on how all this will play out on a mobile device, its clear Echoes will be an ambitious project and that NetEase at least understands what EVE players are looking for.
The emphasis on social systems has, if anything, been overplayed in the official press release. The last sentence is particularly amusing:
A deep and realistic social system is also being developed which will provide players with an interconnected futuristic interstellar lifestyle.
I can't wait to see what an interconnected futuristic interstellar lifestyle looks like!
Dirty Bomb, the free to play tactical shooter once published by Nexon, is no longer in active development. Developer Splash Damage broke the bad news in an official announcement earlier today.
Despite regained publishing rights for Dirty Bomb from Nexon nearly two years ago, and hiring a slew of additional developers, Splash Damage couldn't manage to boost the game's numbers significantly. With the financials no longer adding up, the game will no longer be actively developed. To Splash Damage's credit, they are not shutting the servers down. The servers will be left operational as long as a viable playerbase exists for the game. Additionally, all Merc Pack DLC purchases will be refunded since no additional Mercenaries will be released for Dirty Bomb.
With active development ceasing, the playerbase will have to rely on tools such as Community Servers and FACEIT integration to keep the game alive. The official post contains a short FAQ highlighting what exactly will and will not change. While this announcement will come as sad news to the community, a look at the Steam Stats shows that the game has been suffering from a dwindling playerbaes for several years now.
MapleStory 2 finally had its free to play launch last week on October 10. Arriving on both the official Nexon launcher and on Steam, MapleStory 2 has so far had an extremely successful launch. The steam numbers show a consistent daily peak player count of 30,000+ and while we don't know the official numbers from the Nexon client, they are likely as high as those from Steam considering the earlier betas were only available via the official launcher.
MapleStory 2 is radically different from its predecessor. While the original MapleStory was a 2D side-scroller, the sequel makes the jump into 3D. While the original relied almost exclusively on grinding, especially at launch, the sequel has a main story quest line that takes players from level 1 to 60 (max) without the need to do a single side quest or grinding session along the way. But that doesn't mean MapleStory 2 isn't filled with things to do. Nearly from the start, players will have the opportunity to try mini games, mess around with life skills like fishing and gathering, and to run dungeons with other players. These side activities carry hefty rewards and are thus all viable ways to level up. The emphasis here seems to be rushing players to the max level of 60 then allowing them the freedom to try everything the game has to offer. So far, it seems to be working.
The real test, however, is the next few months. Its entirely possible to hit max level in MapleStory 2 in a single day. Even players who decide to roll an alt or two will quickly hit 'end game' and will have to decide whether the game is worth sticking with. In the mean time, are you playing MapleStory 2? If so, tell us why. What drew you to the game and do you think it will enjoy the sort of longevity the original MapleStory has enjoyed? If you're not playing, tell us why not.
We're hopeful that the social aspects in MapleStory 2, including the player housing, mini-games, musical instruments, and so on will keep the game lively for months even after hitting max level. Only time will tell. As a vision of how things can go wrong, we need not look further than Ragnarok Online 2 which was a totally different experience than what fans of the original were expecting. It didn't last long.
30 months after Microsoft opened up the Xbox ecosystem to cross platform play, Sony finally decided to follow suit. Initially, Sony was able to maintain its walled-garden approach due to its massive lead in this generation's console market. The massive success of Fortnite changed that. Millions of gamers were frustrated that Sony was standing in the way of PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch users playing together.
Today's update serves as a beta for cross-platform play and only applies to the smash hit Fortnite, but cross-play will soon become a feature for any 3rd party developer who chooses to support it. In their official announcement Sony claims cross-play was a feature that they have always worked towards, but its clear the real reason for the the sudden change is Fortnite's enormous success. That means even those of us who don't play the hit Battle Royale title still owe it a debt of gratitude.
It should be noted that PlayStation users could previously cross-play with those on the PC, iOS, and Android platforms. The new update completes the circle by also allowing Xbox One and Nintendo Switch cross-play as well.
World of Warcraft has had a great month. The release of Battle For Azeroth has seen the game's subscription numbers swell to a 4-year high and overtake League of Legends in revenue for the month of August according to SuperData research.
This year's Blizzcon, scheduled to start November 2nd, should give both old and new World of Warcraft fans a reason to celebrate the game's continued success. According to an official BlizzCon preview video, a demo for World of Warcraft Classic will be playable at the convention. What's more, all virtual ticket holders will be able to try the demo from home from November 2-8th.
Both BlizzCon attendees and virtual ticket holders will also receive in-game items including a cloak and war banner displaying symbols of either the Alliance or Horde factions.
The convention will also hold panels on the state of Classic WoW development and the challenges the team faces in recreating the 2004 experience. Both technical and design challenges are likely to be covered.
While we do not know how far along in development Classic WoW is, the fact that we'll have a playable demo within months bodes well for our predicted launch in time to celebrate the game's 15th anniversary on November 23, 2019.
