5. Wildstar

Wildstar is gone forever. This free to play (wasn’t when launched) MMORPG gave us the bright, colorful and unique world of Nexus that showed bags of promise. Two factions, the Exiles and the Dominion vying for survival and ownership of this foreign world was just the tip of the iceberg. The game’s combat was fresh, its dungeons and raids at end-game hard for those that dare to do it. Overall, Wildstar offered many high points, like its amazing housing system and movement mechanics amid a wave of carbon copy MMORPGs. Unfortunately, lack of content and players over four years since release mean NCSOFT, its publishers, ran out of patience. Wildstar was officially shut down in November 2018.

4. Cloud Pirates

Only a few months since its release, the plug was pulled on Cloud Pirates. The aerial PvP arena MMO did see some life during its run. The game utilized clever progression systems while keeping the focus on the fun team-based combat and air ship classes. Developers  My.com still have not come out with any explanation or reasoning for sunsetting the game. For us inquisitive folks, its easy to see why. The PvP ship battle game just isn’t popular enough to gain the traction and playerbase it needs. According to game data tracking site SteamSpy, the average peak concurrent players on Steam isn’t great. It averages 200 players online at any one time, which is not at all healthy for an MMO of any kind.

3. Bless Online

Neowiz announced in June 2019 that Bless Online will shut down in September. This brings to a close, one of the most notorious Korean MMORPG in recent history. What made Bless infamous you ask? Well, it failed in two of its native region launches for starters, then decided it was going to launch globally on Steam, it promised plenty of improvements both to quality of life and gameplay, and none of them were fulfilled at launch, and even the performance of the game was worst than ever before. They charged a buy to play fee at early access then made it go free to play, all the while, funding a new Bless game for the Xbox One called Bless: Unleashed, out later in 2019. The warning signs were there when players called them out, but the hype train was too strong, and the backlash came like a tsunami. Don’t think this is the last we’ve seen of Bless though, the IP is like a roach.

2. Paragon

We see a theme here. If you’re going to make a brand new MOBA game, it needs to be bloody brilliant or no one’s going to be playing it. In Paragon’s case, this isn’t why the game shut down for good this April. Paragon was a decent MOBA that had all the right ingredients, but lacked the manpower to maintain. Epic Games – you know them as the creators of Fortnite – was simply swamped with the game that is making them rich. That’s Fortnite if you haven’t already guessed. Therefore, they announced that Paragon was difficult to maintain, and would rather focus their energies on a game that actually brings in the money. Makes sense.

1. Marvel Heroes

At top spot is Marvel Heroes, yet another superhero MMORPG game that lost to the bad guys. The bad guys here are the developers themselves. Marvel Heroes started off very well. Its blend of ARPG gameplay meets Iron Man and co worked pretty well on the PC. It’s the game that Marvel fans flocked to, to play as all the newly released Heros that came out with each MCU release. Where it all went wrong however, was with a greedy, hastily designed console port. The Omega launch alienated a majority of the core player-base. In addition to that, bad mismanagement at the top of Gazillion Entertainment didn’t help the developers’ cause. This resulted in Disney pulling the license. Marvel Heroes officially went dark in November 2017. We’re still wondering if we’ll truly see a proper Marvel MMO.

The post 5 Most Popular MMORPGs 2019 That Is Now Dead appeared first on Mmos World.

5. Wildstar

It’s hard to believe that Wildstar is no longer with is. This free to play (wasn’t when launched) MMORPG gave us the bright, colorful and unique world of Nexus that showed bags of promise. Two factions, the Exiles and the Dominion vying for survival and ownership of this foreign world was just the tip of the iceberg. The game’s combat was fresh, its dungeons and raids at end-game hard for those that dare to do it. Overall, Wildstar offered many high points, like its amazing housing system and movement mechanics amid a wave of carbon copy MMORPGs. Unfortunately, lack of content and players over four years since release mean NCSOFT, its publishers, ran out of patience. Wildstar was officially shut down in November 2018.

4. Cloud Pirates

Only a few months since its release, the plug was pulled on Cloud Pirates. The aerial PvP arena MMO did see some life during its run. The game utilized clever progression systems while keeping the focus on the fun team-based combat and air ship classes. Developers  My.com still have not come out with any explanation or reasoning for sunsetting the game. For us inquisitive folks, its easy to see why. The PvP ship battle game just isn’t popular enough to gain the traction and playerbase it needs. According to game data tracking site SteamSpy, the average peak concurrent players on Steam isn’t great. It averages 200 players online at any one time, which is not at all healthy for an MMO of any kind.

3. MXM (Master X Master)

NCSOFT is no stranger to shutting down games, and MXM is one of its latest titles to be axed. Released out of open beta and into the wilderness almost a year ago, MXM was considered by many, us included, to be a fresh take on the MOBA genre. The game’s roster of heroes includes fan-favorite characters from NCSOFT’s other games. This includes the likes of Guild Wars 2, Blade and Soul and Wildstar. However, for a game that was made to attract MOBA players, it didn’t hit whatever internal goal the company had set. As a result, MXM shut down on January 31st 2018. The good news is, the game did inspire a host of other similar games, like Battlerite.

2. Paragon

We see a theme here. If you’re going to make a brand new MOBA game, it needs to be bloody brilliant or no one’s going to be playing it. In Paragon’s case, this isn’t why the game shut down for good this April. Paragon was a decent MOBA that had all the right ingredients, but lacked the manpower to maintain. Epic Games – you know them as the creators of Fortnite – was simply swamped with the game that is making them rich. That’s Fortnite if you haven’t already guessed. Therefore, they announced that Paragon was difficult to maintain, and would rather focus their energies on a game that actually brings in the money. Makes sense.

1. Marvel Heroes

At top spot is Marvel Heroes, yet another superhero MMO game that lost to the bad guys. The bad guys here are the developers themselves. Marvel Heroes started off very well. Its blend of ARPG gameplay meets Iron Man and co worked pretty well on the PC. It’s the game that Marvel fans flocked to, to play as all the newly released Heros that came out with each MCU release. Where it all went wrong however, was with a greedy, hastily designed console port. The Omega launch alienated a majority of the core player-base. In addition to that, bad mismanagement at the top of Gazillion Entertainment didn’t help the developers’ cause. This resulted in Disney pulling the license. Marvel Heroes officially went dark in November 2017. We’re still wondering if we’ll truly see a proper Marvel MMO.

The post Top 5 MMO Games That Have Been Shut Down Recently appeared first on Mmos World.

5. LawBreakers

It’s been almost a year since E3 2017, where the game announced it was launching out of early access on August 8th 2017. LawBreakers had great ideas with its class systems that for an FPS arena shooter, felt well paced and executed in design. Unfortunately, operating in the shadow of Overwatch and rising games like PUBG did it no favors. In the past year alone, FPS online games ran amok with so many coming out, especially free to play titles. With LawBreakers being a buy to play game, it had another disadvantage. The rise of other games from the Battle Royale genre like Fortnite also gave players a reason to check out free to play titles with equal amounts of fun. In the end, Boss Key Productions announced a week after itself was revealed to be shutting down, that the lights would go out on LawBreakers come September 2018.

4. Cloud Pirates

Only a few months since its release, the plug was pulled on Cloud Pirates. The aerial PvP arena MMO did see some life during its run. The game utilized clever progression systems while keeping the focus on the fun team-based combat and air ship classes. Developers  My.com still have not come out with any explanation or reasoning for sunsetting the game. For us inquisitive folks, its easy to see why. The PvP ship battle game just isn’t popular enough to gain the traction and playerbase it needs. According to game data tracking site SteamSpy, the average peak concurrent players on Steam isn’t great. It averages 200 players online at any one time, which is not at all healthy for an MMO of any kind.

3. MXM

NCSOFT is no stranger to shutting down games, and MXM is one of its latest titles to be axed. Released out of open beta and into the wilderness almost a year ago, MXM was considered by many, us included, to be a fresh take on the MOBA genre. The game’s roster of heroes includes fan-favorite characters from NCSOFT’s other games. This includes the likes of Guild Wars 2, Blade and Soul and Wildstar. However, for a game that was made to attract MOBA players, it didn’t hit whatever internal goal the company had set. As a result, MXM shut down on January 31st 2018. The good news is, the game did inspire a host of other similar games, like Battlerite.

2. Paragon

We see a theme here. If you’re going to make a brand new MOBA game, it needs to be bloody brilliant or no one’s going to be playing it. In Paragon’s case, this isn’t why the game shut down for good this April. Paragon was a decent MOBA that had all the right ingredients, but lacked the manpower to maintain. Epic Games – you know them as the creators of Fortnite – was simply swamped with the game that is making them rich. That’s Fortnite if you haven’t already guessed. Therefore, they announced that Paragon was difficult to maintain, and would rather focus their energies on a game that actually brings in the money. Makes sense.

1. Marvel Heroes

At top spot is Marvel Heroes, yet another superhero MMO game that lost to the bad guys. The bad guys here are the developers themselves. Marvel Heroes started off very well. Its blend of ARPG gameplay meets Iron Man and co worked pretty well on the PC. It’s the game that Marvel fans flocked to, to play as all the newly released Heros that came out with each MCU release. Where it all went wrong however, was with a greedy, hastily designed console port. The Omega launch alienated a majority of the core player-base. In addition to that, bad mismanagement at the top of Gazillion Entertainment didn’t help the developers’ cause. This resulted in Disney pulling the license. Marvel Heroes officially went dark in November last year. We’re still wondering if we’ll truly see a proper Marvel MMO.

The post 5 Recent MMOs That Shut Down Too Soon appeared first on Mmos World.

MXM or Master X Master joins Marvel Heroes this week in announcing its closure. NCSOFT in an official post today says that final day will be on January 31st 2018. According to NCSOFT, the decision came down to business.

“Deciding to close the game is not a decision we come to lightly, but ultimately it came down to a matter of business—we explored several options, but none of them were sustainable. We truly believe that MXM is special, and offered a lot of new ideas to change up the MOBA genre, but in trying to carve out a niche for itself, we failed to connect with players.”

From now until its closure, real money purchases will be unavailable. Players will be able to get all unlocks in game for in-game currency. In addition, refunds for full purchases will also take place. The terms for refunds are for the period between August 30th and November 16th.

Further in the official post, NCSOFT goes on to say that MXM was made to attract MOBA players. They believe their game challenged the status quo, and would revitalize the genre. Unfortunately, it was not enough to challenge the established juggernauts on the market. Check out the official post here.

The post MXM Is Shutting Down On January 31 2018 appeared first on Mmos World.

For all of you currently in the Master X Master closed beta, prepare to have a lot of fun. NCSoft has made all the characters playable, including fan favorites such as Rytlock and the Satesman.

All 36 Masters are now playable to everyone. The unlocks were a special reward to signify the end of closed beta, and will be available until April 27th. Besides being able to play as any Master, a new mode is also available. Players can now try out the ranked mode on the Titan Ruins map for testing.

Furthermore, the exclusive CBT Taejin skin is still up for grabs until the end of the event. All players need to do is to play and complete at least seven ranked Titan Ruins matches. These are the 5v5 three lane mode, which is very MOBA like. They take between 20 to 30 minutes to complete, so it’s not going to be a drag for casual players. So if you are looking forward to that skin, now’s your last chance to grab it before open beta arrives after April 27th.

On the whole, Master X Master has had a pretty good CBT period with lots of players jumping in to play. They recently put up founders packs as well. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in MXM, and you can watch our first impressions video below.

The post All Master X Master Heroes Unlocked For End Of Closed Beta appeared first on Mmos World.

3V3 Combat Arena

The first PVP mode that players will encounter in Master X Master is the 3V3 Combat Arena. The idea is pretty simple. Three players in teams of two do battle in a small arena enclosure, filled with obstacles that can be used as cover or leveraged for height. The gameplay mechanics remain unchanged. You may select two Masters two swap between at the load out screen. The objective is pretty much simple – destroy and kill opposition players as many times as possible. The team with the most kills and points after five minutes wins the match.

I have never been a part of a simpler and short game mode in a MOBA, that’s actually bloody fun to play. The short time limit ensures that everyone is going crazy using their best skills right from the get go. This makes the mode incredibly fast paced and jam packed full of action. This has been my favorite mode to play PVP in the closed beta.

5V5 Titian Ruins

Titan Ruins mode is perhaps the most familiar for any other MOBA players. This is your traditional ‘lane’ game mode, where players attack three lanes, destroying towers and minions to get to the enemy base. There is a core in there that must be destroyed to win the game, and the alternative is to hit 1000 points (which can be done through player kills) to win. Sounds normal yes? Boring yes? Well hold on. Master X Master has spiced things up significantly here.

Every 100 points, the team that scores it spawns a Titan. Titans are these huge collosal machines that wreck havoc on the map, dealing large AOE damage that’s suitable for pushing lanes, destroying towers or the core at the enemy base. They are also incredibly hard to kill. The balance of these matches will come down to which team can secure the Titan play best, and that’s not the best part. Players can also become Titans by picking up Titan boost drops, and the team can vote on that player to become it. So you can in fact, control a Titan which adds that strategic layer to an otherwise boring and rehashed mode. This has been pretty fun to play in, but if I had to choose between the two modes I’d pick 3V3 Combat Arena any day of the week.

The post Master X Master (MXM) Closed Beta Impressions Day 2 appeared first on Mmos World.

The Best Things Come In Twos

There’s over 30 Masters or heroes or champions available to play as currently. What I find interesting is the detail that’s gone into bringing these champions to life. Some are brand new personalities, with immersive backstories about who they are and why they’re fighting to retake Earth. And then there’s the fan service Masters. There’s a whole bunch that players will instantly recognize from other NCSOFT games and MMORPGs. Take for example, Rytlock of Guild Wars. Or the Statesman from City of Heroes. Both are playable Masters but need to be unlock using in-game currency that you get for completing the tutorial or taking part in matches.

Now the thing I’m enjoying most about MXM’s gameplay is the ability to choose. Sounds trivial doesn’t it? In actuality, this is great for a MOBA. I love that each match, you select to Masters that can be swapped in or out, after a short cooldown. This adds a new layer of strategy and fun to an otherwise dull genre. I picked a melee for one and a ranged for the other, and it works pretty dang good. There’s also two control modes available – keyboard and mouse or just using a mouse. Both ways plays just fine and I like that the game does give you that option. And finally, hallelujah for two game modes, PVE and PVP. I think a main story campaign is the hidden sauce that will make newer MOBAs today stand out, and MXM delivers.

The Little Things

Master X Master does a lot to make me feel like this isn’t the run of the mill MOBA. The lobby area is called The Bridge. You’re on a ship in space which is the center of operations for both PVP and PVE modes. On the Bridge, you can see all the other players online, and it feels like a populated main hub in an MMORPG. Fitting perhaps, considering that MMOs are in fact an NCSOFT speciality. There’s vendors everywhere to cater to your crafting needs (yes there’s crafting for Master progression). There’s even a jukebox to play music from some of NCSOFT’s other games for crying out loud, how cool is that? I heard tracks from Blade and Soul and AION just to name a few. Master X Master definitely does the little things right, especially for the playerbase that are familiar with the other games.

The PVE Mode Rocks

MXM doesn’t just include a story campaign for the sake of including it. I’ve been playing through some of the Stages as it’s called, and it is actually pretty decent. There’s a coherent underlining theme that ties the objectives together, and the story is played out in cut-scenes with fairly tolerable dialogue. It’s not as good when compared to, say Atlas Reactor’s story, but it’s still engaging enough. Most importantly, it’s rewarding. Players can earn Gold and other items that will be useful for both PVE and PVP progression.

That’s about all I have to report for now, I’ll be diving into the PVP and other systems more to talk about those in part 2, so stay tuned!

The post Master X Master (MXM) Closed Beta Impressions Day 1 appeared first on Mmos World.

In a recent article we have published we have examined a new study that found correlation between sexism and gaming. The more a teenager players games he is more likely to have sexist thoughts. Therefore, we have concluded that the gaming world still has room to evolve. However, new findings about the study have jeopardized the conclusions from the research. Lately, it seems like the internet is full with this research. Women activists treat it like candy. However, the situation is more complex.

The researchers have accused the teenagers with sexism after presenting only a single statement about it: ““A woman is made mainly for making and raising children.”. Obviously, because French women are more likely to object this statement they won’t be accused of sexism. Hence, Claiming that women aren’t sexist because they object that statement isn’t a proper research. Counter statement such as: “A men is made mainly for working and bringing money.” weren’t asked.

Anti-Thesis

I have an alternative thesis to why males were accused of sexism. I think that males that play more enjoy less physical social life. They are more likely to not spend time with women nor have a deep social understanding of women. When you don’t know, it’s easier to say stupid things. I don’t think that in France, where women enjoy more equality than in other countries males would be so stupid about it. Hence, the research hasn’t really helped the women struggle for equality.

It is a fact that women aren’t equal to men in many aspects. Some people pin this problem solely on men. However the situation is more complex. I think that a person should fight not to interpret the world but to change it. We all should be nice to our girlfriends, moms, sisters and all of the other women we meet in our day to day life. Women are just as smart as men, sometimes a lot more. In gaming, the women figure is often misrepresented as a sexual predator. Since mostly males play these games it’s no wonder why the misrepresentation exists. In my opinion, it is the same as men are portrayed in romantic comedies. Every women wants prince charming to swipe her off the feet, this is the same as males want women to be more outgoing.

What do you think? Does games promote sexism?

The post Does Games Promote Sexism? Part II appeared first on Mmos World.

NCSoft’s MOBA Master X Master is back on the radar again. The developers recently announced that the game will enter closed beta testing on the 6th of April. Play tests will be on-going for three weeks, ending on April 27th. All interested players can sign up for the closed beta directly on MXM’s official website.

The play test period will introduce a brand new Hero, also known as Masters. The latest addition is sure to warm the hearts of fans of the now defunct superhero MMORPG, City of Heroes. NCSoft surprisingly details that City of Heroes’s Statesman is joining the roster of the MOBA. In fact, it should come as no surprise considering City of Heroes was a game under NCSoft during its prime. The developers have also mentioned in the past that there will be crossovers in their games, and new Masters will reflect this.

It is in many ways similar to what Blizzard and Trion does with crossovers. We’ve seen MMORPG heroes from World of Warcraft and Rift make their way into Overwatch and Atlas Reactor respectively. This is just the latest example of that trend. Senior Brand Manager for NCSoft Sean Corcoran states that the inclusion of the Statesman is an effort to recognize the fan’s love to the franchise. According to him, COH was part of the studio’s heritage and the team saw it as a perfect fit to incorporate beloved characters into their new MOBA.

From a neutral’s perspective, this is great to see as crossovers are both fun and exciting especially when it adds new content. Sure it won’t bring back City of Heroes from the dead, but I’m sure we’ll all tug at the nostalgia strings by playing the Statesman once again.

The post Master X Master Brings Back Beloved Hero For Closed Beta Test On April 6 appeared first on Mmos World.