spring-time-wowIssue 141: Greetings again, gamers!!! As we prepare to spring forward (March 13th DST starts) we start to see launch dates and beta announcements. Btw, is the US the only country that does the whole “spring forward/fall back” nonsense for Daylight Savings Time?? In any event, as the Daystar remains in the sky longer for us, we may only retire to our hovels later in the day (it is good to get outside sometimes) and when we do, we have a plethora of games we can play.

Obviously the big news is the launch day announcement for Overwatch so there are more details on that in this issue. While we are on the topic of Blizzard games, there is also interesting foreshadowing for Hearthstone. Valve is taking steps into the future and they are using Portal as the catalyst. Microsoft kills off another of its titles but a new multiplayer trailer for the New Doom is tearing some heads. KCGO

hearthstone-logoHearthstone Announcement Incoming!

Posted 3.6.16 – If you have been waiting for a Hearthstone announcement, well Blizzard with quench your thirst on March 11th. During the Hearthstone podcast on their Twitch channel they plan on making a major announcement. I think most of us are expecting an expansion announcement; I don’t know what else it could be so instead of pondering what the announcement is, perhaps we should start throwing out ideas on the theme of the expansion. Anyone have any theories?
Blizzard Watch post

3 Words: Virtual. Reality. Portal.

Posted 3.7.16 – Did that make you tingle all over? It’s not a myth, Valve is investigating the idea of applying VR to Portal. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that next week, The Lab, as they are calling it, will be available for free via Steam. The bad news is if you want to participate in the VR experiment you will need to pick an HTC Vive which is somewhere in the vicinity of $800.
polygon post

overwatch-logoOfficial Overwatch Launch Date

Posted 3.7.16 – Finally a moment we’ve all been waiting for. Blizzard has finally announced, and confirmed, a launch date for Overwatch. May 24th! What’s funny is that this originally started out as a leak (from IGN allegedly) and, of course, it spread like wildfire (because that’s what the Internet does); and to make matters worse the alleged story mysteriously disappeared which only sparks more conspiracy. There will be a beta, for all platforms, and early access for those that pre-order by April 29th.
polygon

Microsoft to Shutdown Lionhead Studios

Posted 3.7.16 – Time for a little nostalgia for some of you. Remember playing Black & White, or the more obvious title, Fable/Fable 2? The unfortunate news is that the studio that brought you those games is Lionhead and Microsoft is in discussion with the employees to shut it down. The shut down also means that the Fable Legends title has been cancelled. Has Curt Shilling been over to the UK to visit Lionhead Studios recently? Be that as it may, it sucks to see the ending of an era.
polygon post

New DOOM Trailer Looks Sick!

Posted 3.9.16 – If you pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order then you are only a couple of weeks away from the closed beta for the reboot of DOOM. Bathesda wanted to wet your appetite more by releasing a new multiplayer trailer and it looks sick. My favorite part is turning into a demon and ripping the head off of another player (yes, I know, call me sadistic). So far this is exactly how I imagined what a reboot of DOOM would looks like. The short trailer is definitely worth checking out.
Gamespot post

diablo3-readingGet A New Look In Diablo III Patch

Posted 3.10.16 – I didn’t know there was transmog in Diablo III, nor was I aware that there were pets but, then again, I haven’t played in a couple of years. There is a new patch coming out, April 6th I think, that will be adding some new cosmetic items to the game as well as some new pets. The link has a few pictures of some of the cosmetic transmogs and wings that will become available. See, I didn’t even know there were wings that you could apply to your characters and some of them (especially in the video) look pretty bad ass.
Kotaku post

The MMO Times is a post I put together periodically of different MMO/gaming news articles that I think are interesting, fun and/or exciting. If you are interested in receiving these posts in an e-mail please click here to subscribe.