MMORPG News: Blue Protocol Release Date, Blade and Soul 2, League of Maidens, Project BBQ, Ashes of Creation

Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks to all of you, we were capable of growing even further beyond our grandest expectations with the channel, and I could not be more humbled and appreciative of what you guys have given us.
I’m truly hoping 2021 turns out to be a much better year than 2020 was – both with the world, and with the world of MMORPGs. Regardless of what the future holds, however, both Mrs Stix and I wouldn’t tackle what the year holds for us without all of you behind us.

Now, let’s start 2021’s very first Weekly Byte of MMORPG News!

Let’s kick this off with a game right outta my childhood: FlyFF.
I feel like everyone that has dabbled in the MMO genre over the last decade has played FlyFF at one point in their life. It is with that knowledge that I’m actually happy to discuss the brand new project that the devs are working on with the community: FlyFF Classic.
Or, well, they’re calling it FlyFF Project M and the game aims to be a completely cross-platform incarnation of the game that is playable on PC, tablets and mobile devices.
Not only will it feature cross-play compatibility, however, but they’re also adding in entirely new graphical settings to take the game to all new levels.
This is not a mobile MMO – once again, let me reiterate: This is not a mobile MMO. This is FlyFF.. with some overhauls that has been ported to mobile platforms, yet is still predominantly a PC game.

And now for some sad news.. for those of you that have enjoyed the Life is Feudal MMO, you’ll be disheartened to learn that the game is shutting down on January 18th, 2021.
This came as a surprise to me – as I wasn’t aware the game was doing poorly enough in terms of player population where they’d warrant an immediate shut down.
And it turns out that is correct – the devs revealed that they are shutting down the game for “reasons that are beyond our control,” however they hinted at a deal with a separate company being the reason as to why it’s closing its doors.
So if you wanted to relive the glory days.. this might be the time for one final hurrah.

Now on to some happier news! For those of you that have been waiting on info pertaining to Project BBQ.. which let’s be real here: I feel as though realistically almost every person that saw the original trailer for the game has been, you’ll be excited to learn there’s a brand new trailer available online.
Yup – Nexon hasn’t given up on the game quiet yet, thankfully! While they didn’t confirm anything at all concerning its release date – I mean we don’t know if it’s scheduled for a 2021 release, whether it’s been delayed into 2023.. what they did showcase was quite a bit of gameplay.
From various different classes as well, which gave us a much deeper look into how the combat looks, how boss fights will work, group-content, a wider selection of environments to explore.
All in all it was a very revealing trailer, and it got players even more excited than ever. I have a dedicated video on the entire thing for those of you wanting to check it out.

And back to same bad news.. the Australian devs behind the upcoming Titan Reach MMORPG have revealed that they’re either going to need to raise funding for their game now, or they’ll be forced to shut down development all together.
In my opinion, this won’t really be much of a loss for the MMO community as I’ve heard some pretty bad things about the game over the last few months.
That and let’s be honest: If they’re experiencing as much trouble as they currently are, is the future really all that bright for the game? I doubt it, and feel as though they’d constantly be under financial constraints.
They have less than a week to raise approximately $30,000 USD. But considering they wanted to raise almost a half million dollars via KickStarter, and managed slightly over $100k.. even that is doubtful at this juncture.

Alright, I think that was all of the bad news. Let’s stick with the good for a while now, yeah?
Fractured, a brand new MMO – one that I have a bit of experience with, considering both Mrs Stix and I got to stream some of their Alpha test a few months ago is holding a free weekend’s worth of play-time for anyone interested in testing out the PvP in the upcoming title.
I’m not sure PvP was even implemented when we played through the game for the first time, but we’re definitely interested in jumping into it this weekend.
The final day of testing will be January 3rd, so if you’ve wanted to test the game out in any form, I urge you to take the time to now while you have the opportunity to.

No, still no news from Amazon on when Lost Ark is going to release globally, but we do have news regarding content players can look forward to seeing in South Korea.. and when the game finally launches over here this year as well.
To start, players will be able to participate in a grand total of 6 entirely new raids – with the addition of South Bern, a brand new continent.
But most importantly here is the addition of 2 brand new classes: The Devil Hunter, which is locked to female characters only, and the Battle Master, which is locked to male characters only. The classes will both be available as of March 2021, with even more classes planned for later this year.
Realistically we shouldn’t have too long to wait before we gain access to Lost Ark, it can’t be too far off at this point, right? Amazon Game Studios have no doubt been hard at work translating the game for a release as soon as possible.

Gran Saga is an upcoming cross-platform Anime MMORPG and it’s inching ever closer to release.
I’ve covered this game time and time again, and while my opinion of the game has definitely.. declined over the course of its development cycle, it’s worth noting that the devs have just released a brand new trailer showcasing quite a few mechanics that fuel the game.
And while I do in fact believe the game looks really damn good.. for a mobile MMO, it really left me feeling as though the game felt a little too mobile-esque for a PC MMO.
Nevertheless, I know cross-platform MMOs are all the rage these days so even knowing this, Gran Saga might turn out to be a decent game. Who knows.

I know a lot of people are highly anticipating PSO2’s brand new “New Genesis” MMO, and why wouldn’t you be? It looked pretty damn good from the initial trailer released for the game.
Now, as we approach the full release of New Genesis, Sega opted to do a livestream, showcasing all of the new features, all of the new mechanics that are going to be present, including the overhauled graphics and combat.
There are new PvE encounters, bosses that you can find in each zone, invasions, defense missions, your traditional ARKS missions. You have new ways of exploring both on an X and Y axis, with terrain scaling now being a feature present within the game.
The combat itself, including all of the classes has been drastically overhauled. Players thought PSO2 had amazing combat. New Genesis aims to take that combat to an entirely new level. Add on to that the graphical overhaul.. this actually looks and feels like a next generation title.

After over a year waiting to get my hands on this little gem, both Mrs Stix and I got given exclusive access to take the game for a test run. While we do have a dedicated video of the game already uploaded onto the channel for those of you interested in seeing actual real gameplay, it’s worth noting that League of Maidens is almost here.
According to the devs behind the game, it will be available for players to test themselves next month – in February 2021, with updates and fixes rolling out periodically in hopes of getting everything they need in order prior to the launch.
Admittedly I did have a lot of fun running around the city destroying enemies, and I hope they have more planned for the game in terms of content and features moving forward including their highly sought-after multiplayer functionality.
If you’ve been waiting for this game to come out.. then you don’t have much longer to wait. Go ahead and wishlist it on Steam!

Honestly, at this point I’m not certain we can even really refer to this as “WoW: Classic” anymore, right? Considering the almost confirmed rumors going around concerning The Burning Crusade’s expansion — yes, it turns out that we could be going back to the Outlands.. again.
Which means that my favorite expansion of all time: Wrath of the Lich King isn’t too far behind either. If the leaks are to be believed, then the expansion will be rolling out at some point in May 2021.
While Blizz have not confirmed anything as of this moment, I’m sure you’ll remember when they sent out a survey last year concerning not only WoW Classic’s future, but also whether or not players wanted to play The Burning Crusade.
So get ready, everyone. We’re going back in time.. well, actually we already went back in time. Now we’re going.. less.. back in time. More forward from where we are now, but.. okay, you know what? This is–nevermind. Moving on.

Alright, I wanted to clear up some confusion concerning Blue Protocol. I’m aware that if you Google “Blue Protocol release date,” you actually get a placeholder release date from MMORPG.com stating that it will be launching on “December 31st, 2020.”
But the reality of it is that – as should be evident right now on the 2nd of January 2021, that is 100% entirely false. I’ve had people repeatedly asking why the game isn’t available right now, and that is because once again, MMORPG.com put that date as a placeholder without thinking of the effect it would have on players.
Bandai Namco never confirmed a 2020 release, especially not December 31st. What they have confirmed, is that the game will be available to play in “some form” this year, 2021, “in Japan,” with other countries, such as North America and Europe gaining access “the following year.”
So yes, to clarify and hopefully avoid further confusion: Blue Protocol will no doubt be available to play in 2021.. in Japan. 2022 everywhere else. Any website OTHER than one directly controlled and operated by Bandai Namco claiming otherwise is lying to you at this juncture.
I’m sorry we have to wait another year to get it in our native language, but it’s better than them doing what South Korea does and releasing it over in the West 5 to 8 years after its release in its own region.

Ashes of Creation released not only a new trailer featuring a large-scale raid boss battle with a group of players, but they also revealed new footage of the Mage class.
I did a video covering all of this, and I’m happy to say that with over 400 comments, the vast majority of players mirror my sentiments: And that is that not only the animations, but also the special effects and character models need substantial improvement.
Overall, the game looks pretty good, but floating into the air for every other ability, only to come crashing down to the ground towards the end of your skill – especially without animation cancelling is going to be a nightmare.
Now do note, the devs behind the game confirmed they’re planning on overhauling the combat and animations again – for the third? fourth time I think, so these animations and effects are not indicative of the final produce we’ll receive.
Once again, I reiterate for the white knights out there: I’m not criticizing the game, I’m merely leaving feedback on a few things that need improvement.

We could all do with a Blade & Soul 2, right? Well it turns out NCSoft is actually in the process of developing that very game.. unfortunately, however, it isn’t what we’d hope it’d be.
While yes, this game is a full MMORPG that actually takes place after the events of the PC incarnation of Blade & Soul, and while they’re completely overhauling the game, its graphics and its combat style.. it is actually being made exclusively for mobile devices.
Not cross-platform compatible, no. 100% only for mobile devices, much to the dismay of the community. I feel like this could work so well on PC, but South Korean devs and their obsession with milking players with predatory mobile practices have no shame.
But for those of you interested.. Blade & Soul 2 is actually coming out – perhaps globally, later this year in 2021.