Happy New Year! As 2023 kicks off we'll look back at the predictions we made for 2022 to see how many of them came true in multiplayer gaming. Then we move on to looking forward at our most anticipated MMORPG and MMO titles releasing in 2023 and cap it all off with news from games and companies that couldn't help but start the new year by stumbling! All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

05:13 Reviewing Our 2022 Predictions and Setting 2023 Ones

22:07 Most Anticipated 2023 MMORPG and MMO Titles

32:47 Some Companies and Games Start 2023 with an "OOF!"

50:20 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

The year comes to a close and we review the winners at the Game Awards, talk about our favorite announcements from the show (including a TON of Blue Protocol news), we review all the drama surrounding Microsoft's purchase of Activision, and finally we hit up Elyon closing, Gwent closing, and Chris Metzen's return to World of Warcraft! All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

05:04 Game Awards and Blue Protocol

31:20 Microsoft, Sony, And Activision Blizzard

42:25 Coming and Going (Elyon, Gwent, Metzen, and more!)

01:00:05 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

Looter shooters have been seeing a bit of a resurgence lately and there's even more of them on the horizon, but what makes a good looter shooter? Do you like open world ones versus instanced ones? The loot cycle? Progression? What's the secret sauce? We're also seeing a new Starship Troopers game and some big dogs in gaming have a LOT of in-fighting going on! All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

02:23 The Resurgence of Looter Shooters (Darktide, Synced, Marauders, and more!)

32:49 Starship Troopers Extermination

39:00 Sony, Google, Epic, Microsoft, and Activision In-Fighting

50:56 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

There's actually quite a few MMORPGs on the horizon... and not all of  them are looking terrible. We'll talk about Blue Protocol, ArcheAge 2, a  potential Horizon-based MMORPG, and a few more before looking at Dual Universe and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. Finally, we'll chat about  Blizzard, Riot, and China! All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

03:40 Upcoming MMORPGs (Blue Protocol, ArcheAge 2, and More)

46:14 Blizzard in China, Riot Back to China, and More

43:30 Kakao Games' Difficult Third Quarter

54:44 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

MMORPG teams invest in a lot of resources to get a game up and running, let alone popular. But should they really invest in endgame difficult content when it's a low percentage of players who participate? Path of Exile is adding "Ruthless" mode in this same spirit, Activision may end up getting sued by a hotel of their inclusion in Call of Duty under a different name, and Kakao Games had one rough quarter...will upcoming titles turn the tide? All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

02:42 Path of Exile's Ruthless Mode And MMORPGs Investing In Difficulty

30:50 Oddball Gaming News (Hotel May Sue Activision and more)

43:30 Kakao Games' Difficult Third Quarter

51:54 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

We've got a special guest this week who just cannot WAIT to talk about Overwatch 2 and some of the things he meant to mention in our First Look video. Just how bad is the game? We'll also look at how awesome Redfall COULD be, what Blizzard is accused of now, details on Xbox wanting its own Genshin Impact title, and play a round of "Real or Fake Steam Reviews!" All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

01:36 Real or Fake Steam Reviews

17:53 Gaming Tidbits (Redfall, Blizzard, and more)

37:45 Overwatch 2 Mini-Review

54:59 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

There are a ton of games that JUST came our (Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed) or coming soon like Warhammer 40K: Darktide and The First Descendant...and let's not leave out World of Warcraft Dragonflight! We'll look at all of them, talk about if MMORPG events even matter, and run through dumb news from PlayStation and Blizzard and more! All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

04:55 Games Coming (First Descendant, WH: Darktide, WoW Dragonflight, and some Ghostbusters)

35:19 Do MMORPG Events Even Matter To You?

43:55 Dumb Gaming News (PlayStation Showcase, Blizzard, And Fault Closing)

54:42 Another New MMORPG In Development

52:21 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

Every time Blizzard does something good they have to run out and do at least 5 other things to make sure you know they are still terrible...and that doesn't even mention how bad the Overwatch 2 launch disaster has been so far. We'll go through that, MY.GAMES being sold, a new MMORPG in development, and we wonder if you've ever left an MMO you love. All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

02:23 Leaving an MMORPG You Love

19:29 Blizzard's Mess And Overwatch 2's Launch

43:05 Unexpected News And Fun News (MY.GAMES and Ultima Online)

54:42 Another New MMORPG In Development

59:15 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

A lot of news this week just makes you sit back and laugh... like Skull and Bones being delayed for the 5th time, like Stadia closing after saying they weren't, and Overwatch 2 looking to do branding collaborations. Other news was interesting for some upcoming games like Throne and Liberty and Earth From Another Sun (although blockchain could kill that one). We'll go through all of it then play a round of "Real or Fake Steam Reviews"! All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

06:31 "HAHA" News (Skull and Bones, Stadia, Overwatch, and more)

42:20 Upcoming Titles (Throne and Liberty and Earth From Another Sun)

54:03 Real or Fake Steam Reviews

01:06:40 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!

Yeah the Ashfall MMORPG sounds like a slam dunk conceptually on paper, but MAN did that reveal look ROUGH...and the game has been met with a bit of controversy over its already generic title. We'll stop by Blizzard and see who is leaving both Overwatch and Hearthstone, look at Destiny 2 creators at Bungie getting countersued, and laugh at Battlefield being gleeful at the Call of Duty concerns on console! All that and more on this week's Always Online!

Discussion Timestamps:

00:00 Show Intro

09:22 Ashfall's Reveal Looks ROUGH

31:20 Interesting Industry News (Blizzard Departures, Bungie Lawsuits, and More)

50:50 Battlefield Likes CoD Troubles

52:58 Weekly Bombs (DA-Bomb / A-Bomb) / Question of the Week

Always Online (formerly the Free-To-Play Cast) is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about multiplayer online games. Always Online takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week!