Jason Schreier’s original article is here
For those who encounter a paywall, an archived version is here
The important bit in his article:
Last year, Overwatch 2 received a paid pack of three PvE story missions that sold poorly, according to people familiar with the business, which was a major reason for the cratering bonuses. In January, as part of a company-wide reduction in its work force, the majority of the team behind Overwatch 2’s PvE was laid off.
Overwatch 2 developers were informed that the company does not plan to finish any of the remaining planned PvE content and will instead double down on competitive player vs. player gameplay, according to the people familiar.
Wow did it for me. OW2 convinced me it’s not coming back.
Played wow again after not touching it for years a while back. They finally get the mechanics good and fun and pushing out content, in game community is dead unless you are already in a guilds discord server. Just saying ‘hi’ is enough to get you kicked out of a group. Raiding out of LFG is impossible unless you have a damn raiding résumé ready to send. No point to play it anymore.
All the parts of a good game are there, but the soul is long dead. Community is only a few steps away from being as toxic as League of Legends.
Have you tried GW2?
It’s the “beige diesel station wagon” of MMOs. It does everything people explicity ask for: tame monetization, distinct playstyles, a world that’s worth playing outside the most recent level-cap zones, broad cosmetic options-- but it’s still seen as an afterthought.
I hear about it every now and then, but honestly, I thought it was long gone just not seeing news of it floating around. Ill have to look into it a bit more next time I get the MMO itch.
Another rec for GW2. I’d recommend you try the F2P game so you get a general sense of the mechanics and see if you like it, then wait for a sale to buy the “Elder Dragon Saga—Complete Collection” for half-price. I mean, there’s enough content for it to be worth 100 bucks, but for 50 it’s a bargain.
Maybe give FFXIV a try! There’s a pretty expanded free portion that lets you play through a large portion of the game. I enjoyed the gameplay and there’s something resembling a story.
I gave it a try and it didn’t quite hook me. I think if I knew other people IRL that I could play with, it would help. Its hard to get people to buy a game let alone get into an MMO.
Ah yeah I could see that. My family got into it for a few months and was a lot of fun. I did have pretty good experiences with randos though.