MMO News Digest Wednesday, October 21, 2026
It’s a busy Wednesday in MMO land. MapleStory Classic opens its doors to everyone today, Once Human heads out to sea, and World of Warcraft players are a week into patch 12.1.5. Here’s what caught my eye this week, plus a few dates worth putting on the calendar before GTA VI swallows November.
At a glance
- MapleStory Classic World and Once Human: Isles of Abyss both launch today.
- WoW Midnight’s Season 2 gear upgrades unlocked yesterday.
- Funcom is laying off staff, and its CEO steps down at the end of the year.
- RuneScape Legacy accounts need a Jagex Account by November 17.
Launching today
MapleStory Classic World opens to everyone
Nexon’s classic world opens for free today at 11:00 AM PDT through the Nexon Launcher and Steam. Founder’s Package buyers have been playing since October 6, and their characters carry over.
It’s going back to the beginning: Victoria Island only, with skills capped at 2nd Job. Orbis, El Nath and 3rd Job Advancement are coming in later updates.
Source: Nexon
Isles of Abyss takes Once Human out to sea
The free ocean scenario arrives after today’s maintenance (October 22 in much of the world). It runs about 21 days across five sea regions, and shipbuilding is the main feature. You start on a wooden raft and work up to a full Sea Fortress. It’s out on PC, mobile, PS5 and Xbox with cross-play and cross-progression, and the permanent server is now expected on November 18.
Source: Once Human dev blog
Broken Ranks lands on Android
The turn-based MMORPG is out on Android today, with iOS planned for later.
Source: Massively OP
World of Warcraft: Midnight
Patch 12.1.5 is live, and Season 2 gear upgrades just unlocked
- A new story campaign chapter, The Promise of Tomorrow
- A one-boss raid, The Unbinding of Kith’ix
- Aqir Invasion public events in Eversong Woods and Zul’Aman
- The first Labyrinth Mega-Delve
Season 2 Mythic+ is back, with rewards for hitting a 3,600 rating. As of yesterday, October 20, you can use Ascendant Venomstones to raise your gear’s item level, and the crest cap has been lifted.
Sources: Blizzard Watch, Icy Veins
Class tuning: Beast Mastery and Fire up, Unholy down
Before the patch, Blizzard buffed Beast Mastery Hunters and Fire Mage Flamestrike, while Unholy Death Knights took a nerf. Up next on the PTR is Echoes of the Worldcore, which brings Talebound, a solo or group story adventure. It doesn’t have a live date yet.
Source: Blizzard
Final Fantasy XIV
Patch 7.57 is out, with a Final Fantasy VII event next week
Patch 7.57’s main change lets Japan data center players use the World Visit System in place of Data Center Travel. Next up is the Gold Saucer update Keybound Brawler on October 28. It’s a Final Fantasy VII collaboration that adds a new game mode reminiscent of Typing of the Dead.
Source: FFXIV Lodestone
AION 2
Nearly 400,000 players on Steam at launch
AION 2’s global free-to-play launch set a record for NC, with 397,905 concurrent players on Steam. With PURPLE launcher players included, NC says it passed 400,000. The first content update, Chapter 1: Lands of Sand and Snow, adds new dungeons, Strongholds, Monoliths and expanded party systems. Newcomer launch rewards run through December 15.
I shared my thoughts on what players are saying in AION 2: A Beautiful World, With Strings Attached.
Source: Inven Global
More MMO updates
RuneScape Legacy accounts need a Jagex Account
If you still play on a RuneScape Legacy account, upgrade to a Jagex Account before November 17, or you’ll lose login access until you do.
Source: Massively OP
The Fractured Archive raid is open
It’s the game’s newest high-tier encounter. Hardcore Worlds are scheduled for November 4, and November is Quest Month.
Source: Massively OP
- Raid Guild Wars 2: The Legendary raid mode for Nexus of Eternity launched October 13, with teams racing for World First.
- Demo ArcheAge Chronicles: The Steam demo lets you explore Auroria with all four classes, plus an optional hard dungeon and early PvP.
- Update Camelot Unchained: Update 0.51 reworks stealth and Faith, adjusts cooldowns and gathering, and refreshes party UI and keep systems.
Industry news
Funcom cuts staff, and its CEO steps down
Funcom confirmed new layoffs as Dune: Awakening and Conan Exiles move into live operations. CEO Rui Casais will leave at the end of 2026, and chief product officer Scott Junior will take over. It’s the second round of Funcom cuts in a year.
Source: Massively OP
About three months left in Aeternum
Amazon’s MMO shuts down on January 31, 2027, so if there’s anything left you want to do in New World, now’s the time.
Beyond MMOs
- Nov 19 GTA VI is still set for November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar hasn’t announced a PC date.
- Event Battlefield 6 started its Dead Space crossover event on October 20, with a limited-time PvE mode.
- Oct 22 Marvel Rivals brings its 50-player PvE battle against Thanos tomorrow. Details.
- Update PS5 system software 26.07-14.20.00 improves messages and usability on some screens.
- Hotfix Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse got a hotfix for black screens on high refresh rate monitors.
Dates to watch
- FFXIV Gold Saucer update, Keybound Brawler
- Old School RuneScape Hardcore Worlds
- Jagex Account deadline for RuneScape Legacy accounts
- Once Human Isles of Abyss permanent server (expected)
- GTA VI
- AION 2 newcomer rewards end
- New World shuts down
