Upcoming Games I'm Interested In

 Just a quick check in on games I am paying attention to and some summaries with links to more info if you are interested.

Ashes of Creation

 Ashes of Creation is an upcoming open-world fantasy MMORPG with a massive 1200 km² world called Verra. It features a dynamic node system where player actions shape the development of civilizations, from humble villages to vast metropolises. The game blends PvE and PvP elements, with open-world dungeons, professions like fishing, and intense castle sieges in PvP zones like international waters.[2][4]

Citations:
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEVU8EZ6QaU
[2] https://ashes101.com/worldofverra
[3] https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/44414/the-new-player-guide
[4] https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Gameplay
[5] https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Alpha-1

Light No Fire

 Light No Fire is an upcoming open-world survival fantasy game from Hello Games, set on a procedurally generated planet the size of Earth. Players can explore vast landscapes, climb any mountain, sail oceans, and fly on dragons[1][4]. Character creation allows customizing species like rabbits or wolves[1]. It features multiplayer, allowing players to build persistent communities together or go solo[1][4]. While focused on exploration and building, combat is also expected to play a role[1][4]. The intriguing title "Light No Fire" hints at the game's mysterious lore and potential dangers lurking in the shadows[4].

Citations:
[1] https://blog.electronicfirst.com/8-things-we-know-about-light-no-fire/
[2] https://twitter.com/lightnofire?lang=en
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhLOQs_-BBo
[4] https://gamingbolt.com/light-no-fire-what-we-know-so-far
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uug_ckBLcyI

Ghost MMO

 The Ghost MMO is an upcoming fantasy MMORPG being developed by Fantastic Pixel Castle, a new studio founded by veteran developers like Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street (World of Warcraft, League of Legends MMO). It takes place in a shattered world of floating "shards" containing different biomes and environments to explore. The game features a unique shard system - private "Blue Shards" for you and friends to play survival/base-building, and public "Red Shards" for a more traditional MMO experience. With a focus on community, heroic characters, and alt-friendly gameplay with dozens of classes, Ghost aims to modernize the MMO genre while retaining classic RPG combat and social worlds.[1][2][3][4]

Citations:
[1] https://outof.games/news/6746-ghost-a-new-mmorpg-from-ex-wow-and-riot-mmo-devs-fantastic-pixel-castle-studio-announced/
[2] https://esports.gg/news/gaming/ghost-mmo-reveal/
[3] https://fextralife.com/former-wow-and-lol-designer-is-creating-a-new-fantasy-mmo-ghost-heres-why-you-should-be-excited/
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMRULKzoTNk
[5] https://www.ign.com/articles/greg-ghostcrawler-street-returns-with-new-mmo-codenamed-ghost

 The Word on the Street podcast, hosted by Scott Johnson and Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street, provides monthly insights into the development of Fantastic Pixel Castle's upcoming MMO Ghost, featuring conversations with the team working on various aspects like prototyping, combat design, world-building, and technology.[1]

Citations:
[1] https://www.frogpants.com/street

Combat Champions

 Combat Champions is a fast-paced, first-person shooter video game where players engage in over-the-top stunts and map-altering destruction while capturing key points and outshooting opponents in corporate arenas turned into game show settings.[1][2] Developed by C77 Entertainment, the game features explosive corporate conflicts televised by the Corporate Mediation Alliance, allowing players to drive the crowd wild with their high-stakes, high-reward performances.[1][2]

Citations:
[1] https://kotaku.com/games/combat-champions
[2] https://www.metacritic.com/game/combat-champions/
[5] https://www.combatchampions.com

A Ghost No More

 Fantastic Pixel Castle (that's the developer) has shared some early prototyping for their future MMORPG under the project name "Ghost".  Ghost for Ghostcrawler who recently left the Riot MMO project to start this new adventure.

 Ghost is also a ghost no more as we actually get to see some early glimpses on what they are working on.  For anyone keeping track, yes that is more information in a few months time than we've gotten in the years of Ghostcrawler when he worked on the Riot MMO.  The Riot MMO is still a thing though apparently.

 What I liked about this Milestone 1 update was that it talked about wanting players as part of the process while admitting the natural problems that arise from that such as "this game looks like garbage" when showing off early prototype content.  It was reassuring to hear a developer talk through the reality of letting the players ride along with development.  There is a good head on their shoulders here.

 I also like that they went with UE5, a known game engine, instead of what every other "I quit my company and started my own MMO" project seems to do thinking they can build their own engine.  UE5 is powering so many games so good to see another one on the list.  It should help the team move along faster than some others in the past few years working on their own engines.

 And proving it is helping the team along the post highlights some screenshots and feedback from early prototyping (note: this was using premade assets in the UE store so is not representative of the game).  They want to focus on combat and their concept of red/blue zones (static vs procedural) and had both up and going in the prototype.  It is refreshing to see a team that appears focused on a core idea and are "failing fast" through it.

Prototype gameplay with UE assets

 This was a cool step of a game's life that we don't get to see all that often.  This update was a fun read and I am looking forward to more.  This game is years away but its looking to be an enjoyable ride to take along with the team.  They also have a podcast, Word on the Street, that I' m going to check out.