Each week, we scour the internet for all things indie MMO-related, so you don’t have to. This week, MMORPG.com writer Nick Shively continues to check out indie MMOs, and Ralph Whitmore takes a crack at Ember Sword. We also get news on the gamigo - Dynamite Studios breakup, and the pendulum swings both ways on VR MMOs. Plenty of other stuff is also going on, so let’s quit wasting time and get started with this week’s Indie MMO Spotlight.

Aether Story

It’s not the freshest of stories, but Henry (the creator of Aether Story) shared a blog post a couple of weeks ago about some upcoming changes to the skill tree progression.

Anvil Empires

A third devblog has been posted on Anvil Empires’ Steam page. The devblog covers blacksmithing, housing, and how Anvil Empires will use one large world map instead of the smaller regional maps used in Foxhole.

Arcane Waters

A new PvP feature has been added to Arcane Waters: Guild Town Control. Delivering cargo shipments to specific locations within each region will gain your guild Influence points. Max out the influence and become the owner of the town.

BitCraft

BitCraft’s latest Twitter vignette states, “There’s nothing more exciting than exploring the world with friends.” It’s a picture of a campfire, and it isn’t exciting. Show me a significant amount of gameplay if you want me to be excited!

Don't forget to pack your favorite shovel! pic.twitter.com/RsTAeARo0J

— BitCraft (@BitCraftOnline) April 25, 2023

Broken Ranks

A list of May events has been posted, and it looks like Broken Ranks will be hopping on the weekends.

Dual Universe

If you have questions about the PvE missions being added in update 1.4, be sure to fill out the Question Submission Form for a chance to have them answered in a special PvE edition of Ask Aphelia.

Ember Sword

With the Alpha Playtest over, check out what our own Ralph Whitmore thought about the event in his Alpha Impressions. When you are finished reading his thoughts on the game, check out the video below to see the developers' thoughts on crafting a new MMORPG.

Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore

Founder’s Pack sales will become unavailable on the Ethyrial website at 12:00pm ET on April 30th. Founder’s Packs will instead be sold through the in-game cash shop for two weeks following the game’s launch. 

Fractured Online

The cat’s finally out of the bag, as it was announced this week that gamigo and Dynamight Studios are parting ways. According to additional information posted on Discord, players will have a short period in which to transfer their data back to Dynamight. Once that period is over, players can expect Fractured Online to be back online with several changes.

Genfanad

Get ready for more mithril recipes and some rebalances in this week’s patch.

Gloria Victis

Along with Weekly Update 358, Black Eye Games also posted their first post-release devblog this week, which you can watch below. 

Ilysia

There’s been a delay in the player data transfer from the old MagePortal site to the new one. Because of this, the launch of Beta 1 has been pushed back until May 13th, 2023.

Mad World

A new MMO launches, and problems ensue. That is the headline for the Mad World launch this week. The servers were offline multiple times for maintenance, but our own Nick Shively (he’s been pretty busy checking out indie MMOs the last couple of weeks) was able to navigate the downtime and has given us his first Review in Progress. 

Monsters & Memories

MnM held its first Public Stress Test on Friday and Saturday (with a possible bonus session on Sunday).

Our first Public Stress Test is this weekend!- Friday, April 28th, 9pm-1am EDT- Saturday, April 29th, 1pm-5pm EDT (possible extra 4 hours)- Possible Bonus Session on Sunday, April 30thAccount Creation and Game Download LIVE: https://t.co/lNsf8CmVoN#mmo #mmorpg #indiedev

— Monsters & Memories (@MnM_MMO) April 25, 2023

Nightingale

Nightingale posted its April edition of Iflexion Reflexions. This episode has a ton of pre-alpha screenshots.

Past Fate

Past Fate has now been updated to Patch 0.4.3. The new patch has added some new craftable items, improved character animations, and a host of improvements to the world as a whole.

Profane

It’s the end of the month, so you know what that means - a Profane Roadmap Update.

Prosperous Universe

We get a first look at the Leaderboards in Development Log #383.

Scars of Honor

In the second installment of the Tales of Aragon series, we get a look at the Infernal Demons and their thirst for power.

Tatsumeeko

Be sure to check out this week’s devblog.

Villagers & Heroes

If you are interested in the housing update coming to V&H, you can check out the new website dedicated to the topic.

Zenith: The Last City

Two new videos were released this week. The first video focuses on player housing, while the second video covers the updated lifeskills and crafting.